//------------------------------// // Failed Escape // Story: Celestial Gift // by Wolfsalvo //------------------------------// (Princess Celestia's P.O.V.) Standing over the strange figure as I observed its features, I couldn't help but feel curious about what I was looking at. It was clearly intelligent, but what it was, I had absolutely no idea. It lacked any fur, except on top of what I could surmise as its head; but still somewhat short. It obviously wasn't a pony, and it wasn't from Equestria; as it had come from inside the shooting star that even my sister had seen fall from the night sky. Turning and looking out the window, I saw the moon was sinking closer to the edge of the horizon, and I knew I was going to need to perform my duty as co-ruler. Looking back down at the figure below me, I couldn't help but try to ponder where it came from if it came from the stars. Moving slightly closer to try and discern anything new about the strange being, I heard a cough from behind me, and turned and saw a guard standing there. "Princess Celestia, your presence is required." Smiling warmly as I nodded, I took one more glance at the figure on the table, before turning and walking away. Stopping beside the guard that was going to be staying in the room, I spoke in a kind voice, "If it shows any sign of waking or moving, I want you to alert me so that I can see if it can talk. If it does, then I will need to have a discussion with it." "Yes Princess." The guard replied with a bow of his head, and then I walked out of the room with the other guard, and we started to make our way towards the courtroom of the castle. While we walked, I knew I needed to focus on what was to come today, but I couldn't ignore that something strange had happened, and it required my attention as well. Lowering my head in thought, I tried to think about what this meant for the future of Equestria. Whatever that thing is, it comes from the stars, but it walks on two legs instead of four… "Princess?" Looking up, I saw I passed the hallway that would lead to our destination, and I felt my face heat up very lightly. I was getting so distracted that I had forgotten to go the right way, but I brushed that aside as there was a lot I was dealing with right now. My sisters' birthday was coming up, along with needing to plan for next month's Grand Galloping Gala. It wasn't so much that is was hard to plan these events out, but I wanted to make sure my Luna's birthday was absolutely perfect. Nodding my head, I walked down the correct hallway, and changed my focus back to where it should be for now, running a kingdom for another day. … (Princess Luna's P.O.V.) I yawned as I made my way back towards my bedroom, hoping to get some well needed sleep after last night's interesting event. While I wanted to go and see the strange figure up close, I was too tired to even want to make my way to the room it had been placed in. Stopping as I thought I heard a strange noise, I perked my ears up, but while I listened, I didn't hear anything, even though I was certain something had made a noise. It is daytime, everyone will be awake right now. Letting my head and ears once again droop down, I let out another tired yawn, and I turned and made my way down a hallway that would lead me towards another hallway, which would ultimately lead me to my room. I shook lightly as a cool breeze ran over my body, but I smiled as it reminded me of the cool night air from last night. I had walked through the entire castle garden last night, enjoying all the smells that a few of the plants only emitted at nighttime. Turning down the next hallway, I smiled as I knew I was almost to my bedroom, which would mean I would finally get to sleep. As much as I anticipated the feeling of a warm bed and uninterrupted slumber, I still felt the curiosity about the figure I had witnessed emerge from the fallen star last night. What was that thing, and why was he inside that rock? Shaking those questions from my mind, I used my magic to open my door, and I walked in with a tired sigh. Using my magic to take off my tiara, I let it glide over and rest on the nightstand beside my bed, before walking over to my bed. Getting onto the covers, I didn't bother using them since I was too tired to worry about them. Before I let my head rest on my pillow, I used my magic one more time and willed the curtains to close all the way, which made my room darken considerably now that the sunlight didn't stream into it. And now, for a well-deserved rest… Lying my head down on my plush pillow, I closed my eyes, and was instantly dozing off as the sound of my breathing started to put me to sleep. Creak… …Click! I opened my eyes as I let out a huff of impatience, as not a single person was to enter my room without permission, especially when it was daytime; not even the guards were permitted unless it was an emergency. Instead of hearing a request or some form of speech, I was greeted by the sound of something moving quickly across my floor, and my interest was perked, along with worry. Who would be trying to sneak up on me in my own room? My head looked towards the sound of a male voice muttering something unintelligible, and I got up on my bed as I prepared to use my magic to defend myself should it prove to be necessary. When the blinds to my room opened up slightly, I gasped as I recognized the figure. It was the one from last night! … (Steel's P.O.V.) Waking up on a table with a small quilt blanket was not what I had expected after crashing through the locals castle. For all I knew, the owners of this castle were most likely going to be beyond angry that a UNSC trooper had crashed through their castle. One of the things that concerned me was the lack of any life, aside from the birds I had seen outside. It was highly unnerving that even though I was sneaking throughout the castle, I had yet to find a single person. While that wasn't my main concern, another thing that popped into my mind was the fact that all accounted outer colonies had been destroyed from the covenant. I have heard about colony ships being unaccounted for and lost, but what are the chances that this is some unknown settler colony that managed to avoid the onslaught? The Covenant had never missed the chance to burn a human world to cinders, so by all means, how did this planet survive? It can't possibly be an Elite planet, as the castle is a dead giveaway of human architecture. Maybe if I make it back to my pod, then I can try to reboot my pods computer and see how far I am from human controlled space. Rounding another corner, I continued to run in a crouched form to avoid being heard and seen, but then another thought entered my mind. If my pod hadn't malfunctioned, then I would have launched with the rest of my company, and I would be with them… though I am sure they died on that forerunner world. I heard the sound of approaching feet, and I guessed it was probably a small group of four to six by the amount of footsteps I heard. Not wanting to be found, I quickly made my way into the nearest room, and closed the door as quickly and quietly as I could, but when I turned around, I realized the room was pitch black, save for the white line running vertical on the other side of the room. Making my way towards the light as quick and quietly as I could, I muttered to myself, "From design and interior of this castle, those must be curtains or another door…" Reaching the light, I saw the fabric to the curtains, so I pulled them open enough to grant me my visual of the area outside, and I was stunned by the sight. Before I could really take into account what I was seeing, I heard a gasp from inside the room, and I turned my head quickly to assess the threat. Just as the outside had been a surprise, seeing the same black horse from the previous night was a surprise, but unlike the night before, I saw many more details. For starters, this horse wasn't just a horse, it was a Pegasus and a unicorn in one, but how that was possible, I had no clue at all. While most horses eyes were all a single color, this one's eye color was like a humans, but with a blue iris instead of the typical brown color that I had read about in books. I snapped my head back towards the blinds as they opened with a sharp hiss, almost as if they had a mind of their own. While I had looked that way, I still saw the horse get off of the bed and slowly approach me. Quickly facing the horse again, I backed away the closer it got, but it matched every step of mine with one of its own. I wasn't sure what capabilities it had, as books had only done so much to tell me how dangerous wildlife used to be. While that horn didn't look too lethal, I didn't want to get kicked or bitten. When my back met a wall, I saw a dresser on the side towards the only noticeable escape I had, but I didn't want to step forward, as that might get a more aggressive response from the horse in front of me. It took its time now that I was trapped in a corner, and I swore I saw a curious glint in its eye. I took this moment to take into account how its main seemed to flow beside it, even with the lack of any kind of wind to give it the motion. While the horse's mane covered one of its eyes, I couldn't help wonder why its body and mane were both black, with a tone of transparent purple in the outer edges of its mane. It stopped two feet from me, and now that we were closer, I saw I was about a foot taller than it, though that didn't mean much, as I was only six feet tall. I was pressing my body as far back as I could into the wall, but I was trying to keep as calm as humanly possible with a horned horse within arm's reach distance. It seemed odd, but to me, it seemed that this horse was observing me… studying me almost. Those books on old Earth don't give justice to nature's intelligence… Now, while I doubted the knowledge I had read in the books, I had seen a few things, such as birds, insects, and spiders, and the occasional dog. But what I didn't think was possible, was as this horse opened its mouth, it spoke, instead of making some kind of animalistic noise, "I'm not going to hurt you…" I stopped pressing against the wall quite as much as I had, but only due to being shell-shocked from being talked to by a horse, and one that sounded female none the less. I couldn't help but work my saw silently, and feeling the different stretches that were applied to the muscles, along with a still relative stiffness, I knew that this was no dream; dreams rarely felt as real as this. While I didn't say anything, the horse in front of me asked a question, and one that I hadn't expected even more than her first words to me, "What are you? I have never seen anything quite as… strange as you are." Uh, my guess, if this is even a possibility, that maybe ONI or even the insurrectionists were playing with the DNA of old animals, and made talking horses… "Do you understand what I am saying?" The horse suddenly asked, coming even closer than before, and this caused me to once again try to maintain at least a foot of separation. The horse noticed this, and backed off, but I nodded my head slowly to her question, though I was still trying to find my voice after the shock I had just received. "Then why aren't you talking?" Clearing my throat as I looked away from her gaze, I saw the window appeared to have a latch, which meant it could be opened. Looking back at the horse in front of me, I opened my mouth and said, "Because," Clearing my throat again, I couldn't help but notice the severe dryness of my throat, before I said again, in a much clearer tone, "Because I'm surprised that you can talk…" The horse in front of me seemed to be taken aback as she pulled her body away from me, and looked up at me strangely. While she seemed to be complementing what I had just said, I took this chance to slowly make my way to the side of the wall, but stopped when her eyes focused on me once again. She raised her hoof, and I tensed up slightly, before we heard a knock on the door. As her head turned towards the door, I quickly ran past her, and was nearly knocked down in my haste to get past her from a table. The table I had ran into fell over as I fought to keep my balance, but that was only achieved as I nearly fell over. I glanced over as the door was flung open, and in came three horses; a white tall horse with bright sparkling and flowing hair, or mane, with two other horses that seemed to be wearing armor. I swallowed thickly as they all looked towards me with surprise, but by then I was at the window, and I saw that the drop was a good ten or so feet. "Please step away from the window…" Looking behind me, I saw the white horse was the one that had spoken, and she stepped forward slowly while the horses at her side followed. I saw her raise her hoof, and the two others stopped moving with her. She stopped walking towards me when she was seven feet away, and that was when she raised her hoof towards me and asked kindly, "Please, come away from the window…" I considered attempting to open the window, and I felt my gloved hand grab the rim as I continued to weigh my options. If I didn't get the window open in time, I could possible survive a fall this high without hurting myself. Yet, the more I looked into the gaze of the white horse in front of me with her waiting hoof; I started to feel more and more at ease. Taking my hand away from the window, I eyed all of the horses in the room, before slowly approaching the white horse. I didn't want any kind of surprises, so I made sure to particularly watch the white horse, as she was probably a few inches taller than me at her full height. She raised her hoof a little higher the closer I got to her, and it seemed it was her version of a handshake, so I lifted my hand up, and slowly placed it on her hoof. She smiled as she lowered her head until her eyes were even with my own, before she asked, "Now, would you like a cup of tea…?"