Chapter 05
CHAPTER 5
There was a bright flash of light, and suddenly, Adam was once again left alone in the clearing. He placed a new magazine into his magnum, then went back inside the Pelican, thinking over what had just happened. He had taken hostage who he assumed was their leadership, and then shot one of her guards. He now realized that these horses, based on their technology level, had never seen a gun before. They probably had no idea how to heal the injury. Adam sat down on one of the troop bay seats, and sighed. What had he done? These creatures seemed peaceful, they were probably just scared. Adam looked at the clock on his HUD: it was 1300. He stood up once more, this time with a plan. If he was to ever get back to UNSC space, he would need help. He had rations to last three days, but him being a Spartan, that could potentially last two weeks. There was no way he would have the Pelican repaired by then (if at all), so he decided that the only possible thing he could do would be to surrender. He unholstered his magnum and assault rifle, and put them back into the weapons cabinet. Tonight, he would walk into the town he had seen, would find whoever was in charge, and surrender.
Twilight sat down on her couch, in a very somber mood. The mood in the rest of the room was no different. Everypony there was very upset, and rightfully so. Celestia and Luna had called for a chariot to come and recover the body of the dead guard, but it would not arrive until tomorrow. The two Princesses had decided to stay in Ponyville for now, to decide what to do with the creature. Barely and words had been spoken since they got back, as nopony was really in the mood for conversation. Twilight decided that if they were ever to get talking, now was as good a time as many.
“I don’t understand,” she said. “Why would he show such kindness to me, then act with such hostility to all of us?” Rainbow Dash shook her head, and Pinkie Pie lay down on the floor dejectedly.
“I do not know, my faithful student,” Celestia replied sadly. “There are some creatures in this world who simply are that way.”
“Maybe…” Fluttershy said. “Maybe we scared it?” All of the ponies in the room looked up towards Fluttershy, surprised.
“’Shy, how could somethin’ so violent be scared by us?” Applejack asked. Fluttershy frowned.
“It seemed not to even know who the Princesses were, maybe it’s lost?” Fluttershy suggested. “How would you react if you found yourself in a strange land surrounded by ponies holding weapons at you?” Twilight’s eyes went wide as she realized her soft-spoken friend was right. But then her eyes crossed over the covered corpse of the guard, and she felt anger again.
“That still doesn’t justify killing a guard!” she said angrily. Twilight was about to continue on when the front door knocked. It cracked open, and one of the guardsponies they had left outside poked his head in. No sunlight was coming through the door, Twilight had not even noticed Luna raise the moon.
“Your highness?” he asked Princess Celestia.
“Yes?” she replied.
“Um… there’s somepony here to see you,” he said.
After Adam had made his plans to turn himself in, he began to work on a way to better hide the Pelican. It had kicked up a lot of dirt around it, so activating the camo unit would only leave mysteriously floating dirt. He spent the rest of the daylight hours cleaning the dirt off and clearing the entire area around the Pelican. He was finished by the time night fell. He then activated the ship’s cloak, and set off for the edge of the forest.
This time, without the dark blue horse weighing him down, the walk only took about 25 minutes. When he cleared the brush, he once again activate Promethean Vision, and took a good look at the town. There appeared to be a large building in the center, so Adam figured that that was probably the most likely place for the horses to be. He activated his personal cloak, and set off for the center of the town. As he expected, the town was currently very quiet. There were very few of the horses around, as he figured that most were probably inside and asleep. He navigated through the rows upon rows of houses. The architecture reminded him of some small European towns during the middle ages. They were not too large, but Adam was fascinated that they had managed to build them at all, without opposable thumbs. But then, Adam had seen the unicorns using their horns for something, so perhaps that could have had something to do with it. Finally he came out into the center of the town. It appeared to also be some sort of marketplace, as there were several empty stalls arranged in a circle around a large statue. He recognized the statue as belonging to the large white horse he had seen; the same one he had held hostage... At the far end of the town center was the building he was looking for, though now he saw it was not actually a building. Rather, it seemed to be a huge hollowed-out tree. Many windows were set into it, and light was streaming out of them. Two of the guard horses he had encountered in the forest were flanking the front door. That was a sure tell that this was the place. Carefully, he approached the front door, and decloaked. Immediately, the guards gave out surprised screams, and pointed their spears at him. They likely thought he was going to shoot them too. Adam smirked, and realized that it was now or never. Slowly, very slowly, he raised his hands above his head, and said the most cliché thing he could think of:
“Take me to your leader.”
Celestia regarded the guard curiously, wondering who was looking for her at such a late hour.
“Very well,” she said. “Send him in.”
The guard stepped aside, and in walked the large metal creature, its hands above its head. Behind the creature stood the second guard, holding a spear very close to the creatures back. At this, all of the ponies in the room jumped up in shock. The remaining guards who stayed inside grabbed their spears and ran up to the creature.
“It claims to want to speak with you, your majesty,” said the guard. Celestia’s expression of fear soon turned to one of confusion. The metal creature took one step forward, hands still in the air. The guards pointed their spears closer, but the creature continued to step forward, until he was only a foot or so from Celestia. Celestia puzzled over the creature, and reached out with her magic. It tensed up at the sight of her horn glowing, but then calmed down. Celestia scanned over the creature, trying to get a read on its emotions. Surprisingly, it seemed rather emotionless. She could just barely feel anything, but what she did feel was a feeling of sincerity. Celestia smiled.
“Guards, lower your weapons,” she said. The guards, though confused, did as they were told. The metal creature relaxed, and lowered its arms.
“So,” Celestia said. “Tell us your name.” The metal creature paused for a moment, regarding everypony in the room. Then it looked back at Celestia. She found it rather unnerving that its face seemed to only be a flat, reflective gold surface. Finally, it let out a sigh.
“Spartan-D014, reporting,” it said in a very deep voice. Celestia found it curious that its name was composed of numbers, but for now, she let it slide.
“I am Princess Cel-,” Celestia began. Before she could finish, the creature looked into the corner, where the covered body of the dead guardspony was. It began walking over, every step letting out a loud thump. It reached the dead guard, and bent down by him. It lowered down the sheet covering him, and took a look at the body. It stared at the body for a moment, then lowered its head. Celestia found this display rather shocking. Here this creature was, paying respects to the guard it had killed. Perhaps there was hope yet. The creature stood up, and looked at Celestia.
“I’m sorry,” it said. It slowly walked back over to Celestia.
“I shan’t lie to you, Spartan-D014,” Celestia said. “We were planning an attack on your object to take you into custody. That you have come here on your own accord shows that there is still hope.”
“Please,” Spartan-D014 said. “You don’t have to call me by that. You can just say D, Delta, D-014, 14, whatever you want.” Celestia nodded, and smiled.
“As I was saying, Delta, I am Princess Celestia, symbol of the sun and co-ruler of Equestria,” Celestia continued. “This is my sister, Princess Luna.” Luna regarded Delta with a bit of anger. This was, after all, the creature that knocked her unconscious and dragged her to the edge of the Everfree. Delta nodded at Luna, almost apologetically. Luna frowned.
“And this,” Celestia said, looking at Twilight. “Is my student, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight looked at Delta with wonder. Delta looked back at her, and nodded.
“Now, Delta,” said Celestia. “Let us speak.”
Adam had come into this building to speak with their leader not expecting what would happen. He had a hunch that he would instantly be arrested, and they would try to kill him. Rather, he was met with a strange kindness. The white horse had introduced herself as Princess Celestia, and she was the co-ruler of the land he had crashed in, called Equestria. The dark blue horse he had knocked out was Celestia’s sister, Princess Luna, and the purple horse he had healed was named Twilight Sparkle. All of the other horses (or ponies, as Celestia had said they were) had equally as ridiculous names: Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity.
“Now, Delta, let us speak,” Celestia said, and she walked over to a couch, and took a seat. Adam opted to keep standing, as none of the furniture looked like it would support him. The rest of the ponies all sat down, and looked at him.
“First,” Celestia said. “Your name. It is very strange, why does it have numbers?” Adam laughed quietly to himself, and looked at Celestia.
“It’s not my full name. ‘Spartan-D014’ is my military name. My full name is classified,” Adam responded. Celestia looked a bit annoyed, but continued on.
“Your military name? So you’re a soldier?” she asked.
“Yes,” Adam replied. Celestia nodded.
“My sister and I have been on this world for many generations,” Celestia said. “We have never seen anything like you. Tell us; what are you, and where are you from?” Adam sighed to himself.
“I am part of a species known as ‘humans’. I come from a planet called Reach. As for where humanity originates, that’s classified,” Adam replied. Celestia looked annoyed once again, but continued on.
“Originated? So humans have more than one planet?” Celestia asked.
“We had hundreds a while ago. That number has since diminished, but we still have a few,” Adam said. The ponies seemed surprised at this, and Adam noticed that Twilight was staring at him in wonder. He smirked, and looked back at Celestia.
“If you had hundreds, what happened to them all?” Celestia asked. Adam paused, unsure of what to say. Sure, he could tell them all about the Covenant threat. It was no secret to all of humanity that they existed and, until four years ago, wanted to wipe them out. But on the other hand, this species seemed so… peaceful, so happy. He did not want to taint that.
“I’d rather not say, ma’am,” Adam replied. Celestia stared at him, as if she could see right through him. Adam stayed standing strong, not wanting to let them know of the horrors he had seen. Celestia seemed ready to continue fighting for an answer, but then Twilight spoke up.
“What about other humans?” Twilight asked curiously. “Do they all look… like you?” Adam mulled over the question, wondering what she could mean. Then it hit him: he was wearing a ton of humanity’s most advanced powered assault armor.
“No,” Adam said. “You’re not even seeing the real me right now.” This seemed to confuse the ponies. “I’m wearing a suit of armor. I look nothing like this underneath the gear.”
“What do you look like, then?” Twilight pressed on. Her five friends were staring with encouraging glances. Adam knew he couldn’t take off the whole suit, not without the equipment (which was currently still aboard Lightning). He could easily remove the helmet, but that would leave his head completely vulnerable to any form of attack. So, he came up with a small lie.
“I’m pale, I have eyes, a nose, and a mouth,” he said. “If you’re attempting to get me to take off the armor, you can save it. It doesn’t come off by itself. Not even the helmet.” This seemed to satisfy the purple pony, though she did seem a bit annoyed. With that question answered, Celestia spoke up again.
“How did you end up arriving here?” the princess asked.
“Ma’am, I’ve been asking myself that since I woke up,” Adam began. “It’s a bit of a long story, so… get comfortable.” The ponies all exchanged glances, and settled down. When they were ready, they looked at Adam once again.
“I was assigned to the UNSC Lightning, FFG-818. Lightning was one of our frigates, a ship capable of interstellar travel. We were on our way to a deep space outpost, and were still a few days away, when our ship was ripped apart by… something. I don’t know exactly what happened, but the next thing I knew I was flying my dropship through the frigate that was exploding around me, narrowly avoided hitting a moon, and then I crashed into that there forest of yours.” Celestia and Luna looked at one another, then back to Adam.
“So you were a part of a larger ship, then that one crashed into the moon?” Luna asked.
“Yes,” Adam said. “Why? Do you know something I don’t?” Again, the two princesses exchanged glances.
“We saw your ship,” Luna said. “It crashed into my moon.” Adam tensed up at this, his mind now swarming with questions. He forced himself to calm down, and picked the most important one.
“Did you see any survivors?” he asked.
“No,” Luna replied. “The ship seemed heavily damaged, but we did not go too close to it.”
“What kind of condition was it in?” Adam asked, still hopeful that there could be some survivors. Luna scrunched her forehead, trying to recall as many images of it as she could. Adam awaited her response eagerly.
“The front section seemed to have been ripped in half, as you said,” Luna began. “As for the back, it only had a few holes, though it was dented very badly.”
“Could you see lights on?” Adam asked, still eager.
“Yes, here and there, though they were very dim,” Luna replied. Adam sighed, relieved. If she ship still had power, even if her crew was dead, he could send out a distress beacon. “If you wish, we could transport you there.”
They have space travel? Adam thought. From what he’d seen, they looked to be fairly primitive in comparison to humans. Still, even if they did have viable transport, he had only just met them.
“No,” Adam said. “No offense, but we just met, and I’m still not entirely sure that I can trust you all.” He regarded the ponies cautiously still, though the feeling seemed mutual. “I will make my own way back.”
“But how?” asked Celestia. “You said your small ship crashed into the forest. If you could leave, you would have by now, so it must be damaged…” Adam looked at the princess. She was completely right. If he was to get back by Pelican, he would need to repair it, which meant that he would need help. Adam sighed.
“You’re right,” he said. “My ship is broken. The engines are burned out, the reactor is out of power, and there’s no suitable area for a takeoff. I’m trapped.” The eight ponies, and even some of the guards, looked at Adam in sympathy. Celestia approached him, and put her hoof on his shoulder. Adam almost withdrew from the contact, but somehow felt comforted by it.
“If you do not trust us enough to teleport you, then perhaps you can gain our trust through us helping you repair your ship?” Celestia suggested. Adam looked her in the eye.
“You’d do that for me?” he asked.
“Sure we would!” Applejack spoke up.
“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie chimed in.
“It wouldn’t be kind of us at all to abandon you,” added Rarity.
“Why not?” said Rainbow Dash.
“You’re just lost and want to get home,” Fluttershy whispered.
“And you need our help!” finished Twilight. “We’ll help however we can!”
Adam smiled underneath his helmet. So far, humanity had had no luck in finding peace among the stars. After the Covenant onslaught, almost nobody held any hope for finding a peaceful alien race. But these ponies, whom Adam had just met, were already choosing to help him return home, simply because they thought it was right. Perhaps there was hope for humanity yet.
Stats
Page generated in 0.05 seconds
Total duration
977 users online
1,453,522 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
This is awsome
I have the same formatting problem. I still don't know how to fix it. So I have to change it manually. Excellent chapter! Keep up the good work!
Absolutely amazing! I can hardly wait for the next chapter! Great job on using actual stuff from Halo!
Phew. Hostility defused (well, mostly).
I'm not sure the pony's have the parts to repair his ship
Um ponies = 18th century tech + 20th century = incapable of space travel at this time = no parts for pelican = no way to repair slipspace drives, reactors, or engines. WTF!?
Anyone else thinking that Celelstia is being a little premature?
Rest assured, the issue of ponies not having parts will be addressed in the next chapter.
I like what I been reading so far, but if I could suggest something: why don't you place something to separate the moments the story centers around different characters? Like a line.
It may make then story easier tonfollow .
The story did originally have line breaks between character switches. However, because I write the story in MS Word and copy it into Fimfiction, the formatting gets screwed up and the line breaks go away. After I upload the next chapter (should be in a couple days), I'll go back and add line breaks to all previous ones.
4492309 The problem with them trying to heal the wound was not because it couldn't be affected by magic; rather, it's because the princesses did not know how to heal it. Eventually, given time, they could have figured out, "Oh, there's a bunch of lead shrapnel in his shoulder, let's just get that out and then patch it up." However, because it was a wound that they had never seen before, they were unable to save the guard in time.
4510982 Thanks for catching those! I'll go in soon and get them fixed up.
Yeah, no. Stopping here. Ponies show up threatening the soldier, soldier reacts as predicted, and everyone acts like the soldier is at fault? Sure, even if the ponies are that ignorant, I would imagine they would be rather ticked about the death of a guardsman, but they seemed to forget about that immediately! Oh, and there's the fact that the infinitely more advanced space marine from parts unknown with advanced weaponry is so easily cowed despite the fact that he should be the exact opposite after being attacked.
An appropriate description of the story thus far can be found at this link.
Yeah, because a couple of citizens that seem to think their battle hardened when without the EoH their nothing but a regular citizen and know nothing about Pelican's or how to repair them can help repair the ship.
That's what has irked me the most in most of the stories I've read, the author always has the EoH acting like they've seen bloody battles and can defeat anything when without the EoH themselves they can't do anything; then you have Celestia thinking that "Oh, they've used the Magic of Friendship to defeat villians that were just messing around with them and not really trying, let's send them into the most dangerous forest on Terra (Equis/Equestria whatever you want to call the planet) to investigate a possibly deadly anomaly without any sort of backup, I'm sure they'll be fine." The worst they've seen (In my opinion) is the changeling invasion, where all they really did was knock some changelings unconscious and get captured. Another thing that irks me is Spike and the Crystal Empire, I could be wrong, it's been awhile since I've seen that episode, but if I remember right all he did was carry the Crystal Heart a small distance while Twilight went through and got past the traps, Cadence held back Sombra and caught Spike and the Crstal Heart, and the other EoH did their best to distract the Crystal Ponies; meanwhile Spike gets all the credit. Sorry for rambling, it's been bothering me for awhile even if it is just an animated show, things like that bother me even if I know it's fake, I always question things that most people don't care about.
HOLY SHIT THESE POINES TAKE "FORGIVE AND FORGET" TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL!!!
Why in almost all these story I the ponies to get Killed
(I think I am going crazy
)
4493202 And they are unfamiliar with the presence of a foreign object impeding healing... why?
You'd think that no one uses arrows.
...or trips and skins their whatever on some rocky terrain.
...or accidentally pricks themself with a nail or something.
...or gets a splinter.
I realize this was written a while ago, but... Seriously.
The idea that something about his bullet was anti-magic actually makes more sense.
This is getting interesting...
I like it how they are suddenly all helpful and stuff to the Spartan while there is dead body in the room. lol. Anyway, good story so far.
The guards were throwing spears at it. Self defense
And this is the last chapter for me.
Shame, the story seemed almost thought out right until it didn't.
Almost perfect setting but zero common sense.
Bruh he killed a pony, i know friendship and forgiveness and all but jesus