CH71: The ancient Monstrocity
The day after the competition, all members of royalty were gathered in the war room in the Royal Palace. The news of trouble had thus far not been made public and all ponies involved agreed that this matter should be dealt with before the press inevitably caught wind of it.
“Firstly, we will need concrete information on whatever ‘something big’ is supposed to mean.” Celestia pointed out. “Markus, I don’t suppose that messenger gave you any details?”
Markus raised an eyebrow at the princess and answered with a hint of offense. “Princess, with all due respect, my Soldiers are by no means inept. Of course the messenger brought details.” He started. “The creature in question appears to be what Diamond Dogs refer to as ‘the great earth hound’. According to Diamond Dog mythology, it is one of the ‘Elder Dogs’, more precisely the Dog of the end.” Markus explained.
“Dog of the end? What’s that supposed to mean?” Cadence asked.
“The Dog of the End is, as the name might imply, the one dog to finally bring the world to an end, after the reign of his brothers – the dog of creation, the dog of evolution and the dog of stagnation – has ended.”
“I see. So basically, it is a threat to the world as a whole and not just Equestria.” Luna commented.
“I wouldn’t think so. I’ve allowed myself to take a short stroll into the archives and looked up their mythology. As egocentrical as this may sound, the ‘Dog of Evolution’ seems to resemble me quite a lot. He is described as having his whole body stained red from the blood of the unworthy and seems to be the mediating piece between life and death. He also introduces the world to a whole mass of new technologies…” Martin says.
“So what do you think we are facing here?” Luna asks.
“The best I could come up with is that during the age of Discord, a rodent experienced a surge of chaotic energy, which caused it to grow a thousandfold. It then went to sleep for a few thousand years and has awoken now, either due to outside factors or simply because its dormant period has ended. What actually worries me more than the beast itself is that it apparently has somehow either produced offspring or it wasn’t the only rodent affected, as there is a whole army of similar creatures following it, only far smaller in size.” Markus described.
“So, basically all we have to do is use the Elements of Harmony on that beast and cleanse all the chaos magic from it. With the mother gone, the smaller beasts should scatter. This can be handled by us.” Twilight said.
“Agreed, although I would like to assign Bravo as a protective element to you.” Markus said.
“Why Bravo and not Alpha? I’d expect you to assign a combat proven elite company rather than an untested one.” Shining Armor commented.
“It is because they are untested that I would like them to go. In all honesty, this seems to me like only a minor threat so it would be an excellent exercise for them. I am quite certain that Twilight and her friends will be able to handle this.” Markus said.
In response, everypony present was now looking at him with mild shock.
“Euh, Markus? I think they expected you to be overprotective of me, instead of just saying that I’ll be fine.” Twilight pointed out.
“That seems to be the case, yes. However, as much as I would like to shield you from every possible danger, it would be highly unwise to do so. Even I cannot be everywhere at the same time and I would thus very much like that you further your skills in combat and leadership.”
“Wait, Leadership? Heh, I don’t really consider myself the ‘Leader’ of us Element Bearers, you know? I just… happen to have the best Ideas most of the time.” Twilight said sheepishly.
“I didn’t refer to the Element Bearers, dear Twilight. I will be placing Bravo under your command.”
Twilight’s head snapped around to Markus and her mouth opened and closed repeatedly like a fish out of the water.
“Uhh, M-Markus, uh, I feel honoured, but I-I don’t really want to lead a Guard Company.” Twilight declined.
“I know. Yet, it is necessary that you at least try to do so once, just to get a feel for it.” Markus dictated.
“But why? I’ve got you, I’ve got Shining, my friends, the princesses...”
“Yet you cannot always hide behind our backs, young Twilight. I agree with Markus that you might need this lesson.” Luna chimed in.
“I also agree. My attempts at having you lead a Guard Section may have been unsuccessful, but maybe Markus has more luck than me.” Celestia agreed as well.
“But… But… ugh, fine. I will try it.” Twilight gave in. “But don’t blame me if this all goes to Tartarus, okay?”
“It is settled then. Twilight, the Element Bearers and the Bravo Company of the Shadow Guard shall take on this threat.” Celestia summarized.
“Don’t forget Markus.” Twilight added in.
“Unfortunately, I will not be attending this mission.” Markus said.
“WHAT?! Why?”
“Because of the same reason Alpha cannot attend. I’m sorry, Twilight, but it would only hinder your progress if I were to interfere.” Markus reasoned.
To say that Twilight was unsettled by this would be an understatement. She had hoped that at least Markus would be there to help her. However, instead of making her uncertainty known, she instead gulped it down and looked at Celestia with a determined expression.
“Alright, I will do this.” She said.
“Great. Then, I wish you a safe trip, dear Twilight. This meeting is concluded.” Celestia said and upon that, everypony stood up and left the War Room.
When Markus left the room, Mystic intercepted him. “Sooo, does this mean operation ‘Turtle Shell’ is a go?” She asked hopefully.
As an answer, Markus smirked and gave a pretty accurate impression of Big Mac.
“Eeeyup.”
“Uhmmmm….” Twilight remarks intelligently, as she eyes the Company in front of her.
Of course she knew that Bravo had 120 Ponies in it and was thus twice as large as Alpha. However, what exactly ‘double’ really meant only hit her now that she was standing in front of them.
“Uhhhh, hello everypony, umm, I’m Twilight Sparkle… uhh, nice to meet you?” She stammers, earning her a few raised eyebrows from the gathered soldiers.
Captain Loyal Pawn – the leader of Bravo Company – sees this and takes her aside for a moment.
“Princess, with all due respect, you are not addressing a crowd of foals. You are addressing a company of soldiers! They don’t want a weak greeting, they want orders.” He chastises.
Twilight sighs once and then nods to the Captain. “Alright. I’ll try this again.”
She steadies herself, before turning to the Company once again.
“S-Soldiers of the Shadow Guard! Today, we will be marching against an enemy which nopony has ever faced before. Th-this is your first mission and I know that, but do not worry! I know we can do this. Now, onward towards the Diamond Dogs!!” Twilight shouts.
Loyal Pawn gives a short nod of satisfaction and then shouts: “Company! FORWARD MARCH!”
Twilight sighed in relief as the company started its march. Her friends came over to her to comfort her.
“Darling, you did great. Really, that was a terrific display.” Rarity complimented.
“Thanks, Rarity. It’s just… pretty exhausting to talk to so many ponies at the same time and still keep your cool. To think that Markus does this regularly…” She trailed off.
“Uh, guys? I know, Twilight’s a brave mare and such, but could you hurry up? They’re going without us!” Rainbow cut in, pointing at the marching coloumn.
“Oh Tartarus! Well, let’s get going girls!” Twilight said and the other mares agreed, galloping off to catch up with the company, bound for the Diamond Dogs.
The march to the Diamond Dog territory was rather short, since it lay almost in direct neighbourhood to Ponyville. The locals were still not really friendly towards the ponies, but at least they were aware of the situation and thus tolerated them. Twilight was about to strike up a small deal with the leader of the Diamond dog military, when a roar could be heard… it was close by.
“AAAAH, The Great Earthhound!”
“Run for your lives!”
“Please, my welps! My welps!!”
The Diamond Dogs scattered in terror at the sound and even the General got a bit weak in his knees, but otherwise remained calm…-ish.
Rainbow Dash however, did not. She was loathing a good adventure ever since her pregnancy had ended and she was far more excited about finally getting some action than anypony could’ve bargained for.
“Haha, there it is! Alright everypony, last one’s a pile of dog poop!” She shouted while zooming off.
“Rainbow, wait!! Oh for the love of Celestia. EVERYPONY, we need to follow her!” Twilight shouted.
Loyal Pawn nodded and shouted to the Company: “You heard the mare. Company! FOLLOW THAT PEGASUS!”
The whole company and the remaining Element Bearers rushed off behind Rainbow.
After a few hundred meters in full gallop, they literally ran into Rainbow Dash, who was suddenly fleeing and screaming in fear.
“WAAAAAH, that thing is HUUUGE!”
Behind her, a gigantic rodent-like beast was running towards them and following it were thousands of smaller rodents of the same species.
“Everypony, open fire!!” Captain Loyal Pawn shouted. “Princess, we’re going to keep the small game from you. I wish you good luck with that monster!”
“You too, Captain! Alright girls, let’s go!” Twilight shouted, before she and the girls charged in to get into range for their ‘Friendship Lazer’ as Markus had called it.
“Twilight, wait! You’re running right at the Monster!” Rainbow shouts after them, however they do not seem to hear or listen.
She pondered her options for a moment, but eventually, she just groaned and says to herself: “Oh, for the love of Celestia…” and rushed over to the rest.
As soon as she reached them, Twilight cast the spell to fire the beam and they all started glowing and rising into the air.
While bullets flew above their heads, the six mares magically bound together and fired a mighty beam against the beast. A bright flash blinded them for a moment and a loud, pained roar was heard.
When the light subsided, all the smaller rodents had vanished.
“Ha! We did it!” Rainbow shouts, barely before a loud roar throws them off of their hooves.
The Element Bearers are flung backwards and land on their sides. They slowly look back up and see that the mother had survived.
“WHAT?!” Six surprised voices squeaked, as the mother brings down her claw, which they barely managed to evade.
“Quick, new plan!” Twilight shouted.
“Which would be?!” Rainbow shouted back.
“Uhh, I don’t know, hit it with everything you have!” Twilight panicked, shooting a purple magic beam at it.
Rarity did the same, while Rainbow and Applejack went in for melee attacks. Pinkie had somehow pulled her party cannon out of her mane and Fluttershy was trying to somehow calm the beast down. However, their efforts yielded little to no results.
The beast swung its mighty paw at them and sent them all flying for a few meters, before hitting the ground.
They immediately scrambled to get up again, but they were too slow, as the beast was instantly upon them again and sent a paw smashing down onto them.
However, it never reached them.
Twilight had closed her eyes, when she saw the paw coming, but when no impact followed, she tentatively opened her eyes again.
She spotted two ponies in black uniforms and with masks, who were erecting a black hexagon-pattern shield around her and her friends. The same shield that Markus used, when she fired a spell at him at the wedding.
“W-Wha—who are you?” Twilight asked.
“No time for that! Night, go get them outta here!” One of them shouted.
“On it!” The one called ‘Night’ answered.
He ran over to the still downed mares and used a weird method of teleporting them away. So weird in fact that it almost spilled Twilight’s stomach contents.
“Eugh... wha… what was that?” Twilight heaved.
“That was a method of teleportation that Prince Markus taught us.” The second pony answered, as he appeared in front of them through the same method.
“M-Markus? What is that supposed to mean?” Twilight stammered.
“We are… his disciples of sorts. He sent us here to keep an eye on you lot and get him if needed.” He answered.
“Ah… and where is he now?”
“Oh, he’s right… there…” He trailed off, looking at the figure of a red alicorn, that was slowly dissolving.
“Oh horseapples, he’s mad! Quick, Night, get the shield back up!” He called, before both of them concentrated on shielding the element Bearers.
Markus was pissed. He just witnessed how his marefriends were flung around like a tennis ball by this monstrocity right before him. It had commited a grave sin. One that could not simply just be forgiven.
He lost control over his form, his rage shaping it into a dark blue mist, in the middle of which a vaguely humanoid figure looked through with yellow glowing eyes.
He stretched an arm out towards the beast and then just stood there. At first, nothing seemed to be happening, but then one could see its tail being pushed aside by something invisible.
From the front, something also seemed to push in, as well as from the sides. It looked like the rodent was pressing itself against a glass panel that slowly pushed back.
The ‘chamber’ got smaller and smaller, slowly reaching the structural limit of the rodent’s body. Bones could be heard cracking, skin and flesh tearing and during all this, the beast was screaming in agony… until it could no more.
The compression continued on and on, reducing the once several dozen meters high rodent to only a small cube of mashed flesh and bones.
When seemingly no further compression could be made, Markus held out his hand again and the flesh of the rodent faded away and its essence joined Markus in trail of black smoke.
After the whole ordeal was over, Markus regained his form and, after a moment of wondering went back to the girls, who were all looking at him with various degrees of shock.
“M-Markus… what was that?” Rainbow asked with a tremble in her voice.
Markus looked back for a moment, before shrugging and shaking his head. “I don’t know. I think I simply got… mad, if you so will. The thought that you were hurt had enraged me so much that, for a moment, I lost control over my body. I am sorry, if I have scared you.”
Twilight and Rainbow sighed in relief and got back up.
“Eh, you know... we’ve already seen you do worse things than this…” Rainbow shrugged.
“What do you mean?”
“Your suicide bombing?” Twilight and Rainbow said in unison.
“Oh, right, that…”
“Yeah, whatever. Beast is dead, world is saved, let’s get back to Ponyville. I get the feeling that Spectral Flash is renovating the castle again.” Rainbow sighed.
“Agreed. We should probably head back home.” Markus agreed.
They regrouped with Bravo Company, who by now had all injuries covered and treated and were ready to go home as well.
However, before they could, a third masked pony in black uniform appeared before Markus, completely out of breath.
“Prince Markus, I-I bring terrible news!” The mare wheezed.
“What is it, Darkness?” Markus asked.
“Sir, it’s Princess Luna, she… she…”
“Easy there, Darkness. Breathe, in and out.” Markus said.
The mare took a few deep breaths and calmed down enough, to at least form a coherent sentence without wheezing.
“S-sir, it is Nightmare Moon, she… she’s back!”
Twilight's little difficulties when speaking to a company were a reference to former german minister of defence, Ursula von der Leyen's arrival speech in Mali.
"[translated] ♫Hello dear soldiers!♫"
"♫Hello miss Von der Leyen!♫"
Granted, she was the minister of family and education before the defence post and in all honesty, I really think she should've left it at that...
But enough about politics. One last thing: Markus is indeed part of the Diamond Dog mythology. However, he is not, as he thinks, the Dog of Evolution, but the Dog of Creation. 
Is this important info? no. Will this info blow your mind if you can keep it long enough? Yes.
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One down one to go
well.... i would call that a tight squeeze...
wait giant rat and rat things... DID YOU MAKE FUCKING SKAVEN?
oh for the love of, thought that stupid cult was gone vor good -.-
God dammit.......
10904517
the pain of that pun gits a dis like even if it is descent
10906466
The fact that, at the point of posting your last comment, you have been apparently reading for 6 hours straight makes me kinda concerned for your health. Damn, bro, never thought that this thing might be such binge-read material.
Godamnit now k gotta wait for new chapters... welp time for bed its 00:39 night everyone.
10906598
Binge worthy this story is.