Twilight squinted as the Canterlotian carriage began to circle their destination. She looked back at the Master Chief, who sat with his legs partially crossed, cradling a curious metal chip. She sighed quietly. It had been a silent two-hour ride from the ship’s crash site to Canterlot, the human electing silence as his answer for every question that her friends had asked him. Twilight was completely baffled by how quickly he had changed. She recalled the conversation during the long walk to the crash site, how he had at least tried to respond to anything he was ‘allowed’ to answer.
All of that had changed as soon as she and Rainbow had ventured into the ship to find him. After about an hour of searching, they found him kneeling in a strange room filled with metal pods that lined the walls. And that same metal chip that he was currently carrying was pinched between his thumb and forefinger while he looked forward, entranced by something unseen to both her and Rainbow Dash.
Fluttershy, who had volunteered to accompany Twilight on the carriage ride, gave her a gentle nudge. “You think he’s okay? Maybe he hit his head…?” She said, glancing back at the Chief.
“I don’t think so. Last time I checked for injuries, it didn’t seem like there were any signs of a concussion.” Twilight said, shrugging.
Fluttershy frowned. “Oh, dear. He looks kinda sad…” She said, now gazing at the Chief with her brilliant teal eyes.
Twilight glanced back at the Chief, now realizing he did look a little lonely, slowly turning the chip over in his hand. The metal chip fell under Twilight’s close scrutiny as she inspected the individual grooves on the surface, noting that it was actually shaped like a horseshoe of sorts. Except that it was a metal chip, and there was a large hole in the middle that gave it that resemblance. Maybe there used to be something there…? But why would that make him so depressed? Twilight thought.
She was jolted back to reality as the carriage bumped to a stop, landing in the Royal Courtyard. Half a dozen guards approached the sides, their gold armor glinting brightly in the waning sunlight.
“Off ya get, ya brute!” One barked, flying to land in the cart and nudging the Chief none-too-gently with a spear.
Twilight almost yelled out for him to stop when the Master Chief looked up slowly, eventually standing up. She watched as he stepped off of the carriage, balling his right hand (supposedly containing the chip) into a fist. She was even more shocked when the guards slapped heavy metal cuffs onto his wrists, and he didn’t even do so much as flinch. She watched as he was marched into the castle, dragging his feet as he went. Fluttershy was right. He did look pitifully sad.
Another guard saluted in front of Twilight, snatching her attention. “Ma’am. The Sun Princess would have a word with you.” He said, turning on his front hoof to march towards the castle. Twilight gritted her teeth. Time to sort out some misunderstandings…
Without another word, Twilight followed the guard at a brisk pace, while Fluttershy scurried to keep up.
--
John stumbled forward, shoved into the less-than-adequate-sized cell. The guard cleared his throat. “You have been given a 24-hour sentence in the dungeons for attempted evasion of Princess Celestia and your captor, Twilight Sparkle. In addition, you will apologize to the Princess herself for having declined her hospitality.”
John heard the heavy metal gate slam home, joined by the guard’s retreating hoofsteps. He looked down at the chains that held his wrists together, easily pulling the thick metal into pieces as he yanked his wrists apart.
Slowly opening his right hand, he looked longingly at the empty AI chip that rested there. His sudden desire to escape faded with the crushing weight of Cortana’s absence, bringing him back to his knees.
The soldier in him truly wanted to escape, search for her, and possibly escape this crazy planet. However, his logic was quick to kick in. Where would she go if she happened to live? She couldn’t have just stayed in the fried circuitry of the ship; she would’ve remained in the chip, where she knew he would find her.
He hung his head, letting the truth wash over him. She was gone, for all he knew. She wasn’t in the chip, and finding her in the ship was out of the question. He had no clue how to fish an AI out of a tangled wreck of the Dawn’s wiring. He didn’t even know if that could be done.
But the fact that she was gone still remained. Without her, he could never return home, as rebuilding the Pelican would be impossible.
Hell. Even if he somehow discovered how to rebuild it, he still wouldn’t leave until he found Cortana again. If that was even possible at this point.
Pressing himself into a corner, he slid the chip back into his helmet’s AI slot, pulling up his knees and resting his helmet on his arms, which he had crossed over his kneecaps. His motivation to escape now lost, he found himself only capable of simply waiting. What else could he do in the meantime, anyways?
His eyes dropped to the pistol on his side. In the guards’ ignorance of human technology, they had assumed it was a part of his armor and left it alone.
His hand slowly drooped to brush the handle, suddenly gripping it tightly and gently yanking it off of his armor’s magnetic holster. He thumbed the safety off, his face set in stone.
--
Twilight frowned at the guard. “Just let me see him. He’ll talk to me!”
The guard gestured to her leg. “It’s not healthy for you to even be up and about, ma’am. Besides, the Princess—”
“What about the us?” Asked a familiar voice. Twilight turned quickly, nearly bumping into Princess Luna.
The guard snapped a starchy salute. “P-Princess Luna! Ma’am!”
Twilight glanced up at Luna, but frowned when Luna did not look her way.
The Princess of the Night approached the guard. “At ease, Private. We’re going to have a little chat with our prisoner.” She said.
The guard frowned. “I… Uh… Permission to speak freely, ma’am?”
“Permission granted, Private.”
“With all due respect, I only take orders from Princess Celestia herself. I’m a part of the Solar Tower Guard, not your Lunar contingent.” He said, frowning.
Luna huffed irritably. “Yes, we know this. Tia asked us personally to negotiate with the human. Isn’t that a command from my sister?” She asked.
The soldier failed to respond. “I… uh… I’m… not—”
“And my point is proven. Come, Twilight Sparkle. You are to assist me.” Luna stated flatly, walking past the stuttering guard. Without hesitation, Twilight trotted after the lunar princess, taking care to keep pace with the Alicorn.
“Did Princess Celestia really send you down here, Luna?” she hissed, unsure if they were out of auditory range of the flabbergasted guardpony.
“No, we wanted audience with this human we hadn’t met despite hearing so much about.” Luna admitted, hooking a right down the gloomy-looking stockade. “For some reason, Tia did not want me meeting the creature.” Luna stuck out her lower lip. “She always has to keep secrets from us… I know she’s doing what she can to shelter us from numerous things… But we are a Princess, just like she is. We’re going to have to shoulder her burden eventually.”
Twilight looked to Luna, eyes brimming with curiosity. “Luna, did you ever learn anything about the humans? You use the word as if you know it well.”
The Alicorn shrugged her wings helplessly. “I know little more than you do, Twilight. Paradise Estate and their disappearance during the Discordian reign are all I know about. I was hoping that I could answer this and more things if I talked to the human you met the other night.” Luna explained.
Twilight looked forward again. “I’m not sure what he’ll be able to answer, Luna…” She said, frowning. “He’s been very hush-hush about everything, and I doubt that…” She trailed off as they arrived at the cell.
The human was sitting on his knees, his bonds obviously shattered. He was fondly hefting a strange device in his hand. A short barrel protruded from the silver ‘nose’ this thing bore, accompanied by a long handle that jutted out from the middle of the device. She watched as the human pressed something on the side, slowly lifting it to his head.
“What’re you—” She started.
The human’s head suddenly lifted, although it didn’t look like he was too surprised. He slowly turned, lowering whatever he was holding in his hand.
Luna’s horn glowed blue, and the device flew out of his hand, bumping into the bars to levitate in front of her. “We have some questions for you.” She said firmly, slowly opening the door.
The human looked at the levitating weapon, then back to his knees, facing the far wall again. “I’m not answering any.” He replied, his voice rasping.
Luna frowned. “We’ll see.” She said, her voice dangerously low. She approached him, much to Twilight’s dismay.
“Princess! Wait! He’s—”
“He’s not going to do anything.” Luna replied calmly. “He may be a different species entirely, but we can still recognize something we were forced to live with for a thousand years.” She turned to face the human, ensuring that she was in front of him. She tipped his chin up with her magic, here gaze piercing the polarized faceplate.
“Loneliness.” She said, almost whispering.
The human perked up at the word before pulling his head away from Luna’s telekinetic grasp, choosing to look to the side.
Twilight suddenly realized the man’s body language. His slumped shoulders, the lethargy plaguing his every move. But what could have caused this—
“Oh, goodness. We’re sorry; where are our manners?” Luna apologized. She bowed her head. “We are Princess Luna, sister of Princess Celestia, and Ruler of the Night.” She said.
The human simply nodded, remaining silent.
Luna looked at Twilight, shrugging her wings. Twilight simply shrugged back. Turning to face the human again, Luna ventured a question. “Are you sure you weren’t alone?” Luna asked, taking a seat in front of the soldier. “My sister informed me that you had arrived alone, and you told her that you were indeed alone. But I know that from the look on your face…”
The Chief raised his head. “How did you…?”
“It’s a simple spell, really!” Twilight chirped. “You just—”
“Twilight.” Luna stated firmly, glaring at the lavender equine. Twilight smiled sheepishly and backed away.
Luna turned back to the Chief, her expression serious. “But from the look on your face, you’re telling a rather tall tale to us, ‘Master Chief’.” She said, saying his name slowly.
The human didn’t even look up. “I’m alone. I always have been.” He stated simply.
Twilight’s jaw dropped when Luna reached forward, using her hoof to turn the Chief’s head towards her. “Please. From one lonely soul to another.” She asked, her voice sincere.
The Chief gazed into her eyes for several moments before looking down. “Her name was Cortana.” He blurted out. “She… She was an artificial intelligence construct. A “smart” AI, if you will.” He started.
Twilight cocked her head. “Artificial intelligence? You just… manufactured consciousness?”
“No. We always based them off of real human beings.” John corrected. “In this case, she was based off of my m—” He paused for a second before continuing, much to Luna and Twilight’s befuddlement. “My… superior. Dr. Catherine Halsey.” He said carefully.
Luna scrunched up her face. “So, how did you and Cortana become separated?”
The Chief hung his head. “She was in the ship’s systems when we crashed. I was separated from her during the rough landing, which was why I had fled the hospitality of Twilight’s friends in the first place.” He admitted. Reaching to the back of his helmet, he removed something, bringing it forward in a fist. He opened his hand, holding up the metal scrap Twilight had seen before. “This was her storage chip, which was empty when I found it at the crash site.” He lowered the chip, his head lowering again. “I haven’t seen her since.”
Luna and Twilight looked at each other, both bearing looks of despair. “Oh my…” was all Twilight could manage.
“So… how did you and Cortana first meet?” Luna ventured.
The human went on to recount meeting her for the first time before running a hellish obstacle course, recalling that he wouldn’t have survived it without her help. To their surprise, that was where he stopped.
Luna raised a brow, curious. “So… That was it? You only knew this… AI for a few weeks?”
“I went through a hell of a lot more than just a few weeks.” The human growled.
Luna leaned forward. “Well, would you mind if you showed me?” She said, indicating her horn.
The human hesitated. “I don’t follow.”
“It’s another simple spell!” Twilight said, leaping on this opportunity to explain something. “We unicorns and Alicorns can use magic to either restore or view the memories of an individual. In this case, Princess Luna is asking to do the latter.”
The human looked away. “I can’t.” He said. “I’ve already said too much.”
Luna frowned, turning back to Twilight. “Hm. I think we’ve gotten as much as we could out of him tonight.” Luna said. “I need to lower the moon in a few hours, so I must take my leave, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight bowed. “If it’s okay with you, Princess, I’d like to share a few words with him.”
Luna nodded. “Sure. Just… remember to call us ‘Luna.’” She said, smiling.
Twilight giggled. “Yes, Luna.” She waited for the lunar princess to leave before approaching the Chief. “So… Uh… I wanted to apologize for their treatment. I didn’t think they’d be so harsh as to throw you in the castle’s stockade.” She said, pushing a small pile of hay around.
The Chief simply glanced her way before turning back to face the far wall.
Twilight continued to stare at his backside. “I just wanted to let you know about something I’ve learned.”
The Chief let out an empty chuckle.
Twilight pouted for a moment before continuing. “When I was fighting against a draconequus named Discord, I was temporarily separated from all of my friends.” Her eyes burned at the memory, tears threatening to form. “My closest friends, all turned into the enemies that hampered my progress.” She said. “I lost all hope, and almost abandoned my friends, thinking that I couldn’t ever restore things to normal alone.”
She smiled. “But that’s when the Princess taught me that with friendship comes hardship. There are times where you’re separated, turned against each other or even driven to fight. However, that’s all a part of having a connection between two different personalities. Friendship isn’t always smooth sailing. It sometimes requires work, and a little bit of faith.”
Twilight set a hoof on the man’s shoulder. “So, Chief, just have a little faith that Cortana isn’t gone. That she’s out there, somewhere.”
The human didn’t even turn. “The only place she could be is at that crash site, in the ship’s systems. And even if she was, she would’ve known when I was aboard and looking for her.”
His shoulders sagged further. “You still held on to the hope that you could bring your friends back. I can’t have any faith if I know she’s already gone, Twilight.” His head lowered further. “Just as Luna had her sister. Unlike you two, I’ve lost all of my friends.”
“B-but—”
“My friends are dead, Twilight Sparkle.” He finished. “Be happy that you still have yours.”
Twilight’s nose stung, bringing tears to her eyes. “Aren't I a friend to you, Chief?” Twilight choked out before taking off, not even caring to close the door behind her.
--
“My friends are dead, Twilight Sparkle.” John said, struggling to keep his voice level. “Be happy that you still have yours.”
He was caught off-guard by a sniffling behind him. What followed nearly broke his very essence. “Aren’t I a friend to you, Chief?” he heard Twilight croak before the sound of her retreating hoofsteps followed.
John slowly turned, gazing longingly at the open door. Confusion overwhelmed his mind, along with the horrible knot of regret sitting in his stomach.
A friend?