//------------------------------// // Fallout // Story: The Speechless Spartan in Equestria // by marking //------------------------------// Fallout Falling into a planet’s atmosphere isn’t something any living thing should get used too. Sure the UNSC’s required to enter and leave planets like one leave’s his own room but there is a very big difference between actually descending into a planet and flat out falling. The heat was unbearable and an immense feeling of dread covered your whole nervous system. Then came the actual landing, being in the pinnacle of armor developed by the UNSC meant that when you touched the ground you would feel like humpty dumpty.                     The brilliant ball of fire fell into the world this time though instead of conveniently landing in a populated area the Spartan crashed into a somewhat of a soft landing. The metallic biped rolled plenty of times until the sand efficiently stopped him. Under the scolding and unforgiving sun laid the Spartan in armor lock once more. Hours passed completely under the sun in the infernal desert until the Spartan once more woke up. Once woken up he screamed, not because of the pain he felt after falling into the atmosphere, or being given a legendary beating by a magical horse. No he screamed because his armor’s body temperature regulator had finally given up after so many highs and lows with the temperature around him. Being in the sun the whole day just ended up turning him into a walking stove.                     The Spartan stood up and took his helmet off for the first time since he had arrived to the god forsaken planet of talking horses. The Spartan looked around desperately to his sides but had no such luck in finding anything remotely looking like water. He did see however what appeared to be a cave of some kind, it wasn’t pretty big but it could offer proper shade against the sun. He ran towards it though the sand didn’t exactly make it a walk in the park and the overheated metal in his body outright made it torture. When the Spartan finally reached the cave he attempted something no other Spartan had tried before, he tried to take of his armor manually. He failed miserably after 20 minutes of poking and prodding the thing on his chest. The thing felt like the inside of a car that had been left in one the hottest days of the summer the whole day in the parking lot. The heat was so unnerving that the Spartan screamed once more in frustration knowing that he would have to endure the damn thing until the heat dispersed off of it. Thankfully though the sun was setting and he was in a cave. The Spartan sat against one of the rocky walls and waited for the night; once it came he would start his journey and try to find some sort of civilization where he could get some water and food. After that he had to pay a visit to certain ruler of theirs. He didn’t quite remember how he returned to the planet after being tossed into space but he had strange memories of a voice talking. It was all pretty odd, but he had bigger issues at the moment. He would have to find some water, being in the sun all day long had taken a toll on the Spartan.   ************* Meanwhile in the Grand hall of Canterlot Castle where seven ponies and two alicorns who were arguing. It hadn’t taken too long after Celestia banished the Spartan that Luna got her attention. Shining Armor which had helped ultimately in the banishment reported to the Princesses and asked if they were fine. He looked absolutely trashed, which made Twilight flinch when she saw him. When he saw her though and saw the various bandages he claimed the good off getting rid of the biped. This didn’t help at all as Twilight’s face turned into concern not for her brother but for all the destruction in the castle. The Spartan had really proved the dangerous being he could be that day. They were able to call a few doctors and guards to help take Blueblood to an infirmary where later was informed of about 45% of broken bones in his body aside from internal bleeding. He would be in bed rest for months and most certainly insufferable. Some doctors secretly wished that his mouth would have been broken too.          Meanwhile after Blueblood was attended to, doctors moved across the entire palace tending to all the guards that had been injured. It was surprising to see that none had received more than a few broken ribs or legs; the nature of their injuries was not to kill but to incapacitate all of them from battle immediately. Shining armor too had broken ribs but that hadn’t stopped him from continuing his mission. He was very angry that so many of his guards had been dealt with by a single creature, after that day every single guard available was placed to a tougher regime of training to avoid anything like that happening again.          Celestia had been informed by Twilight about Silent’s innocence over the incident in Ponyville. She at once sent a group of guards to inspect the tree house and take care of the bodies of the fallen guards and also of the assassin. The news that she had sentenced death to the Spartan was very difficult to tell to the six elements of harmony. He hadn’t been so innocent after what he did to the castle and its occupants but it was not difficult to see that he probably was very angry at such accusations to him; Blueblood had been the one to finally tip the being off according to some guards. Some reports of the treatment he had been given by the castle guards also helped to see the motivations behind Silent’s attack. The guards overall had known Twilight since her childhood years as Celestia’s protégé and were very fond of her. Hearing about someone trying to hurt her made them break the rules of conduct imposed on them. So much destruction and hurt caused for a misunderstanding. Sure the Spartan would have faced some sort of trial for his attack but it would probably land him once more in the dungeon for a year at the most but not death sentence. And saving the future Princess of Equestria could also as well have taken care of the incarceration time. Needless to say Celestia was not feeling all that well. Celestia reached up with her magic multiple times in search of the Spartan to find the body but it was no longer there. There were two only possibilities; the Spartan had either fallen into the planet or had been thrown into deep space. The latter meaning they would never see him again and he would die. Celestia couldn’t think clearly but she was sure that at the moment she confronted the Spartan that’s what she had wanted to do to him. She would keep her eyes and ears peeled to any reports of falling objects from the skies for a few weeks, but it was such a small possibility she wouldn’t be able to keep it up. It had been hard to face her personal student after she herself had been teaching her to always gather all the information without acting out.  Twilight on the other hand wasn’t completely mad, she was sad; last time she had been with the Spartan she had rejected him and closed the door behind his back. She really hadn’t even tried to start a friendship with him. Showing no expressions or speaking whatsoever had given the Spartan a lifeless robotic look that made it easy to forget the living creature inside. She wished for a while that this had been just a bad nightmare and she would wake up with the metal behemoth sitting in a chair at the lobby. ***********   The Spartan found himself waking up with a jolt. He couldn’t remember exactly when he had fallen asleep or if he actually fell asleep or just simply passed out from being a giant walking stove. The night had already begun and his armor had cooled down. He would be able to start his journey to some sort of environment that didn’t involve him getting cooked medium rare. The Spartan placed his helmet on, stood up, and walked out of the cave. He moved through endless sand dunes and from time to time saw various small animals like snakes, scorpions, and lizards move around the place. Some had been selected to become the Spartan’s next meal. The journey had been long for a while and the cold of the night made him shiver a little but his resolution was strong. Having survived an intergalactic war, the void of space, and falling twice into a planet’s atmosphere a measly desert was among the last things down the list of ‘stupid reasons to die for’ in the Spartan’s head. As he moved through the desert he found a small oasis with some vegetation to its sides. The Spartan ran towards the small haven and fell on his knees when he saw the most beautiful thing he’d seen for a while. He saw the crystalline water on the oasis just waiting for him, alluring him with its beauty. The Spartan took his helmet off and drank the water eagerly as the fresh liquid entered his body and hydrated him. The Spartan knew that finding such a thing was a little too good to be true and that his possibilities of find anything like it again were close to zero. He would have to take some water with him one way or another. And he really didn’t have that much time to try and weave a basket out of the nearby vegetation. The Spartan grabbed one of the snakes he had with himself and ripped it head off. He then did something he never thought he have to do; he filled the insides of the snake with water. The fact that snakes could expand their stomachs to deal with large prey really came in handy but was utterly disgusting. He could have used his helmet but he wouldn’t risk it to be damaged by water. Once the Spartan had rested he took off once more with is impromptu water pouch into the desert. By the time he had found some sort of shelter from the heat of the day, the sun had already ascended into the sky. The Spartan laid himself in his new shelter cave which was a whole lot smaller than the last one and went to sleep. The Spartan’s journey was long, and some days were longer than others as his water depleted. It took a while but eventually the Spartan found his boots stepping on harder ground every mile he walked. He looked around and saw that several mountains where surrounding him, at least this new sun trap had some sort of vegetation and life. He had given it his all and had finally reached solid land, sadly though he hadn’t found water in well over four complete days since his last drop of water. He had exploited all other resources he could and done some things only done in the most desperate of times. The Spartan’s dehydrated body couldn’t take it anymore, he tumbled to the ground like a stack of cinderblocks and blacked out. His body had done what it could but even a Spartan had its limits, and though their bodies were made for battle and survival there was only so much one could do with the materials given to them.   *************                       A few days had passed and things had returned to normal, or as much as they could with Twilight staying back at Canterlot castle to have bigger security. Both princesses still hid the fact that many death threats had been made to Twilight and so they kept her in the castle behind the pretense of doing it while they found the pony who originally hired the assassin. It hadn’t been that difficult that whoever it was had to be among the nobles that issued the threats and the princesses would have found him or her almost immediately but had to have something in order to keep Twilight in the castle. If she were to leave there was no telling how many others would try the same and how much more security they would have to send to Ponyville.                       Celestia had to issue a statement towards Canterlot about the incident at the castle as word about it spread panic over the city. She apologized over it and made it pass as an attack response test for the guards to see how well they would manage. This seemed to appease many of the paranoid ponies and gave them an ease of mind. On the other hand she still had no news of anything falling from the skies, she had ordered to be informed of other anomalies immediately but it had come to no avail as no such news came. Celestia had tried to speak to the elements of harmony to make things right and even though they accepted her apology it seemed that now they were distant towards her. The six mares had seen something dark about the princess that they just couldn’t shrug it off, something about her not being all compassionate and forgiving as they had once made her out to be.                     Luna had tried to speak on behalf of her sister to the elements and tried to gain their confidence towards her sister once more as she herself knew how easy it was to slip like that. It seemed that the wound was still too fresh and it would take some time for it to heal. Both alicorn sisters just wished that the wound would eventually heal and things would be once more what they were before the metallic being.                     A few days had passed since the incident and Celestia was in her bed chambers getting some much needed shut eye after a day with some very pompous nobles raiding the day court. They hadn’t been the first ones to come and try to make their disapproval of a new princess heard; at least they were just trying to stop the coronation rather than taking advantage of it like others. A rather unprecedented number of snobs had shown to the palace seeking to see Twilight Sparkle during those days. Word had gotten out of her staying in the castle and every single noble who thought about gaining power had schemed to court Twilight in order to be some sort of prince when she rose to the throne. Luna had respectfully intercepted them and told them that she would personally shove their horns or other extremities of theirs so far up their rumps not even the elements of harmony would be able to get them out. Celestia really needed this sleep or else she might snap and accidentally snap someone’s neck.                     A rather frantic knock came to Celestia's door, her eyes shot open as a small flame ignited in her eyes. Her sleep time was one of the most sacred things around the castle; among the things not to be disturbed were Twilight, Luna, and the royal cake reserves. She stood from her bed and moved with a stomp towards her door, she was about to make whomever was behind that door wish the idea never had crossed their minds. She opened the door and her bloodshot eyes went directly to the small pony that stood in front of it. He was a simple messenger of the Royal castle. The messenger felt as his soul was being ripped from his body the moment he made eye contact with the princess and he was transfixed with a glare that would kill most ponies. “Y-Yo-Your H-Highness?” said the pony as he tried to bow, but his legs were so wobbly it was more of a face-plant. When he raised he lifted the small scroll to her for she to take it. “This better be of the utmost importance Swift Foot.” Celestia said as she grabbed the scroll with her magic and unrolled it. As she read it her eyes practically bulged out of their sockets at the message contained within. “Swift Foot, go grab my sister from night court and tell her I must see her at once. This is a very important matter.” Said Celestia as the messenger ran through the hall for her sister. If the message was right maybe there was a chance to make things right again. Maybe she still had a chance to regain Twilights trust.    ************* *Three days earlier*   The Spartan came back to his sense and found himself inside a jail cell, the thing was pretty rustic. The walls where made of concrete and the bars made of steel, and the rest of the building seemed to be built out of wood. That wasn’t what grabbed the Spartan’s attention though, he saw that in a desk just a little out of reach was what appeared to be a huge glass of water. Having lost his sanity by water deprivation the Spartan bended and broke the jail cell as if the bars were made out of paper clips. He grabbed his trophy and drank it all down in a single swig. ‘DEAR GOD ALMIGHTY IN THE HEAVENS ABOVE! I might not believe in you but I might if you keep sending me signals like those of the past few days!’ thought the Spartan as the water travelled down his throat. The Spartan looked around and saw that not very far there was a door, he placed his helmet on and walked outside of the apparent prison and met with the eyes of all the ponies trotting around the area. They met him with a stare that showed the most intense fear he had ever seen, these ponies probably didn’t even know he was sentient. The Spartan tried to initiate communications but at once ever pony on the scene panicked and ran, some others got behind cover and started throwing food towards him as projectiles. Apples and for some reason apple pies were thrown from ponies towards him as means of subduing him. ‘Holy crap, if this is how ponies try to attack outside invaders everywhere I’m starting to think it wouldn’t be bad to invade and pillage towns every so often!’ thought the Spartan as he snatched all the food thrown at him with precision before it touched the ground or hit him. The Spartan looked around and saw a bag thrown on the ground, probably from one of the first ponies to panic, and filled it up with the food he was getting. Now if only he would be able to find some water that would just make his day. He looked around and saw what looked like a tavern, he was about to fill out the part of pillaging. The Spartan really wasn’t one to create chaos and bring pain to anyone but his enemies, but being stranded in the desert for long enough time sure took a toll on someone’s decency and morals. He entered the tavern and ponies once more threw things at him, though this time there were more chairs, glasses, and bottles involved. The Spartan evaded most things and once in a while a brave pony or two tried tackling him, they were foolish. The Spartan might have been quite weak after his journey but that didn’t mean he was any less of a super soldier, he could still fight these ponies with three of his four extremities tied. He evaded most idiots who thought they could stop him but some got lucky and actually kicked him; those were the ones who were knocked into dreamland. He went behind the counter and found what he was searching for, a full 5 gallon water container. This was the Spartan’s birthday gift; he grabbed the container and his bag of goodies and moved towards the door. He could see the semi-circle of dots in his sensors but thought better than going into an obvious ambush. He instead opted to go through the back door. *an hour later* After he saw the ambush he headed for the back of the tavern and saw that no backdoor was available he generously made a new backdoor for the owners of said tavern by pummeling through a thick wall of lumber.  Once out he moved into the desert and was now a few miles away from the town. He had picked up a track and was moving with it towards whatever town it had in place. He took several breaks to drink water and eat up to regain his energy and after a day or two he was back to his potential, though he would need to invade another town since his food had already been consumed. The town he found was a little too close to be convenient and it was too similar too. Whatever this magical land was it still offered too many convenient things for its living creatures. It was no mystery its inhabitants were so easy to take care of. The only things that were an apparent threat were the unicorns and that was because they used magic in battle. He had some pending business with a certain white alicorn princess after all. He wasn’t going to attempt regicide just yet because he understood he somewhat deserved a punishment. But death was a little over the line. He had given it thought and already had made his mind about what he would do next time he saw the princess. ‘When I see that bitch, I’m going to punch her right in face’, thought the Spartan. It seemed really stupid and quite frankly a little small of a payback for being given the death sentence. But taking a Spartan’s strength seriously he could practically punch her hard enough that her head would just downright rip off her neck and fly out. That or explode into millions of pieces all over the room. He had to be methodical about it and plan it quite well or it could land him in a full on war against the ponies. And it would be a pain in the ass having a whole country against you, besides there still was the other alicorn to think about. The Spartan did as he did back when Twilight had thrown him out of the library. He hid in the forest and through it he went to the apple farms and stole sustenance. He wondered how much time he would have to do in jail to make up for all the apples he had stolen. He could see Canterlot all the way back from Ponyville and he knew where to go. His journey was not finished until the white horse had received her special fist lollipop package. He packed his new rations and left for Canterlot, it would take some time but he was sure he could cut through the trip fairly easily; after all he had all the motivation he needed. ***********     Luna and Celestia flew through the night sky back to Canterlot, they had both sorrow on their faces. Upon reaching Appleloosa they were informed of the escaped of the being they had sent the message of. It had taken quite the while for the darn message to be delivered and it had already been about one or two days since the creature had escaped. None knew where it had headed. At first relief was what appeared on Celestia’s face as she had been finally informed that the being had not died in the void of space and was indeed alive. Then a frown formed as he escaped and vanished just as he had been found to be alive. Celestia would have guard squads deployed to find him, she wanted to apologize but this being probably wouldn’t want to see her again. Luna had seemed initially happy but then sorrow overtook her as she remembered how quick she was to mark him as an enemy. She hated to have so many contradicting emotions and actions, she almost felt like she wasn’t in control anymore. She would personally try and find the Spartan, she had finally finished her communication spell and she wanted to get some answers out of the Spartan. And maybe if she tried hard enough there could be some sort of alliance formed of trust between both her and him. Both alicorns arrived at the castle and made their way to the throne room to plan some sort of search strategy. They moved along the quiet halls of the castle and found it rather silent with  almost half of the guard still hospitalized. When they reached the throne room doors they noticed that both guards in there were knocked out. They moved swiftly and opened the doors with their magic. Upon entering they saw the one thing they were hinted was in there. In the complete darkness of the room was the Spartan sitting in the throne waiting for them both hands locked together. “Silent!”, yelled Celestia as she moved towards him. The Spartan stood from the throne and moved towards Celestia in a brisk pace, the pace turned into small yet fast jog, and finally into a sprint. “I am so glad you’re alive!” said Celestia expecting him to stop any moment to meet her. He wasn’t stopping. It took Celestia too long to realize the Spartan didn’t intend to get all warm and fuzzy after his return. ‘Hi! I come from Space Package Co. You’ve been sent a package! PLEASE SIGN HERE!’ The Spartan thought as his sprint doubled in power and strength as his arm lifted. “Silent?” asked Celestia as she stopped moving towards him but he was already upon her.  Then all the world faded into darkness. Luna stood in shock at what she had just witnessed in front of her own eyes. Not five minutes had passed after finding the Spartan that he ran towards her sister and sucker punched her into oblivion. Celestia flew backwards and smashed against a wall leaving her indentation marked, she was out like a light. Luna’s horn flared and she grabbed the Spartan as her rage consumed her, she grabbed the Spartan and started smashing him against everything in the throne room. Windows, chairs, pillars, and walls shattered against the Spartan as he was treated like a rag doll. Finally he was smashed against the floor leaving a crater behind. Once Luna calmed down she looked at the state she had left the whole room in. The maids and builders of the castle would be very pissed at her; after all they had to fix already various parts of the castle after the attack. She looked back at where she left the Spartan a found him missing from the small crater. When she looked to her side she met a gold visor staring at her. She was about to reflectively use her magic when a hand gripped her horn and another her neck effectively stopping her magic and keeping her at bay. The Spartan shook his head and let go of the Princess of the night.  He took a step back and limped towards Celestia, Luna had really given him a beating. Once with her he grabbed her by her leg and dragged her all the way back to the throne room where he gestured Celestia’s horn and Luna’s mane. Luna understood the message, a little bit of the reason behind the Spartan’s initial actions. (You know being sent to die in space and such) “Silent do you really think hostilities should be the best first step to take in order to reach a peaceful agreement?” asked Luna.                  ‘I don’t know you princess but I’m not very fond of falling into the earth more than once every lifetime. I’d like to see you fall to the earth and be all happy and giddy after meeting the ground!’ thought the Spartan as he pointed at Luna then the sky and finally gestured his fist smacking into the ground. “Regardless of what you went through Silent, how do you expect my sister to react once she finally wakes up?”                          ‘I don’t know, but if she sends me up in space I’ll come back a shove my foot up her ass this time.’ Thought the Spartan and shrugged. “Come, we’ll have to take her to her bed and somehow find a way for her to calm down when she wakes up.” Said Luna as she made way to her sister’s bed chambers. The Spartan grabbed Celestia’s back leg and dragged her behind him like a small child would a raggedy anne doll. Once there he just grabbed Celestia and threw her into the bed. He didn’t want to admit it but after his experience in the desert he had developed somewhat of hatred for the sun and might be venting it towards Celestia. He looked at Luna as she looked at him with a grim smile in her face. ‘What’s with this mare’s smile that always makes me feel like she is some sort of escaped convict serial killer?’ thought the Spartan.