UNSC ODST Kix awakes to find himself bound on an unknown planet. But stranger yet are his captors...
A Halo 3: ODST crossover.
When Kix, a UNSC ODST with taste for shotguns and a quirky sense of humor, awakens on an unknown planet, he finds himself surrounded by colorful talking ponies. Unfortunately, they all seem to dislike him. "What's wrong with me? I'm a perfectly likable guy! But when you tie a guy up for no discernible reason and try to interrogate him, things get said and feelings get hurt! Even though I kinda attacked one of their royalty. And temporarily held one of them hostage." --Kix.
UNSC ODST Kix groaned as he opened his eyes. The fall from orbit had been farther and rougher than he had expected, although the piece of the Covenant ship he had taken cover in had taken most of the fall. He slowly sat up and looked around. He was no longer in the purple shell, but in a dim, damp stone room with one door and a barred window, and he came to the conclusion that he had been captured by Covenant. He quickly got to his feet and looked for his trusty shotgun, but it was nowhere to be found, so he began to look for the next best thing: a way out. Once he was free, he could find a Covenant weapon rack or recover one from a fallen Covenant. He crept over to the door and peered out the barred window. Nothing. Excellent, he thought as he braced the door with his armored hands and with a powerful kick, sent the door skidding down the forsaken hallway. Not the quietest escape, but eventually the Covies would discover he was gone, and the sooner one did, the sooner he could get a weapon. Kix hid in the shadows, waiting for a patrol of Grunts, or better yet Elites, to come investigate, but what eventually came shocked the solider. For instead of Grunts and Elites, a patrol of colorful armored unicorns burst through the door and examined both the door and the cell. One of them, which Kix determined to be the commander, bark orders in fluent English to find him, or as he put it, find "it."
Now aware that, though cute, they were searching for him and could be hostile, he silently slipped from the shadows and out another door into the bright daylight. He found himself in what appeared to be a royal garden, and looked back towards his cell, from which he could hear the guard's shouting orders growing louder, and figured he'd stand a better chance in the gardens than out in the open. He ran for the vegetation, covering the distance with ease and slipped into the maze of flowers and hedges. He found an ideal location, just around a corner behind a hedge, next to which he crouched. Then he waited, all the while thinking of ways best to disarm one of the guards. Although it wasn't a shotgun or assault rifle that he desired, a spear could at least deter them from pursuing him further, or at least until he found out where he was.
He was deep in thought when he heard something approaching and snapped to attention. He would most likely only have one shot at this, so he had to time it just right, or he could blow it. The sound of hooves drew closer and he steadied himself. Just a bit closer, The sound of the approaching pony grew louder, Closer, His entire body tensed as he readied himself to attack, until the pony was almost right on top of him. NOW. He leapt from his hiding place and tackled the guard, pinning him to the ground. The struggle was over quickly as the pony, sensing it's defeat, stopped squirming and froze in fear. But Kix was also frozen as he looked at what he had just taken down. For it wasn't a guard that he held pinned, but a lavender unicorn. A female lavender unicorn, by the looks of it.
Realizing that she was of no use or threat to him, Kix quickly released her and stood up. The unicorn also struggled to it's hooves, and it was then that Kix noticed the wings folded to her side. Kix would've interrogated the alicorn if it hadn't been for the rainbow streak that whizzed out of nowhere and knocked him off his feet. Having taken many blows before, Kix quickly recovered and threw the new pony off of him. He was back on his feet now, and found himself staring down a very angry (and very colorful) pegasus. She scuffed at the dirt with her foreleg, and Kix made his hands into fists. They continued at this for another minute when, and just as he was about to make his move, another colored streak whipped him off his feet and he found himself being looked down upon by a pink pony, who was either speaking a different tongue than the others or was just really really hyped up on sugar.
"Woah you're weird! I've never seen you before are you new? Oh my gosh you are!" She threw her forelegs in the air and confetti magically appeared from thin air.
"Pinkie!" The rainbow one barked.
"Yeah?" Pinkie landed and turned her attention from Kix to her, which was just what he needed. He jumped up and grabbed her, holding her as a hostage until he could get what he needed. But holding her proved to be more difficult than he expected.
"Hey!" Pinkie wrestled with his grip, "What's the big idea mister?!" He struggled to maintain his grip, which was rather surprising to him, as he was an ODST and she was just a little pony, and she eventually wiggled her way out of his arms and to her friends' sides. He regained himself and readied for another try when a beam of purple light shot from the alicorn's horn and hit him square in the chest. He stumbled, the shield alarm blaring in his ears, then fell to the ground unconscious.
Kix heard faint voices as he slowly drifted into the realm of consciousness for the second time today.
"What is it?" A new voice asked quietly as the colors swirled into view and Kix shook his head to clear his vision. He attempted to move, but found his hands and feet bound to a chair that was much too small for him.
"It's awake!" He recognized the voice as the rainbow pegasus calling to the others, which turned out to be quite a few. Now, instead of three, five wide-eyed ponies gathered around to get a look at him.
"What is it?" A yellow and pink one asked again.
"Why, I've never seen anything like it before," a white one said with a gleam in her eyes. "That attire is simply astounding!"
"Rarity," the rainbow pony scoffed, "it nearly killed Pinkie Pie!"
"True," Rarity glanced at Kix, "and I simply cannot believe that something so marvelously dressed could do such a horrible thing." She flipped her hair and trotted away from him to the other side of the room, leaving Kix in silence. He couldn't believe it. Here he was, a highly trained soldier, being held captive by a bunch of talking ponies. Talking ponies!
Maybe I hit my head during the fall, he thought, Yeah, that must be it! I'm crazy now, and I'm really locked up in some ONI cell. That has to be it. But as hard as he wished the ponies to disappear, they remained, and every second they stood there, every word they uttered, only convinced him more and more that this was real.
"Well it didn't nearly kill me," Pinkie said, rather enthusiastic, "I'd say it almost possibly injured me! But that leaves just one question," her tone grew serious (or as serious as it could possibly get) and the five turned towards him. "What are you?" Kix was almost tempted to answer when another voice spoke for him.
"He's a human." The lavender alicorn stood in a doorway with two other alicorns, one white and one dark blue, both with flowing manes and tails. Kix recognized her as the pony from the garden and the one that had knocked him out. He hadn't even realized that she had been absent.
"A what?" The five exclaimed in unison.
"A human," she answered again, "but I have no idea how it got here."
"Or what purpose this might serve." The white alicorn's horn glowed yellow and Kix's shotgun floated next to her, surrounded in the same color. "But I do believe that an explanation is order." Now all eight pairs of eyes were on him, waiting for him to speak.
"If it's an apology you want to hear, then you're gonna be disappointed." He spoke aloud. Eyes widened and jaws dropped upon hearing the words, and even the alicorns seemed a bit shocked. "Now just untie me and I'll be out of your hair. Or mane. Or whatever."
"I will release you," the white one said, appearing unphased by his words, "once you explain how you got here and why you attacked Twilight and Pinkie Pie."
"No can do Prism," he shook his head, "or at least not while I'm tied up like this."
"Very well, I shall untie you." Now Kix's jaw dropped.
"Say what?" He exclaimed in disbelief. Was she actually about to give in that easily?
"You said that you will not explain your actions until you have been untied," Her horn glowed and he felt the chains slacken and fall to the floor. Kix brought his hands around and stretched them.
"Just like new, eh?" He chuckled to himself.
"Indeed." The blue alicorn scoffed. "We have upheld our promise. Now it is time for you to uphold yours." Kix opened his hidden mouth to speak when he was (rudely) interrupted by screams from outside.
Great, he thought, now they'll think I did it. Whatever 'it' is. The alicorns glared at him, and he swore they were about to ignite their horns when a guard burst through the doors.
"Princess!" He bowed, "There is a creature approaching Canterlot!" A bloodcurdling roar filled the air, and Kix's face went white. He knew that sound all too well. He had heard it so many times in the streets of New Mombasa.
"Oh no," he sighed.
"What is it Human?" The white alicorn asked, turning back to him. "What do you know of this creature?"
"Hunters." He said. The thought of the aliens fuel rod cannon against the defenseless ponies half-sickened him. And if they were here, the rest of the surviving Covenant couldn't be too far behind.
"Pray tell, what are these 'Hunters'?" The blue one asked.
"Covenant." He replied, but when he saw his words provoked no response, he changed his answer to: "Aliens." He got his response.
The light-blue pegasus cracked up. The yellow pegasus bolted for cover. A smile formed on the orange one's face, and the pink one, whose name he had learned was Pinkie Pie, full-out laughed. The alicorns, however, did not seem amused.
"Well, since you seem to have prior experience with these beings," The white alicorn strode up to him and, even though she was a pony, towered over him. "You shall deal with it." She finished, thrusting his shotgun into his arms.
"Um, sure?" He raised an eyebrow. "But before I do," The ponies halted their exit. "Can y'all at least tell me your names? That would at least make all this a little less confusing." The white and blue alicorn met and held eyes for a few moments, then the white one spoke.
"Only after you have dealt with the alien." With that, she turned, and after ushering everyone out, slammed the door behind herself.
"Okay!" He called after them.
"Excuse me," Another guard came through the doors, "but I have been ordered to escort you out of the castle."
"Sure," He shrugged, "Lead the way." When I get back to ONI, he thought as he followed the pony out of the room, They really are gonna lock me up after I tell 'em this.
There are several things that one does not do when fighting a hunter. One of those is to engage one in close quarters, and right now, that's exactly what Kix was planning on doing. The streets were designed for ponies and were therefore narrower than those on Earth or in New Mombasa, so he figured that the beast would have trouble maneuvering in the tight streets. Or at least, that's what he was counting on. He would need every advantage if he hoped to beat the creature with minimal casualties and damage.
The reality was much different.
The hunter, crazed with anger and confusion, came barreling down the street, it's enormous shield shattering through the sides of the houses that lined the streets, tearing gaps that revealed the quivering ponies within and knocking over streetlamps foolish enough to stand in the wake of it's rampage. The hunter came to a halt as it reached the center of a circular plaza, and roared at a pair of ponies it spotted cowering behind the shrubs in the yard. Kix wondered if the hunter would actually try to engage the defenseless ponies when it raised it's shield and charged. When Kix realized it meant to crush the equines, he jumped into action. He leapt from his hiding place on top of one of the houses and after landing on the cobblestone streets, made a mad dash right for the hunter, which had it's back to him.
Crap, he thought as the hunter closed in on the ponies. He wouldn't make in time, so he devised a plan to get it's attention. And of course, that plan involved shouting random insults at the top of his lungs. The sudden noise caught the hunter by surprise and it's attack halted as it turned around just in time to see the ODST barreling towards it, as well as giving the two mares their chance to escape. The hunter roared and raised it's shield again, this time managing to complete it's attack, the shield barely missing Kix as it slammed into the street.
"Too slow!" Kix yelled, side -stepping the attack, and cocked his shotgun. Too close. The hunter roared in reply, and received a shotgun shell to the face. The beast moaned as it staggered backwards, orange blood spraying onto the pavement. Of course, it was merely a scratch to the enormous alien, and it screamed in outrage as it shook off the pain.
Having learned from it's previous failed attempts to crush it's enemies mercilessly beneath it's shield arm, the hunter instead raised it's heavy fuel rod cannon and pointed it right at Kix.
Kix saw the bright green glow a little too late, and was sent hurtling through the air as the ground beneath exploded into green fire. He landed feet from his original standing point, and his shotgun clattered to the ground, just out of his reach. Kix groaned as he saw stars, and attempted to pull himself together. The hunter, however, wasted no time with such things and charged at him, it's heavy feet denting the ground as it sprinted right for him.
Kix finally pulled himself together at the last moment. His hands lashed out for the shotgun, raised it defensively, and just as the hunter was upon him, pulled the trigger.
There was the sound of thunder as the pellets ripped through the hunter's neck, blowing through the worm-like hive and spraying Kix with bright orange blood. The hunter's body, lifeless but still keeping the momentum from it's charge, toppled down upon Kix.
"Eeewwww, gross." He said, shoving the body off himself. "And I just had this cleaned." He said disgusted, referring to his blood soaked armor. "Thanks for nothing, you big jerk." He scoffed, giving the deceased hunter a firm kick. He was rewarded with a wet squishing sound as his foot sunk deep into the hunter's stomach, coating his once black boot bright orange.
Kix was bored. The guard had ushered him into the main hall of the castle, told him the princesses would be with him any moment, and left. After that, absolutely nothing had happened. He wasn't complaining, he preferred sitting around and waiting over fighting a hunter any day, it's just that he had been waiting a long time. Suspiciously long.
"Eh, probably just doing..." He thought for a second before finishing, "whatever it is pony princesses do." He chuckled at the thought, ejecting an empty shotgun shell from his gun. He drew his combat knife, began carving, and before long, had his own crude representation of an alicorn.
"I'm a purty pony princess," he said in a high voice, making the figure trot across his lap, "and I like purty things!" He held it up to his knife.
"Like this?" He said normally, turning the knife.
"Yes! That's so purty." Kix chuckled. I am so nuts.
But awesome. His mind counter.
True. He nodded, and continued playing.
"I hope we're not interrupting anything too important." Kix jumped and the knife slipped, slicing the figures head clean off and launching it across the room, where it clattered to the floor.
"Geez Prism! Hasn't anyone ever told you not to sneak up on someone like that?!" Kix shouted, more embarrassed than angry.
"No," The white alicorn replied coldly, "you are in my castle, after all." She glared at him. "And my name isn't Prism." She added.
"Finally! It's about time y'all introduced yourselves!" Kix exclaimed.
"Indeed," She said, "I am Princess Celestia, and this is my sister, Princess Luna." The blue alicorn stepped forward.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance." Luna said, not looking very pleased at all.
"And this," Celestia continued, "Is my former student, Princess Twilight."
"Hello." Twilight said, showing no emotion.
"Twilight, why don't you introduce your friends." Celestia said.
"Fine. This is Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and that's Pinkie Pie." Each pony (except Pinkie, who was preoccupied with tracking down the figure's head) gave him a menacing glare.
Great, they all hate me.
"And what, pray tell, is your name?" Luna demanded.
"Name's Kix." He said, extending his hand. The mares gave him a strange look, and he realized his mistake. "Oh right, sorry." He said, returning his hand to his side, "no hands."
"Right, now that we've gotten that out of the way," Twilight spoke quickly, "it's time for you to go."
"Go?" Kix repeated. Twilight nodded. "So you're just gonna kick me off your planet?! After everything that I've done for you?! I am covered in hunter guts!" He gestured to his orange-soaked armor and boot. "Completely. Covered."
"Yes," She snapped, ignoring his complaints. "And we expect you to cooperate."
"Fine," Kix scowled. He couldn't believe he was letting a talking pony push him around, but the sooner he got out of this place, the better. "Just put me on the next cruiser off this planet and I'll be out of your hair. Or mane. Or whatever."
"Cruiser?" Now it was their turn to be confused.
"Yeah, you know. The things with big engines and slip space drives that fly up real high in the sky?" Silence was his only reply. "Wait, you guys do have cruisers, don't you?"
"So let me get this straight," Kix said, "You're extremely talented and magical beings who have mastered almost every aspect of your world, but you haven't even begun thinking about the possibility of space travel?"
"Well, no." Celestia said unashamed. "I suppose that with everything that's happened, we never really prioritized the idea."
"The closest thing we have is lunar banishment," Luna added, "would you like us to banish you to the moon?"
"No!" Kix shouted, but immediately corrected himself. "I mean, no, I'd rather not be banished to the moon."
"Surely there has to be another way to get rid of him." Rainbow Dash said.
"Ouch." Kix said sarcastically, rubbing his side. "That hurt."
"What's the matter, can't take a hit? I thought you were a trained soldier." Rainbow smirked.
"Why you little-"
"Cut it out, both of you!" Twilight intervened, stepping between the two, who were now head-to-head. "We have other things to worry about besides your grudge match."
"Like getting me off this planet." Kix huffed.
"And out of our manes," Rainbow muttered, but Twilight's glare was enough to make her back down.
"Regardless of her wording, Rainbow Dash does make a great point. There has to be another way to get you home." Celestia said, turning her attention to Kix, "You came here on one of these 'cruisers', did you not?" Kix nodded. "Then surely it must still be operational, and if not, at least repairable."
"Yeah, there's a problem with that," Kix said, rubbing the top of his helmet, "it kind of exploded."
"And you're sure it cannot be repaired?"
"Look, Prism, if it could've, I would have been on my merry way back to Earth a long time ago."
"Pardon me," Twilight said, "but I don't believe you should be referring to the Princess with that name."
"What, 'Prism'?" Kix said, "I'm only commenting on her... unique hairstyle." He gestured to Celestia's mane. Twilight glared at him.
"You know what I mean."
"No, not really." Kix stated blatantly.
"Then allow me to explain," Twilight growled, taking a deep breath. But before she could continue, Kix stopped her.
"Sorry, but I already know what you're gonna say."
"Oh really?" Twilight said skeptically, raising an eyebrow. "Then let's hear it." In all sense of truth, Kix had absolutely no idea as to what Twilight was about to lecture him about nor did he care to know, but he was sure of one thing: if he didn't think of something fast, whatever remained of his self-pride would be utterly shattered. I mean, being publicly embarrassed in front of their world's royalty by a tiny, talking pony? He would never be able to show his face in public again, let alone the UNSC barracks. But fortunately for him (and his pride), Celestia spoke first.
"Kix, Twilight, please! We have no time for arguing amongst ourselves!"
"Ah find myself agreeing with ya' there, Princess." Applejack joined in. "Heaven knows it's only a matter of time before another one of 'em aliens shows up."
"Time? Time?!" Pinkie burst in. "We don't need to wait for the aliens, silly filly!" Kix felt a knot form in his chest as he considered the possible meanings of her words.
"Pinkie dear, what exactly do you mean by that?" Rarity asked, concern evident in her voice.
"We don't need to wait for them because they're already here!" Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing over to the window and pointed her hoof up at a distant object invisible from where Kix was standing.But he didn't need to see, the sounds told him everything. That distinct, high-pitched whirring noise could only mean one thing: Phantoms.
"What the hay are those things?!" Applejack gasped, as everyone except Kix and the two sisters gathered around the window, jaws hanging as they watched the purple beast draw closer to the city.
"We can get the Elements. I'm sure we can defeat them without Kixs' help." Twilight said, trying to hide the fear in her voice. She wasn't doing a very good job.
"I'm afraid it's quite the opposite, my dear." Celestia's voice was cool and calm, as it always had been in these types of situations. "For Kix is the only one with any experience in dealing with these 'Covenant', and we have no idea of the effects the Elements could have on them. Kix, can we ask you once more for your assistance?" She turned back to where Kix had been standing, but froze when she saw he wasn't there. "Kix?"
"Perhaps he has already determined his course of action, my sister." Luna said softly, the sound of boots hitting stone growing distant.
"Yeah," Rainbow muttered, "And it sounds an awful lot like running away."
Kix rounded another corner as he sprinted down the almost endless corridors of the huge castle, his heavy boots thudding loudly as he ran. The second he heard the phantom, he knew exactly what to do. Admittedly, it wasn't the greatest of plans, but he didn't have very much to work with.
Could always try using the narrow streets to my advantage again, Kix considered, but quickly dismissed the thought. These were brutes he was going up against, and although they wouldn't try to crush him, they wouldn't hesitate to fire on him or anyone else that got in their way.
By now Kix had just ran through the main entrance hall and after bursting out the front doors he came to a sudden halt, his eyes scanning the ground for any enemy activity. Thankfully the phantom had yet to drop it's load, but it was now dangerously close to the castle. It had already fired a few concussive rounds upon the city square, no doubt clearing out a potential landing zone.
"Big mistake," Kix said to himself as he drew his trusty shotgun and loaded it. The covenant had just shown him exactly where they planned to land, and he wasn't going to waste that information. He wasted no time either as he bolted down the steps leading into the town and weaved through the tiny streets, avoiding the occasional crowd of panicking ponies who were no doubt going to seek refuge in the castle. If the brutes managed to get inside, it would be a bloodbath. Kix shook the thought from his head as he continued towards the LZ. He wasn't going to let that happen. Sure, most of the ponies he knew inside the castle hated him, but they didn't deserve death, and certainly not at the hands of brutes. He'd seen firsthand what brutes could do in their fits of blood lust, and he would never forget those images, and he didn't even want to begin to imagine what would happen if a battle-crazed brute got his hands on one of the ponies. No, Kix wouldn't allow it. He was willing to fight to his last breath to prevent that future, although finding a way to both protect the ponies and defeat the brutes without being killed or injured would be preferable.
He had almost reached the covie drop zone when he slowed to a stop, crouching behind an overturned produce cart that had been abandoned during the first attack to shelter himself from the plasma that was once again raining as the phantom reached it's destination. Hovering just a few yards from Kix's hiding spot, and still spewing plasma, the phantom lowered and began to drop the first wave inside a house it had just leveled.. Kix took a quick peek to see exactly what the Covenant had in store for him, and he was rather impressed (and terrified) to see a brute chieftain readying a gravity hammer, followed closely by a group of minors, all wielding deadly spikers. Things were beginning to look grim for Kix as yet another chieftain touched down, this one accompanied by stalker class brutes wielding maulers. Hoping to determine his odds of surviving the inevitable skirmish, Kix quickly ran a number count of his enemy, but his hopes of victory without injury or casualty faded quickly as he compared the odds. It was twelve-to-one, with the brutes in two groups of six. Kix had fought brutes before, but never so many at once in such a small area. The only thing that felt normal to him was the constant knowledge of his actions determining the fate of innocent lives, but it wasn't exactly comforting. If he could just find a way to break them up a little...
"Spread out!" The chieftain bellowed, "Search the entire the city! Find Kergreesh!" Kix let out a quiet sigh of relief as he watched the brute squads split up into four groups of three, greatly increasing his odds of victory. But Kix shortly realized that it also increased the odds of losing track of the four groups, though it wasn't hard to tell where they had been. Carts and stalls lay overturned, their contents spilled and smashed over the cobblestone roads. Doors had been broken down and windows smashed as the brutes searched the houses, though they never took anything nor stayed in one place for very long, and Kix began to wonder if it was because they were uncomfortable with their surroundings. That, or they were just bored because they had encountered no resistance.
He had chosen to follow one of the chieftains first, and trailed them closely as they weaved through the narrow streets leading to the castle gate, which had been shut shortly after the last civilian had reached safety behind the stone walls. He still couldn't believe that he was letting little ponies order him around, but he figured killing Covenant here was just as good as killing them on Earth.
Speaking of which, where exactly is 'here'? Kix thought, readying his knife as he creeped up on one of the brute minors. He would have to ask later, but for now, he had to focus on the task at hand.
Quickly, he drew the knife across the brutes' throat and with a single swift motion brought it down, the brute dying with only a soft gurgle. Kix took the two plasma grenades strapped to the brutes waist and attached one to his own before lobbing the other one straight at the chieftain, who had just caught the scent of his dead teammate. The chieftain readied his gravity hammer and began to turn, but he was too late. The grenade collided with the back of his head, permanently securing itself there with that all-too familiar sound. The chieftain howled at the realization of his inevitable death, and the second minor saw what was happening a second too late as the grenade exploded, blowing the chieftains' brains all over the walls, the tiny shards of his skull acting as shrapnel as they tore through the other brutes' chest, killing them both instantly.
"One down, three to go." Kix said, picking up the chieftain's gravity hammer. "And this should make things a whole lot easier."
There are certain subtleties in life that one doesn't always notice at first glance. Take, for example, the butterfly. It's wings may look bare and paper-like, but look closely and sure enough you'll see that its' wings are actually covered in tiny hairs. In Kix's current position, however, it was the weight of the gravity hammer. When carried dormant, the weapon feels heavy and clumsy, but the second you clutch the trigger mechanism and bring it down upon your enemies, it becomes almost weightless.
Kix noticed that right as he brought the hammer ruthlessly down on his unfortunate victim, a brute minor foolish enough to stray from his pack to investigate a strange sound. The entire scenario had been a ruse, of course, with Kix using tin garbage cans and their contents to produce a soft rattling. Those cans, however, where now flattened as the hammer forced the brute to become one with the pavement, driving him into a deep, ape-shaped crater in the road. Admittedly, it wasn't the quietest way to take the brutes down, and Kix was sure that the rest of the now-deceased brutes' pack had heard the commotion, but such methods were extremely effective and minimized his time spent in combat.
"And stay down!" Kix added, bringing the hammer back up to the carry position. Too many times had he killed a brute only to have an infection form reanimate it just to kill it again. While the flood's ways seemed disgusting and rather extreme, they were effective. To be completely honest, he was glad that just Covenant had come here and not Flood. To him, it would be just one more thing keeping him from leaving and helping out with the war where it really mattered: Earth. He wondered how the war was going back home as he leapt over a carriage that lay overturned in the ally before continuing down the backstreet. He missed his home planet, though he wasn't actually born on Earth herself. He wondered how the rest of his squad was holding up, and whether they were searching for him. He gasped suddenly as he saw the ground rushing up to meet him, and a split second before he made contact he extended his arms to halt his fall. He cursed silently as he stood back up, and kicked the bucket he had tripped over aside. He shook his head solemnly and continued. No matter how much he wanted to go home, how desperately he wanted to help with the war effort, he had to focus on the task at hand. He had to stop the brutes. And speaking of which, he had seen them come this way, and, sure that they had heard the gravity hammer, hoped that they would come back the way they left. And after a few moments of patient waiting, they did.
Kix heard them long before he saw them, sniffing and growling in Jiralhanae as they walked quickly down the road far ahead of him as he crouched behind a tall hedge next to a floral shop. He clutched the hammer tightly, waiting for the brutes to pass within striking range, and his current position reminded him of the garden where he had attacked Twilight and Pinkie. He was truly sorry for what he had done to them, but talking to them didn't really put him in the mood for apologizing. He shook his head. He was losing focus again.
No more distractions. He decided mentally. No more thinking about the past or Earth. Only think about now, about the brutes.
"Psst!"
Ah great! What now?
"Hey, can you give me a hoof here? Or whatever you call those things." She whispered. Kix shifted around to see a light-blue unicorn trapped next to a wall behind some rubble from a nearby building that had collapsed in the phantom's strike. Her blue and white mane reminding him a little bit of toothpaste. Maybe she was a dentist, but how she had become trapped there was beyond Kix, so he didn't even try to understand it. Instead, he just decided to give her a helping hand.
"Sure." He said as he shuffled over to her. "And they're called 'hands'." He informed, placing them on the stone, and with a mighty heave, rolled it away.
"Thanks," She said, crouching down beside him. "My name's Colgate, by the way." He would have made a really funny toothpaste-related joke right there and then, if it weren't for the approaching brutes. Darn Covenant always ruining his fun. Perhaps another time. With the way things were going, he figured he would be here for a long time.
"Kix," He said, returning to his spot behind the hedge. "The name's Kix."
"What kind of name is that?"
"It's mine, okay?" He said, careful not to raise his voice.
"I was only kidding," She said, remaining where she was. "What are those things?" She gestured in the general direction of the oncoming aliens.
"Brutes. Nasty, violent Covies. The worst in my opinion."
"What are Covies?" She asked.
"It's short for 'Covenant'. They're an alien faction, believing they're on some 'religious quest' to destroy the entire universe."
"Why would they do that?" She said, shocked.
"No idea." Kix replied. "Universal supremacy or something like that. Becoming gods mainly."
"What do they want here?"
"You sure do ask a lot of questions, don't you?" Colgate blushed and shrugged, and Kix shook his head. "But back to your question. Most likely?" Kix ran through the possible things that the Covenant could be after here, and he found only one. "Me."
"Why would they want you?" She asked, crawling over to him.
"Hold that thought," He whispered quickly, peering over the hedge. The brutes were almost right on top of them, and they had picked up the pace, obviously sensing something wrong. Kix pointed to the wall where he had found her. "Stay there and stay down." Colgate nodded and did as he said. The brutes were now just a few yards away, drawing nearer with every second, then a few feet, and then... they stopped.
"What is it brother?" The brute on the left asked, not bothering to keep his voice down. "Why are we halting when we could be gutting?"
"I heard something," The right brute growled, scanning the sides of the street up and down. A look of disbelief crossed the brutes face moments before his head perked up.
"I smell it as well." The first said, sniffing the air, then suddenly pointed directly at the hedge. "There!"
"Throw a grenade!" The second brute commanded, obviously the one in charge, while the first drew a spike grenade, and right as it left his hand, Kix vaulted over the hedge, hammer ready, and charged the brutes, taking one down instantly with blade on the back of the hammer before finishing the other with a mighty slam. The last brute fell to the ground as the grenade went off in the background, it's barrage of lethal spikes ricocheting harmlessly off the surrounding buildings.
"Only two groups left," Kix made a verbal note, returning to the hedge, which had been blown in half by the grenade. "You okay Colgate?" He had his back to her, scanning the street for any other brutes. He didn't get an answer. "Colgate?" He said, turning around. He wish he hadn't. Colgate lay propped up against the wall, her deep blue eyes huge and full of fear as she stared down at the long spike protruding from her chest, which was heavily rising and falling. A steady stream of blood trickled down form the wound as the hammer fell from Kix's hands and he rushed over to her.
"Oh. My. Faust." Colgate breathed heavily, her voice rasping in pain and fear. "Kix, I-I'm-"
"You're gonna be okay," He reassured her, unclipping a can of biofoam from his belt. "This will help, but it's gonna sting." He popped the lid off, and bracing her shoulder with his left hand, sprayed the foam around the spike. He felt her body tense up as he sprayed, but she never uttered more than a soft moan. Once he had sprayed a good amount of the can onto her wound, he set the can down. The next step wasn't going to be easy for him or her, but he had to get the spike out.
"I'm going to have to pull it out now, okay? Are you ready?" She nodded, fear of the coming pain evident in her eyes. "Alright," He grabbed the spike with his right hand, making sure not to move it. "Here we go in three, two, one..." He pulled his hand back, Colgate screaming as it left her body. He quickly grabbed the can and sprayed some more foam into the wound before capping it and returning it to his side.
"See? That wasn't so bad." Kix said as he tossed the spike away. "You doing okay?"
"Yeah, thanks." She smiled weakly, grasping her chest with her left foreleg.
"Don't mention it." Kix said, helping her sit up. "But you're gonna need more than biofoam for that. Do you know where we can get you some help?" Colgate shook her head.
"Most ponies fled to the castle before the attack." She moaned in pain as she spoke. "That's, that's probably our best bet."
"Then that's where you need to go. Can you walk?"
"I, I don't think so." She inhaled sharply as she clutched her wound, staining her hoof with a mixture blood and foam. "Kix, I-I don't think I'm going to-"
"Hey," Kix shushed her, "don't talk like that. You're gonna be fine. If you can't walk," He placed his arms under her, "then I'll carry you." He finished, gently lifting Colgate off the ground and into his arms, holding her close to his chestplate.
"Is this good?" He asked, making sure he wasn't hurting her.
"Yeah, Kix. Thank you." She rested her head against his chest, her voice growing softer as Kix took off, keeping his pace slow enough so she wouldn't bounce in his arms but quick enough to minimize their time in the open. Kix was vulnerable, and he was sure the brutes would take advantage of that. He had to get her to the castle without being spotted. Luckily for him, the streets were tight-knit and winding, and he was heading away from the direction the brutes went. He maneuvered around any obstacles in his path, praying silently that he wasn't lost when he had to find new routes around collapsed buildings and burning carts, but he never stopped moving forward, constantly checking on Colgate to make sure she was alright. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of winding streets and back roads, he caught sight of the castle's main gate.
"Stay with me Colgate," He spoke quickly, "you're gonna be alright. We're almost there." He went up to the gate and, with no other way to open it, kicked it open. He hurried up the castle steps, careful not to shake her too much, and reached the castle doors. He attempted to kick them open, but to no avail.
"Hey!" He yelled, not caring if the brutes heard him. "Open up! I got a wounded mare out here!" It was a desperate and rather childish move on Kix's part, but he didn't care. After all, he was holding an injured, possibly dying mare in his arms. "Hey!" He kept shouting until a guard finally opened the door and quickly ushered them in before closing and locking the door again.
"She needs medical attention." Kix told the guard, who immediately pointed them towards a room marked with a red cross, which lay at the other end of the main hall. The circular room was crowded with ponies, all who gazed at Kix in shock and horror and, upon seeing Colgate in his arms, quickly stepped aside, allowing him to effortlessly cross the room. He was instantly met by a swarm of doctors and nurses when he arrived, who hurriedly told him to set her gently on the stretcher they had brought, and then rushed her away down the hall before he could say a word. He watched her go for as long as he could, before turning and leaving the way he came, the ponies in the hall still parted and ever-silent as they watched him go, the guard who let him in opening the door once more to let him back out into the city.
Kix silently made his way back through the streets, unable to get Colgate out of his head. She was just an innocent pony who got caught in the crossfire, and yet he felt like she was something more.
Oh no, He thought stubbornly, I am NOT getting feelings for a pony. Though somewhere deep inside, he knew he was lying. He stopped at a corner to get his bearings and re-focus his thoughts. He was just a soldier who was following orders, and a pony happened to get hurt in the process. Things like that happen all the time.
I mean, it's not like I wanted her to get hurt. Kix told himself as he took off, following a new trail of debris that one of the final brute packs had left behind. Why they were making such a mess was unknown to him, but then again, everything that had happened so far was a mystery. Like how a phantom and so many brutes had managed to survive the crash, or how he himself had survived.
"Well, if I survived, it's not surprising that they did too. At least it was only one phantom." And so he continued after the brutes, not thinking anything more of it.
Kix sat in an almost vacant hallway, fiddling with the alicorn he had carved what felt like an eternity ago. Despite most of the ponies hating his guts, Pinkie had happily found and reattached it's head, and had given the figure to him on his way in without a word, just a cartoonishly huge smile. He supposed ponies weren't that bad, and they had begun to warm up to him after they heard about his rescuing of Colgate. In fact, it was her hospital room that he now patiently waited. It wasn't that he felt feelings for her, no, far from it. Rather, he felt as though he had an obligation to check up her, come a full circle, that sort of thing. And even if he did have feelings for her, such a relationship could never be possible. They were two different species, or rather, species that were too different. And besides, he didn't need a girl to feel complete. He was a trained soldier. He didn't need emotions in his line of work.
Yeah, He thought, dismissing any trace of his previous wanderings, and flashed back to the now. He looked out of place in the sterilized white hall, his greyish-black armor made him stand out like a sore thumb. But he didn't care how looked, mainly because he had nothing else to wear, and he wasn't about to take it off either. He looked back down at the figure, and couldn't help but break a smile as he remembered back to when he had carved it.
I must've looked like such an idiot. He thought, tucking it safely away in one of his empty ammo bags. That was one problem being stuck on a foreign world. The lack of ammunition had almost gotten him killed but a few hours ago when he had attempted to take down one of the last brutes. He had the element of surprise, but when he went for the kill, he got the sound any soldier dreads hearing: the click of an empty mag. The brute had heard it as well, and swung around with a mighty blow, knocking Kix off his feet. He would have been dead, if not arrogance that caused the brute to rant on and on about 'how good he would taste' and 'how easily he had beaten him'.
The sound of a door opening caught his attention, and he looked up to see a nurse walking towards him.
"How is she?" He asked, making sure to keep his voice monotone and unreadable, not wanting to give off the impression that he was growing soft. Which, mind you, he most certainly wasn't.
"Well, honestly it's a miracle she's still alive. Whatever you used, it worked wonders. She's still asleep, but you may go in if you want to." She turned, and before leaving added: "You saved her life."
"Yeah, I guess I did." Kix didn't know whether to feel proud or burdened. On the one hand, his feat could help him gain some respect and trust amongst the ponies who could help him get home, while on the other, it could set a standard for how he was to earn their trust. Saving one pony that was in his immediate vicinity was easy enough, but running rescue missions? He shook his head slowly as he stood up. Besides, brutes didn't take prisoners, only the scrapes they were going to eat later.
Kix slowly opened the door to Colgate's room and stepped inside. The white walls were decorated with pictures of her friends and family, or what Kix assumed were her family, and some even of herself. For a while Kix just stared around the room, gazing into her past. In every picture she posed with the same perfect smile, so white it almost seemed to shine. Colgate herself lay in center of the room, her chest slowly rising and falling beneath the thin bedsheets as machines hissed and beeped in the background. A single IV ran into her left foreleg, strapped down with blue and white bandaged that matched her mane almost perfectly, but not quite.
He retrieved the tiny alicorn from his bag and gently set it down on her bedside table, with a scribbled note dangling around it's neck a piece of paper. It felt wrong to come see her like this and not leave a 'Get-Well' card, and seeing the other cards and gifts there for her reminded him of Earth. Before he exited the room, he glanced back at Colgate once last time, and silently wished her good-bye. Only God knew if he would ever see her, or anyone else, again. The Covenant where here and they wouldn't stop coming. It would be slow at first, a few brute squads here and there, but it was only a matter of time before they sent in an invading army. And Kix was going to be honest with himself, if they did, it wasn't going to be a very long war.
"We have received word of what you did Kix," Celestia's voice was warm and inviting as they walked down the castle corridors, but Kix still found it hard to trust her. "It was very brave, doing what you did."
"Yes, and still managing to complete your original mission." Luna added, giving him a warm smile.
"Okay, what's the deal?" Kix said, stopping just outside one of the doors leading out of the main hall.
"I'm sorry Kix, but I don't quite understand." Celestia turned, her smile fading into a look of confusion.
"I mean, why are you treating me so nicely all of a sudden? I'm the guy you're trying to get rid of, remember?"
"Yes, and we shall be rid of you in time." Luna said, and Kix would've thought it harsh if it wasn't for the joking smile she wore. "But you have proven useful to us, and we are simply impressed by the amount of faith you have put in us."
"Okay, let's get some things straight. One: I don't trust you, and two: I'm not your tool, so unless it helps me get home quicker, I don't want a part of it." Celestia seemed a bit surprised at Kix's words, but then again, he had just cut it to her cold.
"And what of Colgate?" Luna said after a moment of silence. "Is her survival essential to helping you get back?"
"That was different!" Kix defended.
"Oh really? How so?" Luna rebutted. "You stated clearly that you only wish a part in things that shall help you return to your planet quicker, and since you rescued Colgate, is it wrong to assume that her survival is an important part to getting you home?"
"Yes, it is very wrong to assume. We all know what happens when you assume." Kix said, the two princesses completely oblivious to his joke. "And no, saving her was not essential."
"So why did you?" Luna asked. "Why save somepony who may not want to help you?"
"Because I couldn't watch her die, alright?!" Kix snapped, his voice almost a yell. "Not there, not like that." He added, his tone growing somber. "Not like that."
"I'm sorry Kix, I didn't mean to upset you." Luna apologized. "I didn't realize-"
"No, no. It wasn't your fault." Kix interrupted, "I shouldn't have yelled like that. I don't know what came over me."
"But I think I do." Celestia said, taking a step towards him. "You care for her Kix. And not just Colgate, all of us. I know you don't want to admit it, but you do. Even for those who don't care about you."
"But why?" He said, this time asking Celestia for an answer. "I've seen my own people die on the streets and I've never given it a second thought! I've watched my friends die in the arms of their loved ones and never felt anything."
"That seems a little extreme though Kix," Celestia stated gently, not wanting to upset him more.
"But I'm a soldier. We're trained not to become attached to people! But as I set her down in the stretcher and watched them wheel her away, I felt nothing but regret!"
"And why is that Kix?" Luna said, motioning for to take a seat on one of the benches lining the hall. He gladly obliged.
"As they took her away, I felt as though I should've been able to do more. I mean, I've saved entire cities from obliteration for God's sake! And yet, I can't even save a single pony from a war that she wasn't supposed to be involved in."
"But you didn't fail Kix." Celestia reassured, sitting down beside him. "Colgate is still alive thanks to you."
"I know, but I can't help thinking about what would have happened if I had just kept going and hadn't checked on her. She would have died thinking I had killed her. I'm trained to save lives, not watch them slip away."
"Now Kix, you are not to blame for what happened." Celestia said sternly, placing her hoof on his shoulder. "And you shouldn't think about what would have happened had you left her, because you didn't, and that's what really matters."
"Yeah, you're right. It's not very professional of me to dwell on 'what-ifs' and so on."
"You know," Luna said, "you seem to rely heavily on your training to get you through most situations you are faced with. What if you stopped and started to rely on what you believe?"
"But that's just it Luna," Kix said, looking up. "I don't know what to believe anymore. I mean, I get thrown into the same war no matter what planet I'm on, so there's really no other way to react but to treat it just like I always have."
"And how is that?" Luna asked.
"Get the job done." Kix replied. "No matter the cost."
"You know what I think would be good for you?" Celestia said after a long pause.
"And what might that be? A stroll in the park? No offense Prism, but I think I'm done taking orders from you for today."
"Of course," Celestia agreed, "but what I was about to say doesn't involve myself or my sister."
"Oh really," Kix said skeptically, "so what is it?"
"I think it would be good for you to visit with Twilight and her friends."
"Hold on just a minute there," Kix said, straightening up. "You do know that those ponies hate me, right?"
"Come now Kix," Celestia said with a slight chuckle. "they don't hate you. I think it's what's happened in the garden that's got them concerned."
"Nah, I'm pretty sure it's hatred." Kix pressed, holding up his hands. "Pure, uncontaminated hatred."
"Sister, surely you recall how eager they all were to be rid of him before the attack." Luna said, addressing Celestia. "Were they not the same towards Discord when you asked Fluttershy to reform him."
"That may be true, but if these Covenant return in force, you may need all the help you can get."
"And how could they possibly help me?" Kix asked, ignoring his urge to ask about this 'Discord' that Luna had mentioned. "I know soldiers when I see 'em, and they aren't exactly war-material."
"That may be true, but I'll have you know that they have saved Equestria repeatedly in the past."
"Those six?" Kix said with a look of disbelief, though neither alicorn could see it. "I'm surprised they could be in the same room together."
"You'd be even more surprised when you hear just what else they've managed to accomplish together." Luna chimed in, "They reunited my sister and I after they had only just met."
"As impressive as that sounds," Kix said, not sounding impressed at all, "I just think it's too soon. And besides, I'm not really in the mood for talking. To them, at least, and not all at the same time."
"Very well. We will not force you into this. But it would be good for you to make some friends while you're here." Celestia said.
"Make some friends? Seriously? I'm not gonna waste time I could be using to get home to make friends." Kix said sternly. Celestia sighed.
"Kix, I am going to be honest with you. Unless one of the bright ponies of Equestria figures out the mechanics of a space craft, I'm afraid getting you off the planet just won't be possible."
"Wait, early you said you could teleport things to the moon. Could you do the same thing with me, only to Earth?" Luna answered for her.
"No. We would need an already-existent magical connection to your planet in order to do so, like we do with our moon." Kix sighed and sat back in his seat.
"So I'm stuck here for good."
"Maybe not forever Kix. Have hope." Celestia smiled warmly.
"Whatever you say Prism," He sighed again. Suddenly Luna perked up.
"I know what would make you feel better!" She exclaimed.
"Oh really?" Kix said without looking up. "I hope it's better than Celestia's idea."
"You could go visit Colgate in the hospital."
"But I already did that." Kix explained, "I went there early today."
"Yes, we know. What I meant was visiting her when she's awake, and talking to her. It might do you good to hear what she has to say." Kix thought for a moment, wondering how talking to her would help him get home, before shrugging and agreeing.
"On one condition," He said, holding up one finger. "Unless there's any more Covenant activity, I'd like to spend the rest of today searching the remnants of the Covenant cruiser for anything salvageable. Cables, equipment, that sort of thing." Celestia looked at Luna, and both nodded upon meeting eyes.
"Alright Kix. We agree to your terms and will leave you be for the rest of the day."
"Really? You got all that from just eye contact?" The two sisters laughed as Kix stood up and prepared to leave, but before he could Celestia called out to him.
"Oh, and one more thing. We have prepared a room for you in the upper hall. Feel free to use as you wish."
"Thanks." Was all Kix said before turning and exiting through the main doors.
Kix gazed in disbelief out at the wreckage of the of the Covenant cruiser Truth's Light and couldn't help but feel a little disgust. He didn't like the Covenant nor the purple metal they favored, but something about this particular ship and it's position screamed dreadful. It lay in two halves, with the forward-half of the ship dug into a crater in what was known as the "Everfree Forest", while what was left of the rear after the explosion had disintegrated upon entering the atmosphere and lay scattered across the landscape. Purple and blue flames lapped at the broken hull while alien wires sparked and shuttered as Kix made his way towards the main wreck, carefully watching his step and ignoring the voice in his head yelling to turn around and go back to the room Celestia had prepared for him.
As Kix approached the hull, he noticed the increased number of Covenant dead, the sight bringing little relief to the ODST as he quickly passed the by. When he reached the broken ship, he circled around towards the back half, which had been ripped open when the back half had broken away. The forward hull had come down at an angle, so Kix would have to go down beneath the surface and into the darkness to look for anything still usable. The entrance loomed in front of him like gaping jaws, twisted into a gruesome purple scream, and he resisted the urge to turn around and go back to the room Celestia had prepared for him. Instead, he unlatched his shotgun from his back, and after flicking on the light attached to it, slowly began his decent into the ship.
It was a tight squeeze at first, with Kix having to hold his shotgun at eye-level in order to slip between any crates that were too heavy to shove aside, but the further he went, the more the halls began to open up. The light from the fires quickly receded as Kix slowed his pace in order to scan every inch of the ship with his flashlight. It was a bit unnerving, being this deep in an enemy crash site, but what worried Kix was not the number of living Covenant he had seen, but rather the lack thereof. It was strange that the Covenant wouldn't have used the broken ship as their temporary outpost, and if they weren't here, Kix couldn't help but wonder where else they would be hiding. He knew for a fact that there were living Covenant on Equestria, he just didn't know where, or how many. What worried him above all else though, was the thought of a full-scale invasion. The ponies appeared to lack any form of self defense, let alone world defense, and there was only so much he as a single ODST could do. If the Covenant were planning to strike soon and in force, in wouldn't take long for Equestria to fall.
Kix quickly shook the thoughts from his head as he realized how far he'd traveled without watching his surroundings. If he got sloppy, he'd most likely end up trapped with no hope of rescue, which would mean he would be as good as dead. Or worse. Much, much worse. He shook the thoughts from his head as he marched forwards, stepping over shattered consoles and sparking wires. Ever since he'd landed on Equestria, he felt his concentration had been...lacking, as though there was always something on his mind, distracting him from whatever task he was trying to accomplish. Maybe it was the thoughts of seeing the equines slaughtered at the hands of the Covenant, or perhaps of was the feeling of helplessness that plagued him, knowing that he could never hope to protect an entire planet by himself. Even if he tried, he would surely be slain, and Equestria would become just another ball of glass drifting aimlessly through space, another testament to the Covenant's madness.
Suddenly the hull shook around Kix, as though something had forcefully slammed into it from the outside. Kix halted as the hull shook again, this time harder, and braced himself up against the wall. It was obvious that something was hitting the ship, and Kix suspected that something was the Covenant. If they had known he was inside and were trying to destroy the ship, he would trapped inside and would surely perish. He was hit with a strong sense of dread when he realized that he needed to get out, and fast.
He retraced his steps, leaping over familiar obstacles he had seen on his way down as he ran back towards the exit, but the cramped and cluttered halls made it difficult for him to keep a consistent pace, as he had to slow down repeatedly to side-step around debris. Still the hull shook, briefly disorienting Kix as he ran. He could see the exit growing larger and felt a brief sensation of relief, which was quickly shattered when a sizzling ball of molten plasma arched over the hole's lip and and into the corridor, hurtling straight towards Kix. Luckily, he happened to be next to a metal plate that had detached from the wall and dove behind it right as the plasma roared past where he had just been standing. He quickly peered out around the sheet, looking for any more incoming wraith mortars as well as any place to take shelter from them. Finding only the latter, he darted out and continued for exit, from which he could feel a growing draft when another mortar appeared. Kix had to fall back in order to take shelter though, and he narrowly escaped. The shots were becoming more frequent the closer he got to the exit, no doubt because the Covenant were monitoring their motion trackers. Kix had also been glancing at his, and the amount of red had made him consider staying inside the ship, but they would no doubt send a team to search the entire ship for him. As fun as it sounded, Kix didn't feel like being cornered in a dark ship by angry brutes today.
Kix was now within arms reach of the hole's edge, and he was prepared to jump out when he heard the familiar launching sound of a wraith's mortar. The outer edge of the ship was illuminated a bright purplish-blue as the plasma streaked closer, and even Kix's polarized visor wasn't enough to block out the rapidly increasing light as the plasma drew nearer. Making a last second decision, Kix dropped to the ground and lay flat on his back, just barley underneath the plasma, which scorched his chestplate as it soared over him and exploded somewhere inside the ship. Using his hands and legs, Kix pushed himself into a roll and dropped off the ship and onto the hard ground, where he quickly got onto his feet, shotgun ready. Hovering just inches off the ground in front of him sat the purple beast, fins gently wavering as it drifted slightly to the left. It's mortar finished venting and ascended, only to jerk back suddenly as it fired a plasma shot that Kix was quick to evade. The mortar shot exploded harmlessly in the background as Kix sprinted right for the wraith, which responded by boosting forwards, intending to splatter him. But that was exactly what Kix had wanted, and right before it ran full force into him he leapt to the side, letting the wraith pass right by him. He was now right where he wanted to be: behind the wraith. He dashed forward and jumped onto the wraith's back, and before the pilot figured out what was happening, shoved one of his last spike grenades into the opening in the armor before jumping off and rolling away into the brush. The wraith turned one-eighty, and just when it seemed it was about to fire, as massive explosion sent it up in flames and blew it's mortar to pieces. Kix was about to step out of the brush when he heard the scream of engines approaching, and craned his neck just time to see three banshees fly over, oblivious to the smoking wreckage below.
And just where are you headed off to? Kix thought as he stepped out into the clearing and took off in the direction the banshees had been heading. He had been trailing them for little over fifteen minutes before he finally lost sight of the alien craft, which had blended in to the purple sky that signaled the final hour of sunlight, but Kix was too intrigued to turn back now. And so he trekked on into the early night, weaving expertly through the dense forest. He had entered the woods little over half an hour ago, and he was beginning to notice that the trees were thinning out, until he was standing right on the edge of the woods, overlooking a clearing that went a little ways before dropping off into a sheer cliff. As Kix made his way over to the edge, his radar suddenly went static, and Kix knew it had to be Covenant jammers. He fell to a crawl, and looked over the edge, expecting to see a small encampment of brutes, but the reality was so much worse. In the center of the valley below stood a spire, over twenty stories high, surrounded by the glow of phantom and banshee trails, while over a hundred Covenant foot soldiers patrolled the surrounding area.
Oh my God, Kix thought with wide eyes, it's Reach all over again. But why here? Although Kix always had trouble determining the Covie's reasons for doing what they did, he couldn't even begin to imagine just what they'd want on a planet inhabited by little talking equines, but he wasn't about to ask now. He crawled back to the edge of the woods, and the second he was on his feet he ran. He had to warn Celestia of the imminent danger. He had to warn Equestria.
