Equestria: The Afterlife

by Timzocker201

Ch56: ...'Cause I Won't.

‘I am happy, as long as they are’… truly a very noble thing to say. Putting the well-being of others before your own is something only very few beings manage to do. It was truly a very beautiful mask to use in order to hide the ugly face that may slumber beneath.

Unfortunately, even the most sophisticated ornaments and most beautiful of colorations couldn’t change what it truly was: A mask and Markus knew that only too well.

‘I am happy, as long as they are’… what a load of bullshit. Of course, he desired nothing more than to reveal himself to the two beings in this world he truly cared for. He knew that they were pregnant and that having a child/foal, which will most likely be an alicorn, can be quite stressful, but he wouldn’t have joined the army if he was afraid of a little stress, now would he?

And yet, even though it was his greatest desire to see them again, he still sat in that damned Gryphon Capitol, chasing a phantom that normally wouldn’t even have been his problem, only because he needed something to concentrate on in order to suppress his true emotions. And now, due to this decision, both of his loves were to be married to someone else.

Markus growled in anger. The thought of their wedding brought forth a kind of anger that he had never felt before, only amplified by the fact that the day of this tragedy had arrived. Throughout the whole day, he could feel it banging in the back of his mind, demanding to be set free. The anger, the jealousy, the primal instinct to fight for his females.

He needed a way to vent his anger and he quickly decided that the thug, who was guarding the warehouse in front of him, would be an ideal target for that.

The Gryphon flew through the gates and took them with him inside the warehouse and Markus followed him in.

“Greetings, dear thugs. I hereby pronounce this hideout found and cleared, anyone who wishes to surrender shall do so now, everyone who tries to escape will be hunted down and brought to justice immediately.” He rattled down without much enthusiasm. The first few times of busting these hideouts might have been exhilarating, but after doing the same thing for 30 times in a row, he found it to be quite monotone. He would always first eliminate the guard in front in one way or another, before he just went in through the front door and took care of the rest.

However, this time, something was different. Something, which immediately caused him to stop after he passed the dust cloud at the entrance.

The warehouse was indeed filled with criminals, like all those times before. However, this time it weren’t Gryphons, but Ponies and looking around through the crowd, he found that all of them were wearing a very familiar white frock with a red crescent moon imprinted on them.

Suddenly, his anger, which had barely been relieved from the little thug outside, came back to the forefront of his thoughts. How could it be? Hadn’t he personally made sure that their leader was vaporized? Was all he had done thus far been for naught?

“Though, on second thought, I might make an exception. Today, no one will be kept alive.” He determined loudly, before quickly dashing into their midst.

Without waiting for a reaction, he began slicing his way through the group, killing many before anyone even found it in themselves to grasp what was happening and those few who did only barely made it in time, before death was upon them as well.

He cut his way through the whole group in barely any time, leaving only one pony at the very end of the crowd. It was a Pegasus stallion, who, judging by the different coloration of his frock must have held some sort of a higher position within the cult.

Markus made his way towards him. He had no intention in sparing this one’s life, however, given that he might hold some kind of authority, he wanted to gather some information before he sent this one into the eternal torment that hopefully awaited him.

“Ah, I see the cursed sun’s lapdog has finally found us.” The Pegasus said. “Well, too bad. However, there are many more of us out there. You will never get us all. The Bloodmoon will live forever and our goddess shall reign supreme!”

He rambled on, spewing zealous paroles without taking any time for breathing, his voice growing more insane-sounding by the second, until he suddenly whipped out a knife from under his frock and slammed it towards his own throat. However, before it could even come close, it was caught by a black aura.

“As much as I’d love to see you die right now, I cannot allow it just yet.” Markus said. “So… tell me what you’re up to and I’ll give you a quick and painless death. If you don’t, then I’ll use you as a means to vent my anger. I will take my time, slowly beating the life out of you and then letting you recover, just so I can do it again.”

“Ha! As if a loyal servant like me would be intimidated by such meager threats! I am more than willing to suffer eternal torment for our ultimate goal! After all, we cannot be stopped anymore. At this very moment, one of our kin is claiming the youngest princess for his own and there is nothing you can do against it!”

Markus made a fast step forwards, bringing him directly into the other stallion’s face. “What do you mean, ‘take her for his own’? What have you done to her?!”

The stallion cackled madly under Markus’s threatening gaze. “Hehehe, oh, don’t you know? The extradimensional Hero, Markus Becker, has returned, only… that it isn’t really him! Oh, what do you say now, governor? Now that you see the end of Equestria coming closer? HAHAHAHAHAHAA—Chrrk”

The stallion’s body fell limp, as one last, nerve-racking sound escaped his body. His head was slowly turned around, twisting and breaking his neck and spine. Markus, meanwhile, was staring straight ahead with his eyes wide in disbelief.

Twilight and Rainbow were being wed to a member of the Bloodmoon? But how?! Hadn’t he personally seen to their destruction? Hadn’t he done everything to ensure this threat was dealt with? Apparently, it wasn’t enough, as the cultists he had just dealt with were definitely real.

He had fucked up and he needed to fix it. And so, without really thinking about it, he sped off towards Equestria. That day, a myth sprang forth between the airborne citizens of Equestria, that on the evening of the young princess’s wedding, a black orb with a black smoke trail was seen flying towards Ponyville, with a speed unmatched even by the legendary Rainbow Dash.

---

Only seconds before his arrival did it appear to Markus that he could not just appear in his usual disguise, as he was reportedly in the Gryphon Republic right now. He needed another form, so he quickly took the first one that came to mind. After all, there was no time for long thinking, as when he arrived, he could already hear Mayor Mare read out the dreadful words. “… you may kiss the bride.”

Quickly, Markus lunged forwards and slammed the doors open and took in the sight before him. His head filled with fury, as he saw that not only was this fake about to kiss Twilight, but also that Rainbow was standing off to the side, which could only mean… that she wasn’t included.

The pain she must have suffered through for this fuelled Markus’s rage even more, to the point where the one word that hung on his tongue was no longer just spoken, but projected directly into the air around him.

“Impostor!”

He shouted with a low, booming voice that shook the very foundations of the Town Hall. Twilight, as well as the fake were looking at him with fear-struck eyes and the rest of the attending audience did the same.

Markus, meanwhile was only now made aware of what his outbreak had caused him to do.

“I have revealed my existence now… Oh lord. Well, at least they don’t know yet, that I am the real Markus… Now, just play it Royal, Markus. Slow steps, regal posture, you can do it!”

Markus thought, as he slowly stepped along the red carpet. Though, what may have looked like a royal gait was actually just Markus trying to not royally faceplant himself. After all, he had spent most of his pony-time with the shorter legs of his disguise, so switching back to the large alicorn-form now had put him a bit off-balance.

Twilight’s friends, as well as Shining Armor and Mystic meanwhile stepped in to block Markus’s path, excluding Rainbow, who was still standing beside Twilight and placed herself directly in front of her.

Markus stopped in front of the pony-barricade and leaned down to Shining Armor, who was standing slightly before the rest of them. He would have normally been proud of his former student, to take stance in such a dreadful situation. However, with it being directed against him, he found this defiance to be just annoying. Yet, just beating him down now would only serve to make everypony afraid of him and thus ruin every chance of reuniting with his beloved.

“So… You are willing to stand before me to protect your loved ones, even though the cold grasp of fear is already becoming visible in your faces?” He said. “A chivalrous act, it is indeed, however you need not fear me, for I do not intend on harming anypony present.” Markus said this in a similar way he had, when he entered, by directly projecting his voice into the air around him. He was actually quite surprised to hear the quite old and somehow wise sounding voice.

“AnyPONY present? What about the human in the room?” Shining replied defiantly, trying to mask his fear.

Markus briefly looked over to the impostor, before he gave his answer. “Unfortunately, I have to confirm that he is indeed my target.”

“In that case I am very sorry, but I can’t let you pass.” Shining Armor said.

It was an answer that Markus had expected to come, yet had hoped not to. However, he had come here for a reason and his fury-filled mind would find no peace until he knew the vile being that dared standing beside his beloved to have joined the ranks of his newly acquired realm.

“That is indeed unfortunate for you, as with that, you have become obstacles and thus need to be removed.” He said, while he extended his wings and placed them directly in the middle of the group before him.

“AN ALICORN?!” Cadence shouted in disbelief.

Markus then forced his wings apart in a single, powerful push. Multiple surprised yelps could be heard, as the defenders were flung to the sides, onto tables, chairs and other ponies. Meanwhile, Markus continued onwards, until he came to the next line of defence.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders stood defiantly before him in the same way their sisters did previously.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t let you through! Cutie Mark Crusaders Defenders, YAY!” They shouted, pronouncing the ‘yay’ somewhere between a cheer and a war cry.

The adorability of the whole act was almost enough to convince him to turn around. However, when he looked back at Twilight standing in front of him, his resolve was strengthened anew. He couldn’t stop now, not with Twilight and Rainbow being only a few meters away.

“That is truly a noble endeavour. Facing an enemy that is clearly superior to save those, one cares about is truly an act one can take pride in.” He said to the fillies. “However, the days in which you can do so effectively, are still part of the future.”

He moved on, stepping over the three fillies and further closing in on the stage at the end of the room. Now, it was the princesses’ turn to protect their subjects. Celestia, Luna and Cadence placed themselves directly in front the fifth alicorn and blocked his path.

“Cease your actions, villain! I will not allow you to harm my little ponies!” Celestia said.

Markus stopped before her and looked at her with bemusement. He hadn’t expected her to understand his intentions, especially given that he hadn’t told her about his discovery yet. However, he still felt slightly betrayed by this obvious show of defiance, so he chose to make his intentions clear, without alerting the other attendants.

“Oh, dear Celestia, you should know that even you are not enough to hinder me in my objective. However, you may be at ease, for I do not plan on performing villainous deeds.”

With that said, Markus utilized his new form, by suddenly de-materializing into an orb of black mist and quickly slipping past the three Alicorns, before re-materializing directly in front of the stage, atop which the fake and Twilight still stood with Rainbow directly in front of them as their last line of defence.

“You will not get past me!” Rainbow said determined.

He looked at her for a moment. He saw that, now that he was closer, her belly actually did show already, the sight of which momentarily lessening his anger. That is, until he looked up to the fake again and found something that deeply shocked him. In all honesty, it was likely only a minor detail, but did he really leave such a fleeting memory that they would miss such an obvious thing in such an obvious place? Or was it maybe… that they were so desperate to see him again that they simply ignored it?

The last thought managed to momentarily quench his anger and instead filled him with a very odd kind of joy. Something that felt like grief and joy combined.

“Rainbow Dash, please, for the sake of your foal, step out of the way.” He said, but Rainbow didn’t budge. He leaned down to her and said in a slightly less commanding voice: ”Rainbow Dash, please, listen to your heart. Is this truly the man, who holds your loyalty as a marefriend and future wife? He, who has abandoned you, what the original would never do? He, who, for the one he claims to be, has a distinct lack of a scar in his face?”

Rainbow and Twilight both gasped and looked up, where they could indeed find no scar in the face of the groom. Markus also looked up to the fake and prepared himself, for the moment had come to bring this whole act to an end.

“Be assured that today, I am not here to harm innocent ponies, but bring judgement upon the filthiest of traitors.”

He pulled the same trick he had used on Celestia again and placed himself directly behind the fake. From there, Markus lashed out his hind legs in a powerful kick that sent him flying across the room. He reached the door, where he hit his head on the top of the doorframe, jerking his head back from the impact. A loud ‘snap’ became audible, as through the force of the impact, his spine was severed.

“NO!!” Twilight screamed, seeing her love die for a second time. She turned around, blasting the real Markus with everything she had. Markus, in turn, used his magic to create a dome-shield around him, which first dispersed the magic over a larger area, before harmlessly bleeding it back into the natural magic cycle.

Markus then looked over to Twilight and, for the first time, saw her pained expression. It wasn’t mere pain that she was feeling. She had long passed the margins that mere pain could express. Her whole psyche seemed to be in shambles at that moment, only held together by a single thing that Markus had also felt just a few moments ago.

Rage.

A blistering, mind-consuming rage that Markus could feel being directed at him. It was an expression that made him feel guilty beyond comparison. After all, he was the one, who put her into this position in the first place. He was the one, who killed the one she thought to be him before her eyes… and he was the one, who had put her up to all this in the first place, by denying her the truth of his resurrection…

“Twilight Sparkle, have you yet not caught on? This man has never been the one you had loved.” Markus said, before de-materializing into an orb again and flying across the room. He re-materialized next to the corpse of the wannabe-Markus. “He was just some filthy traitor, trying to make use of you by impersonating the man you loved most.”

He touched his horn to the corpse and it momentarily flared to life with magic, before the corpse began to rapidly deteriorate. The skin peeled away like pieces of burnt paper, revealing another form underneath. It was a unicorn stallion with a grey coat and black mane, who wore a distinct white frock with a crest of a crimson moon printed onto it.

Twilight slumped at this revelation. She had known. Deep inside, there was something poking at the back of her mind this whole time. Yet, her hopes caused her to ignore the feeling, to indulge fully into the faked image that was presented to her.

Markus looked at her again. She looked weak, physically as well as mentally. She had just suffered the same amount of pain that Markus had been subjected to all those years ago and realizing that he was the one at fault for this made him feel just outright awful and thus, he made a decision.

“I truly am sorry to have ruined such a grand day for you, Twilight Sparkle.” Said Markus, bowing down to the corpse. “However, do not fret, for your rightful husband will return…” He said, while opening his mouth, grabbing the corpse with it and then looking back to Twilight one last time. “…in one year.” He then de-materialized again, before he flew out through the doors, leaving the befuddled ponies behind.

---

A few minutes later, Markus sat in his room in the Royal Palace, with the cultist’s corpse lying directly in front of him. He was deep in thought, when Luna suddenly entered and immediately spoke.

“So, I see you have finally decided to show yourself to Twilight and Rainbow Dash?”

“Yes… and no.” Markus answered, which Luna quite obviously didn’t find funny.

“What do you mean, ‘yes and no’? Markus, are you going to start this nonsense all over again?! Let me tell you: I have tolerated your ‘happy when they’re happy’-excuse only because you seemed to be in a rare state of disarray. Don’t you see the amount of suffering you’ve caused with this?!”

Markus was silent for a moment, wiping his face with a hand, before he sighed and stood up.

“Yes, I know, Luna. I actually knew all along and yet, there was something that was stronger within me. You see: I was never that strong, socially speaking. I have my issues, believe it or not, and social interactions are a very prominent one. When you and Celestia resurrected me, I had to readjust to a multitude of things that were new to me. New powers, new duties… and a new body. I had to question myself and, subsequently, came to question my relation with Twilight and Rainbow. Would they still accept me after these changes? After all, I have literally become death incarnate.”

“But that is just nonsense! You know that they deeply love you and that they would always accept you, no matter which shape you take!” Luna quickly interrupted, working herself up again.

“Yes, I have come to see that today. I have seen how they truly missed me all this time and I have felt terrible about it, which is why I have decided to return. Just… not yet.”

“Yes, I’ve heard. In one year, you said, but why? Why make them wait if you could reveal yourself right now and finally end their suffering?” Luna asked, her temper slowly dying down.

“Because there is something I need to take care of first.” Markus said, gesturing to the dead cultist. “You see: If I were to reveal myself right now, these cultists would likely be up for revenge. They have shown today that they know how close I am to Twilight and Rainbow, so it is reasonable to presume that they would use them to hurt me… which could include hurting them, which I would like to avoid.”

“But if that’s the case, then wouldn’t it have been better to just tell them that you were alive without the one year?”

“Indeed. The thing is that I also wanted to lessen their pain a bit and at the same time give them some hope. With the one year, I have given them hope, as well as given myself a time limit. I have one year to completely erase the Bloodmoon cult before I show myself. If I don’t manage to do so by then, I will show myself anyways and ask Twilight, Rainbow and their friends, as well as Mystic for their help. With them, we should be able to complete my goal, presuming that I will have gathered at least some intel on them by then.” Markus explained.

“In all honesty, to me this sounds like and elaborate plan for revenge.” Luna mused aloud. Markus didn’t seem to be bothered by it though, instead choosing to gently smile at her.

“You don’t need to worry about that, Luna. I am not out for revenge, as much as I am out for the safety of Rainbow and Twilight and, by extention, the whole of Equestria. You can trust me fully in this regard, after all… old me is back.”

Comments

[ChakatRedstripe]

Good chapter

[Kitsune_Kenshi]

Finally!

[DoctorWhoooves]

Yes, very good

[Fireeaters]

Which old him? You had him be the grim reaper before he was mark, right?

[Timzocker201]

10576967
nope. he is back to the old, non-whiney markus, before he became an alicorn