> If You Give a Spartan a Bullet...
>  by ByTheNightSky
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prelude: Long Night in Hell...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Six looked out the window. God, Reach was beautiful to look at in space. However, he knew that parts of that beauty were being destroyed. Why did this war have to happen? What were the elites truly trying to gain from all this destruction? Self-righteousness? No matter what it was, it was still killing those he cared for, and as a Spartan, it was his job to fight it.

A red dot on his H.U.D caused six to whip around, pointing his M8G magnum towards the direction the red dot was. The only thing that meet him was a lone grunt. The small creature stared at him, wide eyed. Six smiled, even though the grunt couldn't see it, for he had his security helmet on. He holstered his magnum, and started walking towards it. The thing stood there paralyzed with fear. He laughed, standing in front of the creature. "Oh, you are so going to die."

With that, the grunt yelled something unintelligible, turned and ran. Yet, it didn't get far. Six tackled the small thing, and stabbed his seven inch, standard issue combat knife into it's head. The grunt was harmless, yet his friend weren't. He didn't want it running back, and yelling about how a Spartan was at the loading bay. He had already killed three ultra-class elites, he didn't want to fight any more than he had to. Yet the screaming of the grunt attracted more attention than he liked.

Two elites, both minor-class, started firing at Six, as he dashed towards the pelican holding the bomb he was going to arm on Jorge's go. When both elites started cooling their weapons, he moved. Running at them, Six fired half a clip from his MA37 assault rifle into one of the elites. When it fell dead, Six crashed into the other. Rolling, Six tried to gain dominance, but failed, as they stopped, the elite on top. It was about to shove it's energy sword, coming out of its gauntlet, into Six's visor, so he had to act fast. Grabbing the elite's arm with his right hand, Six used his free hand to pull out his security knife, and stabbed it into the elite's throat, yet it wasn't dead. It reared back in pain crying and grunting to pull the knife out. With it's focus elsewhere, Six pulled his other knife out, and with the flick of his wrist, implanted said knife into the elite's skull.

After collecting his weapons, he heard a beeping noise come from the pelican. With the worst in mind, Six ran over to the slip-space drive that was armed to send half of the cruiser into oblivion, and saw that his worst fear was realized. The timer was fried. The only way for it to go off was to be detonated manually. "Fuck..." he hissed.

A yellow dot caught his attention on his motion tracker. Friendly. "Jorge." he said, acknowledging his return.

"Six, the cruiser is on its way to the super carrier. Lets go home." Jorge replied proudly.

"I can't."

"What?"

"The timers fried. It has to be fired manually." Jorge reared in realization.

"No! No, I'm not letting you do that, Six. We are getting off together!"

"DON'T YOU GET IT?!" Six yelled. " This is the best, and possibly only, way to take the super carrier out, and I'm not gonna fail the mission just because you don't want me to die!" He took a few breaths trying to calm himself. "We' re Spartans, Jorge. We do what we have to, to complete the mission. I'm doing this." Jorge sighed.

"Then... I'll stay. You go down there, and help the fight."

"No!"

"I'm sorry, but your going down there." With that Jorge grabbed Six and hefted him up. It took Six a second to realize what he was going to do: throw him out. Six would survive, locking his armor would take most of the heat and impact force, but that wasn't going to happen. After squirming a bit, Six got his right arm free, and punched Jorge across the helmet. He was dropped, not out of pain, but shock.

"Jorge, your a S-II." Six started "Your stronger than me. They need strong men down there. They need you."

"Six, no..." but was stopped when Six put a hand on Jorge's armor.

"Don't deny me this." Six couldn't tell, but Jorge's eyes were wet with tears. Jorge sighed, defeated.

"Then... God speed Spartan." They both gave salute.

Jorge climbed into the pelican, and with one last wave of goodbye, he took off.

"Goodbye, Jorge." Six said, and looked back out the window. "Goodbye, Reach..." Tears were welling in his eyes. This was it. For Jorge, for Noble, for Reach. He heard Sanghillian chatter on the radio, trying to confirm the ship was friendly. Picking up the radio, Six spoke into it. "I'll see you in hell, you mother fuckers." With that, he heard yelling on the other end, as he hit the panel to activate the slip stream. He closed his eyes, and prayed.
> Out of the Frying Pan...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Six woke with a jolt. Sitting up straight, he held his head in pain. What happened? Where was he? Then he remembered. The cruiser! He looked around, pulling his magnum from it's holster, and scanned his surroundings. Wait, what? Trees, grass, flowers? Wasn't he in space? He looked up in the sky. Cloudless. Did he succeeded? And how did he survive? So many questions, yet he was pulled from his thought at the sound of an explosion. He whipped around, magnum at the ready. Then he saw where the explosion came from. A city, with a castle? There was no such place on Reach, or any earth colony. Wait, was he even on Reach? He shook his head, trying to clear it. If he wanted answers, he was going to have to go to the city. 

After a short jog, he climbed up a ridge, and saw the city in full view. It was under attack. "Great..." he grunted. He was gonna have to stop this battle to get the answers he wanted, and he wanted them now. No rest for the wicked, right?
As he walked in, thoughts of New Alexandria flooded his mind. Yet, the civilians weren't humans, or any other species he recognized. They looked like animals, ponies. Yet, horses were rare, even for earth. He had only read about them, never seen one past a picture. But from what he read, they weren't multicolored. Or have wings or horns. Also, they were using spears and swords, however both were metal, not energy. 

"They don't have guns. Great." he sighed. He better save his bullets, and then an idea hit him. He started digging through his hard case, attached to his thigh, to get his trophy. He pulled it out, a custom made energy sword he pulled from an elite general. Apparently swords ran on a set amount of energy, yet this one was solar powered, and as long as it was in the sun, it would always have power.

He put it in his hand, hoping it would turn on. He smiled, hearing the oh so satisfying ksssh it made when it turned on. With this, he was good to go. 

"Let's get to work." he said to himself. Running, he immediately recognized the hostile force. Black creature that looked like the ponies, but with an insect cross breed. They were running around, chasing the colored ponies. He noticed some of the colorful ones were in some goop, and decided to free the armored ones first, assuming they were soldiers. Three were in the goop down a corner, with one of the black creatures starring at them. This was almost too easy. Grabbing the things mouth, he shoved the sword threw its stomach, instantly killing it. Looking at the soldiers faces, they seemed more scared of him, than the creature. Putting a finger to his visor, he signaled to stay quiet. They nodded. 'At least they understand body language.' Six thought. Pulling the goop off of them, he grabbed their spears and handed them over. They seemed to flinch for a moment, like he was going to kill them. He put a hand on one of the three's neck to calm him. It seemed to do the trick.

Motioning out towards the street, Six left, with the three ponies following suit. He lead them to a thick line of bushes, and crouched, obviously, they did the same, as a patrol of insects, (what he was calling them), flew by. This seemed like a good time to get acquainted. He asked what their names where in sanghillian, and, with confused looks on their faces, he asked them in English.

At this, their faces brightened, as they replied in English.

"I'm J."

"Flash"

"Sarge."

"Good to meet you. I'm Six. Do you know what these things are? And what they're doing?"

"They're changlings. They are invading Canterlot." Sarge replied. So this town was Canterlot?

"Do you know where we should head? If you couldn't tell, I'm new here."

"The castle." Flash said, pointing to the largest building in the town. "It's most likely where both their and our leaders are. J and I can fly there..."

"No. To risky. You could get spotted easily. For now stay grounded. This bush line seems to head to the front door, and is mirrored on the other side. If Sarge and I go along this line, and you and J go along the other, we could get there with less risk of detection. Alright?" Six ended his command. They all nodded. "Let's move."

They waited until the pair got to the other side to move. It went by slow, yet they had to. It took what seemed like a hour to get to the door before Six realized a problem. The door was guarded.

"Shit...." Six hissed. There was no way around the changelings without the risk of detection. He realized what they had to do: go threw them. "Is there any way to contact J and, or Flash?" he asked Sarge. All Sarge did was tap his horn, as it started to glow.

"What do you want me to tell them?"

"We're going to go through those guards on my mark."

"...Done."

"Ok..... Mark!" Six grabbed the changeling horn, and pulled it into the bushes and, with his knife, slit it's throat. He peeked above the bushes to see the other guard was gone. "Good job, guys!" he said, hushed. They hurriedly ran into the castle, as Sarge lead Six to the thrown room. 

Sarge stopped and looked around the corner. "There's only one guard by the door." 

That was all the conformation Six needed. Walking casually around the corner, the changeling yelled for him to stop. When Six didn't, it charged. Bad idea. When it got close enough, Six uppercut the beast with his knife, but it was stuck now. Walking up to the door, still dragging the lifeless changeling on his knife, he kicked the carcass off the knife, and through the doors. He was always good at making an entrance.

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Chrysalis was gloating. She had just taken over Canterlot, and was rubbing it in everyone's muzzles. 

"You'll never get away with... this...." Celestia breathed. The Queen just laughed.

"My dear Celestial, there is nothing you can do." She laughed again. "You and your sister are helpless, the elements are in my possession, and Cadence and Shining Armor are nowhere to be found."

"But... there is still hope..." Twilight moaned in pain.

"Ha, what hope is there? Enlighten me."

"I... I sent for help."

"And where is it, hmmm? Where is your help?" Her question was answered by the lifeless body of one of her soldiers being flung from the doors. With utter shock, she looked towards the door to see a six-foot, full metal, black with purple markings, beast.

"I'm the help, bitch."
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Six charged at the 'assumed' Queen, but was suddenly frozen in place about four feet from her. He cringed at it's wicked laughter.

"This was the best she could do?! Hahaha..." it continued laughing, walking towards the thrown. Yet, with her back turned, Six got a feel for the force field. It was like a bubble shield. With enough force, he could break it. Six smiled under his visor, while he went into armor lock (when a Spartan locks his/her armor for brief invincibility, but can not move.) and broke it, which causes an E.M.P blast that shattered the shield. All of the ponies looked at him in shock, yet the Queen's face was the best. He stood there, laughing at her, yet he instantly wish he didn't.

"Changelings!" she screamed. Suddenly, the windows shattered, at least 100 changelings rushed in, and formed three lines separating Six and their Queen. Yet he wasn't concerned, he was.... looking through his iTunes?

------------------------------------
(back on Reach)
"Six, you serious?"
"Yep, I wanted to find some ass kicking music."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
------------------------------------
Six put on his... ass kicking music, and got to work.
He switched hands for his sword, and ran at the first line. They all jumped at him. 'Strike one...' he thought. He slid with ease under the line, and turned firing his MA37 in a horizontal line, hitting every changeling dead. By the time he turned back around, he had gotten to the second line. Firing what was left in his clip, he re-holstered his gun, and impaled a changeling on his sword. Pulling back out, he re-swapped hands, and grabbed his security knife in his left. Two more rushed him, with a slight delay, which was their undoing. 

'Strike two...'

Grabbing the first changeling to stop it, the second couldn't turn, and his momentum made it run it's horn into its comrades side, impaling its heart. Six then grabbed the tip of said horn, and pulled, bringing the changeling's chest through his energy sword. Six then snapped one of the corpse's horn and threw it at the last changeling in the second line, the horn sliding easily through it's eye. Now he was on to the third line, and all of them, except for one, were shaking.

Six ran at the last line, energy sword holstered. He wanted to show his power without a weapon. As the one brave changeling ran at him, but with hesitation, as Six reared back, winding up a punch. 'Strike three...'

He had gotten this far without a hitch. Why not have a little fun?

"FALCON... PUNCH!" Six yelled, as he hit the changeling full force. But, he didn't stop there. He curved said punch, and brought the thing's head against the marble floor, making a small crater, and heard a satisfying squish as he assumed the creatures skull just imploded. Smiling he looked up to see something quiet unsettling. The third line was gone, except for one.

The last changeling was massive. It looked like a Quta from Reach. If the changeling was anything like the Quta, he did not want to fight it. So, he brought out his magnum, and shot it in the head. It swayed back an forth a bit, before falling, dead.

Six looked at the Queen, arms stretched like 'is that it?'. She turned to fly off, but oh no, Six was not having any of that shit. Grabbing her tail, Six swung like he was holding a gravity hammer, slamming her into the ground. She was unconscious at the impact, but Six woke her up by stomping his right foot on her chest, and kept it here.

Kneeling down, Six brought her face to his visor. She was actually cute. Too bad she had to die. As he stared into her eyes, pleading for mercy, he said something he wished he had sunglasses for.

"Your out."

And with that, Six grabbed her head and pulled, still holding her body in place with his foot. At first all he was going to do was snap her neck, yet her body was more fragile than he expected, as he pulled her head from its perch, skin ripping like paper. To stop now would be cruel, as her screams of pain intensified. He kept pulling, and after a few moments, was rewarded with her screams stopping, and the sound of wet popping, as he pulled her spine from its skin coat with her head,  vertebrae by vertebrae.

Walking to a recent shattered window, he shot a few rounds to stop the fighting, and held the head like a trophy. The changelings  flew in terror, after a moment of recognition, yet what shocked him the most was the response from the civilians and the soldiers: nothing. 

No response, just wide eyed stares. This puzzled him, thinking they would cheer, for they were saved from what seemed like a hopeless situation. His attention was grabbed from behind, hearing someone violently vomiting. He threw the head out the window, and turned around to see almost a thousand soldiers pointing spears at him.

"Are you FUCKING kidding me?!"
	
> ...And in to the God Damn Fire.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Six stared at the guards in disbelief. He had just saved their as... flanks, and this was his thanks?! One pony had both wings and a horn. Six believed this was the leader, for it was larger than all the others, and perched atop its head was a crown. He would have loved to continue this stare down he was having with it, but movement behind him made Six pull out his magnum, point it at the leaders face, and turn around, energy sword at the ready. He saw what seemed the complete opposite of the army on the right.

The army on his left were dark colored, bat-pony, half breeds. Standing in front of them stood a dark blue, smaller version of the pony Six had his magnum pointed at.

"Looks like we have a Mexican stand-off, ponies." Six stated, looking back and forth between the two leaders. The white one spoke first.

"We speak the same language. Good, that will lead to less frustration."

"Sorry to disappoint." Six replied, smartly, in Sanghillian. Ignoring the fact he replied differently, the white pony continued.

"Who are you? Where did you come from?"

"I'm not telling you a damn thing until you tell your men to stand down." Six turned to the blue leader. "You too."

"You are in no position to make demands."

"No?" Six nodded towards the corpses of changeling's, and their headless queen. "With that image in mind, I highly suggest you change your statement." Six said, every word dripping with venom as the barrel of his magnum inched closer to her nose. He could tell, even with the fantastic fake face she was putting off, she was terrified. Well, he assumed she, for her voice sounded feminine. But, his attention, yet again, was wrapped elsewhere, as what felt like a Gauss round, hit him in the stomach, making Six drop his held weapons, and fly out the window. Looking down, Six saw a blue, rainbow haired winged pony, jabbing his stomach. This thing was going to run him into the ground, throw him off a cliff, or take him into atmosphere. Six didn't want any of those thing happening.

Grabbing a wing with his right hand, Six pulled his leg back, and kicked the wing as hard as he could. The pony screamed in pain, as its wing was now bending the opposite way. Dropping, Six hit the ground and started rolling backwards. Getting his feet under him, Six slid for a few feet, trying to stop. When he did, Six looked up, and saw the pony lose control, and crashed in front of him. Not giving it any time to breath, he sprinted towards it. However the pony was already on its feet, or hoofs, in a bucking position, waiting for Six to come closer.

Smiling, Six grabbed one of its hoofs, yet didn't stop running. After dragging it a few feet, Six jumped into the air, and swung downwards, slamming the pony into the dirt. Six then pounced on it, knife pulled out, and above his head, ready to kill the creature.

"NOOO!" Six heard a shrill cry, but it was too late. He brought the knife down, but not into it's head, but off to the side, only severing a piece of its ear off. An ear splitting cry of pain came from the pony(ironic, isn't it?), as Six felt a familiar bubble form around him.

After he was pulled off the pony, five other ponies of multiple colors ran toward Six's attacker, and Six was surrounded by guards again. 

"Let me go, let me go! I'm gonna kill it!" Six laughed as Rainbow (he heard the five that ran towards her say it. Original, right?) yell the threat, as the five held her back.

"Trust me, skittles, you wouldn't have a chance."

"Then lets settle it!"

"ENOUGH!" the white leader yelled. "Violence will not calm this issue!" Rainbow then bowed, and backed away, glaring daggers at Six. "Now you, alien! Who are you?!" Six really didn't have any other option but to respond. If he broke the shield, Six was certain he would get skewered by one of the multiple spears pointing at his face.	

"My name is Six, member of Noble team. Rank: Lieutenant. S-III. Who are you?" The white pony seemed to let out a held breath at his cooperation.

"My name is Princess Celestia, and you will address me as such. My sister and I co-rule Equestria, where you are now, and you have broken many of our laws...., Six." 

"I also saved your asses."

"Indeed. Where did you come from?"

"Planet Reach, assuming I'm not at the planet, nor the same solar system, now. Do you know what solar system I am in?"

"No. Except for the sun and moon we raise, we know nothing else about our starry skies."

"Wait what do you mean 'the sun and moon you raise'? You mean physically move it?!" The unicorn nodded. "Okay, I'm call bull shit on that one. I'm probably dead, and this is some weird, twisted hell I'm in."

"I can assure you that you are very much alive. But why do you question that?"

"Because what I did before I came here should have killed me. But, if I'm alive, how did I get here?"

"That... may be my fault.." a purple unicorn said, walking forward.

"Twilight, my student. How are you involved in this?"

"It's long story...."

(Back inside the castle.)

"When it looked like we lost, I tried to summon a warrior, no matter who they were, to save Canterlot. When no pony showed up, I thought I had failed." Twilight explained. She gestured towards Six. "Apparently, I didn't."

"So, you thought it was a good idea to pull a warrior from his land, not knowing if he was fighting a critical battle, not knowing if he was dangerous, and put him in an unknown world? Am I following that right?" Twilight's ears flatten and looked away from the Spartan. Six smiled. "Your timing couldn't have been more fucking perfect. I was about to get obliterated."

"What were you doing?" Celestia asked.

"That, Princess, is another long story, and if I may be so bold, would like to tell over food."

"You eat?" the other princess, Luna, asked. Six's reply was taking off his helmet, to show them his true face. They all stared at him with shock and awe.

"Yes, I do eat."

(At the dining room)

"Thank you for the food. Now, I guess I have to explain what happened?" the ponies nodded.

"I was, some what, recently deployed to Reach, an earth colony, as a new member of Noble team, an all Spartan squad. The moment I got there, Noble team was deployed to reactivate a downed relay communications outpost and to find the MIA troopers that were sent to activate it before us."

"Why send troops back over there without knowing why they were missing?" Celestia interjected.

"Because Reach was too damn important. Anyways, on our way there, we found a destroyed Warthog. Seeing that plasma caused the explosion, we were skeptical at first."

"Skeptical of what?" Twilight asked.

"The Covenant." After receiving blank stares, Six continued on that subject. "The Covenant is essentially a group of aliens hell bent on destroying the human race. It consist of San 'Shyuum, Sangheilli, Jiralhanae, Huragok, Mgalekgolo, Yanme'e, Kig-yar, and Unggoy."

"You mean there are more aliens out there?!" Luna inquiries.

"Yes, but trust me, they don't know about your planet. If they did, half of it would be glass right now, but that's besides the point. After Jun and I did nightly reconnaissance to gather Intel, we discovered a spire, which we assumed was a large covenant outpost. When destroyed, however, we found out it was a large cloaking device for a Covenant super carrier, which then took off into space. Kat, another one of Noble team's member, created a plan to use a slip-stream makeshift bomb to essentially teleport half of the super carrier into oblivion. We had succeeded in getting the powder-keg on board, but there was a problem. The timer was fried." Six stooped, still seeing some confused looks. "It had to be set off manually." Those confused looks turned into wide eye stares of realization.

"Did... did some one you care about.....?" Celestia started.

"No. I set it off." The ponies looked at him like he had just told the biggest lie ever. "That is when I believe Twilight summoned me." They all nodded in understanding. "So, can you send me back?"

"What?!" they all seemed to ask in unison.

"Yeah! If I'm alive, I need to be there. They need all the help they can get. So, can you send me back, Twilight?"

"To be honest," Twilight's ears flattened, "I don't even know how I summoned you in the first place..."

"Wait, what?!"

"When I casted the spell, I was probably having a magic surge. It's like an adrenaline rush for magic. So, I don't even know if the Princess can get you back. Magical surges are extremely powerful." Six was dumb struck. He couldn't go back?! He couldn't help stop the Covenant's invasion of Reach?!

Celestia saw the panic in Six's eyes.

"Do not worry, Six. We will figure something out. Tomorrow. It's is late in the day, and you just saved us from an invasion. You must be tired..... and I assume every pony else is also?" Nodding heads agreed with her. "Then off to bed. Six, you will stay in a guest room. A guard will escort you there." With that, every one left.

(A little while later.)

Six did need rest. He needed to clear his head. Celestia seemed so sure they would find a solution, but could they?

"Hey, Six." Six looked up at the call of a friendly voice.

"Hey Sarge. What are you doing here?"

"Celestia wanted some pony to guard your room. Even if she thinks you're on our side, she still wants some pony stationed to make sure you don't go off and kill a bunch of ponies." Six chuckled at that.

"Alright, good night, Sarge."

"Good night, Six." Six entered the room. The first thing he saw was a bed. 'A bed...' Six thought. 'I haven't slept in a bed for ever. It's always been cryo sleep. Too bad I won't feel it. This armor has to be mechanically removed. Oh, well.' Six laid down on the bed. He couldn't feel the sheets all over his body, but his head wasn't armored now, and it felt super comfortable.

"Better than the ground or a piece of metal." Six laughed alone. He then drifted off in a blissful sleep.
> No Rest for the Wicked...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Shipmaster! I have important information for you!"

"What is it Saké?"

"We have intercepted a Spartan distress signal."

"And what is so important about that? We intercept those all the time."

"It came from the Celestial Plains, sir."

"What?! We have searched that area before, but couldn't get through because of a Forerunner shield. How did a Spartan get there?!"

"We do not fully know, shipmaster. With your word, we would like to send phantoms to see if a smaller vessel can get through."

"Only send two. If this shield destroys anything that comes in contact with it, I don't want our losses to be heavy."

"Yes, shipmaster."

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Six awoke to the sound of birds and sunlight hitting his face. Today was beautiful. Six rubbed his neck, as a little prick of pain went threw it. 'I haven't slept like that in ages.' he thought. Six looked around the room. He never looked last night, just the bed. Plus, the sunlight was making it easier. 'Wow, high class for their advancement in technology.' A walk in closet, master bath attached, make-up stand, (which he was NOT going to use), piano, guitar....

"A guitar?" Six thought, outloud. He hadn't seen a guitar in ages. Could ponies play this? He walked up to it. It was acoustic. "Weelll...... I don't think they'll mind if I pick at it...." he hadn't played in years. Six picked it up and strummed, and it was beautifully in tune. He continued picking at it, until he started strumming the chords to one of his favorite song he knew by heart.

I was walking down the street when out of the corner of my eye
Saw a pretty little thing approaching me.

Six was loving this place! If there wasn't a war on Reach, he would consider staying here.

She said 'I've never seen a man who looks all alone.
Could you use some company?

He was now on the balcony, effectively singing to Canterlot.

If you pay the right price, your evening will be nice,
And you can go and send me on my way.

He was so wrapped in the song, he didn't even hear the door open.

I said your such a sweet young thing, why do you do this to yourself?
She looked at me and this is what she said.

The figure slowly crept behind Six, trying so hard not to alert him.

Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked, money don't grow on trees.
I've got bills to pay, mouths to feed.
There ain't nothing in this world for free.
I know I can't slow down,
I can't hold back,
Though you know, I wish I could.
No there ain't no rest for the wicked,
Until we close our eyes for good".

"You have a beautiful voice." Six heard some one say, and he whipped around so fast, he almost smacked Luna across the muzzle with the guitar.

"Shit! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Noted. Did you sleep well?"

"Very well. You didn't have to give me a room."

"Yes, but my sister wants to keep an eye on you. She thinks..."

"She thinks I'm on your side, but she doesn't want me to kill a bunch of ponies. A guard gave me the same speech."

"Very well. My sister thinks she found a solution to getting you back, and will discuss it with you over breakfast. I came to get you."

"Alright. Let us depart."

(At breakfast)

"I must thank you for the room, Celestia. That was not necessary."

"It was my pleasure. Assume it was part of your reward for saving Canterlot. So let's get to business. I assume Luna has bright you up to speed about getting you home?"

"All I know is you may have a way of getting me back to Reach."

"Right, about that, I found in the archives a book that told of a portal to other worlds, none specific. Yet it does describe in almost perfect detail where the portal is, however that causes another problem."

"There always seems to be a catch.... What's the problem?"

"It's in Griffin territory." All the ponies looked down, like they were ashamed of the thought.

"What is the problem with that?"

"We're.... at war...." Luna said. Six had to hold a laugh. These lovable, colorful ponies were at war, with their low tech, and were not dead or enslaved.

"So... what do we do?" Twilight inquired.

"We will have to hope he will be reasonable. Maybe he will understand..."

"I've got a plan." Six interjected. "But you will need to keep a straight face through it." They all nodded, itching to here his plan. "Ok, so we go to their capital...."

(At the Griffin capital)

"My liege, Celestia has arrived."

"Good, send her in."

(A few moments later.)

"Ah, Celestia. Have you come begging for mercy?"

"I've come to make a deal, Rarák."

"What is this 'deal'? What could you give me that I couldn't possibly take?"

"Please, here me out. I would like you to remove your troops from my land and s-surrender your eastern t-territory."

"And what would I receive?"

"N-n-nothing."

"What?! Is this a joke?! Do you think I am a fool Celestia?!"

"Please take it Rarák. Don't make me use.... plan b."

"What could your 'plan b' possibly be?! I assure you that what ever it is, my sold-" King Rarák was silenced with the screams of his citizens. He ran towards the balcony and looked out, only to be greeted by the sight of his citizens running in fear, buildings collapsing, and a seven-foot tall, steel colored monster causing the destruction. "What is that thing?!"

"Plan...B" Rarák stared at Celestia in shock.

"Are you saying that monster is with you?!"

"Yes. Please take my offer, and it will stop."

"No! Guards! Keep Celestia here. If she tries anything, stop her, but do not kill her. When I destroy that thing, I will come back for your head Celestia!" Rarák then flew off to kill the monster.
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Six had just received confirmation from Celestia that Rarák wasn't going for the deal.

"Please don't kill anyone." Celestia said to him, telepathically.

"Celestia said its a go, Twilight." Six said, looking down at the purple unicorn.

"We'll be here if you need help."

"Thanks, but I won't need it." Six walked towards the city gates. He was going to terrorize the town. It was all part of the plan. Walking, he pulled out his energy sword. He wasn't planning on killing anyone but the king.

Six walked up to the front gates. A lone guard was standing watch.

"You there, halt!" the guard yelled at Six. When Six didn't stop moving, the guard removed his sword from its sheath. "I said halt, creature!" Again, Six wasn't listening. In fact, about a thousand ideas of how to kill this griffon went threw his head. Six decided a simple slash should work, and it did. The griffon fell with a soft thud, as a poof of dust came beneath his body.

As Six walked into the city, he instantly felt the eyes fall upon him. He could even hear whispers among the griffons. Six looked around to see where he should start his terrorizing. Six saw a building that had two main support beams on the outside. He stood by it, just staring. He wanted to see if any griffon was brave enough to question him. After about a minute, Six decided no one would come forward.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to start this party myself....." Six sighed in sanghillian. He wasn't going to use English so there would be more fear.

Six raised his hand, sword still in it. He literally felt the oxygen leave as all the griffons gasped. Six brought his hand down, striking both columns and cutting them in half. It took a few moments, but the cuts finally showed, as the building started sliding. Shrieks and gasps came from every where, as the Spartan just stood there, the debris falling around him. 

He continued walking, striking every building he saw along his path, knocking every civilian that got in his way out. He started yelling threats in sanghillian, causing more panic. Six came up to a monument of, or who he assumed, was king.

He struck  it down with one blow, yelling "You shall fall!" in sanghillian. As the dust settled from the monument collapsing, Six saw a heavily armored griffon appear in front of him, rushing with swords drawn. Six evaded, rolling to the right, and almost ran into the crowd that was quickly forming.

The beast turned, roaring at him, blood lust showing in its eyes. 

"How dare you ravage my city!" It rushed Six again, but Six slid under its feet, not wanting to repeat  his same evade, as this creature seemed to know alot more about battle than the ponies. The 'assumed' king turned back around, yelling in frustration.

"What is your business here!?" The king demanded. Six dropped the sanghillian.

"Basically, insurance."

"Insurance for what?!"

"Celestia's demands."

The beast's eyes flourished with anger as Six finished his sentence. Again, he recklessly charged. Six shook his head in disappointment. Yes, this creature may know more about battle, but was still stupid. When he got close, Six side-stepped to the right and countered, smashing his fist into the side of the beasts head. With the force of the impact, the king hit the ground, bounced, and fell again, creating two small craters. The king came to his feet, staring at Six in surprise.

'So much force from a punch?!' the griffon thought. "Who are you?!"

Six smiled as a thought came to his mind. If the king was going to die soon, why not have some fun?

"My name is Six, knight of the wind." (:P you know what this is for.) If this was a medieval era place, that title should make things more interesting.

"A knight...." the king.

"Yes, and I challenge you to hand to hand combat." Laughed were heard from every where.

"You.... you honestly think you can defeat me?!" the king said, in between laughter.

"If you think I can't, what do you have to fear? In fact let us make a wager..." Six now had the griffon's full attention. "If I win, the kingdom gives into Celestia's demands. Yet if you win...... you get Equestria." Six heard six familiar gasped behind him.

"Six, you can't do that!"

"Oh, dear......"

"What in tarnation are ya thinkin', partner?!"

"The hell is wrong with you, Six?!"

"OOOooohhh, fight!"

"Um... Six? Could you not do that? If that's okay?"

"It's all right girls, I got this." Six turned to the six ponies. "Trust me." A long silence went through them. Then they all nodded.

"We trust you." they all said, together.

"Good." Six turned back to the king. "Deal?" The king smiled evilly. 

"Deal."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They each took positions at the corners of the group that had surrounded them. Six put his sword away, and pulled both his knifes out. He wasn't going to just kill the griffon, he was going to make a statement. At high noon, they would begin.

After a few minutes, the clock tower struck twelve times. Both fighters moved from their corners, but took different approaches to the fight. The king rushed, again. Side-stepping, Six disarmed the King's left arm, and cut a long line along it. Appearing not even phased, the king turned and swept for the Spartan's feet. Jumping, Six landed on the sword, pulling it from the griffon's grip, and round-housed the king in the face. After sliding a few feet, the king gained his footing, well as most as he could, for its left arm was bending backwards from Six's disarm. He stood, apparently waiting for the Spartan to move. Six happily obliged. 

As Six ran towards the king, it reared on its back legs......, but that was a bad idea. Sliding, Six jabbed his security knife into the griffon's left side, and Six pulled towards himself. Effectively, Six had just cut the king in half. It screamed in pain, as the squishing sound of guts hitting the sand mixed with his screams. The king fell, but wasn't dead.

"P-p-please........end it." he moaned, about to lose conciseness.

"Gladly." Six grabbed the griffon's arms, and moved them towards its back. Then, as hard as he could, Six slammed his foot onto its back, while pulling his arms. More screams of pain came from the griffon, as Six soon heard a cracking of bones, then ripping of muscle, as the Spartan pulled the King's arms from their sockets. But he was not done. No, not by along shot. Rearing back from the sudden release, Six brought all his weight onto his foot, severing the King's chest from his torso. Only crunching of bone could be heard, but Six realized that he was still breathing. Reaching inside the King's chest, Six grabbed the still beating heart, and ripped it out.

"Fatality...."

> It's All Fun And Games......
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"YOU DID WHAT?!?!" Celestia roared.

"Whoa, Jesus. Calm down, it's not a big deal..."

"NOT A BIG DEAL, MY FLANK!"

"Okay one: that's a human phrase and two: it was nothing major..."

"NOTHING MAJOR?! You just killed the ruler of the land that we are at war with, the land that has the best warriors, AND the land that has another reason to kill all of my subjects!"

"They won't. The king and I had a wager: I win, he gives into your demands, I lose, he gets Equestria."

"WHAT?!"

"But that's besides the point. I won, the war is over, and we may have a solution for me to go home."

"What makes you so sure their going to honor the agreement?"

"Fear. They fear me, fear what I did to their king, and they fear who I am with. Just look out there. The griffons are still in that circle of shock." Six motioned to the window. Celestia looked out, seeing almost the entire city gathered around the king's body. Nothing happened. No sound, no movement, nothing. A wave of relief washed over her, but soon a wave of strange sadness washed over her as well.

"How...how did you kill him?"

"I ripped his arms off and split him in half. Then I tore out his still beating heart." And all that calm that Celestia had seem to materialize and come out of her mouth. She stared at the Spartan with disgust, whipping the left over bile from her lips. "Normally I don't do that." Six continued. "But, I did that for show. It was to put that fear into their hearts. Trust me, it will never happen again."

"I hope so Six, because l'm doubting the trust between us. I assume you can understand that I'm putting you under guard back at the castle while a team searches the area for the portal."

"I understand your scared, but there's......"

"It's not open to debate Six." Six let out a heavy sigh. He had to cooperate. This could be his only chance at getting back to Reach.

".....Fine."


(A few weeks later.)

Six was woken up by the sun coming into the room he was given. He could swear that Celestia directed the sun's rays to hit him in the face every morning. He rubbed his face, trying to wipe the sleep out of his eyes. He pulled the sheets away and looked at himself. Nothing. No armor, no clothes, nothing.

Luna had asked him a few days ago if his armor was uncomfortable. When Six replied their was nothing that could be done about it, Luna persuaded him to let her use her magic to try and take it off. It worked. Six's armor was flat on the ground in a corner. Shifting his legs to the side of the bed, Six got up and moved towards the dresser. A white unicorn, Rarity was her name, made clothes for him. He rummaged through the drawer to find an outfit. Happy with the image he had in mind, Six pulled out plaid boxers, beige cargo pants, and a red sleeveless shirt, and made way to the bathroom.

After freshening up, Six did what he has done almost every day he stayed at the castle: grab breakfast, and go explore. Even though it had been just over two weeks, Six kept making new discoveries in the castle. One of his favorite discoveries was the archives. All the information about an alien race no one else knew about. However, from the occasional visit from Twilight and her friends, life became very dull for the Spartan, and he hated it. He actually wanted the griffons to attack in retaliation so he could kick something's ass. But, alas, nothing did happen.

As he was walking down a seeming endless hallway, Six hoped something would come up to pull him away from boredom. He found that hope in a familiar purple unicorn.

"Twilight! Came back for some more questions?"

"No. Just a friendly visit. The girls and I thought that since we were asking so much about you, we should tell you about our selves."

"Sounds like a fair trade."

"What would ja like to know, sugarcube?"

"Well, I learned a lot about Equestria through the archives. I also learned that you six are the elements of harmony, so lets just start with your personal lives."

Hours were spent as Six went down the line of each mare telling him about their lives. Twilight use to live in Canterlot, was Celestia's star student, and was sent to ponyville to supervise over the summer solstice celebration, and that's how she meet the other five. Applejack was raised a farm pony, and stayed in the family business until she moved to her aunt's and uncle's for a short time. Pinkie pie was raised on a 'rock farm', whatever that is. Rainbow grew up in Cloudsdale, but moved to Ponyville when Fluttershy moved, or fell, there. Fluttershy also grew up in Cloudsdale, but fell in love with the creatures of the earth, and moved to the dirt, instead of staying in the clouds. Rarity was also born in Ponyville like AJ, and after jewel incrusting the costumes for a school play, soon became the town's fashion designer.

"Well, that seems to be every pony Six." Twilight said after Rarity finished her story.

"Thank you all for sharing your background with me."

"So..... how's life staying at the castle?"

"To be honest Twilight, it sucks. After the first few days, thing get really...... dull, to say the least."

"Well...... is there any way for us to bri-"

"Hey I got an idea!" Rainbow interjected. "Six, did you play any games back on Reach?"

"Yeah, we played war games. Actually, it was required by the UNSC that we played. It was to help us keep a high moral, while also train us in combat."

"Are there any games we could play?"

"Well, I can't shoot you, but...." The Spartan mulled over the idea. "I'm sure I can change the rules on a few so we can play. Is there a large, open area we can be at?"

"Yeah, the castle garden."

(A few minutes of walking)

"So, what's the first game Six?"

"Well, this may seem childish at first but bear with me, do you guys play tag?" Six was replied with nods. A small smile formed on his lips. 

"Alright, let's play infection....."   

> ....Until Some One Loses Their Blue Ball
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay," Six started out, "Infection is like tag. However, when 'it' tags some one, both of them become 'it' and they have to infect the other players. Sound clear?" The girls replied with 'yeahs' and 'yep'. "Okay, I'll be it for the first round. Oh and no magic or flying. I mean you can fly, but stay close to the ground."

"Well that's no fair. Rainbow is like, super fast."

"Don't worry. I'll catch her..."

"As if Six!"

"Oh one more thing..." The ponies waited for the Spartan's next rule change, but something else came. "GO!" and like that, all but one of the six, fled.

Six walked up to the yellow pegues that was cowering on the ground.

"Um, Fluttershy? Your suppose to run."

"T-t-that v-voice is s-s-scary." she said, trembling at the Spartan's feet.

"Well, come on." Six tapped her head (Infection!), then hoisted her onto his shoulders. "Lets get your friends."

The next pony Six found was Rarity, who was hiding poorly, assuming she wasn't trying to get dirty. He circled her, a devious plan filling his mind. He put a finger to his mouth, motioning for Fluttershy to be quiet. Slowly, he crept up behind Rarity. An evil smile reveled it self, and only got wider the closer Six got to Rarity. He was now only a few feet away. Reaching out, he grabbed her hind leg quickly (Infection!).

"Got-" but he was stopped when another leg came up and bucked him right in the mouth. He barely felt a thing, but Fluttershy's gasp was loud enough to get Rarity's attention.

"Dear Celestia! I am so sorry Six but you startled me and-"

"Oh it's fine Rarity." Six interjected. He moved his hand away from her leg. "But now you have to help me."

Getting Twilight was almost no challenge. Rarity found a way in front of her, causing Twilight to turn and run into Six (Infection!). AJ wasn't really a problem either, once they surrounded her. Yeah she was fast, but speed doesn't count when you have no where to run. She dashed to each corner but couldn't get out anywhere. Accepting defeat, she stood there, until they all touched her at the same time (Infection!). Pinkie bounced into Six, not caring that she had just given herself up (Infection! Infection spree!) Now only Rainbow was left. (Last Mare Standing!)

To be honest, they were at it for thirty minutes trying to catch Rainbow, but couldn't do it. Not even Six's speed was a match for her. They needed a plan, and Six came up with the perfect plan.

The five infected mares surrounded Rainbow, who was just lying on the grass. They closed the gap, trying ever so hard not to make a noise, but to no avail. 

"You know you guys aren't gonna be able to sneak up on me." With that, Rainbow bolted. Turning around she yelled. "Nice try though!" Turning back away from her friends, she saw a sight that she feared the day she tackled the Spartan: just him standing there, waiting.

Six knew she had no time to adjust. If she had been looking ahead the entire time, this may have been a different story. Pushing his hand out, Rainbow literally ran into his hand. Now the normal person, or pony, would have been thrown off their feet, but not Six. In fact, he grabbed her throat, lifted her higher into the air, and planted a rainbow flower into the ground.

"Infected." Six said, as he poked her nose.

"Yeah, yeah, nice one. Now let me go..." 

Six turned to turned to the other ponies that were running over. "Round's over. Wanna play again?"

"Yeah!" They all said, except for Rainbow, who was catching her breath.

"Alright! Last man standing rules. Rainbow your it! Go!"

"Wha?" but every one was already gone. 

After a few rounds, they all soon became tired, and were laying on the ground, panting and laughing at the events.

"Six..." the purple unicorn started, "That was so fun! Do you have any other games?"

"A few. Can some one get a ball?"

"Sure." and with the glow of her horn, a standard blue ball appeared. "Here." She floated the ball to Six. "What game are we going to play now?"

"Grifball...."
> Catch the Disease!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So here's how we play." Six said, setting the ball in between the teams he made. "Your objective is to get the ball into the enemy's goal. Simple as that." He glanced between Twilight and Rainbow. "No magic or flying. If you get touched, go back to your goal to respawn."

"This is just like hoofball." Rainbow said.

"Well, what we usually did is beat each other with gravity hammers and swords, but that would kill you so... yeah... Alright! To your positions!"

The ponies split into the groups he set up. 

Team 1:Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy.

Team 2: Twilight, Pinkie, and Rainbow.

This is gonna be good...

-----------------------------------------------------–--------------------------
The two groups went to their sides, as Six walk into the middle and set the ball down.

"Alright, so on my mark, go at it." The Spartan held out his arm with three fingers out. With each pump of his arm, a finger disappeared, until.... "Mark!"

And the ponies went at it, tackling and laughing with enjoyment.







Or, that's what would have happened...


"Mark!" Six yelled, but no one moved, as the ground started to shake. They all looked up as a large shadow passed over them. All the mares had open mouths and dinner plate eyes as two phantoms were flying, or crashing, over head. The purple ships crashed through a part of the castle, and still continued towards a forest.

"What was that?!" the elements yelled in unison.

"Shit, that's not good..."

-----------------------------------------------------–--------------------------

"Luna! Luna! Damn it, where are you?!" Six was frantic to find the mare of the moon. He was going to go after the phantoms, but he needed his armor. After rounding a corner, the seven pushed open the doors to the throne room, where Luna stood looking over the damage. She turned around to the sound of the grand doors that we not damaged, opening.

"Six, what was that?" she said in an exceptional calm voice considering what just happened.

"Those were phantoms, possibly caring very dangerous covenant forces."

"Princess! How can you be calm at a time like this?!" Twilight exclaimed. Luna's reply was in a scream, while using the Canterlot voice. Needless to say, it hurt.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! WHAT DO I DO WHAT DO I DO?!" 

"Luna!" Six yelled, while running over, and put his hand over her muzzle, silencing her. "I can handle this. The ships didn't crash that far from Canterlot. Just get me my armor." He looked deep into her eyes and gave the best comforting smile he could muster. Good thing it worked, or his ear drums may have burst from another scream.

"Okay, okay..." Luna took a deep breath, while her horn lit up. A second later, Six's armor appeared next to him, encompassed in a blue glow. "Stand back with your arms out please." He did just so. Luna started putting his armor back the way she took it off, starting with his feet, and working up. Six couldn't help but smile. He felt like his favorite superhero, Iron man, the way he was suiting up. After about a minute, Six put his helmet on, his HUD lighting up. Running a standard system check, the shields charged up, signaling everything was placed properly. 

"Good, everything is workin'. I'll be back in a few."

"We're coming with you." Twilight said.

"No. I'm not having you see things you don't understand. You could get seriously hurt or worse." Twilight opened her mouth to argue but Six beat her to it. "Not open for debate."

"You can't stop us. I'll just teleport us to you." Six sighed, his hand meeting his visor. He couldn't stop them. Plus, they know the land and could navigate it better than he could.

"Fine, but if you so much as breath without my say so, I'll personally kick you back here. Got it?" They all nodded. "Good."

-----------------------------------------------------–--------------------------

"So what other creatures live in the Everfree forest?"

"Well, after manticores, minotares, and hydras, anything else is fictonal."

"Like slendermare." Rainbow eged. She smirked, gaining reaction out of Fluttershy and Rarity.

"Rainbow there is no such thing."

"Even if there was, old Sparty would get her." Pinkie interjected.

"Yeah, but from what you told me..." Six stopped, an unotified red dot appearing. He had taken strands of the mares' manes and scanned the DNA from each strand and instaled it as friendly in his HUD. Six motioned for the girls to head to the thick brush while he pulled his energy sword out. The trees were thick, so solar power might be a problem, but it was one problem that was away from the Spartan's mind as the red dot aproached. Large rustling and roaring could be heard. But it suddnly stopped. No noise, no movement. Then, all of a sudden, a ferocius roar was heard as, what Six believed because of how the girls described it, a manticore jumped from the foleage.




Six heard the girls wimper behind him as he stood there, the two having a stare down. Yet, a yellow dot moving behind him caught his attention.

"Girls!" he wispered. "Stay back!" but he was defied as a yellow peguses walked up to the manticore. Six couldn't tell, but the other five were just as shocked when they first saw Fluttershy do this.

"It's okay..." she said, to sweetly for the situation. "They're really nice." But that statment was countered as the beast raised its right arm, claws extended, to end Fluttershy with her back turned. Six had to move fast.


Turning around, the yellow animal lover saw what horror she put herself in, and her body showed it. She closed her eyes with a shriek, waiting for the impending impact to hit. But it never did. She popped open one eye, then both with a gasp at the sight that was before her.


Six moved fast. Before the manticore brought its claws down Six was already in front of Fluttershy. He stood still as the creature sunk its knife like claws into the spartan's left arm. Yet what Six felt, was no where near what the manticore was going to feel. When he was running up to Fluttershy, Six swapped his sword for an infamous blue ball he kept. When the creature roared, because Six contracted his muscles in his arm to hold the beast, Six shoved the plasma grenade into its mouth. Pressing the green button, Six stuck the grenade to what he belives was the begining of the creatures stomach, and pulled his arm out. With his hand free of the blue death bringer, he gave a wicked right hook to the beast, causing it to fly through trees and thorn bushes for so far, the last thing they heard was the explosion.


"What the fuck was that Fluttershy?!" Six unleashed, but instantly regreted when his reply was a wimper. "Look" he sighed "I know you love animals, and the first time you delt with that creature, it ended well, but you can't judge things from what happened first. I mean, if you did, would you girls trust and talk to me like you do?" They shook thier heads, no pony finding words for the situation. The silence was good for a few moments but they had to keep moving. "Come on." Six said, as he picked Fluttershy up just like you would a puppy. After a quick jog, the seven came up to the crash site. Bits and pieces were scattered about, with elites and grunts sorting threw the wreckage.

"So thats what the aliens look like...." Twilight half stared, half gawked. "Fasinating..."

Six was paying her no mind as he over viewed the hostiles. Nothing he couldn't handle, as long as he was stealthy about it. Yet a group of three elites caught his attention.

Wait a minute.......... Three.....Zealot class. Are the looking for something? Six prossesed what this ment, but came to the conclusion that he neededx answers. He turned around to the six waiting mares. "Okay here is what's gonna happen. I'm going to circle the wreckage, taking out any hostiles. When I take them out, Twilight, I ned you to use your magic to pull them out of sight. Alright?" Nods all around. "Good. Stay quiet, and keep hidden."


Six started circling, thinking of where to start next. He decided a lone grunt was first. Not an important target, and easy to miss. Picking up a rock, he chucked it at the things head. it flopped to the floor, with a grunts and elites laughing at it. It yelled something, and stormed off towards where the rock was thrown. reaching the tree line edge, it piered in, and saw a gold visor. Before anything else happened, Six stabbed the grunt in the head, and pulled the coarpse into the bushes. Looking back out, a minor elite heard the rustling, and moved to investigate. Upon entering the foliage, he saw the body, but before he could say anything, the split jaw felt something climb his back, as Six stabbed it in the head. Two down, few more to go.



As Six was killing the not so innocent creatures, something was eating at his gut: the amount of hostiles were no where near what could fit into the two phantoms. But he pushed this problem aside to face a new one. The Zealots had grown weary of his  actions and stated to roam. The problem was that now, they were staying close to fire from the wreck so anything coming towards them they could see. Unless that thing had active camoflauge. Sneaking up to the first zealot, Six thought of how he should kill it quickly, and an idea came to mind. Running up the elites back, Six reached over, grabbed the two mandibles, and pulled, effectively snapping the elite's neck. He watched as the body was wisked away by Twilight's magic. Walking up to the next one, Six cut a tendont inits right leg, and brought the knife up and into its head. However, now came a problem, where was the leader? Six was answered as he felt something fall on top of him and pin him. He knew what came next. The gauntlet sword pierced his helmet...




Or, thats what would have happened...



"GET OFF OF HIM!" Rainbow yelled, as Six felt the wieght instantly move. Getting up, he jabbed his knife into the Field Marshals knee, and kicked the elite across the head. Reaching down, the spartan striped the gauntlets off and held his sword to the elites chest.

"You will answer my questions, or die very painfully. Your choice." Six said in sanghillian. The elite just stared at him, defingly. "Okay..." Six kicked the knife, making it twist into the elites leg. 

"What ......do you want to know?"

"How do you know about this places?" The elite laughed, resulting in another kick.

"I should ask you that. This place is protected by the gods' shield. When we intercepted a demon distress signal, we couldn't let you taint this land."

"I sent out no signal. No vessle, UNSC or covanent, were here. This is unexplored territory called the 'celestial plains'?"

"We did, but the distress signal was coded, and repeating armor malfuction."

"What? Armor, show last transmision."

"Directive confirmed. Last transmistion sent at 12 May 0900. Message sent Automaticly. Reason: Armor Tamporing."

"Wait a minute..." Six put 2 and 2 together. When Luna was attempting to take off his armor, the sensor tripped because it wasn't mechanical. Yet attention was grabbed away as another red dot, an ultra, yelled and fired. Swiftly, Six reached down, grabbed a sticky, and chucked it at the elite, sticking it right in the face. A few seconds of yelling and the ultra was dead. But a few seconds was all the zealot needed.

Grabbing the knife lodged in his knee, he stabbed the spartan in his side. Pain shot threw Six as he grabbed his side, and watched as the zealot ran away, Six started moving towards as a rainbow blur shot past him.

"Get back here!"

"Rainbow, NO!" Six shouted trying to stop her, but failed. She wasn't trained, and it showed.

The elite turned, still holding the knife, waiting for the pony. The moment she got close, the zealot lifted her arms and stabbed her.

"RAINBOW!
> An Unexpected Turn of Events!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

RAINBOW!

Six laid there and stared, as everything started moving slowly. He watched as her face twisted into a look of pain. Her body arched from the impact of the blade, the elite's hand now touching her coat. And he watched as the elite mercilessly threw her off and onto the ground. Then..... he laughed. The fucking split jaw laughed.

Six had seen soldiers die. He saw civilians die. Someone from his old company die. But only one other time had he felt what he was feeling now.


Anger: A strong feeling of displeasure and belligerence aroused by a wrong; wrath.



The word flooded his mind, and he felt the emotion torrent to the rest of his body. He stood up with no sound, his visor darker for his head was down. Then, he yelled. He yelled as he charged at the elite. He yelled as the elite shoved the knife into his side. He yelled as he tackled the elite, send punch after punch into the same spot of the hinge-head's helmet. Only when the helmet shattered, sending leftover shrapnel into the elite's brain, killing it, did he stop yelling. He stood up off of the now corpse of the elite, purple blood dripping off of his right hand. He turned around and rushed to Rainbow, catching a glimpse of the five girl's faces, fixed in pure terror. Six wondered if was because of Rainbow, or his actions. Regardless, he clamped his hand on Rainbow's wound. She was alive, but her shallower than normal breathing and faint pulse said she was alive barely.

"Twilight." She stood still, the same look still on her face.

"Twilight!.........TWILIGHT!"

"Ah! Please don't kill me!"

"Twilight..." Six got down on one knee, setting his free hand on her, his other occupied with Rainbow. "I need you to get us to the hospital. Rainbow is alive, but needs help....now."

Twilight gasped, seeming to hold her breath for no reason. "Okay, okay... I'll teleport us all."

* Ten minutes later*

"How is she doctor?"

"We've stopped the bleeding and stabilized her." The girls, Luna, and Six let out their breaths, the room filling with CO2. "But, there is a problem." And the CO2 is gone. "She needs a blood transfusion. The amount she lost is very dangerous, and with out it, she may not survive."

"Well, take one of us then." Twilight spoke.

"I'm afraid that's not possible. Mixing unicorn or earth pony blood with pegues blood will not work. And O negative is incredibly rare for pegues, we don't even have any on hand."

"Wait a minute..." Six yanked his dog tags off. "I'm O negative."

"Would that even work doctor?" Luna inquired.

"I will need to run some test, but at this point, to save an element of harmony, I'm willing to trying anything."

*Another ten minutes later*

Six sat in the corner of Rainbow's room. The doctor could not find any complication with his blood, and with approval of the moon princess, his blood was now in Rainbow. He couldn't figure her out. From trying to beat the crap out of him, to risking her own life for him. Was she being protective, or something...... more? He shook his head and grunted in frustration. His thoughts were pulled away as the door open, the rest of the elements entering.

"How is she?" They seemed to ask all at once.

"She stable. Everything went fine." Six stood up and went to the window. "It's all my fault. If only..."

"No, it's my fault Six. I pushed you to let us go with you, and.."

"You know what, your right. It is your fault. I told you girls to stay put."

"While what, you paraded, killing them all? And when the alien was on top of you, what should have Rainbow done, let you die?!"

"YES!" The girls took a step back from his answer.

"But..." a voice interjected.

"But nothing!" Six turned to the voice in a blind fury of words. "You should have let me die! I've seen to many good people do that! It's not your job to protect me, it's mine! That's why I'm a Spartan! For..... for..... for her..." Six's words trailed off when he saw the source of the voice, Rainbow. He choked, holding emotions back. He opened the window, and jumped out.

"Six!" The standing girls watched him run towards the lake.



Six sat on the edge of the pier, gazing at the sunset. This view was so peaceful. This was how he usually ended his days a the castle. Now, it was his sanctuary, his place of calm and quiet tranquility. Six sorted through all the events that happened, and the memories that came up.

"Olivia..."

"Hello Six."

He tuned meeting the white legs of Celestia.

"Hey sunshine," he looked back over the water. After a flash of yellow, Celestia sat next to him.

"I wanted to thank you. Not only did you get rid of the aliens, but you saved Rainbow's life."

"It's still my fault..."

"No, none of that." Celestia said sternly. "You did the best with what you were given, and every one is alive."

"But what if I wasn't here. Rainbow wouldn't be in the hospital."

"Okay, but you are here, and Rainbow is fine."

"I guess..." After a few moments, Celestia touched his hand. It gained his attention and he looked at her human-like appearance. It actually made a lot of sense. Sitting on her haunches could not be comfortable. He couldn't help but smile, yet she couldn't see it.

"That's not what I wanted to talk to you about though."

"Yeah?"

"Before you 'stormed off', the girls said you mentioned a 'her' right before you left. The girls were concerned, and so am I. Is it something you want to talk about?" Six sighed, his head dangling even lower. He rubbed the back of his neck, considering if he should tell her or not. He needed to build trust back up after his 'kingly' act, and decided to tell her.

"It was a while ago..."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Her name was Olivia. She was apart of the Spartan-III program like I was, and we were in the same company. During training, we were divided into squads for a war games tournament. She was placed in X-ray, while I was in Echo squad. Of course, our squads faced of in the final match. The computer selected SWAT rules, and our fight started. At the end of the match, Echo had won, and Olivia blamed the loss on herself. Later on, I saw her sitting by her self in the mess hall, and I went to go sit with her. I even remember the first words she said to me...."

"What do you want?"

"A place to eat, if that's all right?"


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Six chuckled at the look of confusion of Celestia's face.

"What's the matter, sunshine?"

"You two went on to become friends?"

"Weirder things have happened."

"I guess so. Never really expected an alien to fall from space to Equestria, and kill both the Changeling Queen and the Griffon King."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Olivia looked away from me.

"I don't want your pity."

"Who said I was going to give it to you. Now, can I sit?" She motioned with her fork for me to sit. After a few moments of silence and eating, I thought it was time to pop the question. "Did your squad get mad at you when you all lost?"

"No."

"Then why do you blame yourself?" She dropped her fork on her tray and snapped her head to me.

"I thought you weren't gonna give me pity."

"I'm just trying to understand." I leaned back with both my hands in a defensive gesture. A heavy sigh escaped her lips.

"The final kill you got? I ordered him to move there. I just keep thinking 'What if it was a real situation? I would have sent that soldier to death?' and I can't get over it. I guess I don't have Kurt's ability to sense traps." The match was pretty close: 50-49 Echo. If she didn't give that order we would have probably lost. I needed to say something to make her feel better.

"We all make bad calls. The only reason you caught up was because of my bad calls." I said with a smirk.

"I guess your right." She said with a chuckle. She reaches across the table with an outstretched hand. "I'm Olivia." I grab it with my unpreoccupied hand. "Call me Six."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We were both deployed to Reach after training. My deployment was to fill in a slot for Noble team, as you know, but her deployment was on Doctor Halsey's orders. Said she needed better security at Sword base, and she wanted her. So she was issued MP armor, and I got what I'm wearing now. On the way to Reach, we became very close friends, which was rare in the case of Spartans. We talked, we laughed, we screwed around with the other crew members." Six took a deep breath, for he knew where this story was heading, for he remembered how it happened. It was a memory he wanted to forget, but was branded into his head. After a few breaths, he continued. "Do you remember about the downed communication outpost I told you about?" Celestia nodded her head.

"Ok, well after that, the covenant laid siege to Sword base."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Dot, what's our status with Sword base?" Carter said, more like a statement than a question.

"As of 08:00, ONI base: Sword, has been under siege by a corvette class carrier." I couldn't be more scarred for a life than I had at that moment. I reasoned with myself that she would be fine. She was a Spartan-III and after a few hours, she should still be alive. I was snapped out of my thoughts as my commander addressed me and my fellow Spartan, Kat. 

"Kat, you and Six will run interference on the ground. First thing, help the soldiers out on the courtyard." He looked over the edge of the Falcon. "This is your stop."

"Got it boss." I replied jumping out.

"Got it, were your strike team." Kat said, following me. I couldn't tell you how relived I was at the first sight I saw with boots on the ground; There, on a bridge over the court yard, was a blue Spartan wearing MP armor. At first, I thought it was my eyes playing a trick on me, but she had a golden angle glow about her. Little did I know what that glow was. I ran as fast as I could up the left way up to the bridge to make sure it was no trick. There she was, sniper in hand.

"Olivia!" Her firing stopped dead as she slowly turned to me, trying to figure out if it was just a voice in her head. 

"Six!"  She headed straight for me, and that's when I saw her glow. Her shields were gone, which was a problem, because and ultra elite had just shown up on the opposite side.

"Olivia! On your six!" Yet, it was too late. She lurched forward, chest first. I flinched, my shields taking the impact of the needle. When I looked back, she was in front of me. But my HUD showed an X next to her four letter IDF 'OLVA'. She was dead."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Six paused to look at Celestia. Her composure was still the same, but around her eyes was a tint of red, with tears straining down her face. It broke Six's heart, but made him realize something. For how much he put her on edge, she seamed very genuine in her reaction. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I grabbed her, panicking. "NO! No, no, no, no, no, no.........." I held her close to me, shaking her back and forth. "no, no, no, no, no....." And then I heard it. A laugh. The same laugh I heard when Rainbow got hurt, and I felt the same feeling: Anger. After getting on my knees to set her body down, the elite walked up to me, and energy gauntlet drawn. With his other hand, he reached out to grab my head. In one quick motion, I twisted his wrist, impaling my thumb on a pressure point that I knew was there. With continued pushing and twisting, I brought the elite to his knees. My right hand free, I moved the elite over the railing, and I ripped of his bottom mandibles. He
screamed, but I paid him no mind. Grabbing his left hand, I moved the gauntlet to his head. The incredible nerve pain I was causing him locked up his body from his own movements. Inching the two ends of the gauntlet towards his eyes, I whispered to him...

"I will wipe out your species."

And I shoved the gauntlet into him, killing him."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Six, I'm so sorry. There is no way I would be able to comprehend how you really felt. Are you going to be all right?"

"I'll be fine." He let out a deep breath. "I'm just gonna wait here for a while." After a few moments, Celestia answered.

"I'll wait with you."

And wait they did. The sun was gone, the moon was high, and they were still there. Well Six anyways. Celestia was away in slumber land on Six's shoulder, a bit of drool dripping out of her mouth. When Six finally wanted bed, he picked Celestia up, and carried her to her chambers, setting her on the bed. With a quiet click of the door, Six made his way to his chambers.  
> Plot for Thought.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Six slowly looked around the corner and smiled. His target was completely unaware that he was there. 'Perfect,' he thought. 'She will never know till it's too late.' He crouched, still not chancing to alert her. As cautious as a lone wolf stalking its prey, he moved. She sneezed, stopping Six in his tracts. Looking back at her work, Six gave her about twenty seconds before continuing. 

Now, directly behind her, he rose slowly, and after a few seconds, loomed over her. Quickly, he grabbed her shoulder and said: "Heywhatareyoudoin!'." His response was him being pushed down, a magnum appearing in his face that wasn't there before. After a few seconds he started laughing, while the surpriseé replied scornfully.

"Six, you ugly son of a bitch! I could have shot you!" She fumed.

"Yeah, and I could have stopped you, but look what happened."

"How did you know I would be here? Wait, how did you get in here?!"

"Ah the MPs let me in. Told them that more info on being deployed to Noble was to be given to me here or some shit. I'm actually waiting for the Warthog escort, so I thought I would come by. What's up with you?"

She sighed, turning back to her monitors. "Just a quick check on the security cameras. " She grumbled. Then, barely audible: "Your out fighting insurrectionists, and what do I get? Fuckin' guard duty."

"Glad you care." She turned around, giving Six a 'really?' look.

"Really?"

He's too god damn good at that.

"Yeah, but I don't believe this is a quick check. That ain't you." Another sigh. Something was bothering her, but Six couldn't tell what.

"Something big is coming. Six, I can feel it. Feel it in my gut..." She trailed off at the end.

"The higher up's say anything?"

"Other than a freighter being stolen, and Kurt bitchin' about losing his 'private grim reaper.', no, nothing at all. From what I've heard."

"Well......." Six searched for what to say while putting her at ease. "Look in to it, but don't kill yourself over it. Let the head's worry about it, while you watch people go threw scanners." He added a smirk at the end.

"Oh fuck off."

"Oh? Is another swat war game repeat needed." He knew that memory edged her. Yet, before she could retort, a message over Six's comm called for him.

"Lieutenant, your escort is here."

"Looks like we have to fight another time, love." He gave her a quick slap. You know where. The last comments caused them to get into each others faces. "Catch you on leave!" He yelled, dashing out the door.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Six?...... Six? Six, wake up." Six rolled softly in his sleep.

"Five........ more minutes........ please mommy?" He said it between yawn. Twilight rolled her eyes at his fillyness. 

"Come on you big lug." She reached out a hoof, shoving him, but found it like pushing a brick wall. Yet, it seemed to do the trick.

"*YAWN* Uh..... Twilight? Why did ya wake me?"

"Don't you remember last night?" Her eyes tried to search for any remembrance.

"Um......" He looked under the covers. "Did we have sex?"

"Wait, wha?........ WHAT?! No, no, no, no, no, no!" Twilight flustered, cheeks now flushed. 

Six knew that what he just asked never happened, and couldn't help but bust into an incredible bout of laughter at the now flustered and angry Twilight, which his laughing caused those emotions to sky rocket.

"I know that didn't happen Twilight. I'm just busting your... nethers. The girls wanted me to go to the gala that's in a week and Rarity wanted to make me a suit. I guess I shouldn't keep her waiting." Six then got out of bed and headed to the bathroom for a cool, wake you up, kind of shower. 

"Now what a minute, your not of the hoof just yet from a comment like that." Twilight fumed at Six's back. 

"Well if you stay there, when I get out of the shower, your gonna see why male Spartans have 'three arms'!" he said as he shut the door.

"Oh.... my..... Celestia you are impossible." Six let out another laughing spout as he heard the bedroom's door slam shut.



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Six!" The Spartan stopped heading out the door at Celestia's call. "Six, I need to speak with you."

"What's up, sunshine?"

"I have a favor to ask. Can we speak in the throne room?"

"Sure."

After a short walk, the pair entered, and a pony Six never saw greeted them.

"Welcome back, your majesty. And hello, Spartan."

"Hello. ...Um, who are you?"

"Six." Celestia took a step forward, gaining his attention. "This is my military advisor, Sharp eye." Sharp stuck out his hoof.

"Pleasure to meet you, Six." Said Spartan bumped the pony's raised hoof.

"Likewise. Excuse my rudeness, but I believe this is something more than just a friendly introduction?"

"Yes, you see, we have heard troubling reports." Sharp started.

"Yes. Your treaty may not last for much longer, Six. My scouts have noticed large groups of griffon forces moving to a central location: a griffon town near our border. We expect heavy mobilization in three days."

"Okay, so what do you want me to do about it? Kick some ass when they come knockin'?"

"That's about right, however..." Celestia's horn glowed yellow as a long object appeared behind her. For some reason, Six was filled with dread as a random phrase rang through his head. He doesn't know why 'prepare your anus.' came to mind, but quickly shoved it off as he saw that the object was a sword. "Hold out your hand." He complied as the sheathed sword was set in his two palms. "When that time comes, and it will come, I have been talking to Sharp, and I want you to lead my forces when it happens." She took in a huff of air from the sentence. Not a lot of things can throw a Spartan off, but asking him to lead an army out of the blue..... yeah, that could it.

"Wait, backpedal a bit. You want ME to lead? Don't you think your subjects will be a bit..... antsy, putting it mildly?" 

"We have accounted for this. Yet, it would be better for Sharp to explain.

"You see Spartan, only the counsel, myself, the two princesses, and the Equestrian Guard will know. We actually took a vote from the soldiers, and over seventy-five percent agreed." Six's gaze went back to the sword in his hand. He knew this idea would never have came into play unless Celestia suggested it. She was throwing so much trust onto him. Her entire kingdom, in his hands to defend.

".....I'll do it." Six was then wrapped into a hug that surely would have snapped any human in half.

"Oh, thank you!"

"Uh...." Again, Six was caught off guard. He really needed to fix that problem. "It's alright." He held the sword in one hand, and used his other to put on her neck, in sort of a returning gesture. After a few moments that seemed too long for the Spartan, the hug was released. He swore he saw the faintest of.......... nah, his mind was playing tricks. Looking back at the sword, he wanted to inquire about something. "Not that I don't like it, but you know I do have a sword, right?"

"Of course, its sort of a decoration, showing your position in the guard. However it's fully of capable of using in combat."

"Excellent. Can you send it to my room? There's a certain unicorn that I don't want to keep waiting. I'll start training when I get back." Celestia picked it back up with her magic.

"Of course."

"Thank you. I'll see you later."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Six was in the military's training facility going over basic CQC skills. Keepin' his mind sharp and clear. Well, most of the time. The reason he was going over BASIC skills is because his mind kept wandering to questions about his future. 'Will I be able to go home? What about the ponies? If I left, what would the Griffons do?'  He started something the ponies might not finish with out him, and one question irritated him that it even came up.

"Do.... do I want to go home?"

"I don't want you to."

"Hm?" Six grabbed the makeshift punching bag so it wouldn't come back to hit him, and turned to see Rainbow of all ponies there. "Rainbow? Didn't know you were there. What's up?"

"I don't want you to leave..."

"Rainbow I have to-"

"No you don't!" Rainbow was now eye level with the Spartan. "They think your dead! Why do you want to go back so bad?!"

"It's my job. It's what I was.... made for. It's what I'm meant to do."

"But what about us, your friends?! Think how they will feel when you leave! Think how I'll feel....." Tears had come into her eyes, and her cheeks were now purple, the mix of blush and her coat. "Will we be just some distant memory for you?!"

"Rainbow....." She slammed her hoofs onto Six's chest, her teary eyes and tear streaked face looking straight at him.

"I like you! I don't know why but I do! Your like.... the brother I always wanted! You've put me in my place, saved my flank, and we had fun! I want you to stay!"

"Rainbow.... I can't. It's my duty..."

"Fine!" Her hoofs retracted quickly. "Be that way!" She took to the sky quickly, leaving Six to grab at her dust.

"Rainbow wait! .......Shit....." 
> At the Gala..... 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Attention Ma-.... ponies! My name, as you might know, is Six. However, because of my new 'advancement' in the Equestrian Guard ranks, you will address me as sir, General, or Noble Six. And when I address you, your reply will always have sir in the beginning and at the end of your sentence. Is that clear?!"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"Good! Now, line up!" Six couldn't help but crack a smile under his helmet. Because of what Celestia had asked him to do, he wanted to have permission to whip the Guard up to UNSC quality, even though that was a long shot. "Get in line already! I've seen more organization in a Swedish orgy!" After that very explicit insult, the guards finally got in line. Six started walking down the line, another insult coming to mind. "If I expected anything of you, it should be how to stand there doing nothing. It's what you do at the castle anyways!" Then he heard it, a snicker. Just what he was expecting. He marched to the offending pony. "Is something funny?" Six's emotionless visor reflecting the unicorn in front of him, but the words he said giving away his feeling towards him. The pony straightened up, and cleared his throat.

"Sir, nothing at all sir." 

"How tall are you?"

"Sir, 4' 9" sir."

"Really? I didn't know the piled shit that high!" Six stood straight up, and pointed away from the line. "Get out of line."

"Excuse me sir?"

"You heard me! Out of line! Your out! Go home!" The pony lowered his head, and walked off. Six looked back at the line, minus one member. "It took you five minutes for one of you to get kicked out of my army. You know what that means? Five miles!" Six waved a pointed hand over the rest of the ponies. "You will be put through a UNSC boot camp for two days! Any pony who does not complete it, will be evicted from the army! Now, About face!" The ponies followed the order. "Five miles, march!"


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well..... I'll be honest, I'm surprised." Celestia couldn't believe this was her old royal guard. The soldiers now seemed more muscular, more...... solid, for lack of a better word. And in two days? Almost unbelievable. "But some guards are missing."

"Yes. They are no longer involved in this army."

"Wait, you... kicked them out?"

"Yes." Celestia gave him a questioning look. "You said I had full control. Their lucky that I tweaked the rules a bit from a standard UNSC camp. Those who didn't finish, or had a problem with my authority, were evicted." 

Celestia sighed. "I did give you control, but still." She waved a hoof over the line of improved soldiers. "I didn't expect this."

"The best I could do."

"I guess that's what I wanted. Have you come up with a plan?"

"We've already devised strategy and tactics. Even an evacuation route." Another look. "Just in-case. If the Gala does come under attack, we need to evacuate the civilians, then get you, Luna, and the Element bearers to the bunker. Hopefully, no surprises..."

----------------------------(Night of the Gala)---------------------------------

Six sighed. His post next to Celestia as a personal guard was, uneventful, to say the least. He slightly expected this, and didn't want his talent as Drill Sargent to go to waste. 'Well...... that's not entirely true.' he thought, as the next noble stiff approached Celestia. Though the new and improved guard might not see any action, he did drastically change them, hopefully for a while. The guard positioned at the line to reach Celestia pulled Six from his trance. 

"Noble Six, Celestia is now free to roam and mingle for an hour before her opening speech for the Gala performers."

"Excellent. Celestia, if you will." Six motioned out with his arm.

"Thank you." She gave a curtness nod to Six, then the guard. However, when said guard was out of earshot. "You don't have to follow me around like some child, Six. You can move around."

"Like I would want to be around any of these stuck-up, slicked out, nose turning, snobs."

"Yes, I tire of their constant vexatious babble towards me." She put a hoof to her chest and her best snobby voice, "Celestia, make the sunset pretty, oh Celestia, make sure this afternoon isn't too warm, oh Celestia, will you marry me? Pertinacious braggarts."

Six couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Look at you using big words and shit..." She gave him an unamused look before heading to a crowd of ponies calling her over. Being left alone for the moment, Six found a table with soldiers posted on each side. It was the princesses and the Element bearers' table, and he saw the six girls sitting. Walking over, he noticed Rainbow avoiding his singular visor gaze. "Hey girls, enjoying the party?"

"I think Soarin is callin' me." Rainbow took off from the table in a direction that was not towards Soarin.

"Huh, wonder whats got her feathers twisted." Applejack stated, knowing Rainbow just lied.

'I probably did the twisting.' Six thought. "Hmm, I don't know. So!" Six looked away from where Rainbow flew off to. "Are you girls enjoying the Gala?"

"Oh, heavens Yes!" Rarity exclaimed. "With Blueblood away on, *ahem!* 'diplomatic services', the Gala is much more enjoyable!"

"Yeah, I'm glad he's gone too." Six commented. "My encounters with him has always ended with me wanting to rip out his throat." 

"Please do."

"RARITY!" The remanding girls exclaimed.

"Wow, holding a grudge much?" They had told him about their previous Gala 'experience'. Needless to say, laughter was had from the Spartan. 

"I am the Element of Generosity, not forgiveness."

A sly smile came on Six's, though they couldn't see it. "...But you must forgive freely..." Rarity's face went disgust from the mention of Blueblood, to completely blank.

"...Touche." Laughter came forth from the table.

After a few minutes of talking, Six started to actually enjoy himself. His guard was never let down, but company with the five eased him a bit. When a soldier started to approach his table, along with a very worried face on, Six's mind went back to what he was waiting and preparing for. Excusing himself for a moment, he approached the guard.

After snapping a salute, the guard spoke. "General. I have important information for you."

"It better be good. I was starting to enjoy myself."

"A returning group of airborne pegasi spotted movement towards the northeast of the castle, in the everfree forest. Upon further investigation........" the unicorn took in a breath. "It's the griffons, sir." Six lowered his head. A threat to the nation he was currently with was made. Protocol dictates action.

"Alert the other guards. We are in evacuation protocol. I will alert the populous. And bring me the escort team that Sharp made from the princesses and the bearers." With a salute, the guard walked away. Six walked towards the ponies providing the background music for the party. With a swift jerk of his wrist, he signaled for them to cut off. When done so, he jumped up on stage.

"May I have your attention mares and gentlecolts!" Six's loud voice caused all chatter to cease and gained all attention from the room, along with Celestia. "I have just receive word that a large griffon force is approaching the castle. In this event, we must perceive it as a threat. With that in mind, we are now evacuating you to a secure bunker until this threat is handled. Thank you for your cooperation." With his speech finished, murmurs erupted as guards escorted the ponies out of the room. Celestia and Luna, followed by the (now) six girls, pushed through the crowd and walked up on stage. 

"Is the army gathered?" Celestia inquired.

"They are inside the barracks waiting for orders. I must depart when your escort is here. You eight are to be taken to a separate bunker, unknown by most of the guard. For precautions." Six nodded to the five soldiers that Sharp had recommended. "I must leave." He went to move before Celestia stopped him.

"Six!" He turned back around. "Be careful." He gave a nod to them, their faces littered with worry.