Halo: Ponies and Clouded Pasts

by Blazer

REWRITE 6: Shafted

A cold breeze rushed over him, chilling the Spartan to the bone.

Opening his eyes, John found himself alone in an empty void. Stars winked on the fringes of his enhanced vision as he spun on his heel, taking it all in.

Chief.

He looked for the source of the voice—a cool, musical sound with the hint of an edge beneath it all. The sound of flowing mercury.

Don’t make a girl a promise...

He saw it, if only for a moment: A faint shimmer of blue in his peripheral. When he looked over, it had vanished. An ominous sea-green light bathed his ethereal form.

It's been an honor serving with you, John.

A hand clasped his. He glanced down, surprised at the sudden warmth. His eyes met hers—the haunting cobalt pupils staring deep into his own blue ones.

He blinked again—his blurred vision taking in the moon's rays streaming in from the window. Gingerly sitting up, he leaned forward as he began to scan his initially unfamiliar surroundings.

The events of the day prior flashed behind his eyes, allowing him to push the panic down as soon as it had surfaced.

Pushing aside the emptied bakery box, he worked himself to his feet one sore limb at a time. Grasping the pink container, he moved to the woefully short entrance of his woefully undersized room. Leaving the box on an end-table, he stepped out into the hall—ducking under the doorway. His motion tracker flared red as the guard snapped to attention beside him.

"Do you require something, sir?"

Instinctively, John glanced at the Pegasus' uniform to search for her rank. Unsurprisingly, he found nothing indicating a rank other than an elegant medal with a pair of wings flanking a star.

"I would like to walk around. Alone."

The guard clanked her forelegs together, her posture ramrod-straight, "Understood, sir!"

Mildly pleased he had some freedom to wander, John left the Pegasus staring at the wall in front of her. The ceilings were much higher here, allowing him to walk with his back straight as he wandered the darkened halls.

Other than the occasional maid or butler and numerous pairs of guards patrolling the palace it was peacefully quiet. John found his thoughts wandering a castle of their own as he descended and ascended wide staircases, studied strange artifacts from bygone ages, and eventually found himself in one of the many gardens surrounding the palace.

This particular garden seemed to be full of memorials and statues of important historical figures. He noted the dates seemed to pertain to one of three “year-types”: PQ, EQ, and FE. Something he would have to ask the Princesses during one of those future “history lessons.”

It was the sudden clap of metal on stone that shocked the Spartan back into the present. He found himself standing in front of a rectangular clearing in the simple-yet-lush plant life. A large, featureless slab of marble supporting a statue of an armored guard sat in the middle of the symmetrical yard. Two similarly-armored guards currently patrolled the memorial—their footsteps in perfect sync as they marched across the yard.

The clopping of metal greaves on gravel approached from behind, John’s motion tracker flaring red as a guard approached from the rear. The Spartan turned towards the familiar Pegasus moving to his left, “I thought I was free to roam alone.”

The guard ignored him, staring at the memorial, “You’re a soldier, aren’t you? Then show some respect.”

Stifling a stinging remark, John faced the marble slab again. A large plaque etched into the stone read:

May our brothers and sisters sleep soundly under the watchful gaze of Celestia’s Sun and Luna’s Moon. May they rest knowing they bear the heaviest burden of all. May we honor them with our gratitude for their deeds. May they be known as heroes henceforth.

It was no surprise that sentient life would also honor their dead, but it still blew the Spartan away just how alike humanity and “ponykind” were in the aspects of military tradition. It was almost comforting to see a blemish so grim on the otherwise “friendship-this” and “cupcake-that” image these ponies upheld.

John suddenly began to wonder what sort of history these ponies had. Surely things were peaceful now but the concern of Celestia at his arrival was what he reasoned would be a normal response. Why the other ponies hadn’t thought the same puzzled him. What did that big pony know that they didn’t?

He suddenly felt a little better about attending that history lesson later in the day.

He pulled himself a little straighter, eyes staring directly ahead. His left hand pressed against his side, he snapped a crisp salute with his right—palm down, fingers at the rim of his helmet’s visor.

Exactly twenty-one seconds later, he lowered his hand and turned on his heel—walking back towards the palace. At least he felt tired enough to try sleeping through the rest of the evening.

***

“So, mind filling me in on what happened over there?”
“Sorry, Starlight. I’ve been instructed not to tell anypony about what happened to us last night.”

Starlight Glimmer’s brow furrowed, “I understand. It’s just that you’ve been way less talkative than normal. I hate to say it, but I thought you’d want to throw another weird friendship lesson at me since it’s been a couple weeks.”

Twilight brought a foreleg to her head, “I knew something was missing! I’ve completely neglected to progress with your lessons!”

Starlight waved a hoof dismissively, “N-no, no, it’s fine! Really. I’ve almost enjoyed taking a break from it all, so don’t feel like you’re letting me down or anything.”

Twilight raised a brow, smiling and shaking her head, “Guess I’d better get on it, huh? Can’t have you getting too complacent,” her smile shifted into a concerned frown, “Unfortunately, I’ll have to come back to those later. Maybe just focus on what you’ve already learned and write a short report on your progress with Trixie.”

“That, I can do.”
“Good. Thanks for understanding, Starlight. I promise things will be back to normal after a few days. Now, if you’ll excuse me… I’ve been awake for almost thirty hours.”

Giving the Princess a nervous smile, Starlight backtracked into the hallway, her expression fading into a worried stare. In all the years she had known the Princess of Friendship, Twilight had never worried about confidentiality. Usually Starlight could be trusted with sensitive information regarding potentially panic-inducing threats or emergencies thanks to her prowess in magic. Something above even a changeling invasion?

It was no wonder Twilight was so distracted—and it all had to do with watching the meteor shower the night prior. Could it mean…?

Starlight glanced through a nearby window, studying the cloudless sky beyond.

A shiver ran down her spine.

***

The carriage rocked as it rolled to a stop. John hopped off of the vehicle, his eyes locked onto the still-burning wreckage of the Dawn. If his mission clock was correct, she had been his home for almost five years. Johnson would have something to say about “treating his ladies right.”

“You are free to explore your ship until the sun reaches the highest point in the sky, as the temperatures become hazardous to anypony staying here for long periods of time,” Celestia explained, nodding to the shining orb just starting to leave the horizon, “We will call for you when high noon is reached. Until then, you will report to Captain Brightsteel with any needs or concerns.”

She stepped aside as a guard trotted forward, his gauntleted hooves scraping against the abrasive sands of the desert they tread upon. Like the other guards, his coat was a shade of gray—a far cry from the colorful civilian types. Unlike the other guards, he was a ‘Unicorn.’ Further differentiating him from his brethren, Brightsteel had an elegant blade at his side. The unicorn’s sparkling green eyes flicked up and down John’s form before locking onto his visor.

“He has served us in times of war or great distress. His physical and tactical prowess are invaluable—so much so that he now reports directly to my sister and I. Should there be anything to have slipped through our perimeter in the night, you may leave it to Brightsteel.”

Probably in case John decided to try anything funny and report all findings back to the Princesses.

“Should you require any assistance in moving around the wreckage, you’ll find Brightsteel more than capable in making entrances and exits. Good luck, Master Chief.”

Giving Celestia a nod, John started off towards the Dawn at a brisk pace. The footsteps of his warden followed close behind—the suit’s motion tracker blinking red as he tailed the Spartan. He began to weasel his way through a tear in the Dawn's hull before the tear became a large hole—sending him skidding down a sandy slope into the hallway beyond. He brushed himself off as Brightsteel slid down behind him—the Captain's horn dimming as the magic faded. Flicking on his headlamp, John set off into the darkened corridors without a word.

He stopped at a holotank in the hallway, removing Cortana’s chip and slotting it into the AI uplink port. Brighsteel eyed him warily, “What are you doing?”

“Looking for schematics,” John lied, removing the chip and replacing it in his helmet. He had to be careful to hide any reaction should he find Cortana—there was no telling how either party would react to each other. John wasn’t eager to be the mediator of that conversation.

He spent the next hour checking every holotank, terminal and AI access port he could find. He was forced to cut his search short when one of the holotanks tried to “eat” Cortana’s chip, prompting him to forcefully pry the machine apart and retrieve the precious cargo. John straightened up to his full height and sighed, his shoulders slumping.

Still nowhere to be found. Where had she gone? Maybe she’d found a way to power everything down to keep herself alive? Or did the ship have some sort of “flight recorder” she could hide away inside? John shook his head to disperse his speculation.

For now, he would have to go it alone.

Returning to the hangar, he started for the first of the Pelican dropships. While it wouldn’t be able to go very far due to lacking the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight drive, it would at least get him out of the atmosphere. Combined with fitting a cryo-tube onboard, there was a chance he’d be able to wait for rescue.

From what he could recall, the Dawn carried D77H-TCIs—the top of the line when the Dawn had left Earth all those years ago. Normally, it’d be good news. For John, it meant a bigger pain in his ass. In contrast to the simpler four-engine D77-TC Pelicans, the “heavies” had eight fusion drives to power each of the adjustable Bussard-Ramjet engines. The four secondary engines at the rear would be relatively easy to remove and repair with some basic tools and elbow grease. The main engines towards the center of the craft would require specialized tools and someone with a lot of know-how of the inner workings of the bird—both of which were sorely lacking aboard this ship. Even if he could direct the ponies to help him with their magic, he’d be helpless when it came to the actual direction.

“Anything I can assist with?”

John didn’t even glance in Brightsteel’s direction.

“Watch my back.”
“As you wish.”

He inspected the first Pelican, ducking into the cargo bay and rummaging around the pilot’s seat. He found a datapad containing a pre-flight checklist—his first useful discovery on this otherwise unproductive tour of the Dawn. After eliminating peripheral systems like exterior lights and cargo bay intercom, he compiled a bare-bones checklist to follow.

PREFLIGHT

Co-pilot/Gunner.........................Pilot
CIRCUITBREAKERS……………..….CHECKED
ENGINE 1…..…………………..………OFFLINE
ENGINE 2……………………………….OFFLINE
ENGINE 3……………………………….OFFLINE
ENGINE 4……………………………….OFFLINE
SECONDARY ENGINE 1…………..OFFLINE
SECONDARY ENGINE 2…………..OFFLINE
SECONDARY ENGINE 3…………..OFFLINE
SECONDARY ENGINE 4…………..OFFLINE
STANDBY POWER…………………..AUTO
GEAR LEVER…………………………..DOWN
ENGINE ORIENTATION……….....0 DEGREES
NAV EQUIPMENT…………………..CHECKED
EIU SELECTOR………………………..AUTO
FMC MASTER SELECTOR………..LEFT
GROUND PROX SYSTEM………..CHECKED
LNAV AND VNAV……………….…..SET
GRAVITIS GENERATOR…….…….AUTO
ENGINE DISPLAY…………….…..SELECTED

He’d save making a “Before Takeoff” and “After Takeoff” checklist for when he knew he could get one of these Pelicans in the air. For now, it was time to take inventory.

Over the course of the next two hours, he visited each of the three ruined Pelicans while visually inspecting the battered chunks of any identifiable Pelican pieces—ignoring any of the main engines since he wouldn’t be able to get them open anyway. He ran through his checklists, finding that two of the three Pelicans had suffered catastrophic damage to most of their main engines. The last Pelican had managed to hold on to most of her fusion drives and directional nacelles—making a measly five of her Ramjets functional. John wasn’t sure he could even get it in the air. He would be forced to attempt repairs on her other three engines unless he really enjoyed being stranded.

“You have two hours remaining, Master Chief.”

Shooting a glance back at Brightsteel, all John could manage was a tired sigh. For now, he would have to see if he could even attempt repairs, let alone finish all of the necessary tasks to get the Pelican working again.

The last two hours consisted of meticulous searching in the pile for the tools and parts needed for repairs. Brightsteel offered to help once again, but the Spartan figured explaining what the tools looked like would be a waste of time—instead sending the Captain back to keeping a watch on the perimeter. Thankfully, John’s efforts didn’t go unrewarded: He’d landed himself half of a mechanic’s toolbox along with several hydrogen fuel cells—essential for propulsion if the Pelican left atmosphere. He noted the large amount of terrestrial reconnaissance vehicle parts for a potential future side-project, although he admitted to himself it might not be worth the effort.

Returning to the Dawn's exterior, he found himself face-to-face with that infuriatingly-disarming smile.
“I trust you found what you were looking for,” Celestia asked, bowing politely.

John stared back at the wreckage, his hand twitching as he recalled the previous night’s dream.

“Not quite.”
“I can send you here tomorrow, then. Brightsteel will accompany you again, but the terms are the same.”

John’s eye darted towards Celestia, studying her face as she continued her warm smile. For a moment, he wondered if her magic could help him find her.

He clasped his hands in the small of his back.

“Understood, ma’am.”
“Then let us depart. You have a history lesson to attend, after all.”

John could swear he could hear a hint of sarcasm.

Author's Note:

Featuring a cameo from a friend's fic.

The pre-flight checklist probably looks better
on mobile than desktop but I can't check it since I have no internet. Apologies if it doesn't look great.

Comments

[Bossypants]

Awesome chapter, can’t wait for the next!