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// Prologue: Missing In Action... WARNING: UNDERGOING REWRITE 
// Story: Master Chief: Displaced Equestrian Soldier 
// by Infinity Eternity 
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San Diego Comic-Con International.
A dream for any gamer or pop-culture enthusiast, and the perfect place to buy amazing gear from any number of franchises. Also, the perfect place to show off my brand new cosplay outfit. I loved Halo, and while some of the games had left something to be desired, I had always remained a steadfast fan. My favourite character was always, who else, Master Chief.

My outfit was expertly designed and looked just like the real deal. It hadn't been cheap, but it was worth it, the people at buyfullbodyarmours.com crafting a perfect replica of the Mark VI Armour Suit. They had also designed a replica of the ARC920 railgun which I had also purchased, as it made the already impressive outfit even cooler.

It had taken me 3 hours to drive here but that didn't matter to me in the slightest. What mattered was that I was here now. I accepted my ID card from the front entrance and walked in. I glanced down at my ID card, noting the information on it. The card had my name, Magnus Orion, and also had my age, my gender, my DOB, and a picture of me.

I happily wandered the convention, occasionally stopping because something had caught my eye or because some people wanted a picture with me. I was secretly giddy at the number of people who wanted a picture with me, telling me that buying this suit was a good idea. I was inspecting a stall that sold Overwatch merch (still not having brought anything), when a voice called my name, well, Master Chief's name.

"Hey there! You, in the Master Chief suit!"

I spun around to see a man dressed in a very peculiar costume, wearing what appeared to be robes and armour that were decorated with a galactic design. He had a hood pulled over his face, so I couldn't identify him, and he had a prop sword in a holster on his back. He beckoned to me from a stall that I swore hadn't been there a second ago.

"Come on over here! I have something I think you'll be interested in!"

I tromped over to his stall, taking stock of the impressive amount of merchandise for sale. He had everything from Marvel comics to DC artwork, Star Wars Lego to Star Trek action figures. There was even some My Little Pony merch, which ignited the inner brony that I had lurking within my mind, but I quickly buried that particular part of my mind. My eyes glanced back to the vendor and I deduced that he seemed a little shady, but he had good gear for sale, I still had all my money, and I had learned not to judge a book by its cover. I figured I might as well see what he wanted. He coughed quietly at me, causing me to lift my head in his direction.

"Yes?" I asked, wondering what he was willing to offer. 

He simply smiled at me and commented: 
"Nice suit."

I nodded and looked over his wares. He chuckled, 
"Ah, a man of few words I see. You and Master Chief seem very much alike." He bent down to pick up something from under his table, before placing it before me and looking up at me again. "What do you think of this then?"

My eyes widened at what lay before me. A remarkably accurate replica of Cortana's chip, and a dog tag with Master Chief's name, rank, and the insignia of the UNSC inscribed on it, both items hanging off a chain. I immediately wanted them, as I was always looking to expand my collection of Halo merchandise, and they looked amazing. I snapped my head up to look him in the eyes. 

"How much?"

He seemed to think for a minute before responding with:
"Well your suit looks pretty good, so I'm betting it wasn't cheap. Besides, I'm feeling generous today, sssooooo...five bucks."

"Bullshit," I stared at him in disbelief.  "There's no way you're selling stuff this high quality for only five bucks, even with a discount."

He shrugged, before replying, 
"It's the truth"

I looked down at the items in thought. They would add a nice little detail to my armour, and they were cheap. But I was a bit suspicious of the man. No sane man would be selling items this well crafted for only ten bucks. It made no sense. 

Suddenly I recalled the displaced stories I used to read on Fimfiction: stories of people being sent to Equestria as different cosplay characters, after buying cheap, accurate replicas of gear and equipment from pop culture. They were sent by mysterious vendors that appeared out of nowhere, often described as being dressed as The Merchant from Resident Evil 4. As soon as the thought popped into my head I dismissed it. After all, they were just stories and this was real life. Plus this guy wasn't dressed up as the Merchant. Still, there had to be some kind of catch.

"What's the catch?" I queried, while the man regarded me with a smirk. 

"No catch," he assured me, still smirking. "Do you want them, or not?"

Still slightly suspicious, I fished five bucks out of my wallet and forked it over. I figured the gear was worth buying, even if I was still suspicious. The displaced thought lingered at the edge of my mind but I ignored it. 

I picked up both items in my hands, having to set my railgun down on the table to do so. I grinned beneath my helmet, as I looked them over more closely. On a whim I disconnected the chain and reached behind my head to drape the chain over my head, wearing the tag and chip against my chest. I smiled again beneath my helmet as I admired the additional detail, before reaching down to grab my railgun. But as I did so my vision went fuzzy and a light ringing noise echoed in my head.

I stumbled away from the table before dropping to my knees, my head feeling like someone had taken a jackhammer to it. The edges of my vision went black, and it took considerable effort to focus on what was in front of me. Somehow the man had made it around the table without my notice. He crouched down and leaned forward to look me in the eyes before smiling sympathetically and speaking. 

"Sorry to do this to you buddy, but I don't have much of a choice." He pulled an odd-looking coin from a hidden pocket on his person and flicked it into the air. "See, I got a big and complicated plan in the works, and unfortunately for you, you're an important part of it." As he spoke, my eyesight was wavering, and the man was shifting in and out of focus. "Hopefully, you'll forgive me in time. I mean, you get to be a part of something much larger than yourself, with the chance to save lives! And end some..." He muttered the last part under his breath, but I still heard him. He slowly stood up, tossing the coin one last time into the air, before catching it in his hand. "Anyways, good luck, have fun, and try not to kill too many ponies." 

He smiled one more time, and by now my vision had narrowed to him, and him alone. However, from my position on the floor, I could finally see his face. I concentrated and focused on him, but I froze up when I saw his eyes. They were total opposites, one a blinding white like a supernova, and the other an empty pitch black like a black hole. They drew me in, hypnotising me, and swallowing all light, giving me a sense of vertigo. And as the darkness finally overtook me, I could only think one thing: I should have trusted my instincts.

And then everything faded to black.





All was quiet in the town of Ponyville, everypony asleep for the night. The only being in town currently awake resided within the Castle Of Friendship, as a certain alicorn enjoyed a little nighttime reading. 

Twilight had been reading this book for the past three nights and was still only halfway through. She knew she should be getting some rest but she was just too absorbed in this new copy of "Ancient Equestrian Architecture: Volume 26." She oohed at the designs on each page, jotting down notes in one of many notebooks beside her on her bed. So preoccupied was she, that she didn't notice the other occupant of the castle until he was right next to her. Twilight startled at seeing Spike right next to her bed, wearily rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"Oh! Spike! I didn't realize you were still up."

Spike sighed tiredly. "I wasn't Twi, but I figured you would be, and I wanted to make sure you actually went to sleep tonight."

"That's sweet Spike, but I can take care of myself." Twilight smiled at her faithful dragon companion. 

Spike raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Twilight, the last three nights in a row, I came to wake you up for breakfast and found you STILL reading. You haven't gotten a wink of sleep, and now I'm putting my foot down. YOU. NEED. REST. Even the Princess of Friendship needs to catch some z's every once in a while."

"But..." Twilight tried to protest, before yawning loudly. She sighed. "Alright, I admit I need some sleep. Thanks, Spike." She smiled at Spike again, while igniting her horn and levitating her book and all her notes off her bed and onto the desk against the wall. She snuggled down under the covers and turned out the lamp with a spark of magic. Spike yawned and headed for the door, while Twilight finished a last-minute tidy-up.

"G'night, Twi." Spike yawned again.

"Goodnight, Spike" Twilight called, as Spike shut the door and walked off down the hall. She waited until she couldn't hear his footsteps, before levitating her book back to her bed. "Just a few more pages..." She promised herself, before diving back into the book.

Had Twilight not been so engrossed in her book, she might have been the only pony awake in Ponyville to notice the bright white light emanating from within the Everfree forest. 

Had she seen this light she may have been compelled to investigate, and would have tracked the source to the ruins of The Castle Of The Two Sisters. 

Had she been quick enough she may have been lucky enough to witness the arrival of a creature never before seen in Equestria. 

A hulking bipedal creature, clad in bulky green armour, with a large golden visor, lying unconscious on the ground. If any pony had laid their eyes on this creature, they would have been filled with an overwhelming sense of fear and terror. Because this creature was one of war and destruction, one with power beyond anything Equus had ever seen. And one that could very well spell their doom, and destroy them all. 

As he slumbered, a certain mysterious man watched from beyond the physical plane. He smiled with relief at the safe arrival, before turning away from that reality-window to view the countless others within his realm. 

"Godspeed, Master Chief..."He muttered to himself, as he continued onward to the next window. "I can only hope that you fulfill your new purpose, and become the hero you are destined to be..."

Because whatever happened next, was out of his hands, and it was up to the Master Chief to forge his own path. 

In this new world of...Equestria.