John leapt from his vantage point atop the boulder, his left boot smashing the ringleader’s head into splinters. The remaining creatures jumped away, now wary of this new arrival. John slowly stood, bringing his arms up near his collarbone and bending his knees in a low crouch. His eyes darted from quadruped to quadruped, attempting to assess their body language.
John started forward, then suddenly stopped, frowning. He had forgotten he couldn’t move away from the unicorn; they’d probably circle around and take the unicorn if he put too much distance between himself and the equine.
The wooden wolves slowly began to circle the Spartan, stopping once they had spaced themselves fairly far apart, surrounding him from three ways, forcing John to have his back face the boulder. John gritted his teeth. This would be so much more helpful if Cortana was there to watch his back.
All at once, the creatures let out fierce snarls as they charged. John braced himself for an impact, pulling his arms up to protect his face while simultaneously looking for an open shot.
The one on his right leapt up in hopes of hitting him from above. John lowered his arms temporarily, heaving his right leg into a powerful roundhouse kick that sent the rightmost creature crashing into the middle one. The final creature smashed into John’s left side, sending him tumbling backwards. John firmly planted his feet into its abdomen, shoving it violently with a quick thrust of his legs. It collided with a tree, a sickening crack accompanying the impact. It rolled into the bushes that covered the base of the tree, out of sight.
John hopped to his feet, assessing the situation. The two that collided in midair were already on their feet—or paws—and were already circling again. The one he had just sent flying into a tree was still nowhere to be seen.
A large red blip appeared on John’s motion tracker.
And it was practically on top of him.
Whirling around and bringing his fist to bear, John swung a vicious right hook—straight into the boulder. The ancient stone shattered, raining John and the unicorn with shards and fragments of the rock. Momentarily stunned by the explosion of dust and debris hindering his vision, John was quickly sent sprawling to the ground with the creature.
John instinctively brought his arms to his face, which were promptly swept aside by a powerful sweep of the creature’s foreleg. It brought its maw to his visor, clamping down on his helmet. Loud screeching filling John’s helmet speakers as the predator dragged its sharp canines across the Titanium-A plates that made up his helmet.
Unfazed, John grabbed the two sides of its jaw, slowly but surely forcing them apart. His visor was soon filled with wood shards and sawdust as the creature’s head splintered into two pieces, followed by the rest of its body. John rolled over, barely having time to brace himself as the last two collapsed on him, snarling and barking.
Two purple bolts of magic sent them flying backwards into the far side of the clearing. John glanced back at the unicorn, whose horn was now aglow with the purple aura he had seen earlier.
The two quadrupeds took a quick glance at their fallen comrades, suddenly realizing that this was probably not worth the risk any more. They made an about-face and fled into the forest. The sudden silence of the clearing eventually filled with the ambient noises of the night, save for the panting of both the Spartan and the unicorn.
“You…” The unicorn started, struggling to keep off of her injured foreleg as she shifted to a sitting position.
John turned to face her, his face impassive behind his visor.
“I… Why? I thought you were trying to stay away from me?”
John took a knee. “I may be a soldier, but I can have a heart, too.” John stated. His gaze drifted to the unicorn’s foreleg, causing him to frown. “Is it broken?” He asked.
She nodded slowly. “Y-yes. I heard it crack when I s-slipped off of a rock while I was running.” She said, struggling to keep her voice even. “All I n-need is a splint, really. C-can you get me a couple of boards f-from that timberwolf’s body?” She pointed a shaky hoof at the one whose head was smashed into the ground.
Nodding, John stood up, ripping two boards from its abdomen and returning to the unicorn. He set down the two planks at her hooves, and then stood up, staring expectantly. The unicorn’s horn glowed violet, and the boards pressed themselves against her foreleg. Very carefully, she removed a roll of bandages from her saddlebags, wrapping it tightly against the planks.
Once the bandage was secured and holding the planks in place, the unicorn slowly forced herself to her hooves, gingerly resting her now-weighted limb on the ground. “That should keep it from moving…” She winced as she tried hobbling forward.
John leaned forward, holding out his hands as she stumbled over a fragment of the boulder he had shattered a few minutes ago. Fortunately, the unicorn was able to steady herself with a bit of magic, righting her leg so she could easily lean on the wooden boards rather than her leg. “Oh, horseapples; I don’t think I’ll be able to head back to Ponyville like this!” She huffed.
She immediately turned back to the Spartan, smiling gratefully. “I… uh… Never thanked you properly for helping me back there.” Her face scrunched up adorably. “Oh! I don’t think we’ve ever been introduced. My name is Twilight Sparkle.” She offered her good hoof, using the wooden planks as a crutch.
John took her hoof gently. “Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan-117.” He said.
Twilight cocked her head. “That’s quite a mouthful… What kind of name is that?”
John stood up back to full height. “It's my designation. It’s what my teammates call me. It’s also the name I give to civilians.”
Twilight frowned. “Well, I’m sure you have the name you were born with, right? I mean, my brother is a Captain of the Royal Guard, and I still call him by his name, Shining Armor.”
A grin tugged at John’s face. Not like there was a big difference between those names anyhow. He thought. However, John simply remained silent. He wasn’t going to be fooled twice into giving away his real name.
“So…” Twilight ventured, breaking the silence. “I kind of need a lift out of here…”
John frowned. “I thought you could teleport?”
Twilight shook her head. “I need a line of sight to Ponyville if I want to teleport there. I can only teleport short distances anyhow, and I haven’t rested since I started chasing you in the first place…” Twilight sighed. “Besides, I don’t think it’d be healthy for me to use my magic in my current condition; take away energy that my body needs to mend the bone.”
John could see what was coming next. “So now you need a lift.”
Twilight smiled sheepishly. “Y-yeah… I was just about to ask you that.”
A spine-chilling howl rent the air, driving the forest back into silence. John whirled on the forest, scanning the foliage for the source. He felt slight relief when he didn’t. He bit his lip. We certainly can’t stay here…
“Okay, I can help you.” John muttered. “But you’ll have to do EXACTLY as I say. This is strictly my business, and I can’t have you mixed up in it. Or you’ll end up like those ‘things’ that attacked you.” He explained.
“Timberwolves.” Twilight corrected.
Is she listening…?
“Sorry… it’s a habit.” She said, shrugging. John noticed a hint of uncertainty cross her face as she answered, “Okay, I understand. I’ll do what you ask, as long as you take me with you.”
John crouched, nodding. “Okay. Let’s head out. We really don’t want to stay here.”
“Right; can you help me up—Whoa!”
John scooped up the equine, whose size made it more convenient for him to give her a piggyback ride in oppose to slinging her over his shoulder. She squeaked quietly as her foreleg was jostled from the maneuver.
“Is this okay?” John asked. “We’re going to be walking for a long time.”
Twilight shifted slightly in his grasp. “It’ll do for now; let’s just get out of this place.”
John quickly padded out of the clearing, eyeing his compass to ensure the arrow was pointing west. He felt the unicorn grip his neck tightly with her one good foreleg. Confident that she wouldn’t fall off, John doubled his speed as another howl pierced the night air.
--
The crisp night air air felt cool on Twilight’s face as the human continued his trek through the desert. They had entered the Mild West, according to Twilight’s memory of traveling here to visit Applejack’s cousin in Appaloosa, a small frontier town on the eastern coast of this sea of sand and tumbleweeds.
She shivered. The only noise that could be audible was the rhythmic clomping of the human’s boots and the gentle whooshing of the wind blowing past her ears. I guess now would be a good time to ask those questions.
She opened her mouth to speak, then shut it, suddenly realizing something embarrassing. “Uh… What should I call you?”
The human glanced back. “Hm?”
“I mean, I know your name is ‘Master Chef Sierra-107’ or whatever, but what do you prefer? I mean, is there something shorter I can call you by?”
“Just call me Master Chief.” He mumbled, not even looking back.
Twilight frowned. It wasn’t much shorter than what she already had to say. It would have to do… She cleared her throat. “So, can you at least tell me where you’re from?”
He was silent for a moment before answering, “I came from space. I thought you knew that.” He replied.
Twilight scowled before continuing. She wasn't going to give up just yet. “You have any brothers or sisters?” Twilight asked, trying to keep the conversation going.
There was a long pause before he answered, “In a way, yes.”
Twilight cocked her head. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I was an only child. But when I…” He paused again. “When I enlisted, I found that my teammates became a family closer than my biological one.” He finished carefully.
“Ah, I see.” She said quietly. The silence began to creep back in, which was the last thing Twilight wanted. Where were those burning questions when she needed them?
“So, how did you get all this armor?” She asked.
“That’s classified.”
Shoot.
“What’s it made of?”
“Classified.”
“Can you at least tell me what basic elements it’s made of?” Twilight ventured, a hint of frustration making her way into her voice.
He paused for the umpteenth time. “Well, the technicians who built this told me it’s made of Titanium-A plates. And the circuitry that assists in the movement of the suit.” He fell silent as Twilight leaned forward on his shoulder expectantly.
“And?”
The human glanced back at her quizzically.
“What else? Why does it need to assist in movement of the suit?”
“Because metal is heavy, and without the circuitry, I wouldn’t be able to move as quickly as I have been.” He finished.
She smirked. A very small victory, but a victory nonetheless. Now if she could just get him to talk a bit more. She supposed more conversation would help; any topic would be helpful at this point. Simple talk always helped strangers get to know each other, right?
“So, can you tell me about your friends back home?” She asked.
She couldn’t tell if he either chose to ignore the question or didn’t hear it, as he never acknowledged her. She made a face at the back of his helmet. Well, if you’re not going to talk, then I will.
“Okay, well, I’ve got friends, too.” She said, nearly facehoofing at how awkward she sounded. “I believe you’ve all met. There’s Rainbow Dash, the cyan Pegasus that sort of… Well… Attacked you.” A question suddenly popped to Twilight’s head. “If you were attacked by Rainbow Dash, why didn’t you do anything about it?”
“I knew she wasn’t meaning to kill.” He said. “She looked as scared as any of you, really. I’ve seen it before.”
Twilight was taken aback by his answer, shocking her into silence.
He looked back at her. “Does that answer your question?” He asked, his voice patient.
She nodded absentmindedly. “Yes…”
He looked back ahead, staring at the horizon. “Why do you look surprised?” He asked.
“I didn’t think a soldier would be able to—”
“I may be a soldier, but I’ve still got experience.” He said dismissively. “Just because I’ve been trained to kill doesn’t mean that killing is all I know about.”
“Experiences like what?” Twilight asked.
The human fell silent, thinking of an answer. Before Twilight could start talking again, he interjected. “I’m old enough to have had a few experiences of my own.”
Twilight cocked her head. “Just how old are you?”
The human mumbled to himself for a few seconds (probably making calculations), and finally answered, “Forty.”
“Forty-what?”
“Just over forty.”
“You can’t be forty pony-years! That’s practically ancient!”
“…What?”
--
Applejack rapped loudly on Fluttershy’s door. The timid cream-yellow Pegasus slowly pulled the door open a crack. “Good morning, Applejack…” She mumbled blearily.
“Flutters, that thing ran off!” Applejack cried.
The Pegasus cocked her head. “What thing?"
"You know! The space-soldier! Crashed into the Everfree Forest?!"
"O-oh!" The Pegasus blinked twice, her expression changing from one of confusion to one of worry. "Is he okay?"
Applejack threw her arms up. "How should I know?! He just upped and left!"
Fluttershy shrunk at the sight of the angry farmpony. "I-I'm sorry... I..."
Applejack groaned. "Jus' lissen to me, Fluttershy! I think he took Twilight, too!”
The Pegasus’s eyes widened visibly. “How do you know? Are you sure? I mean, it is a bit early to be—”
“I h’ain’t jokin’! I went to Twi’s library after I noticed he had disappeared, and she was gone too! Spike says he saw her go t’bed, too!” She pawed the ground, grinding her teeth. “Thing must’ve taken her while everypony was sleepin' and run off!”
Fluttershy frowned. “B-but I don’t get it. Why would he take Twilight? She tried to help negotiations with the Princess go more smoothly last night; she hasn’t done anything wrong to him.”
Applejack reached through the door, putting a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Look, I don’t know why he took ‘er. But he and Twi are missin’! We gotta get the others and go after ‘im! You go get Rainbow Dash, and I’ll fill in Rarity and Pinkie. We’ve gotta find Twi while the trail’s still hot!”
Fluttershy nodded firmly. “Right. I just need to feed my animals first, then I’ll go wake up Rainbow.”
Applejack returned the nod, galloping away back towards Ponyville.
Don’t worry, Twi! I’m coming!