//------------------------------// // Chapter 24 // Story: Contact Harvest // by CommanderApplejack //------------------------------// The thrill of coming home has never changed. -Guy Pearce "Everything's set up, though I could use some help from both you and Sweetie," Sunset addressed Maria as she went over the magic required to breach the dimensional barriers. "Time streams are not completely matched up yet so the moment we open the portal it'll essentially act as a sudden break." "So what would we do?" Sweetie asked, "This stuff is the kind of thing that's way beyond us." "You wouldn't have to do much, I'm, essentially asking you to act as capacitors which I can draw on to dampen shocks. I'd be the one moulding the magic into the required matrix," Sunset explained, the three of them going over the specifics which I didn't understand a thing of. Looking over at Scootaloo and Rainbow made it clear they didn't either as they were just whispering to each other. “So what do you think the suit's doing here?” Scootaloo asked in a whisper as she noticed my attention. “Orders probably,” I simply replied. “We may be going home but we still swore an oath, they ain't just gonna let us go without leaving us instructions and probably a message fer the princess.” “That... makes sense,” Scootaloo admitted as Sunset and the others looked ready to start. The official sprung up and picked up a suitcase he had with him. Scoots and I stood up to stand at attention as he approached and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. “There are a few things that need to be covered before you proceed.” He placed his suitcase on an empty table and opened it up. Sweetie joined me and Scoots across to him, Maria keeping her distance as she probably wasn't going to come along, Spartans were a valuable resource after all. “As Sergeant Bloom just correctly assumed we the UNSC isn't just leaving you to go without further instructions, but first I have some things to give.” He pulled three sealed packages out and passed them to the three of us. “Those are dress suits, I've been informed by agent Shimmer that they will most likely be adapted to fit cross dimensions.” “If not my sister can adjust them,” Sweetie stated as she looked over the suit before putting it away in her backpack. “Good, good, then there's something else that's overdue.” he pulled out four little boxes. Presenting the first to me. Sergeant Bloom, for your exceptional bravery and wounding in the line of duty, the UNSC grants you both the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. Regardless of your origin, you have served humanity exceptionally. I took the box and looked at the two medals, straightening my back a little further. “Thank you, sir!” He repeated the same riddle for both Sweetie and Scootaloo, though my winged friend did not receive the Purple Heart. “Now, higher it has been decided the three of you will be allowed to take across your armour and weaponry though to resist surrendering them to the authorities of your world, such things can be transferred as agreements are reached with your government.” We all nodded in agreement, though I think we all would be hesitant to use force on ponies if it came down to it. “Then there's a diplomatic package included, both digitally and physically which will need to be delivered to your princesses, Spartan zero-six-two will lead initial diplomatic efforts though so you will not be expected to treat with your own kind.” “Yer coming too?” I asked rather surprised, having assumed it'd just be us, Rainbow, and Sunset. “Until a diplomatic mission arrives on Harvest, yes,” Maria answered. “And how are they gonna go through if we're all on the other end?” Scootaloo questioned, Sunset letting out a sigh. “Because I'm staying here until a stable connection can be formed. I've already started the process but I'll need Twilight's help,” she explained, surprising me again. “Well, good luck then and stay safe,” I told her, patting her on the shoulder. “Luckily I don't have to take care of pegasi charging into the line of fire so I'll make due,” Sunset chuckled, looking over at Rainbow who blushed and found something interesting to look at on the floor. “Anyway, Is that everything they needed to know, sir?” The man shook his head and closed his suitcase. “That was my part, though, I will remain here to observe and record the portal.” Sunset nodded, turning to Maria and Sweetie, directing them to stand in two particular spots before directing us to stand ready as well. "Now, when I tell all of you to jump in, you move as fast as you can. I can keep it open for a while but I'd rather do it as short as possible, the headache after will be bad enough." We gave a round of ok's and got ready to jump into the portal. My heart was racing as Sunset began, channeling the magic of Sweetie and Maria alongside her own to start tearing a rift into the fabric of reality. The air in front of her began to shimmer and crackle with energy, a blue hole not all that dissimilar to a slipspace rift though there seemed to be more shifting colours within it. "Hold... hold... GO!" The five of us that were going sprinted forward, jumping into the rift from all different directions. The world shifted, the tunnel between dimensions tossing me about and disorienting me slightly. I could still feel my body shifting form, hands and feet magically disappearing and hooves reforming. What in reality had been no more than a few seconds felt like an eternity but in the end I could see the light on the other end rapidly approaching. Here we go! Thunk! My armoured form was spat out onto the crystal floor, I could hear someone let out a shrill cry from right next to me though I couldn't care all that much as I saw the others come through that mirror with which the entire mess had started oh so long ago. Not as humans, but as ponies. Wait, hold up, Maria was able to do magic in her world, why is she a Gryphon? The transformed human looked at her new, gloved, claws with extreme fascination, inspecting them from every angle. Sweetie was already back on her hooves, jumping around and laughing maniacally. Scootaloo was checking out her quite large wings, giving them a few experimental flaps. Rainbow though was looking at something to my left and did not look amused at all. "Starlight Glimmer!" She called out, sounding rather enraged and dragging the attention of all of us towards a pony that stood closest to me. The way Dash had said her name made it absolutely clear she was not very welcome around here, something that was only reinforced as she cursed and lit up her horn. Her loss. Maria and I slammed into her, the spartan turned gryphon grabbing her by the glowing horn and using it as leverage to smash her head into the ground. The unicorn went out cold immediately from the blunt force impact, I was slightly concerned we'd been a bit too rough until I saw that she was still breathing. There was a mighty serious-looking cut on her forehead but that could be fixed with some stitching. "Whoa... That's, uhh, one way to deal with it," Dash said shocked as she stared at the unconscious form of the unicorn we'd just taken down. "We should get her to the guard, she's trouble." "Who even is she?" I asked as I hadn't a clue who the pony was. "Friendship mission thing, we found her keeping a village under her control," Dash stated as she poked the unconscious unicorn. "Wait, is she that unicorn that stole cutie marks?" Sweetie remarked, I vaguely remembered Applejack telling me something about that. "The one and only. What she's doing here though, I haven't a clue," Dash said as she was sure the unicorn wasn't playing fake. "Should get her to the guard before she wakes up though." "They still stationed in town hall?" I asked as I hoisted 'Starlight' onto my back, Dash nodded while raising an eyebrow. "Wait, are you going to bring her in?" She asked surprised, I shrugged as I made sure my helmet was properly in place. "Ah mean, who else? Ain't too much trouble and I'll be right back here. If y'all go find Twilight and the others in the meanwhile that'd be great," I stated as I made for the door, careful not to hit any of the equipment that was scattered around, the others close behind me. "Ok, I guess," Dash shrugged as she jumped up into a hover. "I'm actually surprised the egghead wasn't glued to the portal in the first place, she was pretty obsessed with it when I left." "I'm sure she had a good reason," Sweetie stated as we entered the empty hallways of the castle. My heart rate was still accelerated as I still couldn't completely believe we were back, no more threat of imminent death, no more firefights... It's going to be so hard to adjust... Ignoring the feeling of dread of what would be a monumental task on its own I made my way to the large front doors of the castle, Dash taking the others to the 'map room' of the castle so she could go look around for Twilight. As the doors opened I got my first sight of Ponyville in nearly four years, tears forming in my eyes as the sun brightly lit up the rustic village. Ponies hadn't noticed me standing at the entrance of the crystal castle as I observed them go about their day. Huh, I guess I'm as big as the adults now. Breathing in deep, I stepped forward and down the stairs leading up the castle and into Ponyville proper. The closer I got to the town square, and the market my extension, the more ponies started noticing me, they were mostly whispering to each other but not panicking which was a good sign for Ponyville. "Who in tarnation are you, and where in the world are ya carrying... wait, Starlight Glimmer?" I froze as I heard the southern drawl, a voice I was intimately familiar with. Slowly turning around I came face to face with Applejack who looked terribly confused, my eyes being at the same level as hers made it even stranger. "No matter, what in the world are ya doin' with her?" "Bringing her to the guard," I slowly stated as my enhanced mind tried catching up to the fact I was standing across to my big sister. "Ya are? What even happened to her anyhow?" Applejack asked as she scowled at the large cut on Starlight's head. "That ain't looking too pretty." Two armoured stallions approached from town hall, their golden armour making it clear they were part of Ponyville's small guard contingent. "What is going on here?" I completely ignored them as I placed Starlight on the ground, keeping my focus on Applejack who started to become a little uncomfortable under the attention. "Uhh, is somethin' wrong?" Reaching up to my helmet with my hooves, I mentally undid the seal and removed it. Applejack's eyes went wide as saucers, her mouth falling open as she looked into my tearing eyes. "A-Apple Bloom?" I couldn't hold it in anymore and shot forward, pulling my big sister into a crushing hug all the while combining crying and laughter. "H-Hi big sis, been a while," I finally sniffed, loosening my grip. Applejack was still looking at me with wide, amazed, eyes. "H-How are ya so big?" Applejack finally blurted out. "And what are ya even wearin'? And... why is one of yer legs metal?" She scowled as she noticed my prosthetic, personally, I hadn't really inspected it yet either but it was there. "I've... had an interesting time," I replied, Applejack scowled as she wasn't happy with that answer. "How long." "Well over three and a half years." Applejack lost all colour in her face. "I'll tell you everythin' with the girls, we have a few things that need discussing anyhow." "That's great and all but you're coming with us, we want to know what happened to this pony," the guard who wasn't looking over Starlight's cut stated. “Nah, Ah ain't. If ya need me fer a statement ya can find me at Twilight's castle,” I stated gruffly, placing my helmet back on and locking it in place. “C'mon, Rainbow was lookin' fer Twilight when Ah left so I'm guessing they'll come lookin' fer you, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity soon.” Applejack shook her head, glancing at the incredulous and stuttering stallion. “Flutters 'n Twi ain't in town. They got called on a quest by the map.” “Huh, that explains why she wasn't at the portal when we came through,” I pondered out loud as I started to walk away. “HEY! You can't just leave!” He sprinted in front of me to block my path, only he hadn't taken into account that with my power armour he might as well have have been trying to stop a moving train. “Bloom, Ah think ya should-” “Look,” I cut my sister off, addressing both her and the stallion. “Ah've had the most horrible time anypony could experience so it'll be a cold day in Tartarus if ya think ya can stop me from spending the day with mah family... But if ya really want ta know what happened to that pony; she broke into Twilight's castle and tried castin' a spell on me and mah friends, Ah and another friend tackled her an' cracked her skull on the floor. Happy?” Not waiting for a reply I stamped off, it'd bring a heap of trouble down the line but after telling our story I was going to spend at least today with Applejack, Big Mac, and Granny. Applejack was soon walking next to me again, though looking quite conflicted. “We could pass by Sugarcube corner and pick up Pinkie?” I proposed, trying to switch her attention away from what had just happened. “Nah, that pony is probably bouncin' around Ponyville from all the doozies,” Applejack chuckled. “Ah say we go get Rares if Sweetie ain't doin' so.” “Sounds like a plan,” I nodded, smirking a little. “Race ya there?” That brought a smile to Applejack's face, “Ah knew sendin' Rainbow was a mistake. Don't think Ah'll go easy on you jus' because ya wearing that heavy looking stuff, yer a big girl now apparently.” “Ah wouldn't be too comfortable,” I grinned as I dug my hooves into the sand. Applejack of course hadn't a clue what Mjolnir was capable of. “Three...” “Two...” “One...” I trotted over the dirt roads of Ponyville, my armour deposited at the castle where Scootaloo and Maria remained, instead wearing the dress suit with the two medals I'd received less than an hour earlier. We'd found Spike who, after nearly having a heart attack, informed us that Twilight and Fluttershy weren't in town and on some sort of friendship quest. They'd been gone for three day already so they were expected to return any second. We'd decided then that we'd gather the ponies who were present in town, having plenty to tell regardless, and we could fill in the missing two later. That now left me with the task of gathering Rarity, Rainbow having gone out to find Pinkie and Applejack, if the latter wasn't found by Bloom that was. That still left me walking to Carousel Boutique, which I could already see at the end of the street. Before entering I checked my dress suit to see if it was completely straight without wrinkles, it had survived the transformation really well and actually turned into something I could wear for which I was very thankful now. With one side of my body lacking hair due to burn scarring it was rather cold. The bell above the door rung as I opened it, the sign on the door having signalled Rarity had opened the shop. The insides were exactly as I remembered, ponykins standing around with extravagant dresses on them, soft classical music playing from a record player, the custom lighting creating a warm atmosphere... “Excuse me but I'll be right down!” Rarity's voice had cracked horribly halfway through that sentence, making me cringe as she'd clearly been crying. The sound of hooves striking the wood of the stairs signalled Rarity coming down, making me tense up as I anticipated the reunion. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique what can I...” “Hi sis.” “Sweetie!” Rarity shouted in a very unladylike manner, hurling herself forward at me into a hug. “You're so big!” “Yeah, I had some time to grow,” I smiled as I got checked out by her, her eyes inevitably falling on the clothes I was wearing. “Your suit looks very well made, though it's not very ladylike,” Rarity stated as she inspected the dress suit, her eyes falling on both my medals and the scar poking up around the base of my neck. “So what are these medals for?” “The one is called the Bronze Star, it's given for heroic service in a combat zone...” Rarity's smile became strained. “...and the other is the purple heart, given to those who've been injured or killed in action in in combat situations.” “Is that what the scar is from?” Rarity asked quietly, I nodded in confirmation and pulled up the sleeve of my dress suit with my magic to show the extent of how far they ran. “It doesn't hurt and I honestly don't really feel it's there most of the time, it's just a little cold without fur,” I said as Rarity looked about ready to faint. “Bloom really got the worst of it.” “What can be worse than... That?!” Rarity exclaimed, my head turning as I heard somepony come sliding to a halt outside. My ears picking up a slight mechanical whirr along with the heavy steps. Wait what's Apple Bloom doing here? I tensed as if Bloom was running there might be an emergency, she didn't enter the boutique though. Thirty seconds later another pony arrived, heavily out of breath. “Landsakes, how in Celestia's name are ya that fast?” Wait, did she race Applejack? The door opened again, the pair of them entering the store. Bloom was a little careful as she stepped onto the wood, probably just making sure she didn't fall through. “I assume you were holding back, Bloom?” I said, enjoying the look on Applejack's face as she snapped around to look at her little sister. Apple Bloom took off her helmet and sheepishly smiled back at her big sister. “Well, Ah may have been able to push a little harder...” “Don't feel too bad, Applejack, that armour she's wearing isn't exactly standard. She may very well be the fastest walking thing in the world while wearing it,” I stated, throwing some more gasoline on the fire. “It looks dreadful!” Rarity exclaimed, poking the titanium plates of the Mjolnir. “The drab green, ugly angles, where are the decorations of proper armour!?” Both me and Apple bloom had to hold in our laughter as Rarity missed the point of muted colours completely. “It's meant to be this way, function over aesthetics,” Bloom stated. Rarity huffed, and muttered something about disregarding a sense of style completely but didn't push it. “I assume we are meeting up at the castle?” I nodded. “Is Twilight even back yet?” “No, but Spike already sent her the update,” I informed them. “In that case we should gather some things for a sleepover, the Everfree is still acting up somewhat so we shouldn't be walking around too much at night,” Rarity stated before making her way back up the stairs to pack. Bloom and I though glanced at each other, probably thinking the exact same thing. “Hey, sis, define actin' up fer me.” “We had a lone timberwolf entering town after dark twice, we got lucky till now but most ponies decided it'd be smart ta stay off the street at night until that's dealt with,” Applejack sighed before realising what Bloom and I were thinking about. “Oh no, don't ya two worry about a thing, the guard sent in some extra ponies to take care of the problem.” “AJ, we can handle a night without sleep. Besides, we're equipped to deal with worse anyhow,” I stated. We weren't going to sit at the sidelines if we could help out, and definitely not when it came down to fighting large monsters. “A guess ya could join them at town hall after sundown...” Applejack shook her head, “It feels strange but Ah guess Ah trust y'all know what yer doin'.” “Thanks sis, and don't worry, we'll be fine and Ponyville will be a timberwolf lighter,” Bloom chuckled, “But in that case we should drop by the farm as well, seein' Big Mac and Granny will be good.” “Yer right about that. Ah guess we'll see ya at Twilight's, Sweetie?” “Yup, we have plenty of sunlight left anyhow,” I replied with a smile, the two earthponies leaving the boutique again. After a few minutes Rarity emerged back from upstairs with a large set of saddlebags filled to the brim, clearly having trouble with their weight. “Just the essentials I take?” I humorously poked fun at her as she struggled. “Here, let me help.” Using my magic I undid the strap holding it in place and floated the thing onto my back. The saddlebags were heavy, yes, but manageable for me. “Anything else or can we go?” “Yes, of course,” Rarity blushed at how seemingly little effort I was carrying her bag. “Go I mean.” “Of course, after you,” I chuckled as Rarity closed down the boutique. “So are mom and dad in town or...?” “They are, they came back from Manehattan the moment I informed them what had happened. We should pick them up as well,” Rarity stated as she locked her door. I nodded. “Yes. Yes we should.”