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// Welcome To Canterlot 
// Story: A Spartan's Retirement 
// by DudeGuyOne 
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"So, you were considered very special among your fellow soldiers?" Thunder asked, 

"I suppose you could say that," said Jorge, giving a slight nod. "We did a lot of things that others considered impossible."

"Really?" asked Thunder, intrigued. "Like what?" 

Jorge was quiet for a moment. He had been doing his best to answer Thunder's questions as vaguely as possible to avoid giving away secrets. Whether he was home or not, he still served the UNSC, and it was his duty to uphold all regulations and rules for as long as he remained in service. 

"Much of it is classified, I'm afraid," he answered. "We were primarily special operations. There's a lot of black ink in my book, so I can't say much."

"That's alright, I know how these things work," Thunder said understandingly. "I have a friend in SpecOps. Can't ever talk about anything she does."

Jorge thought for a moment before he continued speaking. "I have a question for you, now," he stated. 

Thunder nodded for him to continue. "Ask away. I imagine you're very curious about your new situation. Not really fair of me to be asking all the questions."

"Its about your rulers. Why are you taking me directly to them?" 

"Its their policy," Captain Bolt explained. "They want to personally handle any and all first contact situations. They want to ensure that we have good diplomatic relations with any and all creatures that our kingdom may have to deal with."

Jorge frowned. "Isn't that risky? Bringing a completely unknown entity straight to your leaders?"

"Not as risky as you might think. The whole process is very tightly controlled. There's a whole company of Royal Guards on standby, just waiting for the word. It helps that the Princesses can handle themselves pretty well without us, too."

The sound of rustling leaves and snapping tree branches above the conversing pair drew their attention upwards as a pair of pegasi broke through the thick forest canopy and into the clearing, a rain of twigs and gently swirling leaves following them. War Hawk and Mustang slowed their descent, touching down lightly on the green and brown blanket of dead leaves. 

Both ponies threw up quick salutes to Captain Bolt before War Hawk spoke. "Sir, unicorns are on their way, and there's a medical team ready to examine both of them." he stated, casting a glance towards Jorge as he spoke. 

Thunder nodded in approval. "Good work. Be ready to guide the unicorns to our position. We'll be accompanying them and Jorge back to Canterlot." He watched as the two Pegasi lifted off, climbing back up through the trees as they went to greet the unicorns. He then turned back to Jorge. "We'll be leaving shortly. Are you ready?" he asked the Spartan.

Jorge cast a lingering glance at his weaponry strapped to Captain Bolt before looking the Pegasus in the eyes and nodding. 

"Excellent." Thunder smiled reassuringly. He could tell Jorge was nervous, and that was worrying. A nervous soldier was often more dangerous than an angry one. Putting him at ease would be important in order to keep things relatively smooth. All he had to do was keep Jorge calm and not dump any unexpected surprises on him.

As if on cue, a series of bright flashes and loud pops erupted in the clearing. Caught off guard, Jorge whirled around to face the source of the noise with his fists up and his legs planted in  a fighting stance. Thunder brought his hoof to his forehead in exasperation. Something told him that keeping the Spartan calm would be a taller order than he thought. 

Jorge stared at the new arrivals before him, relaxing his stance and dropping his fists slightly upon seeing that these three ponies wore similar uniforms to Captain Bolt and his men. What differed about them, however, was instead of having a pair of wings, each one possessed a single horn protruding from the forehead. Jorge's eyebrows would be hard pressed to climb any further up his face. First pegasi, and now unicorns. Captain Bolt had mentioned the other pony races, but hearing about them was different from seeing them in the flesh.

The new ponies approached Thunder and saluted, stating their names and ranks. Thunder returned their salute and began to issue orders. 

Jorge watched them carefully. He made note of their focused attitude and professional responses. These were well disciplined troops. That was good. It was a constant that Jorge could rely on. It felt comforting to have at least one familiar aspect of his life in this odd new situation.

The ponies finished talking and approached Jorge, Thunder taking the lead. The pegasus addressed the Spartan, gesturing to the unicorns. "Jorge, these ponies will transport us to Canterlot."

"How?" Jorge asked, glancing at the unicorns, then back to Thunder. "Wouldn't you be better at transporting us?" 

"No." Thunder answered. "They're going to teleport us." The unicorns split up, one standing next to the Captain, one next to Jorge, and one walking over to the unconscious Sangheili. 

Jorge's eyebrows furrowed. Teleportation was a common Covenant technology. He had never particularly care for it during the war. The idea of his body being broken down into it's constituent atoms didn't appeal to him in the slightest. Then again, he supposed he had just undergone the most extreme teleportation possible in order to get here. He gave a slight sigh of defeat. Fine. He thought to himself.

The Spartan glanced curiously at the unicorn next to him. He didn't see any sort of technology on him. How was he going to teleport them? His thoughts were interrupted as a strange light began to form around his horn. It had a glimmering blue sheen. Before he had time to think about this, a burst of blue light flashed into existence in front of him. Jorge blinked, and looked around. They were all standing in the exact same positions relative to each other, but their surroundings were brand new. 

They stood in a large courtyard, the bright sunlight pouring down on them. A formation of ponies lay waiting for them, clad in ornate steel armor, polished to an impeccable shine. A single pony stood at the front, his armor painted a brilliant gold. Captain Bolt immediately approached the column, halting in front of the gold plated officer and conversing with him. Jorge watched as ponies clad in white clothes and bearing red crosses hurried over to them, one pair taking the sangheili away on a stretcher visibly straining under the massive weight, while a second pair approached him. 

Jorge noted the stoic looks the medics wore, not batting an eye at the two massive aliens they had to tend to. However, their confidence seemed to slip slightly as they looked over the Spartan. The complete coverage offered by his armor left them nothing to inspect without removing it. Jorge smirked in amusement as he waved them off. "I'm fine. Thank you." The ponies hesitated for a moment, before nodding and turning away.

Mustang eyed at Jorge with a concerned look. "Are you sure you don't need medical attention? It looked like you took quite a beating back there." 

Jorge shook his head. "I've had worse. Besides, the armor took most of the punishment. I'll be fine, they can take a look at me later." Truthfully, he was pretty beaten up. His body ached, and he could only imagine the colorful tapestry of bruises that would soon be painted across him. He definitely could use some treatment, but that could wait. He would be alright, and there were more pressing issues that needed his attention for the moment.

Thunder returned to the small group, the golden-clad unicorn trotting beside him. "Jorge, this is Major Quick Shot. He's going to take you to meet the Princesses shortly. My team and I need to fill out an after-action report."

Jorge couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed. He had become somewhat familiar with the captain, which was nice to have in such an unfamiliar situation. Still, he was a professional, and he knew that Thunder  had responsibilities to take care of. Jorge would get on without him. He nodded in response.

Thunder gave a small smile, then turned towards the major, saluting him before launching himself into the air with a flap of his wings. 

Jorge watched him zoom away before turning his attention to Quick Shot. The grizzled pony had a few faded scars visible through his thinning fur, and a serious gaze. Jorge noted these with interest; the major was obviously a combat veteran, and not some softy who'd spent his career behind a desk. He respected that.

The major trotted up to him, raising a hoof. "Major Quick Shot, Equestrian Royal Guard. Welcome to Canterlot." 

Jorge shook the outstretched hoof. "Thank you Major. Spartan Jorge-052, UNSC Navy." 

The Major turned, beckoning for Jorge to follow him. "You'll be meeting the Princesses shortly, I'm sure Captain Bolt told you that. But before you do that, there are some standard security procedures we'll have to go through," he explained, strolling past the formation of Royal Guards. 

"Makes sense," Jorge replied, nodding. He remembered overhearing Thunder mentioning "appropriate measures" when he had been speaking with War Hawk; these procedures must have been what he was talking about. 

Jorge looked around as they walked, gazing over the walls that surrounded the courtyard and catching glances of tall towers and spires, painted in bright whites and golds. They looked to Jorge like they were straight out of a children's storybook. The two of them entered a tunnel leading through the wall as Major Quick Shot continued to speak. "The procedures will be fairly straightforward, and shouldn't take very long. Just a medical examination and psych evaluation."

"Nothing new there, Major," responded the Spartan. The UNSC always did like their little tests, especially when it came to the Spartans. It would be interesting to see how the Equestrian methods compared to the human ones he was used to.

They neared exited the tunnel, giving Jorge a clearer view of his surroundings now that they were outside the courtyard walls. The city of Canterlot rose up around him in colorful, cheery spires. He couldn't decide whether the strange architecture looked elegant or cheesy. The graceful shapes almost seemed exaggerated somehow, like something from a comic book. It was very odd. 

The major pressed on, making towards the largest structure in the city, a castle made up of spindly turrets and bulbous roofs. It looked like a strange blend of medieval European and Arabic architecture. Jorge quickened his pace to match Quick Shot's brisk trot. "We're heading there?" Jorge asked, pointing towards the building.

Quick shook his head. "No, not yet. The Canterlot garrison is on the way. That's where you'll be undergoing the security procedures. After that, we'll head to the castle to meet the Princesses."

Jorge nodded. They continued to make their way through the busy streets of Canterlot. The human looked around, taking in the sights while noticing two things: one, that he was turning several heads as people gawked at the giant, armored biped. This, he expected. Hell, even among humans this was a common occurrence. Now matter where they were, Spartans drew stares. The second thing he noticed however, confused him; most of the equine citizens were ignoring him, not even batting an eye as they went about their business. Interesting...Jorge stored the thought for the time being. There were more important matters at hand.

Finally, they arrived at the garrison. It looked very out of place among the colorful, curvy architecture of Canterlot; the small group of buildings were square, gray, and utilitarian. Jorge found it rather comforting, glad to have a little bit of familiarity again. He liked being in a military setting. 

The pair approached the main gate to the compound, where a pair of sentries saluted smartly. Major Shot returned their salutes, while Jorge stopped himself from doing the same out of habit. They passed through the gate, and entered one of the smaller buildings. Jorge noticed he didn't have much head room, and would have to be careful not to hit anything. As they entered the next room, the major finally stopped, turning to face Jorge. They were in a small office with a number of desks. Three more ponies in golden armor waited patiently for them, their expressions unreadable. "Please take a seat," said one of them, indicating to a chair in front of his desk. As Jorge began to sit, the chair creaked violently under his weight. The pony's eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened. Jorge opted to stand, placing his hands behind his back in a parade rest. He waited for the pony to talk, studying him. He was a white unicorn with a dark blue mane, a bigger build then most of the other stallions he'd seen so far. His face had become blank, giving no indication as to what he was feeling. The unicorn waited a moment before pulling out a stack of papers, reading over the top page before looking back up at Jorge's visor. 

"So," he began. "Jorge, is it? What brings you to Canterlot?"