Chapter 4
"Hey, Max!" Scootaloo calls. It's been a few days since the bullet, I haven't used a shot since then either. If that Elite wasn't a straggler, I want to be ready. She hops over to me on her crutches.
"Hey kiddo!" My arm is pretty healed up. Not fully, it still stings when I put enough force on it. Fluttershy walks up to us timidly and silently. "How's the leg Scootaloo?" I lean down closer to her.
"Nurse Redheart said I should stay off of it for a while. She'll call when I can walk on my own again. Your arm okay?" My God, everybody has such a weird name on this planet. Definitely not on Earth. I stand back up and move my arm around a little, as if I were popping my shoulder back into place.
"Gettin' there. Still hurts from time to time. I'll know when it's fully healed. Thanks again Fluttershy." I turn to her to see her blushing.
"Oh, i-it was nothing. You're welcome." I didn't think she would do so well under pressure like that.
"I wonder if any other Spartans from Infinity will crash down here."
"If they're like you than I really hope so!" Scootaloo says enthusiastically.
"Hey, thanks." I tussle her short hair with my hand.
"Still carrying those weapons around?" She eyes the guns on my leg and back.
"Yeah...if any more Elites try something funny, I'll be ready."
"So what do you do here?" Fluttershy quietly asks.
"Oh, I chop down the old trees. Course now I only got one arm for a while, still accurate, just less power. And I'm done for today, wanna go do anything in town?"
"Oh, um, I was actually going to go home. Feel free to join! I-if you'd like I mean."
"That sounds nice too, Applejack doesn't mind too much where I go as long as I don't get killed and make it back in time for dinner." She smiles at me and turns to Scootaloo.
"You can come too if you like."
"Sure! Sounds fun, Applebloom is busy and Sweetie Belle is helping Rarity with her dresses, so I'll tag along!" She leads the way back to her cottage in the woods.
I sit down on Fluttershy's couch and Scootaloo sits on my lap. I set her crutches aside.
"Would you like some tea?" Fluttershy asks us.
"No thank you." I say.
"I'm fine."
"It's no trouble."
"No need, thank you though." Critters scamper throughout the room, and birds fly above us, stopping occasionally to perch themselves on various objects above us, or on my armor. She's got her own little section of nature in here. She sits beside us on the couch. She picks up a small white bunny and holds him close to herself.
"This is my bunny, Angel. Angel, say hello." He folds his arms and looks away from us. "Don't be rude Angel!" She scolds.
"Heh, is he always like this?"
"He doesn't seem to like new faces. He's fine around me and my friends, but not strangers." I take my helmet off and put it on Scootaloo's head.
"Woah, cool!"
"I would let you talk to Roland, but he went rampant so I had to get him replaced. Before I could though, I landed here."
"Roland?" Scootaloo asks.
"He helped me on my missions, he was kind of a computer program. Hey there Angel! How ya doin' bud?" The rabbit ignores me. Worth a shot.
"Maybe he'll warm up to you later. Sure you don't want some afternoon tea?"
"I'm sure, thank you though." There's a knock on the door.
"Excuse me." Fluttershy stands and walks to the door. She looks out the peephole and then unlocks the door. "Hello Twilight, what are you doing here?"
"Hi Fluttershy, do you know where Max or Scootaloo are? I asked Applejack and Rarity but they didn't know either." I take my helmet off of Scootaloo and put it back on my head.
"They're here actually. Just in there." The two walk in and I set Scootaloo next to me on the couch.
"Hi Max, hi Scootaloo."
"Hey Twilight." We say in unison.
"What's up?" I ask.
"Well, I was reading today and I came across something that could help you and Scootaloo out."
"Great, what is it?"
"A healing spell!" Her eyes beam and she smiles. She really loves her magic. "Of course, it's entirely up to you. If you'd rather heal naturally then that's fine. But this will really speed things up!"
"Nurse Redheart said no magic. Sorry Twilight."
"My wound's almost healed, thanks anyway." Her shoulders slump down.
"Oh, well okay."
"Hey, would you mind if I stopped by later? Just to talk a bit?" She perks back up.
"Not at all! Feel free, if I'm not there then Spike should be."
"I'll try to stop by later today."
"See you then! Bye Fluttershy, bye Scootaloo." She waves and walks out the door.
"Maybe I'll go visit Rarity and Pinkie Pie today too."
"Have fun. I should go feed the other animals. Be right back." She goes into another room.
"So Scootaloo, do you live with Rainbow Dash?"
"Yeah, she adopted me. We're sisters now." She smiles greatly.
"Adopted you?"
"Yeah, my mother was all I had left. After she died, Rainbow took me in."
"You...had no family but your mom huh? Now you got Rainbow?"
"Yeah. She's a fantastic sister, I wanna be just like her when I grow up!"
"No family...I know what that's like for sure." She seems very surprised when I say this.
"You do?! Nobody else had no family, only me. What happened to your parents?"
"I don't know."
"Did you have any brothers or sisters?"
"I don't know."
"Where did you live?" I sigh in response.
"You sure ask a lot of questions, so did Rainbow Dash when I first met her."
"She just wants us both to be safe."
"I want this whole town to be safe. I'm sorry by the way."
"Huh? For what?"
"Your leg."
"Why are you sorry? It wasn't your fault."
"That Elite was aiming for me. If I hadn't been in the town square with you, he never would have fired." Probably.
"Some people are just in the wrong place at the wrong time is all." Fluttershy says, standing in the doorway. "You can't help it, it just happens."
"Thanks Fluttershy." I stand up. "Well, I'm gonna go to Twilight's now. Thanks for having us!"
"I'll stay here a bit longer actually. Bye Max!" Scootaloo says.
"Goodbye Max!" They both wave as I leave and shut the door behind me. I never said this on Requiem, but I really hope this is an uneventful day.
I knock on the door to Twilight's home. Spike answers.
"Hi Max."
"Hey Spike, is Twilight home?"
"She's out buying more quills, she should be back soon though. Would you like to come in?"
"Sure." He stands aside and I walk in the house.
"So, how did you get here?"
"I...walked?"
"No, like how did you get to Equestria?"
"Oh, escape pod. I don't know what happened but it must have been pretty bad. I hope the Infinity's okay." I walk to another room and sit down in a chair. He follows.
"Infinity?"
"It's a ship. Infinity, Forward Unto Dawn, and the Pillar of Autumn are three of the largest ships in our possession. Infinity is the one I was on. Are you and Twilight brother and sister?"
"What? No, she does have a brother though."
"Really, I'll have to meet him before I leave."
"Shining Armor is his name, he's captain of the princess' Royal Guard."
"Guard duty? That sucks. Princesses? Wonder if they know I'm here."
"They do, Twilight wrote to them about your arrival." The door opens. "Hi Twilight! Max is here!"
"Hi Spike, hello Max!" Twilight Sparkle walks in carrying a handful of quills and inkwells with corks in them. She levitates three books off of a shelf and sets them on an end table. Geez, magic. First it's aliens, then it's zombified fungus aliens, then metal planets, now it's magic. Good Lord.
"My healing spells are getting a lot better, I'm learning from Rarity."
"I thought you were the main magic-user of this town."
"Well, I pretty much am, but Rarity has a lot of experience with healing spells. Since she sometimes has accidents with her sewing machine and has a little sister to take care of."
"Makes sense. So what's your plan for today Twi?"
"I'm gonna read some, have dinner, and write to Celestia."
"Celestia?"
"The princess, her sister doesn't teach me so I don't really write to her. They're both really nice."
"I should meet them, maybe I can meet your brother while I'm at it."
"Spike told you about my brother huh? You can meet him sometime if you like."
"I'd like that."
"So...are your people in a war of some kind? If you don't want to talk about it I completely-"
"Yes." I interrupt.
"Oh, why? Your enemy is the Covenant?"
"Yes, and the Flood, and the Forerunners, who knows what will want to attack us next."
"Well, I won't pry."
"Thanks." I say, intensely relieved. I look outside, it's getting dark already. Orange streaks of light glisten across the darkening sky and fades into purple. It's dusk.
"Will you be spending the night here?"
"No thanks, I'll get back to Applejack's. Thanks for having me here Twilight."
"Thanks for coming over!" She smiles. I walk outside and shut the door. Interesting character that one. I begin the trek to Sweet Apple Acres in the twilight, soon to be night.
About two thirds of the way there now, no light left in the sky, save for the large, bright moon and abundance of stars. I pick up the pace a bit, and shortly I reach the farm. Only one light is on in the house, odd. I open the door and walk down the hall leading to the dining room. Upon entering, the whole Apple Family is tied to chairs, the table is thrown up against the wall.
"What the hell?"
"Mmph! MM-MMPH!!" A beaten Applejack grunts but has her bandana tied in her mouth as a gag.
"There you are, I was wondering when you'd come around here." A voice says behind me. I whip around and somebody punches me hard in the throat, knocking me to the ground. I stand, choking on what's probably quite a bit of blood. He goes for another punch, this time I block and kick him in the chest with much force. It sends him into the wall, stunning him for just a moment. I quickly take Applejack's bandana out of her mouth and I notice her face. She's badly scratched and has been beaten.
"What happened to you?" I ask tenderly. She looks at me tearfully, then worry flashes over her face.
"Look out!" She shouts. I turn around and block another attack with my forearm. With our forearms pushing against each other, I stare at him and his combat knife, which is now only a few inches away from my head. His helmet: Orbital, no painting on the Solar visor, which has a hole punched in it around his right eye. EOD Torso Armor, Rogue Shoulder Plates. Standard UNSC combat knife.
"Holy shit! Another Spartan?!" His reply is a rebel yell and a punch to my head with his other arm. I gain my balance before I hit the ground and unsheathe my combat knife.
"Look soldier, all I want is a way to Infinity."
"The way you're treating an ally, I don't think I can oblige." He screams and tries to stab me. I sidestep right and grab his right arm, the one with the knife. I twist it violently clockwise and he shrieks in pain. "That's just plain rude." I pull his body downward and simultaneously thrust my knee upward to his head. He is flung back onto the floor. I hear him groggily groan in pain. "Applejack, what the fuck happened?!"
"Ah'll explain later, untie us please." Her eyes are watering and there's a distinct sense of urgency in her voice.
"Okay, hang tight." I cut the ropes off Applejack, Big Mac, and their grandmother. Before I can cut Applebloom loose, a boot hits me in the back. I look up to the other Spartan from the ground, he has an orange cylindrical object in his left hand. What is that? It seems familiar...
"'Member these?" He flaunts the object. "Used on the installations, great against Flood and large groups of enemies. Ring any bells?" OH FUCK!!! He chucks the object at Macintosh, who flinches just enough to only be nicked by it. Luckily he's unharmed. The object hits the wall behind him and bursts into flames, quickly engulfing most of the room.
"FIREBOMBS, GET OUT NOW!!" I holler. He throws two more at me, I dodge both. Reflex training taught me well, pay attention and don't screw up at boot camp. The entire room, and probably a majority of the old wooden house by now, is already being swallowed by flames. I turn around and cut Applebloom's ropes. "Run!" I say to her. I roundhouse kick the enemy spartan in the head and bolt to my room. While sprinting, I snatch my weapons and leap through the window, breaking the glass. Applejack rushes to me shortly after I land.
"Oh no, are you okay?!" I brush off some of the char and ash from my armor.
"Fine." I count the family. Granny, AJ, Macintosh, all here. Wait...
"Where's Applebloom?!" I ask frantically.
"Still inside! If she doesn't get out soon she won't make it!" Large creaks and cracks are heard as some of the rafters fall inside the house. I struggle to my knees, then to my feet.
"I'm going back in!" Applejack looks at me worriedly, but says nothing, as I pick up my magnum and reattach it to my leg. She nods and silently wishes me luck. I look back at the house. The window frame to my room collapses, forcing me inside another entrance. I look at a weak section of wall and start running. Shoulder first, I crash through the wall.
Fire is everywhere, and with one bad arm and only a pistol I'm not exactly combat ready. A man screams to my left. I turn my head just in time for a fist to hit my helmet, sending me back a few feet and causing be to lose my balance. I stand straight up and powerfully Spartan Kick him down the hallway he attacked me from.
"Max? Is that you?" Applebloom calls.
"Yeah, where are you?"
"At the top of the stairs, please hurry!" I rush down the hallway and leap over the other Spartan, who is holding his gut in pain. When I reach the staircase, I see Applebloom standing at the top of it. The stairs are entirely engulfed in flames, then it collapses. She is still on the second floor though, but the fire's getting there fast.
"You're gonna have to jump!" I shout.
"I'm scared!"
"Don't worry, I'll catch you!" She clutches the top railing but nods her head. She closes her eyes and leaps to me. I reach up to catch her, but right before she lands in my arms a fist hits me in the back of my head. Damn he's strong! The blow knocks me onto the floor. I roll onto my back and look up at the Spartan in steel colored armor, with a red visor that helps him to see in the fire. He pulls out his combat knife with one hand and holds Applebloom in his other arm, she's desperately trying to escape his grip and she is crying. He holds her closer and puts the knife to her throat, taking another step towards me.
"It's a real shame, but casualties are a large part of any war." He presses the icy blade closer to her neck. "No exceptions."
"NO!" I kick him in his right knee with great power, so hard that it bends backward, breaking his leg. I scoop Applebloom up and charge through the flaming door. Applejack and Big Mac run over to us. We're laying on the ground where we landed. Applebloom is hugging me close and I take my helmet off.
"Are y'all okay?" Applejack says.
"She's got a few burns, and I'm fine." I reach down to my leg to retrieve my magnum, only to find an empty magnetic plate of armor. "What the-" I'm interrupted by several shots of the magnum behind me. We all cover our head with our hands, but one bullet glazes me about an inch below my right eye. A few more shots are fired, for a total of eight, but I'm not hit. That's the mag. He pauses and I look to every member of the Apple Family present. Applebloom's fine, so is Granny Smith. Big Mac seems unharmed as well, and I'll deal with my venial wound. I look to Applejack, who had fallen to the ground. Two spots on her shirt are dark red, and I jump up and run to her side. Tears are running down her face and her breaths are short. She looks at me, I set my helmet on the ground and look her in the eyes.
"Am I...gonna be okay Max?" I look at the wounds. One just below her stomach, one just below her right collarbone.
"I...I don't...BIG MAC!" I turn and shout. "Get a doctor here as soon as possible!" He nods and sprints in the direction of town. "Applebloom!" She rushes to us. I open the med kit on my left leg and pull out a syringe of painkiller and a roll of gauze. I inject Applejack's arm and hand Applebloom the gauze. "Keep pressure on the wounds when I say."
"O-okay." She's crying almost as much as her sister. I take out my combat knife and grab a small bit of wood off the ground nearby. I put the stick in Applejack's mouth.
"Bite down. This is gonna hurt." She does as I ask and shuts her eyes tight. I start to dig in the upper wound with my knife, she grunts with extreme pain. It brings a tear to my eye to listen to her suffering. "I'm sorry Applejack." I say fighting tears. The knife hits a small piece of metal and I pry it out. Luckily it didn't hit the bone. I look at Applejack's face, now covered with sweat from the pain and the heat of the night. She sighs, partially relieved. "This one." I tell Applebloom. She pushes down on her sisters bleeding shoulder with the gauze, both of them grimace. I look down at her lower wound, the blood matted her shirt to the hole in her flesh so I can't see much of the wound. I lightly pull the shirt away from the wound and see a shiny object not very deep in her abdomen. Thank God. "Only one more Applejack. I'll make it quick." She nods and wipes tears and sweat off her face. I take in a deep breath, and exhale. I swiftly tug the bullet out of her stomach with my fingers. She screams with pain, the stick still clenched between her teeth. I take the wood out of her mouth and look her in the eyes again. "Finished." I say. She sobs in reply.
"Thank you." She chokes out. I look at Applebloom, then down to her crimson-covered hands. Rage swells up inside me.
"I'll be right back." I put my helmet back on and watch my energy shields recharge. I stand and turn towards the house, engulfed in flames but still standing. Knife held tightly in my fist, I step towards the house.
"Wait!" The old lady says. I turn back to her. "Don't you want that?" She points to the shotgun I left on the ground. I hold the knife up, smeared with Applejack's innocent blood, and wipe it off on my chest piece.
"No guns. Just this, but I'll be damned before I see her blood tainted with his. I'll kill that bastard." I wipe the knife clean and walk back into Hell to fight the devil.
The fires burn brighter and much larger than before, the house crumbles as time passes. At the end of the main hallway is a Spartan. He's wearing black armor and has a cracked red visor. The hole in the visor has gotten larger, and the cracks branch out closer to the edges of the Orbital helmet. Holding an empty magnum in one hand and a shimmering combat knife in the other, he stares at me.
"I was aiming for you ya know." I'm silent. "But I still hit garbage, this trash was just easier to kill." He chuckles. I scream and charge at him. He throws the knife and sticks in the armor of my left forearm, but I still run at him. I see a hint of fear in his eyes, then widen the hole in his helmet with the strongest punch I've ever thrown at anyone or anything. It knocks him far left and I pull the knife out of the armor on my left arm, the blade didn't puncture my skin. I drop his knife into a large patch of flame to my right. "Hehehe, angry huh?" I pick him up by the armor at the top of his chest piece. "What are you gonna do about it?" He smiles.
"Nothing I'll regret." I shove his face against one of the fiery walls, and I'm sure to let the flames in through the large hole in his helmet. He screams and struggles in agony but I hold him firmly against the fire. He hits me in the face and I lose my grip. He continues screaming and limps quickly out of the house, all the while having his hands clutched open with his fingers curled in front of his burning face, desperately trying to put the fire out. One of the rafters crashes in front of me and flames shoot up over the front of my body. I hurry out of the house and stop to kneel by Applejack. Big Mac is here now as well, so is someone I haven't seen before. He's wearing grey scrubs underneath a medical coat, his brown hair is slicked back, though it looks like he did it with his hand and it spikes up a little bit. He's kneeling down on the other side of Applejack, next to her younger sister. I take my helmet off.
"You the doctor?" I ask.
"Yep." He continues cleaning the wounds with Applejack occasionally wincing at the pain.
"I'll uh, leave you to it then." I start to get up but Applejack grabs my hand.
"He says I'm gonna be okay." She faintly whispers with a weak smile.
"But you'll need to rest for a few days for sure." He says. She looks pale, especially in the night and with her weakened condition. She puts both of her hands on mine.
"Don't worry about me though, get them a place to stay." She says softly. "What happened to the other one?"
"He ran away." Her five friends run up to us.
"Are you okay?" Fluttershy asks.
"What the heck happened?!" Rainbow Dash questions.
"What on earth happened to you both?" Rarity says looking at our wounds, mostly Applejack's though, I'll just have a scratch on my face for a while.
"I saw a bright light over here for a while." Twilight says. She is stunned when she sees the remainder of the house: charred rubble and glowing coals with some ashes and some spots still on fire. "Oh my Celestia." I turn to Pinkie Pie, whose hair is straightened. She's staring at the wounds on Applejack's body with a vacant yet depressed expression. I put my hand on her shoulder and she jumps, like I snapped her out of her trance.
"Is she...?"
"She'll live with scars, and she's gonna need a week or so's rest...but it'll be okay." She hugs me tightly, I return it to comfort her. Rainbow Dash rips us apart and punches me in the face, hard, right where the bullet scratched me. "Ack! Son of a bitch!"
"This is your fault!" She screams at me.
"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity scolds.
"It is! How many people got shot before you came here?! How many people's homes were burned to the ground before you got here?!" Fluttershy covers her ears and begins to sob.
"I didn't do this! I'm sorry it happened, she's my friend too!" Pinkie Pie hugs Fluttershy and cries with her. I feel the wound on my face, now a bit bigger, bleed some more. Twilight comforts the two and joins them in the hug.
"If I had known this would happen, I never would have been your friend!"
"I thought you were loyal! Whatever happened to that!" Now we're screaming at each other even louder. Rarity slaps me, then Rainbow. On the fucking wound!
"ENOUGH!" She shouts. Everyone gets silent, you could hear a pin drop. "Rainbow Dash!" She stomps a foot and stands straight up to scold her, fists at her sides. "Stop it! Don't blame him, he would never do this!"
"There's another Spartan. He's insane. He tried to kill us."
"And Max! Why do you seem to attract danger everywhere you go?!" Rarity asks.
"Not like I try to, I'm a soldier. These things happen."
"There's another Spartan?" Twilight asks. "I take it he's not friendly."
"Well he's the one who burned the house down so interpret that any way you like. Applejack. I know now probably isn't a great time but what did he want and what did he do to you?" She sits up slowly.
"He interrogated me. He wanted to know where ya were." She says painfully.
"Why only you?"
"He was probably gonna kill me. You walked inside before he could interrogate the others."
"What?" Rainbow Dash is pretty confused about this.
"When I got home this evening, they were all tied up and I got assaulted by him. Within a minute or so he set the place on fire and tried to kill all five of us. Almost got two of us too." I look to Applejack and Applebloom. "Let's find you a place to stay hm?"