//------------------------------// // 11: Secrets Long Hidden // Story: My Little Halo: Harmony Evolved // by Arcane Howitzer //------------------------------// Upper District 30 November 2551, 2030 MST Canterlot, Equestria Recovery from the invasion was going well. Instacrete buildings were already being set up to house the prisoners, and the Canterlot citizens were being freed from their own physical and mental prisons. Interrogation of the changeling leadership revealed that while they could survive on physical food, it was tasteless and bland compared to emotional fair, and within a few weeks, they would begin suffering from the extremely unpleasant symptoms of “Love Withdrawal.” Though non-fatal in and of itself, it usually marked a changeling on the edge of starvation anyway, so even Queen Chrysalis was somewhat curious as to what would happen to her swarm afterwards. As many of the crew was preparing for what sounded eerily like a small country’s worth of addicts quitting cold-turkey, “Mr. Smith,” whose real name was actually Martin Cheng (not that anyone on the planet knew), was partaking in his favorite pastime: people watching. More specifically, he was keeping an eye on the flow of newly-freed ponies returning to the city while sipping a surprisingly delicious hay smoothie and testing out a bit of magic he had dubbed the Someone Else’s Problem field. It wasn’t as good as true invisibility because anyone could see that he was there, and it would not affect anyone watching through electronic surveillance, but the people present would be unable to pay any attention to him. As he scanned the crowd, mentally wondering at how the equines had managed to make hay taste good, he saw something that made him do a double-take and waste a swig of beverage on the ponies immediately in front of him. There, on the edge of a cluster of elderly-looking ponies, was a deep-blue unicorn stallion with a grey mane (probably caused by age, but it was hard to be sure with these creatures) and a cutie mark that seemed to mock the agent and everything he stood for with just how classified it was supposed to be. Staring back at him from the rump of a senior citizen was a Forerunner symbol. His first thought was that it had to be a coincidence. The glyph wasn’t even an exact match, baring swirls and details not present on any known symbol, but despite the intricacies, any competent agent could recognize the basic design. He had been required to store images of them in his neural lace upon his instating as a field agent, and this particular symbol was often seen on the helmets of high-ranking Elite commanders. No, there was no doubt about it. Time to move. Sigil Mark barely squinted as he stepped into the fading sunlight, thanks to the clever lighting those strange new ponies had set up along the path out which started dim and got brighter as it neared the exit. Despite having been cocooned and hypnotized for two weeks, he was surprisingly alert, and had noticed the magic-cloaked gentlecolt almost as soon as he came into view. He was about to dismiss the sight as unimportant, when the other unicorn sprayed a noticeable portion of the faculty of the Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns with hay smoothie, an expression of sheer disbelief on his face. Even as the stranger purposefully approached him, he found it difficult to pay attention, and it took him a moment to realize that it was an effect of the magic. Glancing around, he saw that only a few of the teachers were paying him any heed at all. That is some powerful magic. The strange unicorn’s horn flared as he neared Sigil, and the magic’s effect seemed to vanish, though a quick look around showed that it had merely been expanded to include the both of them. After the other unicorns, the only ponies who seemed able to even partially resist the spell’s effects, had wandered off, the newcomer spoke. “That’s quite an interesting mark you’ve got there, Mr…?” “Sigil Mark,” Sigil responded, “and I must say it is unusual for a unicorn, particularly one of your apparent ability, to be interested in arcane runes, Mr…?” “Please, call me Mr. Smith. Let’s just say that my people and I have a vested interest in knowing the possible implications, and applications, of symbols like that one,” he said, gesturing at the rune that was Sigil’s cutie mark. “Well, then you could not have come to a better pony! I’ve been teaching Runic Studies at the School for Gifted Unicorns for nigh on forty years.” “Really?” the agent replied, hoping to keep the elder pony talking. He was recording the entire conversation, of course, since this was probably the biggest breakthrough in the Forerunner Enigma since the war had started. “Then you must tell me all about it.” “I’ve got a better idea. I happen to own many books on the subject that I would be more than happy to loan to you.” “Wow, uh, really?” “Mr. Smith” almost stuttered, surprised that his big breakthrough would be as easy as asking for a book. “Of course! It’s my duty as a teacher to spread knowledge. Just make sure you get them back before classes start back up. This invasion has ruined our scheduling, but it shouldn’t be delayed more than a week or two.” With a final “thank you,” the ONI agent left to pursue his lead, and the elderly teacher went home to check on his belongings, completely ignoring the uninteresting figure walking away, but remembering their interesting conversation. Ponyville Square November 30, 2011, 8:00 P.M. Canterlot Local Time Ponyville, Equestria All of Ponyville was in a panic about all of the strange objects that could be seen flying around Canterlot after things fell out of the sky onto the beloved capital. So when somepony noticed one of them heading straight for them half the town locked themselves in their homes while the other half gathered to watch the thing’s approach, despite the somewhat late hour. The metal airship, though not quite as large as most of the sky yachts sometimes seen floating around Equestria, was still more impressive due to its sleek metal body and lack of a visible balloon with which to hold itself aloft. That and it had just made the trip from Canterlot in just over an hour and a half, while their own Friendship Express usually took five to six hours, and even the princess’ personal chariots bordered on a three hour flight. The airship drifted almost lazily down into the square, a wheel sprouting from its nose as two more descended from the rear on long metal beams. These three protrusions, astonishingly enough, held its entire weight as it landed, and the dull roar of whatever magic made it fly faded to background noise. There was a brief pause before a hatch in the back folded open, revealing a mostly-familiar figure. “Thanks again for the ride,” Twilight Sparkle called back into flying machine, her hair bearing only the faintest hints of its natural purple as it waved against the breeze. A gruff voice could be heard farther into the airship, though between the ambient rumble it gave off and everypony’s astonishment at Twilight’s new appearance, nopony by her could make out what it said. Whatever it was, it did nothing to dampen the spring in the unicorn’s step as she strode out into the town, accompanied by three ponies with saddlebags bulging with unknown equipment and strange uniforms that covered their entire bodies from neck to hoof, giving the impression of blank-flanks. Almost instantly, a commotion manifested in the crowd, working its way forward in a trail of apologies and ponies launched several feet into the air. When the fracas reached the front of the gathering, it continued on in the form of a bright pink missile traveling at an astonishing speed and shouting “TWILIGHT!” Instantly, the purple mare was enveloped in a bone-crushing hug, courtesy of her friend Pinkie Pie. “Oh, Twilight we were so worried when those mean changelings showed up and you stopped sending letters and then all sorts of stuff started falling all over Canterlot! But now you’re here and you’re okay and you brought new ponies! That means I have to go get my Welcome Wagon and plan a party and Oh this is just the best day ever!” The entire one-sided exchange was seemingly executed on a single breath of air, after which Pinkie dashed off with just as much energy as she had appeared, though the surrounding spectators had enough forethought to leave an escape path open. As Pinkie disappeared down an alley, one with a dead end, if Twilight recalled correctly, another of her friends, Rarity, managed to work her way out of the crowd. “Twilight, darling! It is you!” She exclaimed as she trotted as close as she dared to the metal airship. She still ended up just over a meter from the rumbling behemoth. “So, who are you… rather overdressed friends?” she asked, glancing nervously at the strange ponies. “Oh, these are a few of the ponies who brought Princess Celestia back. They’re here to-” “WHAT?!” The new ponies immediately whirled to face whatever had snuck up on them, and even Twilight was startled into turning around. There, hanging out of the airship, was Pinkie Pie. “There are more of you?! This is gonna be the best party ever! How many are there? Where are they? What kind of cake do you like?” The barrage of questions ended with the pink mare staring into the eyes of one of the strange new ponies with such joyous vigor that he was forced to retreat back a few steps. Her brilliant blue gaze seemed to drown out the murmuring of the crowd and whining engines, and see into his very soul. After a few moments, Pinkie broke off the stare, dashing back into the airship and shouting “Banana Nut Cupcakes it is!” Looking into the dropship revealed no clue as to where Pinkie Pie had come from or vanished to. “How did she…?” one of the three began to ponder before being cut off by a “Don’t ask” from Twilight. With Pinkie gone, Rarity trotted closer to the group. She had not bothered trying to interrupt the party pony’s antics, but now just had to make herself known to these new ponies, no matter how drably they may dress. “Princess Celestia is back, you say?” she asked eagerly, receiving an enthusiastic nod from Twilight in confirmation. “Oh, this is wonderful news! I simply must do something to my gratitude; to show all of our gratitude.” She was on them almost as fast as Pinkie Pie had been, dragging the trio away in that graceful manner that only a true lady can. “First we have to do something about those drab clothes.” “Ma’am, I’m afraid I must obje-” one of the three, a seafoam-green pegasus, attempted to speak, only to be interrupted. “Oh on, I insist! We simply cannot have such valiant heroes running around in something so concealing and… beige.” “Listen, ma’am,” the second pony, a florescent orange unicorn, futilely tried to object. “You really don’t need to do this.” “Nonsense! I will not have my generosity rejected.” The third pony, a muddy brown unicorn, simply rolled his eyes at his weak-minded companions and slammed his hooves into the road, halting their progress instantly and getting a collective gasp form the watching herd. Rarity immediately looked at him in astonishment. “Listen, ma’am.” Though his voice never rose, he spoke with such force that he may as well have been shouting, “I don’t care how things normally work around here, but these uniforms are mandatory, and as such are not allowed to be altered in any way.” The fashonista seemed to shrink before the reprimanding, but he wasn’t done. “In addition, you do not force anything upon military personnel, no matter how grateful you may be. That is for commanding officers only, understand?” At this point, Rarity was thoroughly shaken, having never expected such a harsh reaction to her generosity. “b-but I was just trying to be nice…” she stuttered, a single, delicate tear rolling out of her watery blue eyes. “I’m sure you were,” the other unicorn responded, his tone softening significantly “but these uniforms are standard issue, meaning we aren’t allowed to do anything to them, or have anything done to them, without express permission from near the top of the chain of command. Also, we have nothing but your word of your good intentions.” “Can you not trust a pony on their word?” Rarity asked, her eyes still watery but no longer overflowing. “Can you trust a changeling to tell you it’s a changeling?” he replied semi-cryptically before turning to the other two ponies. “C’mon you two, the library should be nearby. We’ve got time to drop our stuff off and look over the first spot before it gets too dark.” As the trio trotted away and the crowd dispersed, Twilight moved in to explain a few things to her friend. “Don’t worry about them, Rarity. They’re just here to start planning some new building. Princess Celestia will be giving a speech in a few days to explain everything, but from what I’ve gathered, wherever they’re from isn’t as safe or peaceful as Equestria.” “Oh,” Rarity replied. She was about to leave it at that, before remembering what those three had said as they left. “Wait! You’re letting those strange stallions stay with you?!” she shouted, causing Twilight to wince. “Relax. They’re only going to be here for a few days anyway, and it’s the least I could do to repay them for stopping the changelings. By the way, where are Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash?” she asked, looking around. “I was hoping I’d get a chance to see them.” “Fluttershy and Applejack are probably at home. It is getting rather late you know,” the white unicorn said, stifling a yawn. “As for Rainbow Dash… She left this morning to watch the battle, so she should be back by now, but she may have been delayed by something and had to stay the night in Canterlot.” “She should be fine as long as she stays on good terms with the new ponies. Speaking of which, I should go make sure those three know where to put their stuff. Goodnight Rarity,” Twilight called as she trotted towards home. “Pleasant dreams, Twilight,” Rarity returned, heading off to partake in her before-bed tea. Meanwhile, the pilot of the pelican dropship was just now taking off, having shaken off the shock of what he had seen on the troop compartment’s camera. Since when the hell could ponies do that? He thought shakily, the dropship faltering in the air due to his distraction. The captain’s definitely going to want to see this. Canterlot Statue Garden November 31, 2011, 12:00 A.M., Canterlot Local Time Canterlot, Equestria In the dead of night, the statue gardens were usually occupied only by the stony sentinels that called it home. Tonight, however, they were graced with another’s presence, the quiet clop of hooves echoing of abstract representations and honored heroes alike, growing ever closer to the one attraction that was neither. Out of the still air came a noise, little more than a whisper in the breeze, but one which moved unerringly to the only living ears that would listen. “Hurry up, Luna. My nose itches!” With an exasperated sigh, the princess of the night moved on from the worn statue she had been studying, one who’s inspiration she had personally known, and made her way to the statue of Discord. Sure enough, there was a small bird perched on its nose, asleep. “You know, if you were not such a showoff, the changelings might not have noticed you and fixed your seals,” she chided, calling forth her magic. An aura of midnight blue, indistinguishable from the sky above, enveloped the statue. A caustic-green field sprang up to stop the foreign magic, but quickly crumbled before the princess’s power. Suddenly, a canary-yellow toilet brush sprang into existence above the statue’s head, thwhacking the offending avian aside and vigorously scrubbing its former perch as a sigh of relief sounded across the garden. With its task complete, the scrubber morphed into the miniature Discord which had been so prevalent around the castle since his second sealing. “Well?” he asked, seemingly oblivious to the glob of bird poo clinging to one of his antlers. “Aren’t you going to finish upholding your end of the bargain? I took time out of my busy schedule to harass those changelings for you.” “And you lasted all of two hours before they sealed you again,” Luna replied, desperately trying to keep a straight face. “Your aid was minimal; therefore, your reward shall be minimal.” Her magic flared again, this time meeting a full rainbow of colors which to not perceptibly yield to her power. The only indication that anything was accomplished was Discord stretching an inch longer. “That’s it?” “Yes, ‘that’s it.’” She snorted, turning to leave. “And if ‘that’ proves too much for your meager self-control, then I shall see to it that you never again bother us.” As she flew away, Luna called back to the annoyed draconequus: “Left horn.” Warily reaching up to the indicated horn, Discord stopped dead when his talon sank into the goop on his antler. “Oh, eeww!” he shouted, magically yanking the offending offal from his head and throwing it into the sky, where it soared past a cackling Luna and continued flying until it hit a window on the Guam’s observation deck. Canterlot Royal Library 31 November 2551, 0600 MST Canterlot, Equestria During the changeling occupation the royal library had sat relatively unused; After all, few changelings could read Equestrian script. Now, however, the building was bustling with the activity of a dozen technicians working to digitalize the archaic paper volumes. Given the sheer number of texts present, estimates for completion hovered between sometime next century, and the heat-death of the universe. In one secluded corner of the complex, however, the only noise was the frustrated grumbling of a confused ONI agent. “No, this doesn’t make any sense,” he said, staring at a textbook and mentally superimposing his own stored images of know Forerunner symbols over the books “perfect” examples of similar runes. “They’re close, but some of the angles are off. According to this, the Forerunners were using imperfect runes. But why?” As far as any human could tell, the Forerunners never did anything imperfectly, sudden disappearance aside, so why would they have trouble with magic runes? Suddenly, Martin stopped dead as he realized what obvious question he hadn’t asked. “Where the hell did they find out about magic in the first place?!” He cast his mind back to search for any hint of the answer, but he knew it was in vain. If ONI had found a clue to such a major discovery, they would have jumped on it like a starved hound, but so far, there had been no such effort. Not until… Not until a heavy cruiser came back manned by ponies. He frantically tried to remember details about that mission, scouring every inch of his brain. Officially, he had to delete information pertaining to a mission as soon as it was completed, but any true ONI agent would be lying if they said they didn’t keep a few details stored in the old greymatter. Given the… bizarre results of that particular mission, Martin had kept significantly more information on-site. Let’s see… the Forerunner facility was dark upon discovery. Searching yielded the artifact, described as a large, perfectly-cut emerald which glowed gently, but emitted no radiation. The artifact was fitted into a convenient slot in a nearby wall, and the entire facility powered up, leading to the natural assumption. He ground his hoof into his forehead out of frustration at such a rookie mistake. What is this organization coming to? Returning to the matter at hand, he began compiling information on these runes and their effects into a report for his superiors. After all, not only would this offer insight into the Covenant’s capabilities and how to counteract them, it was perhaps the only area in which the UNSC could now decisively outmatch their alien foes. Author’s Notes: An alternate title for this fic could have been My Little Halo: Aliens are Magic, but that seemed a bit spoilery. For those wondering, my official stance on canon is, “If I haven’t seen it and it isn’t out yet, it doesn’t exist.” I caught a lucky break with that wedding turning out as awesome as it was, but not only do I avoid Season 3 spoiler like a plague, I have yet to read any of the more recent Halo novels and, as you probably know, Halo 4 isn’t out yet. So if I accidently contradict something from there, particularly on the Forerunner front, now you know why. HOWEVAH! If something comes up, like that wonderfully epic changeling invasion, I will try to work it in without breaking the story, but I won’t relinquish any future plot points to debunked headcanon. Also, I’ve been pondering out another MLP crossover, this time inspired by a single, easily missed line from the movies series that, for me at least, defined epic fantasy movies. On its own, this line is fairly innocuous, but when applied to the context of Equestria… Let’s just say any pony-lover would fear for their preciouses. The reason I’m bringing this up, is that I want your opinions. Should I start now? Or wait until MLH is finished (which will take a long time)? As always, like if you do, comment if you want, and review if you find anything I should fix. (Does the dialogue seem a bit dry to you? Do I need to work in more scenery details? I don’t know. I just feel like something’s missing. Maybe I should find a pre-reader…) Post-revision notes: Just some more minor detailing.