//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: The Skies Above // by Paradox //------------------------------// Daniel opened his eyes to see that he was walking through an alleyway. “Not again.” he muttered to himself. He was in a recurring dream that had plagued him for the past few months. “What was that Daniel?” asked an ODST slightly ahead of him. “It’s nothing Michael.” he replied. Michael nodded and they continued moving. Behind Daniel were two more ODSTs, Nathan and Joseph. They scanned the side entrances of the alley, expecting an attack at any moment. Suddenly, plasma shots burst against the wall near Joseph’s head. “AMBUSH!” he cried, jumping behind a dumpster for cover. Nathan joined him and Daniel fired a few shots in the direction the plasma had come from. He ran into a side alley and took cover behind the wall. Michael was close behind him, firing shots from his battle rifle as he went. Peeking around the corner, Daniel spotted a couple dead grunts lying on the ground with their blue blood spilling from holes in their chests. The victory was short lived as an elite came out of a side alley hefting two plasma rifles. The super heated plasma splattered against the concrete as Daniel drew back into cover. “I’m going to try and get to that alley and distract him.” Michael said as he pointed to an alley a little farther ahead. “No! You’ll get hit!” Daniel hissed, but Michael was already running. The elite noticed him and fired. The shots splattered against the ground as Michael barely escaped into the alley. Joseph jumped out of cover and emptied the magazine of his assault rifle into the elite’s chest, causing its energy shield to splutter and pop. Nathan finished him off with a pistol round to the head. “That was close Michael.” Joseph said as he inspected the dead elite. When he got no response, he turned to see Michael being held in the air by an elite’s energy sword. Daniel was standing in the side alley, frozen by the shock of seeing his friend impaled on the blade, so the elite didn’t notice him. It snarled as it let Michael fall to the ground, then turned to face Nathan and Joseph. Joseph ejected his spent magazine, and was grabbing a new one when the elite charged. Nathan threw his pistol to the ground and grabbed his shotgun. The elite stepped back a few feet from the force of the rounds hitting its shield, but it was still standing. It snarled again and leaped at him. Joseph was sent to the ground and his assault rifle skidded away as the elite impaled Nathan on its blade. With what seemed like a laugh, it let him drop to the ground and walked slowly to the crawling ODST. He had just grabbed his rifle when it stabbed him. “YOU BASTARD!” cried Daniel. The elite turned with a look of shock as the ODST tackled him, sending the energy sword flying away. Daniel quickly recovered and pulled out his knife. The elite reached up to grab him, but was stopped short as the knife drove into its skull. Daniel slowly let go of the knife, and walked over to Michael’s corpse. He lifted Michael’s head and pulled off his helmet. Michael’s eyes were frozen in a look of pain and shock. Daniel felt tears began to sting his eyes as he closed Michael’s eyes. “You crazy bastard… I told you not to do it… I told you not to do it.” he said. He was interrupted by the roar of a pelican’s engines. He looked up to see it flying towards the end of the alley. He carefully picked up Michael and walked out. The pelican landed just outside the alley and the marines on board were shocked to see him carrying a dead ODST in his arms. Once the ODST’s body was inside the pelican, he turned and went back into the alley. The marines were about to call him back when he came out with another body. Going back for Joseph, Daniel heard a marine walking beside him. “Your whole squad is dead?” asked a rough voice. “Yes.” Daniel replied. The marine placed a hand on his shoulder and Daniel turned to see a black soldier looking at him with a sad look. “It happens to us all marine. We never truly get over it.” he said before continuing on. Daniel followed close behind and was about to pick up Joseph when the marine insisted that he should do it. “I’ll do it son. You’ve faced enough pain for today.” he said. “Who are you?” Daniel asked. “Sergeant Avery Johnson.” he replied as he hefted Joseph into his arms. They walked back in silence and deposited Joseph with the others in the pelican. The dream melted away as Daniel woke up. He looked around to see Roger and Rachel still fast asleep. He quietly got up and put his armor on. Roger grunted in his sleep and Daniel froze. Once he was sure Roger was still asleep, he put on the rest of his armor and walked outside into the rain of the early morning. He sighed then walked into the forest where no one was likely to find him. He reached a clearing with a lone tree stump in the middle and sat there, letting the rain fall on his armor and slide down his face plate. Taking his knife, he got up and started carving Michael’s name into the stump. --- Roger yawned and stretched as he woke up. He looked over to see Daniel’s sleeping bag empty and his guns still resting where he had put them. “He’s wandered off again.” he said with a sigh. Rachel stirred and woke up next to him, only to breathe the same sigh as she saw Daniel’s empty sleeping bag. “He does this almost every night! You think he would’ve forgotten by now.” she said. “Cut him some slack Rachel. Michael was his best friend.” Roger replied. “I know but it worries me sometimes.” she said. “It worries me too, but you know better than to talk to him about it.” he said as he got up and began to put on his armor. --- Twilight yawned as she got out of bed. She walked over to her dresser and combed her mane before heading downstairs to check on her guests. She found Roger and Rachel playing cards, but there was no sign of Daniel. “Where’s Daniel?” she asked. “He wandered off, and don’t worry because he does it all the time.” Roger said calmly. He heard the door shut and turned to see Twilight had already left. “Here we go again.” he sighed, placing a king of diamonds down on the table. --- Twilight followed Daniel’s tracks to a clearing, where she found him sitting alone on a lone tree stump. She stepped forward, and a twig snapped underneath her hoof. Daniel spun to face the sound. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “I was looking for you.” she replied. “Well you found me. Happy? Now go away.” “What’s the matter with you?” “It’s none of your concern. Now go away!” he said angrily, clenching his hands into fists. She stepped back in fear before turning around and leaving. He sighed and raised his hands. They were glowing with a barely perceptible light blue aura. "What is WRONG with me!?!?" he shouted at himself, slamming a fist into the stump. Sitting back down, he took off his helmet, and buried his face in his gloved palms. When the rain stopped, he stood and put his helmet back on. He walked slowly back through the forest, taking his time to look around at the trees as he went. The blue aura slowly faded from his hands. --- Twilight ran back through the forest, startled by what she had seen. Daniel had begun to get angry and she noticed that his hands started glowing a light blue color. She finally reached her home and burst through the door, causing Roger and Rachel to look at her with raised eyebrows. “You didn’t tell me Daniel could use magic!” she exclaimed. “What the hell are you talking about?” Roger asked. “I was talking to him in a clearing and his hands began to glow!” she replied. “What’s going on?” Daniel said from behind her, scaring her so bad that she shot a beam of light that hit Roger directly in the chest. “What the hell was that!?” Rachel exclaimed. The light subsided to reveal a green pegasus with brown hair. “WOAH!” the pegasus exclaimed in Roger’s voice. He tried to step forward and immediately face planted. “You turned him into a pony!” Daniel said. “I didn’t mean to! You frightened me!” Twilight replied. “Well can you turn me human again?” Roger asked, but when he said “human” he began to glow and appeared a moment later as his old self. “So you can change back and forth or something?” Rachel asked. “I must have hit him with the Mind Morph spell.” Twilight replied. “It allows you to change your form at will, but it seems that you can only change between being a pony or a human.” “That would probably be a good idea so we don’t scare anyone.” Daniel said. Twilight agreed and hit Rachel with the same beam of light before turning to Daniel. “Hold on. Let me get rid of this armor first.” he said. When he was done, she hit him with the spell, and he stood in front of her a moment later. While Roger and Rachel both turned into a pegasus when they were hit, he had turned into a unicorn. His hair was a little longer than usual and his coat was a light grey. It took him a while to get used to walking on four hooves, but he managed to get it down easily enough. Roger and Rachel had done the same and were currently trying to fly. Rachel was a dark blue color which went well with her lighter blue eyes and dark brown hair. “Man this is cool!” Roger said with a grin as he managed to hover a few feet in the air, but that quickly ended as he attempted to do a back flip and face planted. Daniel tried concentrating on becoming a pegasus and found that his horn disappeared and wings formed on his sides. “So we can choose what kind of pony we are eh?” he said with a small grin as he spread his wings. He caught a glimpse of a strange mark on his flank. It was a shield emblazoned with a skull. Looking at Roger and Rachel, he spotted marks on their flanks as well. Rachel’s was a crosshair while Roger’s was another shield. He also noticed that their clothes disappeared when they turned into ponies, making him feel a little bit exposed. “Could we possibly get some clothes? I don’t really feel comfortable like this.” Roger said, confirming that he felt the same way as Daniel. Twilight giggled and said, “Sure, I’ll take you to Rarity’s again to get some clothes.” They followed her into the town, and many of the ponies they passed did double takes at the three pegasi. “What the hell are you laughing at!?” Roger snapped at a pair of pegasus mares who were giggling behind their hooves. “Just leave it Roger.” Rachel said, grabbing hold of him so he couldn’t go after them. They walked up to the boutique and Twilight knocked on the door. “I’ll be there in just a moment!” Rarity called from inside the boutique. She opened the door, and was surprised to see Twilight standing with three pegasi. “Hello Rarity, I’d like to get some clothes for Daniel and his friends.” Twilight said. “These ponies are Daniel and his friends? How did you transform them?” she asked incredulously. “A Mind Morph spell, now can we please get some clothes?” Roger asked impatiently. "Oh, of course. What kind would you like?" she asked. "Just something basic like our uniforms, preferably in black." Rachel said. “Wouldn’t you like to look more fashionable though?” she asked hopefully. “No, don’t do anything fancy to them.” Daniel said. “We just want basic black outfits.” “Fine.” she said with disappointment. They quietly watched as she used her magic to sew together three black outfits in the time it would take a human to make one. Twilight paid her and they quickly left before she could change her mind about making the clothes fancy. “Damn this stuff feels way better than our normal outfits!” Roger said as he slipped the outfit over his wings. Rarity had cut out spots in the fabric for their wings and tails, though this didn’t make them any easier to put on. “Now if only they had beer in this place.” Rachel said. “Actually, we do have one bar in town.” Twilight replied. “Let’s go. I could use a cold beer right now.” Roger said. Twilight led them to a building called “The Prancing Pony.” Daniel face hoofed, he had never drunk beer in his life so he thought it was stupid to do so, but he went inside with Roger and Rachel just the same. He never noticed that Twilight left once they went in. --- Twilight hastily trotted back to her home, thinking about the letter she was about to write to Princess Celestia. Once she was inside the library, she started looking around for Spike, before remembering that he had been going to Rarity’s today to help her with her work. She quickly used her magic to get a scroll and a quill to write her message. Dear Princess Celestia, Three creatures called humans fell from the sky in pods yesterday. Right now they appear friendly but Rainbow Dash has told me that Daniel, their leader, killed three thieves without even hesitating. This morning I followed Daniel into the Everfree Forest and he became angry. I looked at his hands and they were glowing blue! This must mean he is able to do magic! When I used the Mind Morph spell on Daniel and his friends, he was the only one who turned into a unicorn. I am sending you this in case any of this information could be of use to you. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle She quickly rolled up the scroll and sent it in a flash of magic to the princess. --- Celestia was calmly sitting in her throne room when a piece of rolled up parchment appeared in front of her. Taking it in her magic, she unrolled it and looked through the hastily written letter. Her eyes widened as she read it, and the page fell to the ground as she finished. “Get me the guards!” she said urgently. --- Daniel looked around the bar. There were several ponies of different sizes, shape, and colors. A few were dancing to the beat of the music that the DJ was playing. He leaned his head back to get a look. She had a white coat with a light and dark blue mane. She wore purple tinted shades and bobbed her head with the music. Roger was actually silent for once as he listened to the music, his head bobbing along and tapping his hoof under the table. Rachel scowled at him for a moment before returning to her drink. “I hope you’re not thinking of going out with a pony.” Daniel said. “Why the hell would you think that?” Roger asked, though he was visibly blushing. “I saw the way you were looking at that DJ.” he replied, causing Roger to blush even harder, which in turn caused Rachel to laugh. “Maybe we should come with pony names for ourselves so we fit in better.” Roger said after a moment. “Great idea! You’ll be loud mouth.” Rachel replied. “Come on would you please stop with that?” he asked. “I’ll stop when you learn to shut up.” she replied, her voice coming out a little slurred. “Okay that’s enough. You’re drunk and you’re going googly eyes for a DJ. We’re leaving.” Daniel said, pulling Roger and Rachel with him out of the building. Rachel startled giggling and hiccupped every few seconds. “I’m tired of being a pony for now.” Roger said. Daniel agreed and they took off their clothes, not sure if they would disappear when they transformed. They stood a moment later in their regular black uniforms with the clothes Rarity had made in their arms. Daniel walked up to the door of the library and knocked, only to hear two quick thumps as Roger and Rachel were knocked unconscious. He spun to see two ponies in gleaming white armor. “Traitorous bitch lied to me.” he whispered, his anger building. The guards moved toward him, but were stopped short as they were surrounded by a blue aura and lifted into the air. “What are you gonna do now huh?” he asked with a maniacal grin, his hands pointing towards them with the same blue aura. They looked at each other worriedly, but then Daniel was knocked unconscious by another guard. --- Roger groaned and rubbed the back of his head as he woke up. “Good, you’re awake.” said a voice. “What’s the big idea!?” he snapped when his vision cleared and he could see the guard. “The princess ordered us to bring you to her.” he replied. “Well maybe you could’ve, I don’t know, ASKED NICELY!?” “We knocked you out because your leader was reported to be potentially dangerous.” the guard replied with a stony expression on his face. “Now follow me.” Roger did as he was told and followed the guard to a throne room where Rachel was sitting and Daniel was standing with his arms crossed, a very pissed off look on his face. “What the hell is the big idea!? Why did you have your guards knock us unconscious just to bring us up here!?” Daniel snapped at the figure sitting on the throne. Roger looked up to see a brilliant white pony with a mane that moved as though it was submerged in water. “I’m sorry, but Twilight’s letter told me you were potentially dangerous, considering that you killed three ponies.” she said. “That still doesn’t explain why we’re here.” Rachel said. “You’re here because of a dream.” she said. “In this particular dream, I saw a human using magic to rid Equestria of two great evils. One was an evil that I’m very familiar with, while the other was comprised of about ten floating machines filled with creatures that I know nothing about.” She started to say something else when suddenly, her eyes widened and she stared at a point past them with a look of horror. Daniel turned and looked outside. He froze when he saw the small hole forming above Equestria. A few small ships spilled out of it before it closed. “How many are there?” he asked, directing the question at Rachel. “I’m counting about ten.” she replied, using her keen eye sight to count them. “So looks like we’re not done fighting the bastards yet.” Daniel said, smiling at the irony. You think you can finally stop fighting, but once you start, it will always find you again. “What’s this other evil supposed to be?” Roger asked curiously. “Its name is the Nightmare.” she replied. “It can take over just about anything and use them for its own evil purposes. It once had control of my sister, Princess Luna.” she added sadly. “Great now we have to fight the covenant again, AND some crazy ass magic piece of shit.” he said glumly.