//------------------------------// // Chapter 28 // Story: A Noble Death // by LSTS Connor //------------------------------// Another week and a half had passed since the day Twilight became her de facto handler with her initiates making rapid progress thanks to the introduction of the Unicorn's magical presence. Her handler’s personality and mind however were certainly an annoyance though, not to mention her obvious innocence and general skittishness when the matters of war were discussed. There was even a moment during one of the Spartans many, many sparring sessions turned into impromptu anatomy lesson where the Unicorn excused herself behind a nearby building to probably recompose herself after hearing the sheer casualness in Six’s voice when she discussed where to stab an opponent to end a fight quickly. This also happened incidentally on her first day, but Six was surprised when she didn't immediately go running off to the kitten called her mentor.  But even throughout all of that, the Unicorn was beginning to adapt to the Spartans’ demeanor. Still couldn't grasp the concept of leaving the Spartan alone however as her Questions and attempt at conversation were repeatedly shut down yet still continued despite the Spartans repeated attempts to get to understand the definition of ‘Classified, stop asking.’ The constant attempts to get the Spartan to talk about themselves were also getting incredibly annoying to Six. To the point, it was beginning to become a tangible issue to the Spartan. Every Question about her past or just herself, in general, would bring up unpleasant memories to the point that her usually peaceful sleep was becoming evermore marred with dreams of her death, Noble, and the destruction of Reach. Her only reprieve was her training with Pixy, Sparrow, Spirit, and Spear. Twilight would rarely join in but mostly she was content with sitting on the sidelines using her magic to make the training more interesting.  It was those moments where Six could forget about everything and just do her job like she was meant to. To just be a Spartan doing their part in the war. But those thoughts would not stay intact for long. Once good dreams now only became reminders and the rate at which Six was punching things was beginning to increase with training dummies ending up so battered and broken they had to be disposed of after her own morning training. She paid it no mind however for with the rapid progress her initiates were making she could move to the final stage of her training and prepare them for their final exam. She was going to make Princess Luna eat her words. ———————— The day started out like any other for the Spartan. She awoke at the crack of dawn, her visor full of tail and the floor covered in clinging to life pillows that could only barely support her enormous weight. Sitting up with a yawn, Six stretched her limbs, with satisfying pops in her joints releasing the built-up tension. Six had a slight smile on her face as she stood up fully, the contents of last night's surprisingly pleasant dream having not yet left her mind. If she closed her eyes and focused she could almost remember how it felt to break that Elites ribcage with a single punch, to massacre a group of Covenant with Jorge and blow the brains out of a Sangheili Field Marshal with Jun. But the memories of the dream faded, as they always did, every single morning. The only thing she could remember was the faded feelings of loss and sadness. It annoyed the Spartan to no end. ‘Damn ponies are starting to rub off on me. I need an assignment soon or I’m going to lose it. Where’s an elite to kill when you need it?’ Thought Six with a growl. After Reach, the last thing she needed was to be alone with her thoughts. After the Pillar of Autumn left she only had one goal in mind. Make the Covenant pay. It was her one desire, her unspoken final order, her goddamned one Spartan revenge against those who had taken everything from her. Her friends, her family, her home. These quiet moments away from her initiates always served to piss her off as her mind wandered to those dark places. As it had every morning and night. The same went for those Princesses' attempts to converse with her. She is a Spartan, small talk isn't in her vocabulary damnit. She spoke the language of the Spartan-III: Go there, kill everything. If you lived, great! Do it all over again tomorrow. There was never a dull moment in that war, in the War for Humanity. The humanity she may never return to… A swift armored punch against the wall crushed those thoughts as the stone cracked like a spiderweb. Errant shards of stone falling to the ground, revealing the structure's grey insides. The Spartan was breathing heavily, her heart pounding against her ears. Six didn’t know how long she stood there. Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Her eyes were unfocused and her hoof was still lodged in the cracking wall.  But eventually, the Spartan removed their hoof from the wall only to stare at it from behind her helmet's visor. What the hell was happening to her, was the main thought that dominated her mind as she looked down at her hoof and the crater it had punched into the wall. Her emotions kept getting the better of her training and it was starting to worry her. A Spartan shouldn’t, couldn’t be able to feel like this. The memory of what happened after her first night in Las Pegasus came to the forefront of her mind. ‘Spartans do not cry.’ If that were true, then why did her face feel damp? A knock on the door brought the Spartan back to reality as she turned towards the closed door. “Is everything alright in there?” Came the voice of that damned purple annoyance through her door. “ The others have been waiting on you for over an hour and the guards say you haven’t left your room for your morning run.” Six sucked in a deep breath and exhaled with a small shudder as she looked at the digital clock her HUD contained. 10 am… She had lost 3 hours. ‘Damn it.’ Without a word Six trotted over and opened the door, surprising Twilight who had pressed her ear up against the door. Six honestly couldn’t care less at that point when Twilight fell to the ground in a heap as the Spartan left the room and began making her way towards the training grounds. “H-Hey wait up!” Called out Twilight as she got back onto her hooves and quickly galloped to catch up with the silent Spartan. After several long moments, she had caught up with Six and was now trotting beside her. Her pace bordering that of jogging compared to the large strides the bigger Spartan was doing. “Are you al-“ “Shut up.” Interrupted the Spartan suddenly, causing Twilight to jump once again. Twilight, annoyed at the way she was currently being treated, opened her mouth to give Six a piece of her mind. She was only able to take a deep breath before her tirade before swiftly deflating at the look Six gave her. Twilight didn't know what stopped her, she couldn't even see her face! But just the turn of the Spartans head and finding herself face to face with that emotionless visor brutally murdered her ability to speak. Twilight stopped in her tracks whilst the Spartan continued unabated, their gaze reoriented forward once again. Eventually, the Six had disappeared around a corner leaving Twilight to stand alone in the hallway, still looking like a deer in headlights as her own gaze remained where she had last seen the Spartan. It didn't take Twilight long to return to normal and her mind to start working again. Something was wrong with Six, that much was blatantly obvious to the Unicorn. But what was it? ‘Whatever it is, the princess must be told!’ Thought the Unicorn as she began to make her way back the way she came. When she rounded the corner however and made her way past Six’s room she noticed something. The door was still open. Now Princess Celestia was very clear about the arrangement she had with Six. It basically boiled down to: Let me keep my secrets and I will help you. Much to the chagrin of the Unicorn who would like nothing more than to see what made that armor of hers tick. And one of the core tenants in this agreement was that nopony, not even cleaning staff, would be allowed in her room. It was Six’s own little private island in the Castle. Yet something was wrong with Six. And investigating her room might shed some light and what had caused this change. ‘It couldn’t hurt to just look…’ Reasoned Twilight as she checked the corridors to her left and right for the occupant of the room she was about to enter. ‘Yeah, I’ll just quickly go in. See what I can see, then go tell Princess Celestia what happened. I’ll be in and out, quick as can be.’ And with that thought Twilight entered the room, her steps light as if at any moment Six would return. ———————— Celestia sat overlooking the guards' training grounds like she had almost every morning since Twilight had arrived to help understand this puzzle named Six. A tea sat floating in her golden aura as the morning paper floated before her eyes. Occasionally the solar diarch would glance down from her paper to see what Six’s ‘initiates’ were doing. Last she checked, they had decided to continue with their morning training without their instructor due to them not having made an appearance yet. Twilight was also there until recently when she had left too, most probably, get the puzzle in question. Celestia paid it no mind, the Spartan had been working hard over these past weeks, a little lie-in was deserved. Looking back at her paper Celestia studies its contents before sighing as she read an article concerning Celestia’s ‘secret weapon’. ‘Truly, the press works in mysterious ways.’ Thought the alicorn. ‘My they even got a picture of her… I believe a letter to the publisher may be in order.’ Granted it wasn’t a very good picture of Six with her form being blurred beyond belief but anypony could tell from that picture that Six was not your average pegasus. ‘Hmm, it seems they got Lily too. I’ll make sure to have some guards check up on her, make sure she isn't being harassed by the press, or at worst targeted by the Changelings.’ Thought Celestia worried for the mare’s safety as she read through the ‘interview’ section of the article. Taking another sip of her tea Celestia caught Six walking into the courtyard, her initiates still in the midst of their training having not noticed their trainer’s arrival. The armor she seemingly never removed was complete with her helmet worn and knife sheathed. Turning the page on her paper, Celestia idly read as one ear remained firmly pointed towards the courtyard where she could already hear the Spartan aggressive Drill-Sergeant voice. In fact, her voice sounded a little hoarse, but it was hard to tell through that helmet as Celestia’s ear flicked at the sound. ‘All that yelling must be catching up with her.’ Thought Celestia with a hum before giving a single chuckle as a grin grew on her face. ‘It seems as though even super-soldiers aren’t above getting a sore throat.’ The sound of the door behind her opening, brought her out of her musings as she lowered her paper and turned towards whoever had arrived. “Oh! Greetings Twilight, I was not expecting you. Is there anything I might help you with?” Greeted Celestia with a large smile as she watched Twilight enter the balcony alongside her. Only for the smile to drop when she saw the face of her Student. “What’s wrong dear Twilight? Is everything alright?” Began Celestia worriedly standing up and moving to stand beside her Student. “Something is wrong with Six.” “Explain.” Celestia’s tone darkened. “ Did she hurt you?” “No!” Began Twilight forcefully, surprising the Princess. Twilight noticing her outburst began to backpedal hard much to the amusement of Celestia. “I,uhh, I mean…” “It’s alright Twilight” Began Celestia with a mirthless chuckle. “ I might have jumped to conclusions too soon. So tell me then, what troubles you.” “Promise me you won’t be mad?” Asked Twilight sheepishly. “Alright…” Answered Celestia carefully. “What happened?” “Well….” Began Twilight as she retold what had transpired from Six not doing her own morning training to how she acted in the hallway and finally what Twilight had seen when she entered that Spartans room. And as Twilight finished her tale Celestia stood motionless, her face unreadable to the Unicorn.  The pair stood there in silence for several more seconds as Twilight looked to the floor in shame. Eventually, the silence was broken by Celestia letting out a loud sigh. “I’m not angry, Twilight. You did the right thing even if it might jeopardize our relationship with Six.” “I didn't touch anything! She’ll never know I was there.” Answered Twilight hastily as Celestia gave another chuckle. “I’m sure you did Twilight.” “So what do we do now?” “The Question is Twilight. What can we do? Six, as I am sure you have noticed, is a tight-lipped pony. I will have to consult Luna about this recent development. Due to her access to Six’s dreams, she must know what has caused these changes.” A Sigh escaped her lips. “I should have expected this. Being trained from childhood to be a ‘Spartan’ and now she finds herself in a land completely devoid of the war she had grown accustomed to. How could I have been so blind, the signs were there and I didn’t heed them” “It’s alright Princess. I am making progress with Six, and so are her initiates. She seems to be most comfortable when with them, judging by the amount of time she removes her helmet around them.” “Yes…” Celestia looked behind her and down at the courtyard where the Spartan stood before her soldiers, her helmet still equipped upon her head. “ Thank you for bringing this to me, Twilight.” “Your welcome Princess.” “Here Twilight, why don't you come join me and watch. I doubt she will want to see you so soon after what happened in the hallway. You can tell me all about what you have learned under her.” Twilight smiled. “Thank you, Princess. My Magic could definitely use a break.” “Oh?” “Yeah, her idea of ‘training’ is downright Tartarus to those ponies. Even to me and all I do is shoot my magic at them, or increase their weight tenfold. How they have not collapsed to the ground in exhaustion the moment Six gives them a break always surprises me…” Twilight would continue with her recounting of her own unofficial training under the Spartan as Celestia listened whilst idly sipping on her tea, and watching Six throw her trainees to the ground in the Sparring Arena, much to the surrounding guard spectators amusement. A few even began taking bets on how long each initiate would last against the Spartan, most bets never made it higher than 10 seconds. And some fights never made it past 5. Truly, many wallets lost their lives that day as their contents were ripped from their homes because Six wasn’t pulling any punches. She was pissed, and everypony knew it.  ‘So… what changed you, Demon of a pony?’ ‘Nothing good, dear Mobius.’