He came from Space

Well, here it is; Polaris. Read carefully, this one is a doozy.

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Chapter Twelve

Polaris

January 10th, 2129

Equestrian star system (unlisted)

A quarter mile southwest of the Great Crater

Citizen Marcus James Calaway

10:07PM

"Marcus? Mark it's time to get up. Wake up" Twilight gently commanded, shaking the human as he lied in the chair.

Calaway slowly came around and got his stuff together, gathering up his weapons and any other gear he'd need for the mission.

Once he was fully awake Mark stepped out of the drop-ship and chambered his SCAR-L, motioning for Rainbow Dash and Twilight to follow him.

The trio made their way back through the footpaths until they reached the edge of the Great Crater, ascending the side of a cliff to reach the lattice-work the Griffon pod was suspended from.

Just as they were about to begin their trek across the steel lattice-work there was an intense humming which reached crescendo when a human drop-ship rocketed directly over them, racing for the pod.

"Polaris…come on girls, we gotta get in that pod" Calaway said, they began to steadily move across the beams; thousands of feet above the ground.

"Be careful, any strong winds up here will knock us right off this thing" Marcus declared, making sure to mind his step. Rainbow Dash would be fine, she has wings, but Twilight and the human had to take it slow.

Close to an hour later they reached the point where the steel beams all connected, directly above the pod.

The trio dropped down onto the roof of the massive pod and Marcus looked over the edge, noticing that the Griffons seemed to be increasing their security.

"Maybe they know we're here?" Twilight said, she too noticed the increase in Griffon fliers patrolling the exterior of the pod.

"Unlikely, they're probably just increasing security because Polaris is here" Calaway replied.

Mark opened a hatch on the roof and dropped into a maintenance room, looking around to make sure the area was clear. The two ponies followed soon after.

"Dick, come in" Marcus whispered over the radio.

"Go for Malone" The Great Crusader replied as usual.

"We are inside the pod. Repeat, we are inside the pod" Calaway said, he moved forward and the two Elements followed.

"Understood."

"Please be ready to support us when I give the word" Mark stated.

"Copy that, Dick Malone going on station. Out" The Great Crusader responded, Calaway's group continued on their way into the pod.

"Here's the plan; we find the Griffons plans, find Polaris, confront and kill him, and then get the fuck out of here" Mark explained.

"I got an idea; if we have to kill this Polaris guy then why don't we just blow up the pod after we find the info we need?" Rainbow Dash suggested.

"A good plan, with several flaws; one, we need to make sure that Polaris is dead. Two, he may have the only actionable intel on Griffon movements. Three, I need to find out who this guy is" Mark said.

"Come on, we're wasting time."

The trio continued deeper into the pod, Marcus eliminating Griffon patrols as they went, checking in rooms to see if there was any intel.

Calaway opened a door and was surprised when the cool night air gusted into the hall, stepping out Mark saw that they were dead-center in the middle of the pod, which sported an open shaft that stretched from the bottom to the top.

"Interesting…" Twilight commented.

They resumed their progress and soon came upon what looked to be a briefing room, multiple documents and other interesting bits scattered around.

There was also a Griffon warrior, who Mark killed.

"Spread out, look for anything that might be of use" Calaway ordered, slinging his SCAR-L across his back as he began sifting through the papers on the main table.

"Battle plans...details about the package that was in Whinniesport...apparently the target was the rail line leading to Canterlot. Interesting..." Mark said.

Suddenly there was a loud clang from the door, prompting the trio to look up in surprise and watch as the door sealed shut and locked. Before they could do anything to attempt an escape sleeping gas began to fill the room.

"Oh, that's not good" Marcus casually exclaimed before the gas overtook all three of them, turning their worlds black.

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When Marcus came to he and the two Elements were strapped upright to torture tables; the room was brightly lit and directly in front of them was some kind of observation room positioned up high, overlooking the entire room.

Mark looked around and struggled to get out of his binds, to no avail as they were secured inhumanely tight.

The human looked up at the observation room as the silhouette of a Griffon appeared, looking down at him and the two Elements.

"Wake up you jerks!" the Griffon ordered, Calaway immediately recognized the voice as Gilda's.

Twilight and Dash came around, surprised to hear that Gilda was alive. "Wait, you were at that Griffon base Mark and Dick blew up a while ago. How are you still alive?" Dash demanded.

"Isn't it obvious, dipshit? I escaped that lame-ass place as the human ships arrived" Gilda explained.

A second silhouette appeared, that of a human's. "Polaris" Marcus growled, the human's features were indistinguishable as the lights behind him were too bright.

"I see you're familiarized with the human that will guide us to victory. Polaris is quite the badass, and thanks to him the Griffons' victory is assuredly secured" Gilda explained.

"Maybe it's time we introduce you to Polaris" the Griffon said, looking over at the human next to her.

Polaris stepped from the observation room soon followed by Gilda, Marcus waited for several minutes but the two never arrived in the torture room.

Just then a door on the left side of the room opened and in stepped Dick Malone, aiming his Jericho 941R around the room to make sure it was clear.

"Dick? Thank God you're here, get us the fuck out of here" Calaway declared, Malone walked over to them and stopped directly in front of Rainbow Dash.

"Don't worry, you'll all be out of here soon enough. Let's get the Elements first" Dick said.

Suddenly a door on the right side opened and in stepped Gilda, The Great Crusader raised his Jericho and pointed it at the Griffon but didn't fire.

"What are you doing, Dick? Shoot her!" Rainbow Dash demanded, Dick looked at her and then back at Gilda.

"Nah, I'll think I'll shoot you instead" The Great Crusader replied, before any more words could be spoken he turned and jammed his Jericho in Dash's mouth, pulling the trigger causing the back of the Pegasus's head to explode; blood, brains, and bits of skull sprayed the wall behind her.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Marcus bellowed, Malone pulled his Jericho from Rainbow's mouth and wiped her saliva off it.

"What in the fucking hell have you done, Dick?" Calaway yelled, The Great Crusader looked over at him.

"Haven't you fucking figured it out yet, Mark? I'M Polaris, the shining star that will guide the Griffons to everlasting victory and the secret weapon of the Griffon Empire" Dick explained.

Calaway was appalled; his best friend, his greatest ally, the man that had promised his complete loyalty to Mark and agreed to help the ponies win the war had just betrayed them.

Dick moved over to Twilight Sparkle and pressed his Jericho against her head; the Unicorn was crying and begging Malone not to kill her.

Just before Polaris pulled the trigger the ceiling collapsed inwards and a dark figure dropped in, the figure kicked Gilda out of the room and engaged Dick Malone in hand-to-hand combat. Despite Malone's excellent skills the mysterious human overpowered Polaris and tossed him through the door, slamming it closed and smashing the locking mechanism.

The man released Marcus and Twilight, handing a standard H&K USP over to the latter; the USP had been modified with an under-barrel flashlight.

"Get out of here, I'll handle Polaris and the Griffons" the man said, his voice muffled by the helmet that covered his entire head. His face was hidden by a large blue circular visor and on the right side of his helmet was a flashlight. In addition to the helmet his entire body was covered by a powered armor suit similar to what Codename: Evil used to wear.

"Wait, who are you?" Mark asked, the figure looked over his shoulder at them and his visor flashed bright for a second before returning to its original dull color.

"The Archangel" the man replied before he leaped back up into a ventilation shaft above the torture room.

Calaway and Twilight rushed out of the room and made their way back through the pod, the human killing Griffons as he went.

They reached the hollow center of the pod and Marcus activated a jetpack he had stolen, snatching Twilight up in one arm, carrying her like a football.

"Ready?" Mark asked, Twilight shook her head and the human activated the jetpack, rocketing up the shaft and up into the night sky. The duo landed on the steel lattice work and made their way back across it, racing for the drop-ship still parked in the copse of trees.

They both leaped up into the drop-ship and Calaway jumped into the cockpit, bringing the craft to life and ascending the sky.

The human turned and activated the forward thrusters, steadily accelerating the craft forward.

"Let's drop this fucking thing like the shit it is" Mark growled, he flipped the safety cover for the missiles off and launched them, directing the warheads into the titanium brackets that the pod was clamped to.

Two of the brackets snapped and part of the pod dropped, swing back and forth like a pendulum. Calaway blasted the other two brackets and the pod dropped five-hundred-feet to the bottom of the Great Crater, tipping over onto its side. The fusion reactor powering the pod went critical and detonated, setting off a chain reaction that completely obliterated the rest of the pod.

Calaway banked the drop-ship toward Canterlot, rocketing across the Equestrian sky as fast as possible to reach the Royal City.

"We have to alert the Princess's, have them inform all military forces to keep an eye out for Dick Malone" Marcus explained.

Twilight understood the urgency of the situation but was still distraught over Rainbow's death; there was too much to do right now but she was not looking forward to breaking the news to the rest of her friends, it was taking all of her will not to break down and start crying again.

With Dick working fully for the Griffons Twilight wasn't entirely sure the ponies could win, even with Mark's help. Dick's ship was a hundred times faster and deadlier than Calaway's and he seemed to be a far more tenacious fighter than the Ponies' human friend.

Sparkle steeled herself for the coming months, they were going to be long and bloody but she, Mark, and the others had to do their parts.

The fate of Equestria rested in their hooves…and hands.

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Author's note: Shocking twist!!

Legal stuff: Marcus(Mark) James Calaway, Dick Malone, Polaris, and all related characters belong to me. Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Gilda the Griffon, and all related characters belong to Hasbro. My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro.