Equestria: The Afterlife

by Timzocker201

CH61: Brothers in Arms

Two months after the birth of the two new alicorns, the swarm of journalists finally dissipated, allowing Mystic Gem, Twilight and Rainbow to finally go about their daily business again. Not that Rainbow and Twilight currently had much reason and/or opportunity to leave the castle anyways, due to the constant threat of a baby-alicorn-induced nuclear bomb exploding whenever they weren’t looking. Yet, somehow Twilight managed to absolutely bury Starlight in friendship lessons and since Spike was pretty much used as a free baby sitter whenever Twilight had to do princess-stuff, Mystic remained the only one who could profit from the freed pathways (or was bothered by them to begin with). Still, no longer having to disperse a crowd of overgrown leeches whenever she was commuting was still a pleasant change and not the only one at that.

It turns out that the reformation of the 4^th FRC into the Shadow Guard brought with it not only two promotions for Mystic, but also a whole guard base full of new possibilities… literally.

Since Markus, as a prince, now had access to the crown’s budget, Ponyville would finally get a proper guard base for the Shadow Guard. Only a few days after he revealed himself, Mystic had already brought forth the request, which was then swiftly granted and financed by Markus. Thus, the only thing left was the actual construction.

It came as a pleasant surprise to Mystic that a good portion of Ponyville’s residents volunteered to help out for free, with the remaining workload mostly covered by members of the Shadow Guard itself. To do that, Mystic created a separate company for ‘construction duty’, to which she assigned everypony with either a Cutie Mark in something construction related or even direct experience with construction work.

The new base was to be built around the old warehouse, though with new separate barracks for the soldiers to live in so that the warehouse can get re-repurposed to being what it was meant to be in the beginning – a warehouse. In addition to that, the forestry around the building was to be cut down and the materials and space were then used for additional buildings and a proper exercise area.

Originally, Mystic wanted to use the one in the forest, but a year of being neglected had left that one a bit… out of shape, to say the least. That coupled with the additional costs it would bring forth sadly meant that the old site was left abandoned.

A sigh escaped Mystic’s lips as she thought back to the olden times. Even though the old training grounds were not the most sophisticated by far, they had left their mark in her memory. After all, it was the place where she had become what she is now, but even so it was just another place in the world, Mystic knew that full-well.

She quickly shook these thoughts from her mind, when around her the sounds of progress became audible. Hammering, sawing, chatting and the sounds of various spells being cast filled the air as she arrived at the construction site. Of course, there was little to nothing that she could help with in that regard, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t supervise things a little, right?

“So that’s where this new ‘Shadow Guard’ is meant to be stationed? Pah, there’s not even a proper base here! And where is their commanding officer?” A voice suddenly complained behind her and when she turned around, she saw that it was a captain and his adjutant coming towards her. Though, on closer look, she saw that they were not from the Royal Guard, but of the Solar Guard, shown by the saddlecloth hanging from them depicting a sun with long rays on a white background.

“Hey you!” he suddenly called out. “Go fetch your commanding officer! We demand to talk with her immediately.” He ordered to her in a tone that clearly portrayed who he thought was in charge here.

“And why do you assume that I have to follow your orders?” Mystic said back, already properly pissed off by this guy’s presence alone.

“How dare you speak up to an officer! Go fetch your superior RIGHT—“

“Oh my, it appears we are coming at a bad time.” Suddenly another voice interrupted from Mystic’s left. Both she and the solar captain turned to face the newcomer and saw that it appeared to be a captain as well, only this time one of the Lunar Guard.

“Oh dear Celestia… The day had such a good start, how could it descend so quickly?” Mystic lamented internally as the two captains moved towards each other.

“And who invited you, cat-eye?” The solar captain spat, to which the lunar captain only laughed.

“I don’t believe I have to ask you for an invitation, do I now? Maybe your exposure to the sun has fried your brain a bit too much?”

“And I will fry you both if you don’t immediately stop bickering and tell me what the buck you want!” Mystic interrupted them, earning herself a glare from both of them.

“How dare you interrupt us?! Didn’t I tell you to fetch your superior?!” The solar captain now spat at Mystic.

“You do realize that I outrank both of you, right?”

The two captains shared a short look, before adopting very hostile looks. “And you do realize that lying to a superior officer is a severe offence, right? I can’t see any rank markings on that colourful uniform of yours.” The solar captain said.

Mystic was about to tell them what they had gotten themselves into, when yet another voice joined in, though this one, she knew all-too well.

“Heya, Mystic!” Applejack called, as she and Big Mac each brought a wagon full of building materials and fresh apples. “What’re y’all arguin’ here for? Somethin’ goin’ wrong with the new base?”

The two captains noticed Applejack as well, of course, though their attention wasn’t on her. The moment she had said Mystic’s name, their demeanour changed. Sadly though, not to ‘apologetic’…

“Ooooh, so you are this Mystic Gem we have heard about?” The lunar captain noted.

“Indeed, that is me. Lieutenant-Colonel Mystic Gem.” She clarified, though her rank apparently brought her little to no respect with these two.

“Oh, so you really are the wannabe-colonel!” The solar captain blurted out. He started circling around her like a tiger cornering his prey. “Say, what did you have to do to get to that rank so fast?”

“Excuse me? What d’ya mean with that?” Applejack cut in.

“He means that there are certain… rumours, that there may or may not be a third alicorn foal on the way.” The Lunar captain implied.

“WHAT?! That’s ridiculous!” Mystic complained.

“Yeah, what in Celestia’s name are ya thinkin’?!” Applejack joined in.

“I am thinking that it is very suspicious if somepony climbs a few years worth of ranks in merely a few months, while I have been stuck at ‘captain’ for the past four years!” The solar captain said, continuing to circle Mystic.

“And I am thinking that, in that case, you should probably spend your time getting some training in instead of whining in front of your superior.”

“Eeyup.” Big Mac agreed.

“How dare you insult me like that?!” The solar captain recoiled. “I cannot allow such an insult to stay unpunished! I hereby challenge you to a duel, right here and now!”

Mystic sighed. She had a feeling that it would come to this, yet she had hoped that it wouldn’t. “Very well, I accept your challenge. As the one challenged, I get to set the rules and I say that the first hit wins. I don’t have time for this nonsense.”

“And I shall bear witness to your duel.” The lunar captain offered.

“Fair enough. I accept your rules and the neutral party.” The solar captain agreed.

The duel started only a few seconds later. The solar captain lunged forward and tried to get a good hit in on Mystic’s nose, but was side-stepped and instead got a hit on his own nose. The duel was over within 2 seconds. Mystic had won.

“No, I don’t accept that!” the defeated captain shouted, straining against the grip of his adjutant.

“That doesn’t matter. You lost, as per the rules both of you had agreed on.” The lunar captain reminded him with a smirk.

“Please, captain, calm down! You might give these lunar traitors an advantage otherwise!” The adjutant said, to which the captain stopped resisting, instead looking at him, before giving his lunar counterpart a scowl. “Come on, we’re leaving.” He then said to his adjutant, who immediately followed after his superior.

Mystic let out a sigh of relief as the two left.

“Ah can’t believe that those were from the solar guard. Ah thought those ponies were the Elite!” Applejack stated with disappointment.

“Oh, they are, normally at least. It’s just that even they have their underdogs, ponies who only barely made it through their entrance exams and who always need somepony below them to convince themselves that they didn’t just make it due to pure, dumb luck.” Mystic said.

“Indeed.” The lunar captain agreed, reminding everypony else that he was still there.

“And what are you still doing here? Are you here to duel me too?!” Mystic asked with annoyance.

“Me? Oh no, I just wanted to verify if the rumours about you were true.” He said. “Though, I suppose I have reached that goal, which means that I, too, shall bid my farewell.”

He bowed before Applejack, gave a proper salute to Mystic and then he, too, left together with his adjutant.

“Y’know what, Mac?” Applejack said to her brother. “Today’s one a these days where ah’m glad that ya didn’t join the guard.”

“Eeyup.”

---

The remaining day luckily went by rather uneventful, though it took until evening to restore Mystic’s good mood. Luckily for her, Dawnbreaker and Spectral Flash had properly tired themselves out during the day so that at least that problem was dealt with for the moment.

“Are you okay, Mystic? You seem a lot more stressed-out than usual.” Twilight asked her in concern. She and Rainbow had just brought their foals to bed and were now sitting in the castle’s library together with Mystic. Normally, at this time of day, they would talk about their days, have a small chat and such, but today, Mystic didn’t seem to be in the mood for talking at all.

“Frankly, no. I got a visit by a few… colleagues, if you so will. Though, they were not there for a friendly chat.” Mystic answered.

“Oh really? Why else did they come? Did they come to test you or something?” Rainbow asked.

“No. If it was just that then I wouldn’t be in such a bad mood. Apparently, there are some weird rumours going around about me having slept my way to the top.”

“WHAT?! Who said that?! I’ll kick their heads in! Nopony insults my friends!” Rainbow shouted.

“Relax, Rainbow. I know your hormones are still running wild, but you don’t need to emphasize that on every occasion. Besides, I already dealt with that. What actually concerns me more is that apparently we’re now in on the lunar and solar guard’s little game.” Mystic calmed her.

“What game? Wait, the solar and lunar guard? Why would both of them come here anyways?”

“The solar and lunar guard have a pretty difficult relationship ever since Luna came back. From what I’ve heard from Shining, the solar guard is still seeing Luna and her guard detail as the traitors they once were, even though none of them were born yet at that time. The lunar guard, of course, doesn’t like that and took up open hostilities. Celestia and Luna both tried to resolve the issue and have them talk it out, but only managed to cool it down to a strong rivalry.” Twilight explained, sighing after she finished. “Though it makes me wonder how they could stand right next to each other without smashing their heads in.”

“Simple: they found common ground when they started picking at me. The solar muppet was the worst of these two. The lunar guy was actually quite a decent fellow, but the solar one… I would make a joke about close to the sun and being a hot-head, but I’m way too tired to think of a good one right now…” Mystic said, letting herself sink a bit into the cushions.

“In that case, maybe it would be better to call it a day a bit earlier than usual? I mean, we really do nothing else than talk at this time, so you wouldn’t really miss all that much.” Twilight offered, to which Mystic tiredly nodded.

“Yeah, I think I should really head for bed early. See you guys tomorrow.”

“Have a good night!” Rainbow and Twilight both said together, while Mystic retreated herself to her room.

As soon as she entered, she made a dash for her bed, not bothering to take off her uniform. The moment she hit the pillow, her eyes drifted closed and within a few seconds, she was fast asleep…

Only to be awoken a few hours later when the door suddenly burst open.

“MYSTIC!!! We’ve got a problem!!!” Starlight screamed at the top of her lungs as she stood in the doorframe with panic in her eyes.

“Wha- what?” Mystic asked groggily.

“No time! Quick, get up!!” Starlight panicked further, lifting Mystic out of her bed with magic and dragging her along as she sprinted out of the castle.

Before Mystic could even ask what the buck was going on, she was already through the door and could see for herself. Her eyes diluted in horror, as she saw the hydra that was currently running wild in the middle of the town.

Mystic reacted quickly. The soldiers on patrol duty had already begun evacuating the immediate area, just as they were trained to, while she rallied a small force to take on the beast. A few concentrated volleys of fire brought it down within just a few minutes, leaving only its carcass and the destruction it had caused.

Killing the beast was the easy part of it. Putting out the fires it had caused, tending to the injured and rebuilding the buildings that had collapsed would be the true challenge, but for now, the worst had passed.

At least, that’s what Mystic thought until she heard galloping and a shout behind her.

“Do not fret, the solar guard is coming… to… help?” the solar captain shouted, but quieted down when he saw that the hydra was no longer moving. “I, euh, you…”

“Say, captain…” Mystic said, without turning around and with an undertone in her voice that send shivers down the captain’s spine. “how come that you arrive just when something bad happens? And just after I defeated you in duel at that?”

“What are you implying with this?” The captain hissed at her, encountering her barely subdued anger with his own.

“I am implying nothing. I’m just saying that it’s highly unusual for the solar guard to be active at night.” Mystic encountered.

“Even we carry out night operations, you know that as well as I do! Besides, that’s not how you thank somepony who just came to help.” The captain argued.

“You just came to polish your own image. Maybe you’ve even staged this whole incident yourself.”

“And why would I do that?” The captain pressed with a twitching eye.

“Because you are a low-life idiot who can’t do shit!” Mystic exploded.

“Why, you little-!”

The captain pulled his sword out of its sheath and swung it at Mystic. However, before she could react, Applejack suddenly pushed herself between the two.

“Applejack, what the BUCK are you—“ Mystic shouted, but stopped when she saw that her opponent’s rage-filled face had morphed into a look of shock. She followed his eyes and saw that the sword that was meant for her was now stuck in Applejack’s chest.

Applejack collapsed shortly after she was hit. Everything seemed to blur together, as her vision suddenly contorted and darkened. She heard screams, shouts, accusations, but they all were muffled. The last thing she heard was a shot, before her consciousness gave out.

---

Applejack awoke in a white room. At least, she thought that it was a room, but no matter how far she would walk, there were no walls to be found.

“Huh, what in tarnation is this place?” She wondered aloud.

“A place where you aren’t meant to be yet.” A familiar voice suddenly said from behind her. She spun around and found herself looking at the newly crowned prince.

“Prince Mortis.” She said, bowing before him.

“There is no need for formalities in this realm, dear Applejack.” The prince dismissed.

“’In this realm?’ Where are we?” Applejack asked.

“We are in an intermediary plane between the death-realm and the realm of the living. You have died, dear Applejack, though you weren’t meant to.” The prince answered.

“What d’ya mean, ‘not meant to’?”

“It means just that. You shouldn’t have died. Some force outside of my power has influenced your fate.” Mortis explained.

“Wait, Ah’m dead?! Oh no… no! Ah can’t leave Applebloom behind! An’ Mac! He ain’t ever say something again! Mom an’ dad already hurt too much fer him!” Applejack lamented, but was interrupted by the prince.

“Do not worry, dear Applejack. As I’ve said, you were not meant to die yet. As such, you will be resurrected and may continue your life.”

Applejack sighed in relief, before asking something that suddenly sprang to her mind.

“Is that what happened t’ Markus?”

“No, this realm didn’t exist yet, when he died.” Mortis answered, hoping that she wouldn’t press further.

“Then how’d ya meet him?” Applejack pressed further.

“I didn’t actually meet him. At least not in the traditional sense.” Mortis answered.

“An’ how’d ya know that he is still alive?!”

“That is because I am him.”

Silence. With the beans now spilled, neither Applejack nor Markus knew what to say. Applejack moved her mouth open and closed, as if she wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the words, while Markus facehoofed.

“You know, I hate this particular rule of this place. No matter who happens to be here, they are utterly unable to lie, me included.” Markus said with his own voice.

“W-Wait… Markus? Is that… really you?”

“Yes, like I just said.” He confirmed.

“No—ah-ah don’ believe you! How can ya prove that you’re really him?!”

“Like I said, you can’t lie in here. You may try it, try lying to me.” Markus challenged.

Applejack gave him a suspicious look, but tried anyways. She tried, but managed no further. Every time she opened her mouth, she only barely managed a sound, before she was forced to stop. She tried again and again, but failed each time. Yet, she continued to try with tears welling up in her eyes. Though, those were not tears of pain.

Even though it had been proven that he didn’t lie to her, she still couldn’t believe it, this was actually Markus! She tried again and again, just to make sure that she didn’t just imagine things and was always proven to be ‘awake’ as much as that was possible when she was dead.

“So? Still not convinced?” Markus suddenly asked, ripping her out of her loop. Then, suddenly, she lunged forward and hugged him, letting her tears flow free.

“Now, now, Applejack, there’s no need to cry.” He tried to soothe her, but ultimately, it was no use. All he could do for now was let her cry until she had calmed down.

“But ah… ah don’t understand… why do ya not tell Twilight ‘n Rainbow that you’re here? Why are ya hidin’ like that?!” Applejack asked when she had finally calmed down enough.

“Because… I was afraid that they might not accept who I’ve become – what I’ve become. I was afraid that they wouldn’t accept me and thought that it was better to just let them think that I was dead.” Markus admitted.

“But that’s stupid! Y’all know that Twilight ‘n Rainbow love ya no matter what!”

“I know that now too, Applejack, don’t worry. I’ve left these worries behind a good while ago.” Markus told her, smiling at her.

“Then why do ya still hide yerself?” She pressed.

“Because I am afraid they might be in danger if they knew. The Bloodmoon Cult is active again and I fear that if I were to reveal myself, they could also come to harm. On that note, please keep this a secret, okay? Like I said, they might be in danger if they knew.”

Applejack wanted to say something, but ultimately decided against it. Instead, she just sighed and let her head hang.

“Oh, come now. You remember what I said back at the wedding, don’t you? Rest assured, I will keep my promise.” Markus assured.

“You better. If ya don’t then ah will!” Applejack said pointedly.

“I’m counting on it. In any case, I believe I should send you back now. We’ve already taken longer than normal and I am afraid that Luna is taking advantage of my body right now.”

Applejack suddenly blushed, making Markus quickly reconsider his wording. “NO! Not that way, I meant—ah, forget it, I should really get you on your way now.”

“Y-Yeah, ya really should. So, see ya in half a year then?”

“Yep, See ya in half a year.”

---

When Applejack awoke the next time, she was looking at a white ceiling and felt bandages clinging to her chest fur.

She was lying in a hospital bed, surrounded by her friends, who seemed to have stayed with her this whole time. Right now, everypony was asleep though.

She felt a slight burning in her chest, likely the place where the sword hat hit her. It wasn’t just a burning pain though. Rather, it felt like a small fire, pulsing in time with the heart monitor to her left.

“Is that how Markus felt back then?” she wondered to herself.

Markus… the memories of her encounter came back. Markus was alive. She still couldn’t quite believe it. She looked at her friends and smiled, however when she remembered that she couldn’t tell them, her smile fell again. She wanted to tell them, but she promised not to.

It hurt her to do so, but a promise is a promise and an Apple never breaks their promises! She would keep her mouth shut until the promised day came.

She smiled again when she thought that. ‘The promised day’. It somehow sounded like some weird name a cult would use, yet it was fitting. But that was still part of the future, Applejack decided. Right now, she had more important things to worry about… How long will she be hospitalized, for example?

Author's Note:

Sorry for the wait, everryone! The chapter was actually done on schedule, I just... kiiinda forgot about it.

To make that up to you, I'll publish the next one aheead of schedule! About an hour from now or something? I don't know, depends on how fast my editor will work.

Comments

[Bronie312]

Me: Brothers in Arms? Wait... Marty?

Only Halo fans might understand the reference...

[Mighty C]

10670299
My man!
Also define ‘might’.

[Foxtrot315]

10670299
Classic and in my playlist.