Chapter Nine
Where it all ends
October 17th, 2139
Equestrian star system (unlisted)
Royal City of Canterlot
Citizen Marcus James Calaway
5:49PM
Mark Calaway and Gilda the Griffon had been dropped off at the foot of Canterlot Tower, having immediately come under fire from the Eternal Darkness and the thousands of Griffon Ultra-radicalists swarming the city.
It seemed that Luna had ordered all Griffon forces under her command to assault the Capital while she went straight for Celestia.
"Well, let's get up there" Mark said to his Griffon companion, still unable to believe he was working with a being that had tried to kill him multiple times, though he kept trying to compare it to working with Dick Malone after Polaris had released direct control.
"You know we'll run into pony soldiers, right? And you know we'll have to kill them, right?" Gilda asked, making sure the human knew what he had to do.
"The more we can avoid the better. I don't want to have to kill too many ponies, especially since we're trying to save them" Calaway replied.
"Whatever you say, man" Gilda declared, indifferent to the human's noble goals.
They entered the first floor of the tower to see that pony soldiers were already engaged with Griffon Ultra-radicalists, the two sides exchanging heavy fire and barely noticing the human and his Griffon companion.
They entered a nearby spiral staircase and began ascending, eager to get to the top of the tower to protect Princess Celestia of the danger sitting right under her nose.
"So what made you decide to stop working for the Ultra-radicalists?" Mark asked, interested in learning a bit more about the first creature he had ever met when he first came to Equestria ten years ago.
"When I learned Luna's true plans to conquer all the species on this planet. The Ultra-radicalist leaders were too fucking stupid to see past her lies and the ponies were too fucking stupid to see that the villain they were seeking was sitting under their asses" Gilda explained.
"You love using human curse words, don't you?" Calaway said.
"They're definitely a lot more powerful and insulting than the curses I used to use" Gilda replied, thinking back to how she had called Rainbow Dash a 'flip-flop.'
If I had known about all these fancy human curses I would've called her a fucking cunt, but whatever the Griffon thought.
They reached the top of the spiral staircase and exited into a long hallway, which seemed to lead to another spiral staircase on the opposite side.
Halfway down the long hall Mark looked out a window and saw the Harbinger fly over head, all nine of its M.A.G. cannons fired, sending rounds into the starboard side of the Eternal Darkness, they all impacted harmlessly on the ship's shields.
The Star Hunter, still under pony control, moved in and also opened fire on the Eternal Darkness, which turned and obliterated the smaller carrier.
Much to Calaway's surprise the Harbinger turned tail and fled, streaking straight for outer space.
"What the hell? Is Dick abandoning us?" Gilda asked, having watched the same scene play out.
"Dick wouldn't abandon me, not now. He's planning something" Marcus replied, the two continued on their way up and before long they reached the Princess's bedchambers.
Barging in Mark Calaway and Griffon were greeted with Princess Celestia and Luna standing on the far side of the room, near a door which led out to a balcony. The remaining Elements of Harmony were with them.
All that stood between the two heroes and Luna were seven Shadow Soldiers, who Marcus recognized as his old team.
"Guards! Eliminate them!" Celestia barked, still believing that the human and all allied with him were grave threats.
The Shadow Soldiers stepped forward and levitated steel battle staffs, interested in using traditional armament for this engagement.
"Deal with those Shadow Soldiers, Luna is mine" Mark stated, stepping forward the Shadow Soldiers raised their staffs.
"Oh come on" Calaway declared, he and Gilda pulled their Desert Eagles and dispatched the Shadow Soldiers with ease, leaving their path to the Princesses clear.
"Stand back! We will not let you harm the Elements or our sister!" Celestia yelled, still oblivious to the fact that her sister was a monster.
"Your sister is Polaris! Luna is responsible for everything that transpired the past ten years! She is responsible for the Griffon/Pony war, and she was indirectly responsible for the deaths of three Elements of Harmony! She is the villain you seek!" Mark replied.
"Lies! Slanderous filth!" Luna declared, looking for a way to kill the human and his Griffon companion before they could say any more.
"Think about it, Celestia; Dick Malone was under the control of another entity. That explains the red eyes, the black mist that surrounded his body. No being in the world is capable of magic strong enough to possess another sentient being…except an Alicorn. And what Alicorn once had black mist as a part of her being? Luna, when she was Nightmare Moon" Marcus explained.
"Nightmare Moon was born of jealousy and hatred! She took control of my dear sister for her own sinister plans" Celestia replied, defending her sister.
"What do you think Luna is doing now? She plans to overthrow you and take control of the throne; she just needed to take control of another entity to use as a patsy for her plans!" Mark retorted.
With the seeds of doubt planted Calaway could only hope that Celestia would sow them.
She did.
"Luna, sister, is this true?" Celestia inquired, turning to her sister, who was under the impression that she'd been discovered.
Desperate to win Luna realized there was only one thing she could do if she was to secure the throne, and that was to finish her plan…finish her sister.
"We deserve the throne! You are weak and pitiful, Celestia! Thou hast ruled Equestria without assertion and direct control! WE ARE THE QUEEN!" Luna bellowed, her voice loud and ringing.
Before Celestia could reply she was struck by a burst of magical energy from Luna's horn, sending her flying across the room while the moon Goddess rose into the air to deal with the human and the Griffon.
"THOU HAST CHANGED NOTHING! WE WILL ACCOMPLISH OUR PLANS AND TAKE CONTROL OF ALL EQUESTRIA!" Luna thundered, eyes glowing a brilliant white and horn shining in magic.
"We have to stop her!" Mark declared, taking cover behind a chair in Celestia's chambers, Gilda crouching behind another chair on the opposite side.
"WE ARE THE RIGHTFUL RULERS! WE ARE THE QUEEN! WE WILL TAKE ALL UNDER OUR CONTROL!" Luna shouted, concocting a shield around her and firing magical projectiles at Calaway and Gilda.
Mark ducked out of cover and opened fire on Luna, the heavy .50 caliber action express rounds bouncing off her shield harmlessly.
"We need to find a way to get that shield down" Marcus said, reloading while Gilda fired on Luna with her own Desert Eagle, which was modified with a ten-inch barrel.
"DIE HUMAN!" Luna screamed, firing an energy bolt at the human which soared over his head, impacting on the door to the chambers and detonating, spraying millions of shards of wood the size of toothpicks out.
Calaway popped up and pulled the trigger, sending a .50 caliber round out which passed right through Luna's right foreleg.
"She has to drop her shields to fire. Gilda, time your shots with hers. We can take her down that way!" Marcus yelled.
He popped up again and fired two rounds, which flew to Luna and bounced off her shields. The moon Goddess readied another magical energy bolt and Gilda fired, sending a round through Luna's body which threw her off balance for a moment.
Luna fired the energy bolt which went wild, striking a bookcase to the left and scattering the books that weren't vaporized all over the floor.
She dropped her shield to fire again and Mark shot her through a wing, sending her plummeting to the floor where she righted herself onto her hooves before reactivating her magic shield.
"THOU IST WORTHLESS! YOUR EFFORTS ARE FRUITLESS!" Luna bellowed, firing multiple energy bolts in the span of a few seconds.
Having completely lost her mind with the prospect of defeating the human and securing unimaginable power Luna dropped her shields completely and focused solely on firing at the two heroes, firing energy bolt after energy bolt at the two.
Gilda popped up to fire and an energy bolt struck her square in the chest, sending her flying backward until she slammed against a wall, cracking the stonework before she collapsed to the floor.
She was dead.
Ecstatic that she'd defeated one of her enemies Luna began to crackle with power, the magic enveloping her body and causing her to levitate a few inches off the floor.
"WE ARE THE BEGINNING! YOU ARE THE END! YOU WILL NOT STOP US, CALAWAY!" Luna declared.
Marcus stood and was about to fire when Luna rushed forward and slammed herself into him, sending the both of them crashing through a window and plummeting to the streets of Canterlot below.
Luna righted herself and they both landed outside Canterlot Tower, the fires and battles raging all around them.
"You may have stopped me from killing Celestia, but I WILL kill you for all the trouble you caused!" Luna exclaimed, galloping toward the human who was just now getting to his feet.
Calaway raised his Desert Eagle to fire but failed, the gun being knocked from his hand when Luna slammed into the human once again.
Mark kneed Luna and her stomach and when she was reeling from the blow he pushed her up against the wall of Canterlot Tower, snapping his perfectly straight fingers into the Princess's neck, causing immense pain in her small Adams Apple.
Luna sent the human flying backward with a magical burst of her horn, eyes glowing a brilliant white when she opened them.
Marcus shifted as he attempted to stand and felt his foot knock against something, causing him to look over his shoulder to see that the item in question was an M60E3, one of the many weapons dropped by fallen Pony soldiers.
Calaway pulled the M60 off the ground and racked the charging lever, standing tall with the large machine gun with a confident look of defiance on his face.
"It's show time" the human growled, shouldering the massive gun and immediately holding the trigger down, sending round after round toward the former Princess.
Luna concocted her usual defensive shield to deflect the 7.62mm rounds fired the M60, biding her time until Mark ran out of ammo.
When Calaway finally did run dry Luna dropped her shield and fired an energy bolt at the human, the deadly power soaring past Marcus and impacting on the glass display of some shop, the explosion spraying millions of shards of glass into the street.
Marcus dropped the empty M60E3 and rolled into cover behind an overturned table to dodge another energy blast from Luna's horn; the Princess's aim was getting better, and if Mark doesn't find a weapon and kill her soon then he will be fucked.
The human pulled out his combat knife and vaulted over the table, surprising Luna long enough to slash the blade along her horn, creating a terrible screeching sound and tearing a deep scratch but otherwise having no effect.
"Ah shit" Mark casually declared, earning a blow to the stomach from Luna's powerful hoof.
Before the human could counter-attack or block any more hits Luna went in to a frenzy, dropping hit after hit on Calaway, who was utterly defenseless from the moon Goddess.
In one last attempt to kill the human Luna stabbed her horn through his thigh, firing a burst off from the magical outlet and sending the human flying until he slammed against a wall, hard.
Dazed, wounded, and broken Marcus Calaway stared at Luna as she slowly approached him, smiling confidently as she finally had the human defeated.
As he sat on the ground Mark looked to his side and saw a Beretta 92FS lying next to him, beckoning him to pick the weapon up and kill Princess Luna.
The human slowly grabbed the gun and racked the slide, watching one of the 9mm rounds fly out of the chamber before he let the slide return to full battery.
Calaway took aim and pulled the trigger, hearing the familiar ping of a bullet bouncing off Luna's shield.
Mark fired time and time again, hearing all rounds bouncing off the villain's shield, until he ran out of ammo after only seven rounds.
It seemed someone else had already used the first eight.
Completely out of ammo Mark dropped the Beretta and waited for Luna to kill him, thinking it would only take a miracle to save him now.
Luna dropped her shield and stood tall over Marcus, looking down at him as if he were a lesser creature.
"Death will be your only comfort, Marcus Calaway" Luna declared as she prepared to fire one last energy bolt straight into the human's heart.
The blast never came as Agent One dropped down to engage the Princess, brandishing and taking aim with a Russian MP-412 REX* revolver chambered in the .357 caliber round.
Odd gun Calaway thought as One was about to fire, but not before receiving a buck to the face which dislodged his helmet and sent it flying.
Luna fired her built up energy into One's armor plating, which effectively dissipated the energy, allowing him to take aim at the Princess with his 412.
Princess Luna knocked the weapon from the Agent's hand and it landed next to Marcus Calaway, who picked it up and lined up the sights with Princess Luna's body. The evening sun was glinting off the initials M.B. etched into the rear iron sight.
Marcus pulled the trigger and watched as a .357 round slashed through Princess Luna's body, causing the Alicorn to stagger and fall as Mark fired again.
"NOOOOOOOOO!" Luna screamed defiantly as the rounds continued to slash through her, each one pushing her closer to death.
Marcus pulled the trigger one last time and a .357 round slashed through Luna's head, punching a hole straight through her brain and exiting on the far side; blood and bits of brain matter sprayed all over the window display of a clothing store, more blood pooling on the ground under Luna's head when her corpse hit the floor.
She was dead long before she hit the ground.
Calaway dropped the MP-412 to the floor as Agent One approached him, snatching the revolver off the ground and opening it up, the automatic extractor ejecting the spent rounds while Agent One readied a speed-loader to replenish the gun's load.
"Thank you, Mr. Calaway. It seemed that our roles were reversed for this encounter" One said as he holstered the REX, gathering up his helmet from off the ground.
Before one grabbed it Calaway saw the inside of the helmet; there wasn't much, save for the usual stuff one would see on the inside of a full-head-helmet. But the one thing that caught Calaway's eye was a piece of tape plastered to the top of the helmet's interior; written on the tape was the name Michael B.
"Sayonara, Mr. Calaway" Agent One said before tossing the wounded man a Walther P99 and disappearing once again, leaving Mark alone in the ruined streets of Canterlot.
Marcus slowly got to his feet and began the walk back to Canterlot Tower, eager to check on Princess Celestia and the remaining Elements of Harmony.
Calaway arrived and made his way up, stepping into Princess Celestia's bedchambers before long. He found the remaining Elements, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie, tending to Celestia, who looked to be perfectly alive.
"I…" Celestia started, unsure of what she should even say.
"Save it, Celly. There's nothing to say" Mark exclaimed.
A tremor knocked them out of their thoughts and they stepped onto the balcony, the remaining Elements of Harmony followed.
The human and his pony companions looked up to see the Eternal Darkness still hovering above the city. With Luna dead the Griffon Ultra-radicalists decided to destroy the Royal City, arming a single M.A.G. cannon to fire into the city.
"This is the end" Marcus declared, looking up at the super-ship.
Before it could fire there was tremendous noise, making them all wonder what was going on.
Calaway looked to the right; standing out a few miles away was a thick wall of clouds, completely obscuring all view of Equestria past Canterlot.
Suddenly from the cloud wall came hundreds of human warships, lead at the front by the Harbinger of Ascendance.
"All Council warships, concentrate fire on the sovereign ship of the Griffons" Dick Malone ordered, his ship's M.A.G. cannons flashing as the rest of the Council warships opened fire.
The Eternal Darkness shifted and it returned fire with its M.A.G. cannons, one round struck a Council War Ship frigate named the Markovsky, which was completely obliterated by one of the massive projectiles.
There was a blinding flash as the shields of the Darkness collapsed, exposing the ship for complete attack.
"Its shields are down. Now's our chance!" an Admiral exclaimed.
The Harbinger of Ascendance rocketed forward as the Eternal Darkness attempted to escape, its engines flared and it rose slightly higher into the air, slowly turning for a clean getaway.
The Harbinger streaked high into the air before turning, coming straight down with its nose pointed for the Darkness.
A single M.A.G. cannon on the Harbinger flashed and a projectile so large it could be seen despite its speed streaked down, flying and straight and true into the Eternal Darkness.
The stress of the enormous round hitting it caused the Darkness to buckle, slowly tearing apart at the middle.
With a tremendous groan of shifting metal the Eternal Darkness split in half and detonated, ripping the ship asunder and illuminating the evening sky in a firestorm of hell.
Standing on the balcony outside Celestia's bedchambers Mark Calaway watched as a large chunk of debris began falling straight for Canterlot Tower, which Celestia's chambers were at the top of.
"Go!" Marcus ordered, urging Celestia and the remaining Elements to escape before the debris crushed them all.
The massive chunk slammed into Canterlot Tower.
*The MP-412 REX never entered mass production, having only made it to the prototype phase before the manufacturer decided not to produce the weapon due to lack of market. Working prototypes do exist, however.
Author's note: with Luna dead and the Griffon Ultra-radicalists defeated it would seem Equestria has won another war against the dark forces of Polaris.
Stay tuned for the final chapter and Epilogue.
Not even Emperor Palpatine would have the patience to deal with this shit: Marcus(James) Calaway, Agent One, and all related characters belong to me. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Gilda the Griffon, and all related characters belong to Hasbro. My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro.