//------------------------------// // He fell from the stars // Story: The Speechless Spartan in Equestria // by marking //------------------------------// He fell from the stars When it happened, it came fast. Nopony knew where it had come from or how it ended up in Equestria and was rather disturbed by its appearance. A foul beast that could only have come from Tartarus itself. Capable of insurmountable destruction and yet for a strange reason death was among the only things that weren't left behind in its wake. He was a machine of death, and when it first arrived it was proclaimed that the end was neigh. That’s what came out of the first days the Spartan fell from the sky into the peaceful land of Equestria. It was a cool quite night and the sky was shimmering with stars. A peculiar star though was shining brighter than any other. Soon enough the star was so bright it was actually strong enough to blind anypony who looked at it. With a crash and booming sound that shook the earth beneath, it fell into the ground and woke everything in a 12 mile radius. The ponies frightened and scared hid in their houses. Others who were a lot more daring started rising and peering into the crater left behind from the explosion. It was black as charcoal and smoke was rising from it; the heat that radiated from the crater could be felt just by looking at it. After a few hours the ponies started coming to look at the object that had crashed into their lives after the heat had dissipated to a more understandable level. Inside laid a statue of massive size and planetary weight; it was also as strange like the one of Discord. Yet this creature didn't look like a draconequus at all, none of its body parts where that of known creatures in Equestria. They did resemble those of the Minotaurs, but both its face and legs where wrong; along with the fact that it was made of metal. The royal guard was immediately contacted, and when time came they somehow managed to lift it up between eight unicorns to take it to the castle for further inspection. News agencies followed closely the story of the space statue and were absolutely shocked when the statue was declared to be alive by both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. What held it in its form and place was unknown, but it was thought to be some sort of spell for imprisonment. The creature was speculated to have been an enemy for some sort of sentient beings beyond space and had been imprisoned like Discord yet was discarded into the void. So many things had been speculated in the 12 hours the creature had arrived. The princess’s placed a second body lock spell and placed the new statue in the garden’s for close supervision. It was the following night that the spell broke and the creature started roaming around the castle. Both Princesses startled by their spell being broken as simply as one breaks a twig made them both wake up and prepare for a possible battle. Nopony knew what the creature was capable of, but they were sure that whatever this thing was along with its motives; could be nothing but nefarious. ********** The Spartan finally woke up from his concussion and found himself and his body in armor lock. The feature of his Mjolnir mark 6 Spartan armor was that it would lock up in order to resist very powerful falls and protect the Spartan using it. He found himself standing in a pedestal in a very apparent garden. His armor wouldn’t budge even though the armor lock had been lifted already. After disabling all motion constrictors he was still unable to move. He felt that he probably must’ve been under the retention of a covenant shield or something of that sort. When his armor’s mini generator had charged enough it unleashed his energy shields. Automatically the shield flared upon contact of some sort of unknown power and went dim. Thankfully whatever conflicting energy restrainers the covenant used to stop him and use him as garden furniture where turned off. The Spartan took a step down from the pedestal and waited a few seconds before his shield gained power again. He had no weapons so he would have to procure them from somewhere. He looked around but there wasn’t any sort of covenant soldier around to assassinate and recover a weapon from. Was it really possible that the Covenant had been so foolish and idiotic that they left him unguarded and in an open space? No, he couldn’t think like that; the Covenant were very crafty and smart. There is just no way they could’ve done something like that without there being an ulterior motive. He sneaked around the area and searched for any traps. Finally he reached the conclusion that they must’ve thought their retainer unbreakable and would have him there as a permanent trophy. He saw many other statues, some that looked to be of equine origin and one that simply looked like a failed genetic experiment. He made his mind and sneaked inside the building that looked very much like a castle, he was going to find out what was going on. Inside of it he saw many more of the equine creatures and derived that they were some sort of military due to the golden armor they used. Among them were what looked like pegasus, unicorns, and regular horses, but due to their size he could only deem them as ponies. They were apparently trying to look strong and powerful, yet being so little and having crossbows and spears only made them look cute and adorable. They were as dangerous as a marshmallow with a mini cocktail sword. After some thinking time he concluded that there was no way this was covenant related. The colors were too bright to their usual theme and the ponies were to nonthreatening for them to even adopt into their military branch. It was possible that the Spartan had ended up falling into an unrecognized planet with a new and rising species. This would be incredibly easy for him; he would just need to establish some sort of contact and clear things up about his situation with the leaders of this world. He kept looking and saw what seemed like a guard frantically running from the gardens and yelling some sort of orders unto the other guards. If only he spoke whatever language hey spoke he would be able to communicate with them fluently. The guards ran (or galloped?) across the castle at a fast pace with either scared or serious demeanor. It was obvious they realized he had escaped. He saw a lone guard run through the castle which could only mean he was some sort of messenger. The Spartan followed him as swiftly and quietly as he could. Finally the guard approached a set of two massive doors and barked at the guards standing in front of them. They opened with what looked to be some sort of magnetic pull that emitted a certain glowing light. The creatures must have found a way to incorporate electronics into their bodies somehow in order to magnetically pull the doors with the horns protruding from their heads. It was obvious they wouldn't let him in, even if he approached in a non-threatening manner. He sneaked up behind one and with a quick snatch and grab he had one of the guards in his grip. With a moderated punch the guard was out like a candle. The Spartan grabbed the spear he had and set the unconscious guard as a trap. The foolish guard found the body of his friend and fell completely for the decoy the Spartan had set up. The Spartan grabbed the second guard and this time he simply cut off the air intake with a choke hold until the guard blacked out. Finally he placed both guards to the side and entered the massive room where he assumed the leaders would be. When he entered he found no one but the messenger frantically searching for his leader. The Spartan had hit a dead end and now had to incapacitate another pony. The pony turned around at the sound of the doors and saw the Spartan staring at him. He was about to scream when with a swift motion he closed the 10 foot gap between him and the pony. He grabbed his snout with one hand and with another he grappled its torso. Being seven feet and three inches tall made the Spartan a giant in all of the eyes of these ponies. He had the pony in his grasp and in comparison it looked like the Spartan was holding on of those full body pillows. He turned the pony and stared directly at him before turning and looking at the throne. He pointed towards the throne with a movement of his head and the pony stood still while looking at him. The Spartan nodded once more towards the throne and then smelled something bad. He looked down at the floor under the pony and noticed something he’d never seen before. The pony had efficiently shat himself out of the intense fear he held from the Spartan. When the Spartan looked up it appeared that the pony just couldn’t handle it anymore and passed out. The Spartan was grateful that at least he wasn’t holding the pony like he first did or he would’ve probably crapped all over his armor. He shook the pony’s body in irritation as he wasn’t able to get any piece of information out of him. He grabbed the equine and left him to the side of the hall and made his way out of the grand hall. Once out he found three guards inspecting the bodies he left behind. They looked at him while raising their spears and begun making loud noises that he could only interpret as orders to give up and surrender. The Spartan wasn’t threatened by the spear or the crossbows the other two held pointed at him in the same sort of magnetic technology. The spear was just too big for him to be any threat against the Spartan and the his energy shields could withstand multiple plasma blasts so a few crossbow bolts would be nothing. The Spartan looked down at the pony and knelt before him in a surrender like fashion. The ponies looked at each other surprised at his sudden change of tactics, but they still had orders to fulfill so they cuffed him and placed a few restraining spells on his arms and feet. They looked quite proud about being able to subdue what they must’ve assumed to be a vile beast. They paraded the halls with him in tow while taking him to the leaders. It was unknown to them though that was exactly what he was expecting from them. The electromagnetic power they used to sort of subdue him was slowly draining his shields but eventually he would break free from it, and with it the control they had over him. He could’ve easily broken it himself but he still wasn’t ready to show his full hand. The handcuffs where child’s play in comparison to the measures the Convenant would take to secure a UNSC soldier. His plan was great and simple. Instead of fighting every guard and figuring out about the enemy slowly he would just let the enemy find its leader’s for him and once they did he would try to establish communication. If things went south he would just break free and escape. A few minutes passed and the guards brought him to the garden where he first awoke, if he just had waited he would’ve skipped all that sneaking around and would’ve completed his goal a lot faster. He acted as if weak and yet with a strong will in order to keep his assailants at bay with a false sense of security. He finally saw the leaders of these ponies and was surprised to see that he couldn’t put a name on the type of creature in front of him. The ponies in front of him wore silver and gold armors and were far taller than all the other ponies. So tall in fact that he was sure that the white one was probably his height. The other one was comparably smaller yet both were taller than the guards around him or any pony he had seen. They had both horns and wings which were traits of the unicorns and pegasi; if he managed to set a sort of communication system he would try and figure out what they were. The white one seems a very serious and her stare turned into a glare when he assume the guards told her of his encounter with the two guards of her hall. It was a true blessing they didn’t see the messenger that soiled himself back in the grand hall. She seemed to order something to the Spartan yet all he could here was several horse like whinnies. He didn’t understand a fucking thing she (apparently due to her feminine form) said. The Spartan assumed that the creatures were most probably asking the regular questions of where he was from and how he got there along with his intention. He shook his head and shrugged trying to compel the message of him not understanding. That was not a good tactic as the leader looked at him with an even angrier glare. He changed tactics and decided to act like a dog would in a movie. Maybe it was degrading but it would be better rather that shooting blindly and get some sort of diplomatic conflict at this first contact scenario. He kept talking to him and he would now turn his head to the side with everything she seemed to ask. Her stare turned from angry to stern and the white one looked closely at him and said something. He turned his head as a form of proclaiming misunderstanding to the message proclaimed. The leader turned to the other and talked to her to which the other nodded. Her horn lit up and suddenly the shields flared as they were broken along with the electromagnetic hold. The ponies around him placed themselves at defensive positions with flared wings, spears pointed, and crossbows aimed. It seemed that they misconstrued this as an act of hostility. How was it possible that creatures capable of biogenetical engineering couldn’t depict a simple energy shield at work? The leaders were also at the defensive and talked again. Again the Spartan turned his head to the side. The white one told the blue one something else and so the horn of the blue one glowed once more. Whatever it was she did it went right through the Spartan’s helmet and into his brain. It was now the time for the Spartan to take this a an act of aggression and rose from the kneeling position he was in and effectively obliterating the handcuffs like they were made out of licorice. The Spartan stood in defensive position and looked at the leaders. Then something amazing happened, the voices and sounds started turning into human voices. He was now able to understand what they were saying and he really didn’t like it. All around him there were voices calling him monster, evil, villain, beast along with other offensive terms and ideas like caging him up. He heard a throat clearing up and turned to see the Leaders. The blue looked at him intently and opened her mouth. “Can thou understand us?” asked the blue leader. The Spartan replied but found that nothing he said was understandable to him. It was as if his reply was crystal clear yet the sounds that came were altered into roars and shrieks. Maybe that’s just what they heard if he tried communicating with them without knowing their language. “A simple nod with your head will do.” Said the blue leader. The Spartan nodded at the blue leader and looked at her with intrigue, though it wasn’t an emotion capable of being deemed through his helmet. “The spell we have cast upon thee is an incomplete one. It was supposed to be a translation spell capable of making creatures completely learn other languages and dialects in seconds. Sadly it was never completed and the only property it has is about making one party being able understand the others dialect. Yet thy tongue still speaks in thy original language and therefore communication will have to be done through body language.” Explained the blue leader. The Spartan thought, ‘Did she just say spell? As in magic?’ “Allow us to introduce ourselves; we are Princess Luna of Equestria ruler of the moon, stars, night, dreams, and shadows. And this is Princess Celestia of Equestria ruler of the day, sun, mind, and light. We both are the rulers of the kingdom of Equestria and fight to keep harmony all across the land. It is our duty as immortal alicorn goddesses to keep our little ponies away from harm’s way and chaos.” Finalized the blue (finally known) alicorn. The Spartan once more baffled at the thoughts running through his mind, ‘Did she say immortal? Also goddesses? What about ruling over the skies.’ Eventually the Spartan looked at the moon over their heads and started chuckling and laughing. The idea of being a new species of sentient horse that ruled over the lands could be crazy but not impossible. But what really made him laugh was the concept of immortality, godhood, and control over the sun and moon. Sadly, his laughs weren’t taken as a good sign by the guards as they looked insulted and very angry. One in particular with a purple armor seemed to want to impale him with a spear. The princess though, didn’t look angry but neither did their stern glare change. Princess Celestia took a re-affirming steps forward without ever breaking her stare and said to the Spartan, “Is something funny?” Though it looked calm and serene she was actually starting to grit her teeth. The Spartan stopped laughing and looked at her. It was rather unnerving for her to be looked at by the being. She knew that he had armor on, but since they weren’t able to remove it she was facing this golden visor that gave no sign of the current emotion of the being. For all she knew the being could be looking at her in scandalous ways or with the evilest smirk. She thought for moment about it and tried lifting his helmet. Immediately the Spartan noticed the slight glow of Celestia’s horn and the slow change of his view. The Spartan grabbed his helmet and tugged it down into his head, just as he did so Celestia’s horn stopped glowing which just proved she was trying to unmask him. The Spartan didn’t have anything against the ponies but he never revealed his face to no one besides his superiors. “What are you hiding from us?” Asked Celestia with a bigger hint of anger than before. Then the Spartan made a bunch roars and shrieks in response to which Princess Luna looked at Celestia and replied to her. “Sister remember that he can’t speak our dialect, he can merely understand us. It would be wise to just ask yes or no questions” Said Princess Luna. “How are we supposed to learn from this being if he can’t even speak to us?” Celestia replied with a louder angrier tone. “We shall have to do with what we have Celestia, that is at least until I can find a way to finish the spell.” Replied Luna with a commanding voice. “Fine!” Celestia said and they turned to the being, “Are you here to create chaos and evil?” The Spartan would’ve loved to just shrug and mess around a little, but since he had already been “dispensed” by ONI because of his irregular behavior he didn’t feel like being shot through the void of space again by other beings. The Spartan looked at Celestia and shook his head which made Celestia’s stance and position relax a little. “Were you banished from your race?”, asked Celestia, “Be wary that we are casting a lie detecting spell so don’t you dare lie to us.” The Spartan thought for a second and came to the conclusion that he might as well be banished so he just nodded in confirmation. The stress came back to Celestia’s stance. “Are you evil?” asked Luna this time. The Spartan shook his head. “Do you know that you harmed at least two of my subjects?” asked Celestia. The Spartan nodded. “Do you know how you got here?” asked Luna. The Spartan shook his head and shrugged. “Do you know where you are?” asked Celestia. The Spartan shook his head and then looked at her portraying a slight emotion of Are you serious? “Im gonna assume that is a no.” replied Celestia. The questions for the Spartan went about the same for a few more minutes with some questions being more specific than the others just so the Spartan would have no way of finding a loophole through them and be able to lie without the detector catching it do to the generality of the questions. The princesses at the end were a lot more relaxed than when they first started since they were now fully convinced the Spartan wasn’t a threat to the nation (for now). They had sat down and the guards around him took a stoic yet more neutral pose after the orders of the princesses’ to stand down. Though they were still ready to attack if something were to happen. “So now that we have an idea of the threat you pose what should we call you?” asked Princess Luna. The Spartan (though to them was still just creature) got an idea and made gestures as to writing on a sheet of paper. It took a while though since the ponies weren’t familiar with his type of scripture method to get the message delivered. They came to him with a quill and parchment and he wrote his name with the antiques they brought him. Sadly when he showed them what he wrote it was obvious that not even the scripture of the languages was the same. The search for his name turned into a game of Pictionary with the Spartan drawing several clues with the armor and capes of the ancient Spartans along with some acting of the warriors. The princesses took the clues in and decided to just call him Silent Warrior, some say that if you listen closely at night you can still hear the sound wave of the face palm the Spartan did. “Well then I guess there are only two issues left to take care of.” Said Princess Celestia to the Spartan. The Spartan lifted his hand from his visor and looked at Celestia. “We have to figure out what to do with you and your punishment for the afflicted guards you attacked." "Luna would you please go and ready the dungeon along with some guards? I know it’s been a while since it’s been used so it would be good to make sure everything is still intact. Also take the measures for our newest guest.” Said Celestia to Luna and then turned to the Spartan, “Hope you don’t take this the wrong way Silent but you still have to take responsibility for your actions. We will give you a week for each one of the guards you attacked, and while you’re in there we’ll think what to do after youre free.” The Spartan hung his head and raised his arm with three fingers raised. Sure he didn’t like the idea of being imprisoned, but he was still a Spartan. Also if his past superiors had a similar situation he would be sentenced to immediate execution. Thankfully all he had was a problem with authority and an attitude problem that made him subject for quite literal dispensation. If he let them find out about the other pony themselves he risked getting his sentenced doubled so he thought it to be better if he just came out and accepted it. Celestia looked at his three digits and gave him a look that promoted misunderstanding of what he tried to say. Almost immediately a guard entered the gardens and went directly for Princess Celestia. Celestia sighed and looked at the Spartan, “It seems like it’ll be three weeks in dungeon instead of two.” Luna looked at her sister and asked, “Why three sister? All we know is about two guards being victims of Silent.” “I just received notice that one of the royal messengers was found in the grand hall in a near comatose state induced by fear. Which also caused him to soil himself.” Replied Celestia to her dear sister. The Spartan chuckled at the image of the soiled pony which earned him a glare from both princesses. Luna left the gardens and left Celestia, the Spartan, and about 12 guards behind. The time passed with Celestia telling the Spartan a few details of Equestria and its outlying regions. Along with it she told him the behavior expected from him should he want for his “time out” to pass on calmly and without problems. He was made aware of the political organization of the land and was also asked what his diet consisted of. It was an overall hard discussion with yes and no responses being the only available options. A whole hour passed before the Princess of the night appeared again. “The dungeons are ready and prepared dear sister.” said Luna with pride. “Luna I was aware that the dungeons where out of use but did it really take that long to get them ready?” asked Celestia. “Sister the dungeons would’ve been great if it were for a normal pony, but our guest has shown a lot more resilience to our magic than expected. Therefore some special measures had to be taken.” Luna stared at Celestia. “Well it as up to you to get them prepared, I just hope you didn’t overdue it.” Celestia said with worry. “Don’t worry sister we merely bumped the already installed security up a notch.” said Luna. “Are you sure it’ll be necessary?” asked Celestia. “Of course, it’s supposed to be punishment after all.” Replied Luna with a smile. ‘Man I do not like the look of that smile.’ Thought the Spartan. ********** When they finally arrived the Spartan looked at his dungeon cell and noticed that all was completely surrounded by about one meter of pure pink colored crystal. When they approached the cell Luna’s horn lit up and the crystal moved to the side and allowed entrance to the cell. He was placed inside and uncuffed through one of the holes in the crystals directly connected to the cell big enough to pass food through. This little bump in security must’ve been done while high on cocaine and steroids because it seemed like even the ceiling and the floor had been replaced. Spartans were trained for any situation, but he never thought of having to escape from a crystal dungeon. “Luna? This is the little bump in security?” asked Celestia. “Why yes dear sister, I even went and got in contact with Cadence to get some idea of how to control crystals and how to build one of the dungeon cells back in the Crystal Empire. The electrically laced steel bars were my idea though.” Said Luna with glee. “Luna, Silent is going to be only three weeks in here. Why did you feel compelled on recreating the crystal gulag?” “Because fun. And also we are not truly aware of what Silent is capable of, he could be a lot more powerful than we give him credit for. I rather have this measures and not need them rather than need them and not have them.” “I guess I see your point. But I expect you to apologize to Silent once he is out.” ‘They do realize that I can hear them right? I mean we are still in the same room’ thought the Spartan of the rambles between both sisters. “Well then goodbye Silent, we will see you in three weeks from now. Please take this time to think of what you’ve done.” Said Celestia as she left the room. Luna looked at the Spartan for a while without saying anything and then left leaving a creeped out super soldier behind.