//------------------------------// // Chapter 25 // Story: Second Contact // by SpartanD014 //------------------------------// CHAPTER 25 The change was so sudden that Adam did not notice it occurring until a large metal support beam crashed down onto the bridge before him, having been set loose by a sudden shaking throughout the structure. It cracked the glass, which began to spread outwards as more and more of the structure began to weaken. Another support beam from the ceiling crashed down behind him, causing more cracks to propagate beneath his feet. Quickly, Adam sprang into action and ran forward, heading for the large door ahead of him. He mashed the door control and the passage began to open slowly. As soon as the gap was large enough for him to fit through, Adam sprinted through and ran down the large hallway. Explosions of blue plasma erupted from conduits on the wall that were overloading, which caused the lights in the facility to begin flickering on and off. Activating his VISR so he could see consistently throughout the ordeal, Adam continued running down the hall, only stopping to press the next button at the end. The next massive door split open, revealing the chasm room beyond. The normally stable hardlight bridge was flickering on and off, in a pattern following that of the lights. Taking a deep breath, Adam gauged the length of the chasm, and looked at the incredibly thin landing at the other end of the bridge, where the next door was. Adam backed up a few meters, then began sprinting for the edge of the chasm. He leapt into the air, and right as he began to lose altitude he activated the jetpack stored in the back of his armor, which rocketed him into the detailed, gray Forerunner wall. He fell onto the landing below and, to his horror, began to slide off of it. Just before he plummeted into the dark, bottomless chasm below, his hands finally found purchase on the landing. Adam gripped the edge, and started to regulate his breathing. Channeling all of the strength in his augmented body into his arms, he began to pull himself up, ignoring the immense buildup of pain where the monitor had hit his shoulder with its beam weapon. Finally he had his torso up above the landing, and he brought his legs up after. As soon as he was safely on the landing, Adam collapsed into an exhausted heap. But he knew he could not stop now. That would mean his death. Slowly, so as not to damage his injuries even more, Adam picked himself up, and pressed the door control. The door slowly began to slide open, then became jammed halfway through as the mechanism failed, sparks flying through the edges of the door frame. He pushed the doors open the rest of the way, then stepped through into the thin corridor beyond. Adam then began limping down as the lights continued to flicker, occasionally bathing the hallway in nothing but darkness, barely illuminated by his VISR mode. Right as he rounded the corner of the hallway, there was a bright blue explosion of plasma from the wall. It totally engulfed Adam, and depleted his shields. Before they had a chance to recharge again, there was another explosion, which once again engulfed the armor. It replaced the dark gray color with a charred black one as the outer layers of the titanium allow armor was burned off. The smell of smoke filled his olfactory sensors and threatened to suffocate the Spartan inside his own suit. Adam quickly flushed out everything in the helmet, then activated the personal oxygen unit, restricting it to the helmet only. It would be no good to the rest of the suit, which had been breached in his battle with the monitor. There was a satisfying hiss as fresh oxygen filled the helmet, though there was only 30 minutes worth of it. Ignoring the pain that had come with the two explosions of plasma, Adam continued pushing forth, determined to get to the elevator. Just as his shields were beginning to recharge, there was another explosion, which once again totally engulfed the suit. Adam screamed as the unarmored areas of his nanocomposite bodysuit began to burn away, revealing the weaker reactive metal liquid crystal layer. This layer was responsible for assisting him with increasing strength and speed, so having it damaged was giving quite the blow to Adam. But through the pain that was threatening to overwhelm him, Adam pushed on, and finally he found himself at the elevator. He slumped against the wall, pressed the button to open the door, and then walked through onto the small platform. The elevator shaft was faring no better than the rest of the facility. Parts of the walls were exploding in brilliant blue balls of light, and support beams from the ceiling were falling down. Adam took no notice of them, his mind set only on escape. He pressed the button to send it back up to the top floor, then collapsed onto the platform as it began its steady rise. He ignored the rain of plasma being caused by explosions on the ceiling as it fell onto his back, burning the titanium armor plating and beginning to cut off power to the suit; he ignored the support beams that crashed onto the platform, occasionally stalling it in its steady climb; he ignored everything except for his desire to escape. Finally, the elevator came to a stop at the very top floor. As Adam slowly began to pick himself up off of the platform, he began to hear a gentle creaking noise. Suddenly, the left side of the elevator tilted down several feet as the rail system it was attached to failed, and the platform began to lose stability. Adam leapt forward and launched himself through the barely-open doorway, just as the right-side railing failed too and the elevator plunged back into the depths of the facility, landing with a deafening crash on the bottom floor. Through his foggy vision, Adam was finally able to see the exit back into the other set of ruins. Whereas the walk originally seemed very short, Adam now found that it was taking him quite a while to move the distance. The damage to his leg (and his entire body, really) was likely the reason for that, but he knew he had to keep moving. Though his hearing mostly consisted of a dull ringing, he could still make out the sound of explosions behind him. Not wanting to get engulfed by one again, Adam trudged on, ignoring the burning pain in his legs as untold damage was being dealt to them. His breathing was becoming more and more ragged, there was no doubt damage to his lungs as well. His vision was becoming more and more foggy, and his awareness of the world was beginning to slip away. As he walked, barely even aware of himself at this point, there began a dull shaking beneath his feet. Cracks appeared in the ceiling above, and dirt began to pour through, collecting on the floor and staining the once-untainted hallway with its presence. The shaking gradually grew more and more intense, until Adam suddenly felt himself being propelled into the air by a massive explosion, and he was launched the rest of the distance and through the hole in the wall, slamming against the stone walls of the ancient ruins. The explosion followed him out, totally covering the Spartan and destroying what was left of the functioning electronics in his suit. The visor began to crack from the intense heat and pressure, until it burst open, shattering onto the floor and allowing the extreme heat free reign of his face. Adam closed his eyes to protect them both from the light and the explosive force, but it did little against the heat which thrived across his flesh and burned through it. His face began to grow numb as the nerves running throughout it were utterly destroyed, and the flesh was burned beyond recognition. Finally the explosion receded back into the Forerunner hall, which was now filled with nothing but rubble that had fallen through when the ceiling collapsed. Miraculously, Adam managed to stay conscious through it all. He simply lay motionless for several minutes, before finally he began to come out of shock and the reality of his injuries struck him. He screamed violently as his body was wracked with pain, and looked down to address his injuries. Many of the unarmored sections of his suit were totally destroyed, revealing the mutilated flesh beneath, which had been burned to the point that Adam almost didn’t recognize it. Panic beginning to set in, Adam struggled to lift himself up, but found that he was unable to. The suit was totally out of power, and the hydraulics that normally assisted him with moving in the 1000 pound suit were offline. In his incredibly injured state, trying to lift himself manually only damaged his beaten body more, causing him to crash back to the ground, gasping for air. Summoning all the strength left in his body, Adam flipped himself over so that he was facing upward. He stared peacefully up at the ceiling as the last ounces of energy left his body. The last thoughts that crossed his mind were ones of peace, happiness, and success. He had saved Equestria. He had saved the ponies. He had fixed his mistake, and delivered them a life free from the fear of genocide… A smile formed on Adam’s face as his eyes closed shut, and he embraced the darkness. Darkness. Movement. Lights. Plasma. Gunfire. Death. Surrounded. Engines. More gunfire. Reinforcements. Help. Adam looked up and saw a Covenant CCS-class cruiser hovering over New Mombasa. Every few seconds it would release a beam of superheated plasma and would burn a new hole into the surface of Earth. He had dropped into New Mombasa with the rest of his ODST Platoon, the 67th Assault Division. Almost immediately they had come under AA fire, and lost half the platoon before they even landed. The situation on the ground was no better. Only seconds after jumping out of his pod, it was engulfed in a plasma mortar fired from a Covenant Wraith tank. He had barely gotten out of the way in time. Three of his squadmates didn’t. The area was cleared a few seconds later by a squadron of Longsword interceptors who assaulted the Wraith position and bombed them into oblivion. Adam looked around and, realizing he was the only one in the vicinity, he hefted his M7S Caseless Submachine Gun and began to run to the rendezvous. Before he could make it, however, he came under attack again. A cloaked elite dropped its camouflage unit and rushed at him with an energy sword. He raised his SMG, but it had already started to swing. Just then, the sound of a 99D-S2 Anti-Materiel rifle filled the air, and the elite’s head exploded mid-swing. Adam look around for his savior, and on a balcony about 750 meters away, he caught the scope glint of an ODST sniper. Adam waved his thanks, and was about to begin making his way for the sniper, when he heard a banshee from far off. He looked in the distance, and saw a small purple blob slowly growing larger. Adam dived behind the wreck of a car, hoping not to be spotted. He looked back to the sniper, and saw the soldier hurriedly trying to disassemble his rifle to make a run for it. The banshee was growing closer now, and would soon be upon them. A small green flash emanated from beneath the banshee, and a small mortar fired out, heading right for the sniper. He decided to abandon his kit and run, but was too late, and was caught in the blast. Thankfully, the vehicle had not spotted Adam, and it flew off to attack somewhere else. Adam looked around him. He had seen several members of his platoon land somewhat outside of the designated LZ, perhaps they were still alive. He called up a map of allies on his HUD, but saw nothing. Within this entire section of the city, he was the only living human. But then, suddenly, his map showed several dots as they began to appear. Each dot was green, indicative of an ally. To the ODST’s surprise, they were right in front of him. He dropped the map, and standing right before him were eight ponies. Suddenly, a torrent of memories flooded his subconscious. Crashing in a forest. Being stranded, alone. Fighting a manticore, saving a pony. Killing a pony, turning himself in. Fixing the pelican, returning to Lightning, calling for help, fighting the griffons… winning. Suddenly the city was gone. The smell of ash and rotting corpses, the burning landscape… gone. All that remained was white. It flashed brilliantly, obscuring the ponies from view and threatening to blind the ODST. And then he remembered nothing. Adam heaved upward as feeling returned to his body. As his nerves began to come back online, he began to feel everything. Surprisingly, he did not feel the hard, stone floor of the ruins against his back. He did not feel the comfortable gel layer of his armor, either. Instead, he simply felt a soft, comfortable mattress, and a thick blanket overtop him. Also seemingly missing was the feeling of intense pain that he had been experiencing right before he lapsed into unconsciousness. While it was still there, specifically in his left shoulder and right thigh, he mostly just felt numb. Finally he was able to gain control of his eyelids, and he slowly split them open, allowing in a copious amount of light. Adam recoiled from it, and closed his eyes again, opting instead to open them much slower. As he did this, his ears, which were mostly filled with a dull ringing, began to pick up noise. “Adam!?” shouted a female voice. “Adam, can you hear me!?” He finally finished opening his eyes all the way, and while his vision was very blurry, he began to pick out the shape of a purple head. The ringing in his ears died down, and he began to hear more clearly. “Adam, are you there?” Twilight Sparkle said, concerned. Adam opened his mouth to reply, but only managed to cough. His throat was incredibly dry, and it hurt to try speaking. Suddenly he felt the feeling of a glass of water being pushed up against his lips, and he greedily accepted the gift. The cool water flowed down his throat and renewed the muscles, taking the pain away with it. Twilight lifted the glass back up when it was empty, and Adam heard the sound of it being placed on a table. “Adam?” she asked once more. “I…” Adam began, but was interrupted as he coughed again. “I hear you…” “Oh, thank Celestia!” Twilight said, relieved. She then backed up and Adam pushed himself up into a sitting position. Twilight grabbed his pillow in her telekinesis and rested it against the backboard of the bed for him to lay back. As he did this, Adam took in his surroundings. He was in a rather large room, the architecture of which clearly indicated that he was in Canterlot. From outside, the sound of construction was faintly coming through the open window, a sign that repairs to the city were well underway. Twilight reentered his vision, still looking concerned. “How do you feel?” she asked quietly. “Numb…” Adam replied. “A little pain, but bearable…” “That’s good,” Twilight noted, nodding. “What’s the last thing you remember?” Adam’s brow furrowed as he struggled to recall the fuzzy memories. “I...” he slowly began. “I defeated the monitor… Then I was trying to escape, there was an explosion, and… nothing. That’s all…” Twilight nodded once more, confirming everything for him. “Whatever control that monitor had over the griffons seemed to break only a couple of hours after you destroyed it,” she explained. “After they fell back, scouts sent in reports that griffon soldiers seemed confused as to what had happened… We have some ambassadors up there now, talking with them. As for you… Fireteam Vector and a team of ponies went into the ruins to see if you needed help right after the griffons fell back. Much of the interior had collapsed, so the unicorns moved the rubble, and that’s where they found you. Your armor was apparently unrecognizable, damaged so badly it didn’t even resemble the original suit. You were in no better shape; the left half of your face suffered third-degree burns, as did several other areas of your body. You had pulled muscles all over the place, broken bones, internal bleeding… It’s a miracle that they got you back to Infinity in time…” “How long have I been out?” Adam asked curiously. If ponies were already having peace talks with griffons… “Two weeks,” Twilight said. “A whole day of that was dedicated to healing you back up. For a while after that, you were in a coma. You only came out of that two days ago, and you were brought here to be more comfortable…” Adam nodded as he let everything sink in. He closed his eyes, and sighed. “Then it worked?” he asked, eyes still closed. “Is there peace?” There was a pause. Adam opened his eyes again to see Twilight smiling. “Yes,” she said. “There’s peace.” Adam grinned and lay back against the comfortable pillow, stretching out his arms. After two weeks of not using any of his limbs, he was feeling very stiff. “Are you up for a walk?” the unicorn asked. “Uh… Commander Lasky has something he needs to let you know…” This last part she said much more somberly. Whatever he had to tell him, it wasn’t good. Adam simply nodded, then pivoted around so his legs were hanging off of the side of the bed. He then paused for a moment, before standing up and putting all of his weight on the two limbs. For a brief second, his balance failed, and he gripped the bedpost for stability. After a few moments, Adam decided to try again, this time much slower. As he tested his weight, the pain in his right thigh grew exponentially, but it was still bearable. After all, he was a Spartan. The things he was sure to face in the future… this was going to be nothing compared to that. Slowly, Adam began hobbled forward, his right leg barely capable of bending at the hip. Twilight noticed his struggle, and levitated a metal crutch over to him. Adam grabbed it out of the air with his right hand, then continued walking. As much as he hated to use it, the crutch made it much easier to move, and in no time at all he was at the door. Twilight pushed it open for him, then motioned for him to follow her down the hall. He did so, and only a few doors down she knocked on an identical door to his. A moment later it opened, revealing Commander Lasky. “Adam!” he said, surprised. “It’s good to see you up! We were beginning to get worried.” He grinned, then stepped aside, his face becoming more serious. “Come on in, we need to talk…” Adam slowly walked inside, and Twilight closed the door behind him, leaving the two humans alone with each other. Adam walked into the middle of the room, then turned to face Lasky. “What is it, sir?” Adam asked, beginning to grow nervous. “I… I notice you’re making use of the crutch…” Lasky noted, his face falling. Adam nodded. “I’m… I’m sorry, but… due to the degree of your injuries… and the side-effects of them that will persist… the UNSC sees fit to… honorably discharge you from the Spartan program…” At this, Adam froze. He was trained to anticipate anything, but he had never expected the day where he would be discharged. For a moment, there was nothing he could say. All he could do was stare in disbelief. Finally, he worked up the ability to speak. “Sir, I-,” Adam began, before he was cut off. “Adam,” Lasky interrupted. “Listen… the extent of your injuries was much greater than any of us had originally thought. We all knew it was bad the moment we laid eyes on you, but… with everything that was done to heal you… you’re never going to be at the same peak physical level you were at…” “Yes, sir…” Adam finally said. Even though he did not agree with the decision, a single thought persisted within Adam’s mind. What now? All he had known was war. He had been born during the Human-Covenant War, he had been an ODST for the last years of it, and then he had joined to Spartan-IV Program to keep the peace. Throughout his entire life, Adam had never realized that he had never truly experienced peace. “There is a silver lining, though,” Lasky said. “The Princesses have given the UNSC their consent to establish an embassy here, and we’re going to need someone in charge of it… I know it’s not what you’d be used to, but-.” “I’ll do it,” Adam interrupted. If he could contribute to the UNSC, even in a small way like running an embassy, it was worth it to him. Lasky nodded. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll let Captain Del Rio know. The UNSC reinforcement fleet that we requested a few weeks ago is expected to show up tomorrow. They’ll build the embassy, then probably stick around for a while. Infinity has been stationed here for the next year to make sure everything goes smoothly, and, if the Covenant remnant or Insurrectionists catch word of Equestria, to defend the ponies.” Adam nodded. “Also,” he continued. “The princesses wanted to throw a party for you… Nothing too big, but just as a bit of a ‘thank you for saving our lives’ gift.” “Sounds good,” Adam said, smiling. “When will it be?” “Probably later tonight,” Lasky replied. “Understood,” Adam said. “I’ll see you then, I guess…” Lasky nodded, and Adam turned around, then exited the room. As soon as he closed the door, he felt a pair of hooves wrap around his waist. He looked down, and Twilight Sparkle was looking back up at him, her expression one of sadness. “I’m so sorry, Adam,” she said. “I wish it could have turned out better for you…” Adam paused for a moment before replying. “Yeah, I do too…” he finally said. “But hey, on the bright side, at least I get a party tonight.” This lightened the mood a bit, and Twilight released the human. “You’ll be in for quite a treat,” she said, smiling. “Pinkie Pie is putting it together, and trust me, she does the best parties in all of Equestria!” Adam smiled, then nodded his farewell. He turned down the hall, and began slowly hobbling down, still using the metal crutch for support. He walked right past the door to his room, instead choosing to go for a walk. After two weeks of sleeping, he felt like he needed the exercise. Adam began down the well-rehearsed path to the castle gardens. While it has primarily functioned as his landing area throughout his stay in Equestria, Adam realized that there was more to it than that. It was a serene, peaceful place. As he stepped out into the fresh air and morning sun, Adam let the light breeze carry his problems away, if only for a little while. He walked to the edge and stood by the balcony wall, staring out over the green landscape of Equestria. Even now, it was still showing signs of battle. The most obvious was the wrecked hulk of the Strident-class frigate Aspen, which had been destroyed by a swarm of sentinels during the Battle of Canterlot. Suddenly, Adam felt a presence behind him. He turned and saw Night Flyer standing behind him, looking somber. “Hey,” he said, stepping forward and taking his place next to Adam. “I heard what happened, about, you know… And… I’m sorry.” Adam frowned. “Yeah…” he said quietly. “I wish it could have turned out better,” the pony continued. “But you know you’re being praised as a hero throughout Equestria?” Adam stared at the pony, disbelieving. “Really?” he asked. “Yeah,” Flyer said. “The government of Manehattan is working on building a golden statue of you to put up in the central square!” Adam let a laugh escape him as he envisioned a giant golden statue of himself. “They know I’m not the only human around here, right?” he joked. Night Flyer laughed. “Yeah, but you’re a special case,” he said. “You were the first.” Adam grinned, then turned and looked back out over the plains. And for the moment, he let nothing bother him. He had won the war. The griffons were defeated, 401 Lamenting Chorus was destroyed, and Equestria had peace. There was nothing for Adam to worry about. He was at peace. Adam hobbled through the winding corridors of Canterlot Palace, trying to find his way back to his bedroom from the ballroom. Pinkie Pie’s party had continued late into the night; according to Adam’s watch, it was 1:30am. As he had been promised by Twilight Sparkle, it was certainly something to remember. What Commander Lasky had described as ‘nothing too big’ seemed to include half of Canterlot, including several of the pony guards who he had fought beside throughout the war. It had started off fairly formal, with the UNSC awarding him the Colonial Cross medal, and Princesses Celestia and Luna (who had now been fully recovered for several days) the Solar Mark for his actions in leading the war. Immediately after the ceremony the entire atmosphere changed, and suddenly everyone was in a party attitude. Pinkie Pie had prepared hundreds of baked goods, which Adam had helped himself to, and Applejack had provided some cider, which Adam may have had a bit too much of. Normally he would have been much more conscious of his drinking, but in the moment, he didn’t care. It was a party for him, and he was going to enjoy it. Ponies and humans had started to filter out around midnight, with only Adam, the princesses, Commander Lasky, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends staying until 1:30. They had reminisced on the first few days of Adam’s arrival in Equestria, and how everything was so simple back then. Even though it had been only a little over a month ago, it felt like years. The ponies who he had come to know and respect as friends were certainly growing on him, making his worries about living in Equestria almost completely disappear. Finally, Adam found the door to his room, and he stepped inside, completely exhausted. He discarded the crutch, and hobbled on his own strength the rest of the way to the bed, which he then promptly flopped down onto. As his eyes began to close, and sleep began to overtake him, Adam smiled and thought to himself that, through everything, it had all been worth it. ONE YEAR LATER PONYVILLE, EQUESTRIA Adam happily walked down the main street of Ponyville, and though a slight limp delayed him, he still moved at a respectable pace towards his destination. Whereas the sight of a human walking down through Ponyville initially worried the residents of the small town, he was now an everyday thing, something that the peaceful ponies expected to see as they went about their business. They met the human with kind smiles as he passed by them, and Adam did the same in response. The transition had gone fairly smoothly, and now it was commonplace to see human technology as it slowly was assimilated into pony life. It was decided upon that Ponyville should be the site of the UNSC embassy, due to its centralized location and large trade-based economy, which meant that it saw ponies from all around Equestria. Adam had moved in not long after the embassy was completed, and along with his position he was given a modestly-sized home, and a fair pay to support himself. His personal transition to civilian life had not gone quite as smoothly as he would have liked it to go. Simply having his own personal money to spend on whatever he chose was an almost foreign concept to Adam, as it was not something he had experienced since childhood. But now he was used to it all, and though some aspects of military life stayed with him (such as waking up at the crack of dawn and running several miles each day), he had begun to meld into civilian culture. Adam still worked for the UNSC by running the embassy, though officially he was a civilian, as he was no longer an enlisted military officer. But still, being able to contribute in any way was what made Adam happy, and being able to meet ponies from all over Equestria was certainly an interesting job. Infinity was still in orbit; her stay was extended after there were rumors that the Covenant remnant had learned of Equestria’s location, and that they were planning an attack. So far this had proven not to be true, as even though they knew of Equestria’s existence (after all, all of humanity knew by now, it was only a matter of time before the word got out), they still had no idea where in the galaxy it was located. Still, the UNSC was nothing if not cautious. Infinity was scheduled to stay for another six months before she would head back to Earth for reassignment. Finally Adam reached his destination: the UNSC embassy. The glass doors slid apart at his presence, and he nodded politely to the two marines on duty in the lobby. They saluted back, before reassuming their watch. Behind the front desk were several UNSC receptionists, all of whom were monitoring communications both throughout the planet and throughout UNSC-controlled space. If anything came up, Adam was to be alerted so he could make a decision on what to do, but so far, nothing had. Adam walked past the front desk and through a side door, which led into a long hallway lined with doors. He walked all the way down the hall, then opened the final door, the door to his office. Adam had never had an office before. The first time he had walked in, he half-expected to see a UNSC senior office sitting in the chair, ready to give him orders. But now that was Adam’s responsibility, and so far, he had done a fairly good job. Adam sat down in the leather chair, opened the laptop, and went to check for any new messages. As he scrolled through the various messages that had come to him through the night, his communicator activated. “Sir, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie are here to see you,” a voice said. “Send them in,” Adam replied. A few moments later, the door opened, and the three ponies stepped through, with Pinkie balancing a plate of cookies on her back. “Hello, Adam!” Twilight greeted. Adam stood up and walked to the ponies. “Hey, everyone,” Adam said, eyeing the cookies curiously. Ever since he moved to the small town, he had grown quite fond of Pinkie’s cooking, especially her cookies. “What brings you here?” “Just thought we’d check in, see what was going on,” Rainbow Dash replied, examining herself in a mirror mounted on the wall. She then rotated and faced Adam. “So what’s up?” “Nothing much…” the human replied. “Just going over some more trade agreements between the UNSC and Equestria. As expected, there’s another high demand for Applejack’s apples.” “Well, duh!” Pinkie said, placing the plate of cookies on Adam’s desk. “AJ grows the best apples in Equestria- no! In the galaxy.” Adam nodded in agreement. “There’s another thing, Adam,” Twilight said, this time a bit more seriously. “It occurred to us… we never got a chance to really properly thank you this past year… For all you did for us, it seemed the least we could do.” “You want to thank me?” Adam asked, only half-joking. “I should be the one thanking you. I mean, if it weren’t for you all I’d probably be dead right now.” “Yes, but you saved our entire country!” Twilight countered. “And you accepted me as a friend even after I killed one of your guards, you helped me get back to my ship and call for help, you fed me and housed me, and didn’t treat me like I was some strange space alien who was going to eat you all,” Adam listed. Twilight laughed quietly. “We’ll call it even, then?” she said, still laughing. Adam smiled. “We’ll call it even,” he replied. The three ponies all smiled, then turned and began to head for the door. “Well you’re probably pretty busy,” Twilight said. “And we need to get on with our days, too, so I guess we should get going. Bye, Adam!” “See you later,” Adam replied, waving. The three ponies exited out of the door, closing it shut behind him. Adam stood alone in his office for a moment, before he turned and returned to his chair. For several minutes, he just thought. He ignored the notifications that he was receiving new messages, he simply thought. Equestria had been good to him. And even though sometimes it was rough… the manticore encounters, the whole griffon war… it had been worth it. This was more than where Adam had simply crash-landed just over a year ago… To him, this was home. EPILOGUE Adam sat in the living area of his home, reading a book on pony history, when suddenly a burst of static came from his radio. The UNSC had seen fit to supply him with a radio, in case they needed to reach him quickly, which, so far, they had not. Following the static was a voice. “Adam, come in,” the voice said. Adam recognized it as Commander Lasky. “Adam, I repeat, come in.” Adam quickly closed his book and walked over to the radio, picking it up and toggling the ‘talk’ button. “This is Adam, go ahead,” he spoke into it. “Adam, this is Lasky,” the commander continued. “Listen, Infinity is leaving.” “What?” Adam asked, confused. “But you’re still stationed here for another six months.” “I know, but this is urgent,” Lasky said. “I wish I could tell you, but the Captain has already completely classified it to the ship and UNSC brass… It’s big, Adam.” “Understood,” Adam said. “When will you be back?” “I don’t know, Adam,” he replied. “But you’ll probably know the reason we had to go soon enough… Anyways, I can’t wait any longer. We have to leave, now. The rest of the fleet will stay here. Lasky, out.” The radio cut off, and Adam placed it back down on the table, wondering what Commander Lasky had meant. But he figured there was nothing he could do about it now, so Adam simply walked back over to his chair, sat down, picked up the book, and continued reading… UNSC INFINITY INF-101 IN ORBIT AROUND EQUESTRIA “Play it again, please…” Commander Lasky instructed. The crewman he was speaking too complied, and pressed a button on his console. “Mayday, mayday,” a distorted voice filtered through. “This is UNSC FFG-201 Forward Unto Dawn, requesting immediate evac. Survivors aboard. Prioritization code Victor-Zero-Five-Dash-Three-Dash-Sierra-Zero-One-One-Seven.” “Shall I play it again sir?” the crewman asked. The commander did not reply. “Sir? … Commander Lasky?” A moment later, the commander broke from his memory. “No… That won’t be necessary,” he finally said. “Get us into slipspace. We have a job to do.” From the view out of the window, Equestria fell from view as the massive ship rotated to face a new heading. As the blue vortex of slipspace ripped open in front of them, Lasky turned and exited the bridge, heading for the cryo chamber.