//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 A Rude Awakening // Story: Remembrance // by Demonfire463 //------------------------------// Chapter 1 I slowly open my eyes. Oh God, where am I? What happened? Shit, my head. I look up at a panel with a large X on it and a lever over it. I tug down on it, but it doesn't budge. Shit! "Command? Command do you copy? Hello? Anyone! This is Sierra-285 of the UNSC Pillar of Autumn, can anybody hear me?" Only static responds. Dammit. Somebody knocks on the metal pod I lay in. "Hello?" Someone calls. Sounds like a little girl. An orange light illuminates the pod. I can see somebody through a small panel of bulletproof glass on the hatch door. "Anybody in there?" Another young girl calls. "Yeah, I am. Can you hear me?" "Yup, we can hear ya." A third voice calls. "Awesome, think you can help me get outta here?" "Sure thing mister!" The first voice says. "There should be a red lever on the top of this thing! Pull it down and stand back." They do as I ask. There is a click, then a deep clunk. I push up and out, the door comes off. "Thank God, I hate bein' in those damn things." This world is bright, probably midday. I step out of the metal pod in my Spartan Armor. Three young girls stand before me. One with curly red hair, one with straight, short, pinkish hair, and one with curly purple and pink hair. "Well, that sure is interesting." "What is that?" The second one asks. "Gee, you're real big!" The third voice says. "Are you made of metal?" The first voice asks. I hold up my hands to tell them to slow down. "Whoa now, let's start simple. Who are you, and where am I?" "I'm Scootaloo!" The owner of the second voice says. "Sweetie Belle!" The girl possessing the first voice does a curtsy as she says her name. "And Ah'm Applebloom. Good to meet ya." She holds out her hand for a handshake. I shake her hand gently. "I'm Maxwell. Master Chief Maxwell Anderson of the UNSC Infinity, you can call me Max. Now for my second question." "This is Equestria, the greatest place in the whole wide world!" Sweetie Belle says. "Hmm. Never heard of it. Have the Covenant been here?" "Covenant? What's that?" Scootaloo asks. I glance left and right to check for Coveys. Looks clear. "You'll know 'em when you see 'em. Trust me. Is there anywhere else we can go? Somewhere less...exposed?" "Think he could stay with us at the farm?" Applebloom asks the other two. "He can't stay at the Boutique, Rarity doesn't like surprise visitors." "Rainbow Dash's house doesn't have a guest room." "The farm it is! Follow me!" With that, I take the shotgun off my back and the three girls lead me through the thick forest to the outskirts of a small town. It's nothing like the massive cities that now cover Earth and other planets, where the hell am I? Equestria, what planet is that even on? I've never heard of it before. I flick my head back once to put the visor on my helmet up. The sun makes our shadows long and turns the room an orange gold color. My eyes dart around the room to everybody there. I'm standing by a wall, surrounded by four members of the Apple Family. A girl of average height eyes me warily. Applejack. She's wearing blue jeans and an orange plaid shirt with a leather vest. A cowboy hat sits on her head, her long blonde hair is tied in a loose ponytail which has a band around it at the end. Her bangs sit just above her brow. "So wait, what's yer name again?" She asks. "Maxwell Anderson." "And yer a soldier?" "Of sorts." Her brother Big Macintosh seems to be sizing me up. He's wearing a red flannel jacket that fits tightly over his muscles, and blue jeans. He is chewing on a piece of wheat. I nod quickly once and the visor clicks back down, concealing the part of my face it covers. "I think he could stay. We can always use the help around the farm." He says, looking to Applejack. She glares at him. "Now ya know as well as Ah do, we don't need any help." "Couldn't hurt though." He responds. "He could be dangerous! We don't know where he's from or who he fights for, we just know that his job is to kill people." "Ahem, not precisely." "Shut yer trap!" She snaps. "Applejack! Don't be rude!" Big Mac scolds. "He has no business here, and you know that! He should just go!" "Stop your arguing." An old woman on a rocking chair lets out a deep breath, which silences the bickering siblings. She's wearing a faded green dress that looks even older than her, and a reddish shawl over her frail shoulders. Her grey hair is tied up in a tight bun, with a couple strands sticking up out of it. "The guest room is the third door on the right, down the hall." I nod. "Thank you." "Dinner will be ready in an hour if you like." "Much obliged." I exit the room to let the family speak of the matter by themselves. I enter through the door leading to my room. The bed creaks with my weight when I sit on it, and it's a tad short, but it'll do. "Applejack, you should at least give 'im a chance ya know." "Why? He's a murderer! He kills other people for pay!" "Applejack!" "He chose to be what he is, he decided to kill for a livin' and yer sayin' Ah should give him a chance?" There is a pause. I take off my helmet and remove my shoulder plates. "Not everyone is given a choice Applejack. Some people get drafted, pulled in because their home needs troops. He could easily be a drafted soldier, forced to kill. And that's another thing, he is a soldier. He isn't some crazy person with a taste for blood. He fights for a cause that he sees is just, regardless of whether he was drafted or not. Ya ever think about that?" "Ah...ah guess not Big Mac. Ah'm mighty sorry." "Perhaps Ah'm not the one you should be apologizin' to." "Yer right. I'm gonna go say I'm sorry to 'im." I hear footsteps down the hall that gradually get louder. They stop. Somebody knocks on my door, presumably Applejack. I stand. "Can Ah come in? Please?" I walk over and open the door. "Sure thing. Come on in." I stand aside and let her in. She sits on the bed. I pop off the torso piece of my suit and take in a deep breath. "What are you doin'?" "Takin' a breath. My work isn't easy. No fun either, usually." "Ah'm sorry about before." She looks away. "Real sorry." "Water under the bridge." "Can we…start over?" She looks me in the eye. I smile. "Sure. Well, I'm Chief Maxwell Anderson, Spartan number 285 of the United Nations Space Command assigned to the Pillar of Autumn." She chuckles and I hold out my hand. She stands and we shake hands. "Ah'm Applejack." "So, I trust you've got some questions about my work?" "If ya don't mind?" "Ask away." "Well, alright. Were you forced into bein' a soldier? Or did you sign up?" "I was raised to be a soldier. I was a boy of strong physique for my age, and one day I was taken from my home to the UNSC training camp and laboratory." "Laboratory?" "You think I'm naturally this tall? Injections of chemicals and special compounds help to create the ultimate soldier. They made me strong, they trained me well. I'm a Spartan II. Spartan IIIs are a cheaper alternative to IIs, and Spartan IVs are specially trained elite soldiers." "So they just…took you?" "Mhm." I sit down on the bed, she immediately sits beside me. Applejack puts her arm around my shoulders, though I'm much taller than her and her arm doesn't quite reach. "That's horrible. Why would they do that?" "Children's minds are more malleable, they don't have as many memories of their family, and those they have are easily forgotten." My eyes water and my voice gets shaky. "I can't remember what my parents look like. Never knew my own mother." I hold back a tear. She hugs me fully. "Well, Ah don't know mah parents either. They left me, Big Mac, and Applebloom a long time ago. All we ever had was our Granny Smith." I return the hug. "Better than nothing right?" We remain in the hug a while longer. We break and she stands. "Dinner's almost ready, want some?" "I would love some, thanks." She starts to walk to the door. "Oh! Careful!" "Huh?" She steps on my battle rifle and trips over my shotgun. I grab her arm and catch her before she falls. I get her back standing up. "You okay?" I chuckle. "I should pick up my weapons. At least you didn't trip over a grenade." "Would ya please?" She says, smiling. "Now let's go eat." I follow her to the dining room. "Aren'tcha gonna take off yer gloves?" "Wish I knew how, I can take off the helmet, the shoulder plates, and the chest piece. Underneath that is the black suit you see now. Goes from my neck down to my toes." I sit down. "Applebloom said she found you in the Everfree Forest." Big Mac says. "Is that what that place was called? Hm." "What in tarnation were ya doin' in a place like that?" He asks. "What? The woods? I don't see what's so dangerous about it. I've been in places much worse and I'm still in one piece." Granny Smith comes to the table to set down a variety of apple-based foods, including a pie. "Dig in." The old woman says. We do so without hesitation. These are delicious! Better than MREs for sure! "Mmm! Did you make these?" "We all did! Do you like 'em?" Applebloom responds. "They're delicious, better than MREs." "MREs?" "Meals Ready to Eat. Used in the military a lot. Just add water and it's good to go." I chow down on more helpings, Big Mac laughs. "Hungry aren't ya?" "Heck yeah, I don't know how long I was stuck in that escape pod but I'm starving." "You said you were in places worse than Everfree?" Applejack asks. "Mhm." I say with my mouth full. "Like where?" I swallow. "God, where do I begin? Well, I was stationed on two Halo rings and somehow I got landed on Requiem, a Forerunner planet. Ran into some Coveys there along with their new pals the Forerunners. Little bas-" Applejack clears her throat, then nods her head in Applebloom's direction. "I mean, jerks." "Hey! Tomorrow, you should meet mah friends in town!" "That would be nice, but I really should train a little." "Aw c'mon. They're real nice girls, ya sure?" She smiles at me and mouths 'It'll be fun.' to me. "I guess one day off won't kill me." "Great, you'll like 'em." We finish dinner and stay up a bit longer. I'm second to go to bed, first being Applebloom. "Goodnight everyone!" "Goodnight!" They say. I walk to my room and shut the door. "And you said he should leave." I hear Big Mac say to Applejack. "Alright, Ah was wrong, he's a real nice guy. He doesn't kill by choice neither, which makes me feel a bit better. Ah'll introduce him to the gals tomorrow." That will be nice, more friends. "That's real nice of ya Applejack. I'm about ready to hit the hay, goodnight all." "Night Big Mac." Their conversation ends there and I drift off to sleep. For the first time in a long time, it's a real sleep. Not a cryo sleep or chemical sleep or knockout sleep, it's just…normal sleep.