//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: The Mysterious Stranger // Story: Halo: Harmony's Mantle // by That Forerunner //------------------------------// "In this hour of victory, we taste only defeat. I ask why. We are Forerunners, guardians of all that exists. The roots of the galaxy have grown deep under our careful tending. Where there is life, the wisdom of our countless generations has saturated the soil. Our strength is a luminous sun towards which all intelligence blossoms...And the impervious shelter beneath which it has prospered.” “I stand before you. Accused of the sin of ensuring Forerunner ascendancy... Of attempting to save us from this fate where we are forced to… recede...Humanity stands as the greatest threat in the galaxy. Refusing to eradicate them is a fool’s gambit. We squander eons in the darkness...while they seize our triumphs for their own. The Mantle of Responsibility for all things belongs to Forerunners alone! Think of my acts as you will. But do not doubt the reality. The reclamation… has already begun. And we are hopeless to stop it." One hour after assault “Ok, tell me again, this pony or whatever he was, simply just waved his hoof, and all your men just went… flying!?” Captain Shining Armor asked, with anger and suspicion on how this stranger was able to do such an act with such little movement, as he sat behind a desk in his office. “Yes sir,” said Commander Flash Sentry. It was his first day leading his own battalion of guards, and with his luck, there just had to be some sort of space pony, or whatever it was, barging in through the Mirror Portal and promptly tossing his men around as if they were nothing but simple ragdolls, while Flash stood in front of Shining desk in a professional stance. “And you’re telling me that this ‘pony’ didn’t have any horn?” Shining Armor questioned Flash, as he waved his hoof in front of him. “Yes sir, for all I know.” Flash Sentry pointed out, looking down in shame. “But this just leaves us with one more question: how did he do it without the assistance of a horn? Where is he getting his magic?” Shining questioned Sentry and himself. “Yes sir. I know its hard to believe, but I know what I saw, and there wasn’t even a magic aura surrounding me and my men, I'm just confused as you are Captain" Flash Sentry declared. Still in his professional stance. Shining Armor sighed, thinking on how this was all possible without the usage of a horn. “Dismissed.” “Yessir.” With that, Flash Sentry made his way out the door Shining Armor sighed in relief as he closed his eyes and rested his head on the chair. "At least Cadence is ok,” Shining said to himself. Cadence made her way to the hospital where the mysterious pony was being held. After he had passed out, Cadence took him to the hospital because he was coughing like crazy, something damaging must have happen to him before he had arrived there. Cadence entered the hospital waiting room, earning bows from her subjects as she went. “Rise, please.” The ponies in the waiting room then went back to their things, but were still uncomfortable a bit in the presence of royalty. Cadence walk up to the mare behind the counter. “Can I help you, Princess?” Before Cadence could answer, the doctor replied in a hushed voice, “Oh..you must be here for that mysterious pony.” “Yes infact, I am” Cadence replied in the same hushed tone. “Ok, follow me. I'll take you to Doctor Sapphire.” The nurse then lead Cadence through the hallways until they reach a door that said “employees only”. “Ok, here you are, Princess. The doctor should be inside, just be careful whenever she comes out of that room. I hear her mumbling about ‘how is this possible?’ and all that stuff.” Cadence just raised her eyebrow in confusion when the nurse started to walk away. The Princess used her magic to open the door. When she entered the first thing she registered was the glowing lights on the pony’s exotic armor. She then stepped inside and looked to her left, then saw a Crystal pony that looked like a Sapphire, sitting in a chair facing the pony. “You must be Doctor Sapphire,” Cadence greeted. “Yes, I am, Your Highness. I suppose you're here about this stallion’s condition?” “Yes, how is he?” The Doctor simply shrugged and started getting out of her seat. “I wish I knew, Princess,” she said, frustration creeping into her voice. “What do you mean, you wish you knew?” “It’s exactly what it sounds like,” Doctor Sapphire stated flatly. “Can’t you just take off his armor?” Cadence said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Thats the problem, I CAN’T!” The Doctor said, getting angry. “Why can’t you take it off, Doctor?” Cadence’s confusion was growing. “I-i-i-it’s like it was BUILT AROUND HIM! I don’t see ANYWHERE to start taking it off!” “Ok, slow down, Doctor. If you can’t take off his armor, then why not try using the X-RAY?” Cadence said in her most soothing voice. “Yeah, I already tried that.” “And?” “Ok, well how do I put this...THE X-RAY CAN”T GET THROUGH HIS ARMOR LIKE WHAT THE BU-” “Doctor Sapphire! Please. Calm. Down. “ The Doctor took a deep breath and was ready to start explaining things “Ok.. sorry for my outburst, Your Highness. It’s just, his armor is not physically possible, and parts of his armor are literally just...FLOATING THERE! But we have to get to the problem at hoof, while all my attempts have ‘failed’ I’ve decided to do things the old fashion way. You see, I looked at the armored suit maybe about five minutes before you came in, Princess. I’m not so sure, but his armor may be damaged somehow.” “Like how, and where?” Cadence said with curiosity. “Well, I’m not sure how, but you can see the lights on his chest are darker then the rest of the armor, and the whole area in general is a darker hue than the rest of his suit. I mean, I’m not some fancy magic-casting Unicorn, no offence Your Highness...” “None taken.” “But, I can tell that’s a burn mark on his chest. However, what I find incredible is that this armor needs something REALLY HOT to put a burn mark that bad on our friend’s armor,” Sapphire said, pointing her hoof to the pony. “How hot?” Cadence questioned. “Around maybe….Disintegrating temperatures. Of course, this is all just theories.” Sapphire gave her a funny look. “Princess…..Princess? Cadence’s jaw was agape with shock. “D-D-D Disintegrating temperatures? How can one material withstand such a temperature!?” “Princess, like I said, it’s just theories.” Princess Cadence was still shocked with such a theory.. “Very well...but why was he coughing so much?” “Well, whatever did this had obviously produced deadly temperatures, but since it was on his chest and he was coughing with such ferocity, I’m guessing this ‘thing’ also inflicted tremendous force, and probably broke his ribs and sent shards of them into his lungs.” Cadence nodded with agreement, concluding that it was logical enough, given what little they’ve been able to see. “That does seem to explain all his coughi-” Cadence didn’t get to finish as the sound of something powering up came in front of her. The Doctor looked behind her and saw the lights on the burned area of the armor becoming brighter and matching the rest of the armor’s lights. “I think his armor is powering up,” the Doctor said with a little fear creeping into her voice. Cadence lit up her horn and began to scan the burned area. What she saw was unbelievable. “Uh Doctor...it seems like the armor repaired itself.” “WHAT? HOW!” Sapphire yelled, dumbfounded by such an outlandish thing happening. “And now, it seems to be working on something… Oh my.” “What is it, Princess?” “It seems to be healing…him.” “Mother of CELESTIA HIS ARMOR IS IMPOSSIBLE!!” “Doctor, you need to remain calm. I know this is all happening fast, but you have to calm do-” Cadence stopped talking as she heard a cough come from the mysterious pony. He was waking up.