Hey, I've tried fixing any grammar mistakes I found on the previous chapters and I've also added one or two more sentences to help clarify things but nothing you will miss out on. One comment stated the rather odd problem of the Elites actually still being sided with the Humans after the Covenant civil war. While I'm not trying to offend said person I am obliged to defend my work. In the book Halo: Glass-lands, a large part of the book is dedicated to the arbiter as he tries to win a political debate on whether Sangheili should side with or turn against the Humans. Most political members believe there is too much bad blood between the two species for an alliance to work whereas a few see the Humans as noble warriors worthy of being an ally. Unfortunately I don't remember the book clarifying at all that Arbiter and his fellow supporters actually won the debate and from the fact that it has been stated by 343 that you fight Elites in Halo 4. I have come to the conclusion that at least a majority of the Elites ended up reforming the Covenant to just deal with the Humans then break up to fight the other client species after. I do still hope that one or two Elites will be working with humans such as the Arbiter but as a species the Sangheili are once again at Humanity's throat for a second war of genocide.
Chapter 2: Speed Demon.
The walk was slow and Aidan's arms were starting to give out slightly from carrying the pod for about five minutes straight but he would not make himself look weak in front of these alien horses, or 'Ponies' as they liked to call themselves. He still couldn't trust him and they probably felt the same unless they were really stupid so conflict was just a spark away. Sticking to the back of the group he lugged the pod above his head like it was a set of extremely heavy weights and the others would only occasionally glance back at him before resuming their chats with each other. He could easily hear what they were talking about from his increased audio sensitivity augment but they weren't talking about anything particularly amazing, just what they thought of him mostly. The stars continued to shine brilliantly overhead as Aidan looked up, the scene was far more majestic than any planet he had previously witnessed space from. Of course nothing beat the scene actually from space and being amongst the nebulas as you soared along in a giant spacecraft. Deciding to spark some conversation between the two groups Aidan began talking to the closest two who were the purple and tall white ones.
“The night sky sure is lovely on this planet isn't it.” The two looked at one another then back at him before smiling and slowing down to walk next to him on either side, the tall one stepped to his left while the small purple one stepped to his right and they walked in pace with each other.
“Yes I suppose it is a lovely sky for a planet, although I really have nothing to compare it to.” The white one said in a very sweat and calm voice.
“What's it like being amongst the stars?” The small purple one asked. Aidan pondered this to himself for a moment with an audible 'hmmmm'.
“Well I guess it's pretty awe inspiring but I don't spend much time looking out a window when I'm in space so I miss most of it. I'm usually busy trying not to get my head blown off or training for the next time I almost get my head blown off.” He sighed at that thought. “Hell, I’m usually on a planet with my ass planted firmly in a ditch or in a piece of cover as plasma whizzes above my head.” The tall white one turned her head towards him with a quizzical yet serious look on her face.
“Whatever do you mean by that.” Aidan looked at her and then took a hand off the pod for a moment to grab his Storm Rifle from its back plate and gave it a light toss towards her. She caught it with her, what Aidan presumed to be magic and began spinning it around to get a look at it from all directions.
“It's an odd crossbow like weapon.” Was her brilliant deduction she came to. Aidan gave a loud groan before telling her to pull the small leaver in the back of the weapon while pointing it at the floor. She did so and jumped back and let out a loud 'Gah' as the weapon shot globules of plasma at the ground. The puddles of plasma quickly burned into the soft soil and left small holes and craters as the plasma evaporated into the air. Everyone had turned around and noticed the weapons actions at this point and eyed it with curiosity before turning back to talk to whoever they were talking with earlier.
“It looks like it launches blue lava.” The purple one stated. Aidan snatched the weapon back and reattached it to his back plate over the left shoulder blade. This was going to take a long time to explain some simple things to these ponies.
“Kind of, if you want to compare it to something that would probably be the best analogy but that’s not what it is at all.” He left it at that and they continued to walk on in silence for a minute when the tall, white one asked him another question.
“You said you spend a lot of time trying to not get your head blown off. Are you implying that your a soldier?” She didn't seem very happy about having to ask something so simple but there was no way of telling with an alien like him unless they asked.
“I am in fact a soldier but not of the conventional kind.”
“So what kind of soldier are you?” The purple one asked when they didn't hear him delve into any further details.
“Well, I can't tell you that much without voluntarily opting for treason and execution but in simple terms I am a super soldier called a 'Spartan' who is genetically augmented to be above the physical and mental capabilities of normal members of my species.” They seemed to be slightly taken aback by what Aidan had said.
“You mean your people messed with your body to make you better at killing other living things.” Said purple with a look of horror that was only matched by the look of miss priss to Aidan's left.
“Well... when you put it that way it sounds horrible but truth be told that's pretty much it. Although you are missing out on some key details.”
“What could possibly justify you killing innocent aliens for a living?!” The Orange one piped in after overhearing the last part of the conversation. The others seemed to of heard it too as they turned to face him with mixed looks between horror and anguish.
“Well for starters none of them are anywhere near innocent, maybe the Huragok but we try not to kill them unless absolutely necessary. Second I don't do it for the money, I do it to protect my species and those I love and care about. Finally I can't delve into many more details legally and will now ask that you don't delve into that subject again until I have thought about my decision on whether to tell you more or not!” His nostrils flared in anger as he finished saying this and they couldn't see his face but they could hear the honesty and anger in his voice. He would be damned if he let a bunch of aliens think he was on the evil side doing the merciless slaughtering. Sure, Humanity had been quite a savage race up until the Covenant war but that event had united them as a single species and almost completely ended squabbling amongst the members of his race. If anything the war had been Humanity's saving grace from self-destruction but it came at a terrible cost. Aidan looked over them as they all tried to evade his gaze with each look around.
“We're sorry about putting you on the spot like that 42 but we can't simply ignore a fact like that on such a peaceful planet. It's not a daily occurrence for ponies to kill each other in conflict on this world.” The white one seemed quite sincere about this as she tried to comfort him and apologise for their rudeness earlier.
“No, no it's fine. I should apologise, whether its for the defence of Humanity or just sport, killing is killing and I've done more than my fair share.” Aidan wasn't in a very good mood from that little endeavour but he felt as though he had broken some barriers between them. Against his better judgement he tried again. “So what about you guys, you seem to have three sub groups of your species but what’s with all the telekinesis stuff you use and the particle beams you shoot from your horns?” They discussed amongst themselves trying to figure out what he was on about.
“Are you questioning our ability to use magic?” The white one said.
“Matter of factly I am. We don't have 'magic', as much as I highly doubt that’s what it is. We just have good old UNSC engineering.” Aidan raised his tone as he boasted the last bit out.
“Well what other explanation do you have for our abilities?” Aidan faced the purple one as she asked this and he shrugged his shoulders, which was an incredibly hard thing to do when your carrying a large metal pod.
“I don't really know to be honest. I've seen other creatures and aliens who could do stuff like that but it was all explained through technology.” He noticed they had stopped outside a large tree that had been carved out so a house could be made from its interior space.
“Well, here we are. Welcome to my humble abode, which is also the local library.” The purple one stated as she walked up to the front door and began pushing the front door open.
“Uh, thanks for letting me stay here purple.”
“Please, call me Twilight.” Twilight said, mimicking 42's charm from one of their earlier discussions. The others all turned around to him and introduced themselves.
“Mah names Applejack, pleasure to meet yah 42.”
“Rarity darling, the pleasure is all mine.”
“My names Pinkie Pie but you can call me Pinkie!”
“Rainbow Dash fastest flier in all of Equestria.”
“And my name is Celestia, Princess and co-ruler of Equestria, the land you currently reside in.” Aidan thanked them for the introduction and settled his pod down next to the library and refocused his attention to the group.
“It's a pleasure to be properly acquainted although I have another little task that needs handling before I stay here for the night.” He jutted his thumb towards the Everfree. “My LRV landed in the forest you designated as Everfree and I need to pick it up. The process would be much quicker if a guide could accompany me.” Celestia was the first one to step forward followed by Twilight and Applejack.
“Thanks for all of you volunteering but one will be enough.” Aidan said this with a gratifying tone and rubbed the back of his neck as he broke the news. The white one still stood forward while the others stepped backwards again.
“I would be glad to accompany you through the Everfree 42. By the way, exactly what is an elarve?” Aidan chuckled at the confused look on her face and turned round while motioning for her to follow.
“First, it's an LRV not an elarve and second, you'll find out when we get there.” She shrugged and followed him.
“Suits me fine, I have to find my sister anyway. She went flying off into the forest to secure the second crash site anyway.”
“She's probably already found it then. I hope she doesn't mess with it too much.” They both laughed and jogged off in the direction of the forest, leaving the rest of the group to discuss what they had just experienced.
~~
“Filthy, just filthy. Someone should really take it upon thyself to sort this abysmal forest into a much tidier location.” Luna grumbled as she untangled herself from the vines that hung from the canopy above. She had been trying to figure out how to open the strange metal container for almost twenty minutes now and every attempt had failed. This particular attempt had launched her back thirty metres into the canopy and she was busy trying to release herself from the mess she had created.
The device in mention was a large metal container which had been painted a horrid shade of green and seemed to be made of various materials encased in the metal shell. It was large and probably contained something important which was why Luna had been so eager to figure out just what lay inside in the first place. Seeing as her and Celestia had pulled it out of whatever realm it had resided in then the thing must be something rare or never before seen on this planet. It looked alien which meant that ponies could reverse engineer this and gain space travel. Luna practically squealed in delight at that thought. She had long dreamed of being able to travel amongst her brilliant stars since she was a little filly no more than a few centimetres high and she still held onto the belief that it was indeed possible, this craft just furthered her proof and provided a way to speed the process up.
Finally falling to the canopy floor with a loud 'thump' after untangling herself, she tried a more gentle approach as she walked up to the craft and began searching for some sort of switch she had missed in her earlier inspection. As luck would have it she found a small panel slightly buried by the dirt as the device had buried itself at a lopsided angle. One side rose into the air slightly while the other was pushed into the ground causing the thing to look like a sinking ship on land. Fully unearthing the panel with her magic she noticed that it was blue with a black border and the blue central part had white lines forming a grid over the blue colour. Sensing her presence the blue panel flared to life and stated in fluent Equestrian, one sentence.
“Please provide hand for scanning.” It spoke in an automated yet slightly feminine voice and Luna was completely gob smacked that it could speak Equestrian at all. Realising it required a hand for scanning which the only creature she knew of who had one was Spike, she simply shrugged and placed her hoof against the small panel. The panel ran a light up and down her hoof before beeping red.
“Incorrect print, please provide hand for scanning”. Luna huffed and tried again but was met with the same result. She tried with her other front hoof but still nothing different happened.
“Why wont thou work, thou infernal device.” It simply repeated what it had said earlier as a response and she let out an almighty roar of frustration as the talking panel continued to elude her of the amazing prize which sat within the container.
~~
Aidan and the Princess had just reached the edge of the Everfree forest when the she pointed over to his left.
“Over there, I believe that is the home of one of Twilight's friends. Please hide somewhere while I tell her to meet the others at the library.” Aidan nodded and ran off into the bushes while fishing around in his tactical soft case for the active camouflage module. He understood why he needed to hide. Answering the door to a Princess and an alien wasn't always the best way to be surprised. He sat at the edge of the forest in a reasonably sized bush and waited as Celestia walked up to the front door of the converted tree and knocked. He activated the module as a small yellow pony opened the door slightly and peered outside before opening the door fully. Using his advanced hearing, Aidan was able to make out most of the conversation and fill the rest of the gaps with his mind.
“Oh Princess, I was just on my way to meet you and the others at the crash site of the meteorite. Is something wrong?” The small yellow one sounded quite timid and Aidan could only give an exasperated sigh as he found this whole planet to be full of rather shy and frail creatures. If he was going to stay here he needed to do some serious beefing to the local populace. Some sort of toughen up course.
“No, no Fluttershy, everything is taken care of now. I was just here to tell you that you should head back to the library while I join Luna at the second crash site.” The yellow pony nodded and walked back inside before walking back outside a few moments later with a bag full of something he couldn't see. The small yellow one waved at Celestia before leaving and Celestia waved back before nodding her head towards him, meaning that the coast was now clear. He stepped out before de-cloaking.
“I didn't know you could turn invisible.” She said in a rather surprised tone. Aidan just chuckled before walking back into the forest with her in a slightly different direction.
“All comes with technology my dear.” He pulled a rather posh tone as he said that last part and sent her into small yet controlled giggles.
“Quite the charmer aren't you 42.” She recovered her more regal formalities and began to trot alongside him at a brisk pace.
“Not really. I could never get further than a small fling whenever I tried getting a girlfriend. All of them said I was too uncooperative for any long term relationship.” He said this with a trace of mirth creeping into his voice. “Wouldn't of mattered anyway. When you sign up for being a Spartan you pretty much sign your life away.”
“Oh how so?” She seemed quite concerned by this little development. Aidan could understand her reaction but maybe she was over thinking it a little.
“Well, when your a Spartan they mess with your body like you figured out earlier. A side effect of one such augmentation made me sterile so family planning flew out the window instantly with that little trait. Also you tend to be sent on mission after mission until you die. That’s not to say there isn't a retirement plan for Spartans. All previous Spartans didn't of course, seeing as they were indoctrinated into the military permanently. My breed of Spartans however started off as normal people so we do have an option to quit after fifty years of service.”
“Fifty seems like a long time. That’s most of a ponies life.” She sounded quite sorry for Aidan but he didn't care to be honest.
“Well unlike your species, Humans live for about 150 years thanks to modern medical technology which slowed down the ageing process by fifty percent. We used to live to be about 100 at a maximum.” Celestia seemed very interested by this.
“Hmm. It seems Humans live a very long time, even naturally. Ponies only live for about 60 years at the most unless you wager something for immortality.” Aidan stopped dead in his tracks at the last part of the sentence.
“Wait, you can become immortal?!” Celestia was happy that she had something they did not in the field of abilities.
“Why yes. You can wager powerful artefacts to a Draconequus for immortality or other amazing boosts to your powers.” Aidan was quite impressed by this. Although despite being Atheist he found it disturbingly similar to ideas about bargaining ones soul to the Devil, he brushed it off as a silly thought and continued the conversation.
“So I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that you did something of the sort.” She looked guiltily at the floor and brushed her left front hoof against the ground, busted.
“Yes although it was a very long time ago and I bargained something I shouldn't have with a certain Draconequus who likes to pop up every now and then.” Aidan didn't want to make the situation any more awkward and so dropped that line of enquiry. They continued on into the forest until they could hear the moans of frustration coming from a feminine voice.
“That would be my sister.” Celestia said. “You better stay here while I break the news to her so she wont freak out and try attacking you.” Aidan nodded to her and activated his active camouflage before Celestia stepped out into the clearing.
“Luna, are you alright?” Aidan watched as the dark blue pony turned to face Celestia as she spoke across the clearing created by his vehicle pod.
“Oh sister, where has thou been. Surely it does not take an eternity to scout a meteorite.” The pony he had now identified as Luna, scanned her sister over with her eyes before turning back towards the pod and back to Celestia again. “It wasn't a meteorite was it.” Celestia closed her eyes and shook her head before pointing to me standing cloaked in the tree line.
“No it was not sister. May I ask you to keep calm as I show you what really crashed into Ponyville.”
~~
Luna didn't quite follow what her sister meant until she noticed a blur slowly emerge from the tree line before making itself visible. Luna could only gasp as she observed the creature stood before her and would of thought things through more if not for the fact that she noticed it had hands. Looking back over at the pod something clicked in her mind and she turned back towards the alien as it approached her slowly.
~~
Aidan wasn't sure how Luna would react to his approach but Celestia guided him onward with reassuring looks. He stepped in front of the blue pony and matched his size up to hers. She was noticeably smaller than her sister but still taller than all the other ponies he had encountered but even then she or Celestia didn't even reach his neck line as he towered above them like a metal giant. Taking a deep and long breath he finally exhaled before saying one simple thing.
“Hi.” That was all he needed to say before she grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the large metal container with a gleaming twinkle in her eyes. Helet her lead as she pressed his hand against the scanner pad and it read his fingertips before beeping out.
“Access granted. The package is at 95% integrity A-042. Please stand by as the container is being pressurised to the outside environment.” Luna leaped in joy as the panel said these words and stared at the main entrance with eager eyes as the contained gave a soft his. The hissing stopped and the front ramp descended, seeing as it was the only one not partially buried. Luna peered inside but was disappointed for some reason.
“What's gotten into you?” Aidan asked as she peered around to look for anything she may have missed earlier.
“It's just a strange chariot.” Was her reply. Aidan sighed at this then clambered into the container and hopped into the drivers seat. Celestia and Luna had joined him inside the container at this point and watched with curiosity as he ran a systems diagnostic to detect for damage in certain areas. The Warthog had lived up to its legend as no internal damage had been caused and all vital systems worked perfectly. The only damage had been to the actual body of the vehicle as small and loose parts had been ripped off in the impact.
“Well, are you getting in or not?” Aidan revved up the engine and it came to life with a majestic, gas guzzling roar. The two Princesses jumped back at the sound. They looked at him then the two seats in the back before clambering inside. To say the seats didn't fit them very well was an understatement. Sitting like they did on the seats would get them thrown out of the hog and killed in a sharp turn so Aidan told them to put on the seatbelts. They did as they were told and he looked back one more time before laughing.
“Oh your going to enjoy this!” He slammed his foot and the accelerator and the Hog lurched forward before jumping off the ramp which extended into the air. The Hog glided for a moment before slamming against the floor with a loud 'crunch' but the suspension handled it pretty well. The vehicle took off again at a speedy pace as it ploughed into the tree line and started nimbly darting between the spaced out trees with the grace of a leopard. Aidan could see the Princesses were terrified by the large mechanical contraption almost as if it were a roller-coaster ride. Then again, everyone said Aidan was the most aggressive driver aboard the Infinity. Ramping over a small tree which had recently collapsed they made their way to the location of the yellow ponies cottage and did a swift turn from there before heading in the direction of Twilight's library.
~~
“So what do you think he looks like?” Twilight couldn't help but wonder this as they waited for the Princesses and 42's return. The group had been sat inside the library for a short while now and Fluttershy had joined them mere minutes ago before they explained the situation to her. She didn't seem to happy about meeting an alien until they managed to convince her it was friendly for now.
“Ah think he's scaly, you can't be that tough without having tough skin. Maybe he has an outer shell instead of bones.” Applejack was rubbing her chin as she said this but Rarity didn't seem impressed by this deduction.
“I doubt it Applejack, he was brutal at first but has shown a kind side. No bug I know of can be that social or friendly.” Rarity never had a thing for bugs and Twilight could only moan and grumble at her prejudice.
“Well forgive me if I'm wrong Rarity but he isn't exactly something we have much experience with.” Twilight stated as she debunked Rarity's theory.
“Maybe he's soft and covered in fur, like us.” Fluttershy said with a barely audible peep.
“I like AJ's idea better.” Spike had been with them since they had entered the library and was now busy day dreaming about how he could become a hero like this alien was.
“I'm more interested about his build.” Rainbow Dash proclaimed. “I mean remember how strong he was and how quickly he moved. He must have arms like tree trunks under that armour.”
“He said something about augmentations to his body so a lot of his strength is probably hidden Rainbow.” Twilight wasn't paying much attention to Rainbow's ideas but she couldn't help but feel like they were missing something from their guess work. Then it hit her.
“42 had hands!” Everypony stared at her after she shouted this out.
“So?” Rainbow replied.
“Don't you get it. He doesn't have hooves like us so he's not equine in nature. He doesn't have paws so he's not feline, no claws means not a reptile or lizard but he has hands so that must mean he's similar to monkeys and apes.” Everypony just pieced the evidence together in their heads before agreeing with her as they nodded their heads at each other.
“But what about his legs then. If those are arms and hands then what are those things sticking from his legs?” Fluttershy couldn't think of anything she knew about that had different sets of body parts between the limbs. In her experience they either had four paws, claws or hands, not two of one thing and two of another. She was about to raise this point when a large 'thrumming' sound could be heard from outside. Peering out the windows, the group watched in awe as a large, green chariot sped its way along the dirt roads of Ponyville without anything pulling it. The chariot got closer and they could see 42 sitting at the front left and the Princesses holding on for dear life in the back.
~~
Aidan pulled hard on the handbrake and skidded the Hog into a nice parking position by the library before stopping the engine and climbing out the drivers seat. He stretched his arms and peered around the side of the vehicle to see Luna and Celestia shakily step out of the vehicle, looking as though they were about to up chuck everywhere.
“Enjoy the ride?” He couldn't help but let a little laugh out as they stumbled around trying to stabilize themselves on the floor. He locked the vehicle down and stepped towards the front door of the library before Rainbow Dash came barrelling out and shot straight into him. There was a loud 'clang' as she impacted head first onto his chest plate and the metal rang slightly as the vibrations died away. Rainbow rubbed her head on the floor before looking up and giving a sheepish grin.
“Heh heh, sorry.” Aidan just shrugged and picked her up from under her forelegs and holding her out in front of him. The others stepped out and walked over to the Warthog. They were impressed by the design, especially Rainbow and twilight, both for separate reasons. Twilight saw it as the future of science so was very eager to figure out how its internal components worked. Rainbow like it on the other hand for the simple fact that it went fast, faster than a normal Warthog because of the reduced weight without the mounted weapon.
“You gotta teach me how to ride it.” Rainbow said with a gleaming smile and eyes as wide as saucers, Aidan found it incredibly creepy.
“Heh, no way in hell squirt.” Rainbow's smile turned sour as she heard the familiar nickname used on her for a change. The others merely laughed at this but Aidan didn't get the joke. The Princesses had stabilized their stomachs at this point and approached the others.
“That was an... interesting experience 42.” Celestia said before walking inside. Luna walked up to him and extended a hoof for him to shake. He stooped over slightly and returned the gesture.
“42. Pleasure to meet you.”
“Luna. Charmed.” Luna gave him one look up and down and the saying something else. “I would like to find some things out 42.” He nodded and stepped inside with her in tow, leaving the Hog and pod by the front entrance.
Gah, writing can be so hard when you have serious writers block. I'm probably going to rewrite this at some point in the future but the current result will do for now. And before any comments are made on the quality, yes I know it's bad and I will fix it at some point. Expect the next chapter to improve.