Chapter 5
It's almost noon. Applebloom and Granny Smith are staying with Rarity, Big Mac is with Twilight, Applejack was moved to the hospital, and I'm with Rainbow Dash. Last night was when we had that heated argument that Rarity broke up.
I look into the bathroom mirror and strip the old gauze off of my face. It's stained with dried blood and I toss it in the waste bin. I grab replacement gauze from the cabinet.
"Few more attacks like that and this place will be FUBAR before next week." I say to myself.
"FUBAR? What's that?" Rainbow asks. I jump.
"God damn Rainbow, scared me. It means Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition."
"Good morning by the way." She says halfheartedly.
"Hell, it's almost noon." I look at her in the mirror for a second, she's starin' off into space. I turn and face her. "Something on your mind?"
"Yeah. Look, I'm real sorry about last night."
"Honestly, I think-"
"No, I was way wrong. It's not your fault these things are attacking. I'm sorry I said so. Applejack is like my best friend, when I saw her...like she was-is, I lost it a little."
"Admitting something such as that? A heartfelt apology? Who are you and what have you done with Rainbow Dash?" We chuckle.
"But seriously. Can you forgive me?" I stare at her for a second.
"Honestly I think you were right though."
"Don't say that. It's not your fault."
"Why? You were right. If I wasn't here then Applejack and Scootaloo wouldn't be hurt and the Apple Family would still have their home."
"Don't be so hard on yourself." She gives me a light punch on the shoulder.
"Which is exactly why I need to leave as soon as possible."
"What?"
"I need to get back to where I belong: the battlefield. Until I get there more people will get hurt. Or I could fight against them, but I don't even know what I'm dealing with here. One rogue Spartan and who knows how many Coveys. As if another Spartan isn't hard enough to kill. Course I can't leave them here alive either or people will surely get hurt."
"Stay. Please. If you weren't here then Applejack would be dead. She told me that you told her family how to do first aid on her at the time. Hooves said if it wasn't for that she would have died for sure. You even got the bullets out. All he had to do was better clean and dress the wounds. He sounded pretty impressed to me."
"I was built for the battlefield and serve the UNSC. I can't stay here."
"You have to!" Her voice is almost a shout all of a sudden. "If it wasn't for you, my best friend would be dead, and the rest of my friends might have been too. Don't you understand?" She calms down and smiles at me. "You may have been built for the battlefield, but this is where you belong. So stay. Besides, it's a battlefield now." I respond with a sigh. Good point.
"No promises, but I'll stay a while longer. At least till we get this rogue Spartan and Covenant thing straightened out."
"We can talk about it more after that though, right?"
"I hope so."
"Good. So, breakfast?"
"Lunch please. I'm gonna put more gauze on this first."
"It didn't look that bad when I first saw you."
"No but you and Rarity made sure it looked worse when you last saw me."
"Is that where I hit you? I thought it was weird that there was blood on my knuckles after that. I'm sorry."
"Bloody knuckles aren't bad, you get used to 'em. Especially when it's not yours."
"A fighter huh?" I fit the gauze over the wound on my face and grab the medical tape from the cabinet.
"Boxer. Three time runner-up on the Infinity. I could knock out a fully trained Marine in under twenty seconds."
"Impressive. Well I'm gonna go make lunch."
"Have fun." She starts to walk away. "Oh and Rainbow."
"Yeah?" She stops and turns around.
"I forgive you." She smiles.
"Thanks Max." She proceeds into the kitchen and I finish taping the gauze to my face.
I walk into the hospital and see a nurse sitting at the front desk. She looks up and smiles at me. I approach her.
"I'd like to see someone." I take off my helmet. She looks a little uncomfortable when I reveal the gauze on my face but soon regains herself.
"Of course." She says with a friendly smile. "Patient's name?" She pulls out a form on a clipboard and a pen.
"Applejack."
"Visitor name?"
"Maxwell Anderson."
"One moment please." She picks up a phone and dials a number. "Somebody named Maxwell Anderson here to see you Miss Applejack. Shall I send him in?" She pauses a moment. "Okay. I will. He'll be in in just a moment." She hangs up and looks back up at me. "Room A6, third on the right just down that hallway." She points me in the right direction.
"Thanks. Can I leave this at the desk?" I hold up my helmet.
"If you wish sir." She takes the helmet and puts it in a drawer of the desk. I walk down the hallway and go through the door labeled A6. Applejack is laying on a bed with a tray of unfinished food in her lap. She is hooked up to an IV and is wearing a hospital gown. She looks at me, concerned for only a moment. She hides her worry with a smile.
"Hi Max. Glad to see you."
"You too. You're looking a lot better."
"Feeling much better too. Doc says I'll be here for another few days and then I'm free to go." She smiles.
"You looked worried a minute ago. What's up?"
"You're wearin' gauze on yer face is what's up. What happened?"
"Spartans are trained to be good with firearms. He grazed my face with a bullet before he got you. Thank God you'll be okay."
"Mhm. You helped though ya know. It was a bit painful but it got the bullets outta me. Doc was real impressed at that. He just had to-"
"Better clean the wounds." She stares at me for a moment. "Rainbow Dash told me."
"Oh. How is she?"
"Fine. She apologized for punching me in the face and blaming me for this but..."
"What?"
"I don't know. Maybe she was right."
"Now stop. You and I both know that's not true."
"Do we? How many were shot before I came here? How many homes were burned down?"
"They would be here regardless of whether you were or not. You're the only reason everyone here is still alive."
"I'm also the reason two were almost left dead."
"Almost. Almost dead and dead are two very different things."
"Bye Applejack." I sigh.
"Bye Max." I leave the hospital, taking my helmet on the way out.
I return to the ashes of the farmhouse. Some large pieces of charred wood stick out of the ashes that remain. A glint in the ashes catches my eye. I walk through and retrieve it. The Spartan's knife, discolored from the heat, still has a sharp blade and a good grip. A hand on my shoulder makes me jump. I turn to see my gentle friend standing there, her hand still on my shoulder.
"Are you alright?" Fluttershy says.
"I'll be fine." My shaky voice says otherwise. She wraps me in a tight hug, which I return without hesitation. "Thanks." We stay in the hug a while longer.
"Can you come over for a bit? If you'd like to, if you're busy then you don't have to." I release the hug and nod. We walk to Fluttershy's cottage on the outskirts of town.
Finally arriving at the cottage, I throw the enemy's knife into the ground and enter my friend's home. Angel gives me a nasty look.
"Angel, don't make faces! Mommy has to talk to Max alone." The bunny shies away from being scolded, and then skitters away. We sit down on her couch and I remove my helmet. "Did you visit her Max?"
"Yes, she's recovering well so far. I need to kill this Spartan, before someone else gets killed first."
"I hope nobody else gets hurt." She looks up at me and gasps. "What happened to you?"
"Last night, a bullet grazed my face and then...further dispute didn't help." She stares at me confused. "Rainbow punched me then Rarity slapped me."
"My goodness! Why?"
"They had to vent their anger somehow, I don't blame 'em."
"Can I see?" Although I feel like Fluttershy wouldn't do so well around blood, I peel off the gauze bandages. She gasps when she sees my wound.
"Don't worry about it, it's just a scratch."
"A bad scratch, my gosh!" She leaves the room for a moment. When she comes back she has a first aid kit in her hands.
"That won't be necessary."
"Nonsense, my animals get hurt sometimes. I take care of my friends." She smiles and rummages in the kit.
"Well, that's real nice of you. Thanks." She dabs antiseptic on my face with a cotton ball. "So, um, how's it look?"
"Not so bad now, I guess it just needed some good cleaning. Just one more little dab there." She puts down the cotton ball and puts a bandage on my cheek. "There, all done."
"Thank you, I didn't clean it this morning 'cause I figured it'd be fine."
"What did you do in the UNSC?"
"Oh. I was second in command of a small squad of Spartan II soldiers. CQC and Magnum expert. I also have a bit of medical training."
"Who else was there?" She sounds genuinely interested and curious.
"Well, there was Ivan, our sniper. Also good with any kind of precision weapon, DMR, Battle Rifle, the usual stuff. Then there was George. Explosives. Grenades, rockets, land mines, if it went boom then he had it somewhere. He used to be an engineer too, so he also acted as our mechanic. You know how I have a pistol? His was basically a handheld grenade launcher. Karl was heavy weapons expert. He stuck to turrets, SAWs, and shotguns mostly. He and Ivan taught me more about weapons, which explains my shotgun and Battle Rifle. Carson was the leader. He had mastered the Assault Rifle and a lot of alien weaponry. He was also our vehicle man. What about you and your friends?"
"Twilight kind of leads us when the princess gives her a job to do, like stop Discord or something like that. Your friends sound wonderful."
"Yeah, we were a tight group of guys. I'd rather not talk about it though. Ya know, since I'm not gonna see them for a while." I don't know how long it'll be. Please don't bring them back up.
"I understand. Would you like anything to eat or drink?"
"Nah, thanks."
"Well, it's almost lunchtime."
"I'll live. Say, Fluttershy."
"Hmm?"
"When was your last war?"
"We haven't had any conflicts in 1000 years. Only a few incidents really."
"I see." Yeah. I need to stay here. If they get attacked by more Covenant and I'm not here, scientifically speaking, they're fucked. "I'm heading out. Bye Fluttershy. Thanks for having me."
"Bye Max."
I walk to Rarity's house/shop. The small bell above the door rings as I enter. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom wave when they see me. Rarity continues working, facing away from me.
"Hello, may I help you?" She says without looking up. I remove my helmet.
"Rarity. Turn around would ya?" She looks at me and lights up.
"Max! What a pleasant surprise this is!" She gets up and hugs me. Up close I notice how she looks more. Her hair is slightly messy, her clothes wrinkled, she looks generally tired.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine, just a little swamped in work is all."
"You ever need any help then just ask, you know."
"Thank you Max, what happened to your face?"
"First the Spartan, then Rainbow Dash, then you. Fluttershy cleaned it up a bit."
"My goodness! I'm so sorry about that, even a lady may tend to lose her temper on occasion. Have you visited Applejack?" At the mention of her name, the two young girls rush to me, eager to hear about Applejack.
"I have actually."
"How is she?" Applebloom asks. I crouch down to the two girls, Rarity does the same.
"She's in good condition, feeling a lot better. You can go see her today if you want to." Rarity and I stand up. I make sure the younger ones can't hear. "And about this rogue Spartan-" She silences me with her hand.
"I don't want to know. I have a good idea." I nod, understanding that she knows what I was about to say.
"Well, I just stopped by to say hi."
"You certainly brightened up my day Max." She says with a genuine smile.
"That's what I'm here for, see ya 'round. Bye girls." They all wave at me and I exit. I hear them talk after I walk outside.
"Is Max gonna kill the person who hurt my sister?" Applebloom asks.
"I don't know sweetheart." Rarity responds. Assuming he doesn't kill me first, then yes.
I knock on Twilight's door. Spike answers. "Hey Max. Come in."
"Thanks."
"Hi Max!" Twilight says. She wraps me in a tight hug, which I return.
"Somebody's happy to see me." We let go. "Where's Big Mac?"
"Hospital, you should go too."
"I did actually. Did you?"
"Yeah, I dropped off a book. In case she wanted it you know."
"Right."
"I hope she'll be okay." Her eyes get watery and I remove my helmet. "If she leaves us I don't know what we'll do." Her voice strains to get the words out. I hug her again.
"Come on now." She cries onto my armor. "Don't cry, she'll be okay." The tears stop.
"I know, she's tough. She'll pull through. I just worry."
"The shots weren't fatal."
"I know. I just hope she's doing okay without us. Cooped up in a hospital, having to stay in a bed all day, I'd lose it if I didn't have a good book or someone to keep me company."
"She'll be fine. And don't worry about that other Spartan either. I can handle him and any Covenant soldiers."
"Promise me you won't get hurt."
"C'mon. I know I'll get hurt. I can't even promise I won't get killed."
"WHAT?!" Shit. Your big damn mouth Max. Should not have said that.
"I'm sure I'll be fine, I'm a good fighter. I beat him once, I can easily do it again."
"I don't want you to fight him again, but what other option is there?"
"Seems like he's all we have to worry about though."
"I hope so." Something hits the door and we both look, it sounded almost like a rock. I walk over and reach to open the door. I put my hand on the door handle and a blue explosion blows me back. Twilight screams and Spike runs down from upstairs. Five Elites and three Jackals storm the house. I shoot two Jackals with my magnum, the third blocks with his shield. Picking up a Plasma Pistol, I overcharge a shot and fire at an Elite. I drop the weapon. One Elite attempts a stab with an Energy Sword. I dodge, break his arm with a powerful punch, and rip the sword from his grip. I stab the injured Elite in the neck and run for the one I fired at before. Several pink crystals fly past my head and I slash and kill two more Elites. One Elite grabs Twilight and Spike. I punch through the Jackal's shield and pistol whip him for the kill. The sword's last energy fades away and I drop the useless weapon.
"Halt!" The Elite shouts. Two left. Three more Elites rush in, I guess they were waiting outside in case things went sour. Well dammit. As trained, I begin to analyze the situation. The Elite holding my friends has a Sticky Detonator on his thigh next to an Energy Sword that's not on. The one that was here has a shotgun and an Assault Rifle. The three that just came in all have different weapons. One's got a Battle Rifle and a magnum. Another just has a bunch of grenades and a DMR. The last one has a SAW, that's a scary weapon in Sangheli hands. I have five shots left in my Magnum and a good combat knife, this should work. I unsheathe the knife and aim my pistol. "Stand down. You have a choice." He says.
"You have a choice. Let them go and I'll kill you later, or you all die now."
"Last chance." The Elite tells me. I hold my ground.
"Your choice." I retort. I fire at the one holding Twilight, hitting him right in the skull. I take his detonator and fire at the one holding the SAW. He panics and I unload my pistol into the grenade Elite. I take two plasmas from his corpse and clip them onto my sidearm plate. I drop the magnum and stab the shotgun Elite. His body falls and I take his shotgun. I kill the BR/Magnum Elite with one shell and kick the terrified SAW Elite out the door. He lands on the ground by some townspeople. They flee to a safe distance. I take the rest of the grenades from the other Elite's body and roll them down to the Elite outside. I arm and throw both plasma grenades at him, he dies in a series of explosions.
TP POV
The Spartan walks up to Fluttershy's door, his red visor almost entirely gone, a deranged smile on his face. He bangs a fist on the door.
"One moment." Fluttershy calls from inside. She opens the door and gasps, paralyzed with fear at the sight of his half burnt face.
"Hello there." He knocks her out with one punch to the forehead.