Chapter 1: Live to Fight Another Day
Chapter 1: Live to Fight Another Day
"I will tear you in half human!" Large hands, attached to large arms reached into a crate that lay a singular Spartan, whom probably is rethinking her choice in getting down onto the planet.
Ignoring the Elite screaming at my face with his four jaws open in what looked like a toothy octopus, I drove the weapon at my side, into his throat. The scream interrupted by sounds of cauterizing wounds and gurgling. Obviously this was not the stealthy approach I had imagined in my head, I just prayed that there wouldn't be many more waiting for me when I clambered out of the crate.
The crate! I felt myself around inside, the walls while not entirely thick, were definitely made out of metal. Tipping myself over towards what I felt was my left, I rolled out while keeping the impromptu shield on my right. Grasping the sword in one hand and my magnum in the other, I snapped eyes forward to see who might be staring at me.
Nothing. Just trees, grass, dirt, and a mountain in the distance that didn't look like a real mountain from the light reflecting off of it's metallic sheen. To my left was another crate, still enclosed, blocking anyone from firing at me directly, leaving the right and front open. Checking my right for enemies, nothing. Motion tracker was relatively dot less as well, showing 5 red blips behind me, however it only has so much range, there could be 100s on the outskirts of the circle.
Why was it quiet? I hurriedly popped my head over the crate behind me to come face to face with another Elite staring right at me. It's four jaws clicking menacingly, growling. I could see entirely what it was doing, attempting to intimidate, but beneath my thin visor, my face was entirely hidden, all it saw was it's own face staring back.
Without moving as many muscles as I could muster, still glaring at the Elite in front of me, I grabbed the hilt of the sword I had put back in it's rightful place after careening out of the crate. A calming swoosh was heard and the Elite had no time to react. I plunged it deep into his chest, his 4 jaws tensing and his eyes rolling into the back of his head. He fell, dead, only making a thump when he hit the ground. I wasn't focused on him, I was focused on the 5 Elites, 8 grunts, and a Jackel holding a Beam Rifle behind him.
Immediately I threw myself at the ground behind the crate as they opened fire. Surprisingly the crate was holding better than I had expected, taking the brunt of the attack. The only weapon piercing it was the Jackel, and he was getting closer to where I was crouched. There was no way I was going to fight them, it was already a losing battle before it even started.
I gazed upon what was in front of me. The tree line wasn't far away, a quick sprint and I could be hiding in the underbrush, figure out a plan, and ambush those who might come after me. Something sparkled in the lower part of my vision in the sun, surprising me for a split second. It was the lone sword that had occupied the crate I was in, apparently being flung to the side when I rolled out. I had no intention of getting my last one, which was still jammed inside the Elite behind me while being fired on by a small army. Grabbing the slightly different hilt off the ground, I inspected it quickly, lest I finally get plasma to the back of the head for my troubles.
It was a dull gold color, with letters etched into it in Sangheili. I could only make out a word that looked eerily similar to "Bane", although I couldn't be sure. Slapping it onto my hip, I readied myself in a sprinter's stance, ready to make a beeline for the trees.
Three. I set my right foot in front of me, the left, half resting on the crate behind me.
Two. I took a deep breathe, ready not to run in a straight line, but be as unpredictable as possible while avoiding enemy fire.
One. My body tensed as I rocketed forward, using the crate as a distraction and a launch point, it was hurled backwards into the crowd as I snaked my way to the trees. It only served as a temporary distraction, as plasma rounds of all colors and sizes kicked up dirt beside me, sizzling.
One lucky round had found it's mark, my shield flaring in frustration, a quarter of the way gone. Another flare, halfway gone. I stooped low, having a bad feeling just as a Beam Rifle tracer blew past where my head was and into a tree, bursting it into flames.
The forest was a few steps away, and I covered them in little time, hearing the screams of my pursuers following close behind. The plasma got less frequent as I put more tree in between me and them, finally stopping completely, I slowed down, feeling a little winded. I slowed down further to a more leisurely pace, a brisk walk.
I got a gauge on my surroundings for the first time. Tall trees covered most of the forest floor, leaving it strung in shadows. Whatever sunlight could leak through kept it from being entirely dark. This was the first location in a long while that I had not gotten a bad feeling about. It sure beat staying on the Covenant cruiser, being surrounded by an army out to kill anything that was remotely human and learn nothing. I heard the calming sound of birds chirping, a sound I hadn't heard in years. It was peaceful, tranquil, something war rips away.
There was no defined path through the thick forest, only a mere direction to the mountain, if it can be called that. Through the occasional gaps in the trees I caught glance of the peak, reflecting off the sun with enough light to cause my visor to darken. It was beautiful, but it was also Forerunner, it could be a giant machine of death, I couldn't know for certain. In this very moment, it sat motionless, like a great spire, guiding whomever might want to it's position with the alluring light.
The trek had been longer than I thought, while boring, it was a complete change of pace from the constant fighting I had became accustomed to over the past few hours. I cracked a small grin, knowing a mere day earlier I was sitting in an ONI office being briefed on yet another mission that my unique skillset could accomplish. Unique was over exaggerating, but Spartans are slowly becoming few and few between. Whatever skills I might have from training, that's what makes me unique.
The forest, which I had expected to be crawling with Covenant to track me down, or even to be investigating what the obvious Forerunner structure was, were naught. I heard nothing, seen nothing, and certainly didn't feel anything. At least, for the duration of the trip. I spotted a clearing up ahead, leading into a tunnel of the massive structure looming before me.
Far away it was just another structure, but up close it was truly something to behold. Ancient lettering had been engraved into the side of the pyramid structure, very small symbols as if the entire building told a story if read to completion. I made my way through the clearing and stood in front of the tunnel, polished without a hint of dirt. Like most.
I ran my hand across the grooves in the mountain that made lettering, hoping that I could understand it if I maybe felt it better. To no avail, I diminished the thought as mundane. Turning my attention towards the tunnel, I walked inside, pale blue lights blinked on as a I walked, sensing I was there. Everything smelled of new metal, like I had just inhaled iron flakes, it definitely was a welcomed smell. Finally I stood in front of the door, it looming at the end.
The door didn't budge. Turning my head, I spotted a terminal on the right side of it, currently flickering with life. I had not made much interactions with Forerunner technology in my life time, so getting the door open would more than likely take a while.
Elite yells, grunts talking excitedly, and the hoarse rasp of Jackals came to my ears, how had they been so close behind me?! Cursing myself remembering the clearing, they hadn't followed me, they simply were being dropped off by Phantoms in the wide open area, forgetting the tunnel didn't let much sound in. I pounded my fist into the wall and stood in front of the terminal, staring blankly at it. There were two holographic buttons showing in midair, with nothing else. I touched both of the lights with my pointer and my thumb, turning green, it prompted me with another set, three buttons now. Touch.
The door whirred upwards quietly, quickly making my way inside, desperately looking for another terminal to close to door once more. No such luck. The talking had quieted down, not sure if because the sound wasn't traveling or they noticed the door had opened. Either way, I wasn't sticking around. I surveyed what lay before me, 3 hallways, each leading left, right, and straight ahead. Quickly, I rushed down the one to my right, as I was closer to it, hoping I would get far enough down that any plasma would be too wild to hit my person once far enough.
The small tunnels offered no cover from what might be looming around behind me, using only pure speed to get away. Elite roars could be heard now, echoing down the tunnel I was running away in. They had found me, and I wasn't able to dodge any incoming fire that might be dotting the path. None came, as the yelling had begun to die down significantly, as my distance increased.
I took note of the hallway lighting up as I ran through it, dimming once I had gotten far enough ahead. Risking a glance behind me, the room from which I started in was nothing but a blue light in the distance, and I didn't see a single Covenant running down to tear my head off. I didn't let up on speed, however, I wanted to be around a corner, in a room, something that would keep me out of danger of a stray round hitting me from the other end. Thankfully a corner edging towards the left loomed ahead, I sped up reaching it and stopping once around, catching my breath.
I felt as though I had been running for miles. That hallway might as well have been for how little I could see the main room anymore. I mused to myself why there were no Elites charging down after me, deciding I could figure it out later. I needed to understand what this structure is and what it does, that way I can report it and be on my merry way before extraction becomes an impossibility.
The next hallway, while much shorter in length, branched into many small rooms. Each of them being empty. Curiously as I stepped into each, they lit up as if they had a purpose, staying lit even after I retreated and went into another. I checked all the rooms carefully, finding nothing except a warm welcome of lights. There were the last two rooms just ahead, rounding the corner of one, I tensed up hearing voices on both ends of the hallway.
Jumping into the room to my left, it wasn't unlike the others, empty. While the rooms were somewhat beautiful in their own metallic, glassy way, that didn't help me when I had two platoons of enemies marching down either end of the hall. I looked at the room directly across from me, raising my eyebrows inside my helmet. Now that was interesting. There seemed to be a pedestal like object with a terminal docked onto it, turned off since no one had visited it in so long. The voices were creeping closer, and I needed to make a move, deciding that being with the terminal that could potentially hold information that would be of value to the Covenant I could take or be a value to humanity and save would be the better option.
I peered down either side of the hallway, the parties weren't paying much mind to a Spartan poking her head out of a doorway. I jumped across the small threshold hoping neither noticed so I'd have some time to gather what I could. The room flicked on. Wincing from the light as it more than likely drew unwanted attention, I went to work. It was another familiar lock that had been on the entrance panel which I quickly complied. It then came up with a handprint. Numbers, letters, among other information now displayed freely on the console. They looked strikingly similar to coordinates.
So the pedestal was actually a teleporter? Interesting.
"This is Oscar-three, one, six, I have found an object pertinent to information needed to understand-"
Footsteps trudged closer, alarmed by my voice, but I didn't care. I had found something that could possibly be the reason as to why the Covenant are here. With hopes of my mission complete, not worrying about death coming around the corner at any moment, I began once more.
"-why the Covenant had brought me to this planet. A teleporter, perhaps linked to many others in the large structure. I can not explore the rest due to forces closing in on my position. I will see if the link continues and maybe escape to another room so I can continue. Until then, Laura out."
In the nick of time, I sent the recorded message off. I tried an active frequency to get what I expected, static. Nothing. Death was looming now, almost tapping me on the shoulder. I turned around, steeling myself with what may be behind me. Two Elite guards, Energy swords, staring me down snarling.
"Gentlemen, it's been a pleasure, but I think I'll be going now." I gave them the wonderful middle finger I was blessed with and smashed the terminal with an open palm. Electricity danced on my armor, my shields flickering, my vision becoming clouded. I could feel myself drifting into unconsciousness. No! I willed myself to keep my eyes open, the images of two Elites running at me melting away along with the rest of the room, and the world for that matter.
All that was left, was white.
A brilliant flash of light in the dead of night lit up Everfree forest for a quick instant. Going unnoticed by anything except maybe a few birds and upset animals for being rudely awoken. A fully armored human, lay in the middle of the forest unmoving. There was much small light of the shields on it's armor recharging. Among the human lay many of things that didn't belong in this world, much less anywhere.
To any animal curious enough to find out what was going on in the dead of night however, that wasn't a realization that came to mind. Most forgetting it happened, calmly went back to sleep, not even batting an eye at the strange phenomenon that had occurred.
Birds. Sounds of birds again? Had I gotten outside the structure once more? Worse was I being dragged out in two pieces by Elites? Maybe being dragged only to be cut in half later for sport? No. I wasn't moving. My body felt numb, my ears rang, I wanted to throw up, and I had a massive headache. I reached over to pat myself down, ensuring that my entire body was still where it was supposed to be after the teleport. Slipspace and Forerunner teleporting always scared the shit out of me.
I opened my eyes, the sun gleaming directly down on top of me, hastily shutting my eyes again. I winced from the little tug of a headache that it had brought. Groaning I sat up gently, my stomach-
My eyes opened and I threw my helmet off my head, throwing up onto the forest floor. I coughed and spit, trying to make sure I had nothing else left. I hated that feeling. It burned my throat all the way up and left a nasty taste in my mouth.
Coughing a little more to clear my throat, I reached for my helmet and brought it into my hands. The skull painted on the top reflected in the sun, matching the one on my chest plate. I flipped it over, staring at the Scout helmet in my hands. I always liked the style, it was like I was wearing a facemask, with just my eyes showing through. Scout wasn't exactly standard for most Spartan-IIIs, as It was a new prototype armor, however it suited my fancy quite well.
When I took the job as a spy for ONI, even though they really couldn't care less if I were to be killed, they still equipped me better than most of the companies. It didn't really sit well with me, but I wouldn't be the first to begin complaining.
I set it back on my head, all seemed right, no damage, everything was working fine. I checked my armament next, to see what kind of punch I'll be packing. It wasn't enough for the entire ship that's for sure, but I had 5 full clips of Sniper ammo, 3 full clips of Magnum ammo, 2 frag grenades, some kind of energy sword, and a combat knife. Reminding myself to sharpen and clean the combat knife, which was still caked blue. The smell being less than pleasant to have on me.
I looked around for the first time, the forest looked the same as it had before, dirt, trees, bird noises. It just didn't seem nearly as dense. Trees were spread out a little more making a more definable path I could take. However, what direction to take, that was something I wasn't entirely sure of. I stood up fully for the first time, taking time to stretch out realizing I must have been out for a good amount of time.
And time wasn't something I had. I had forgotten what my mission was, it all flooding back to me. Finding the structure again was top priority at this point. Looking towards the sky, I tried with no avail to locate the gleaming mountain, nothing but perfectly clear blue sky. Groaning in frustration I decided to move forward, as it seemed to resemble the most as a path. I jogged at a steady pace, till hopefully Covenant show up, or I'm lost forever, whichever seems to come first.
Lost in my own thoughts, I heard noises which I chalked up as wind, rustling of leaves, and such as they were quiet enough to not cause concern. I pushed them out of my mind, even with a burning feeling I was being watched.
It was a relatively relaxing day in Ponyville. Birds chirped happily in the distance, creating a humming song. The sky was a beautiful bright blue without a cloud to be seen. Lovely smells of sugar and nature emanated from the center of town to anypony who happened to be walking through the town at the time, which was albeit not many.
Being the Monday that it was, the streets were almost completely bare. This didn't bother a certain cream colored mare who was quietly making her way to a certain friend whom she believed could help her with a little problem. Her mind was troubled with thoughts of one of her animal friend's depictions. A little birdy, quite literally, had told her it had noticed something out of the ordinary stomping around in the middle of Everfree forest, making quite the commotion.
The timid pony shivered at the thoughts of what had been said, or chirped rather. Tall, black, covered in some type of reflective material. It carried a rather large black stick on it's back, giving quite the menacing image. Anything else had gone unnoticed as the bird had turned tail and went straight to Fluttershy to tell her the news.
After hearing the story, she had thought for a small while, thinking of something it could be. The bird then added that while it trudged along looking lost, it feared it was coming towards the pony's cottage. At this, terror tugged at the back of her mind, gulping ever so slowly to go unnoticed by her animal friend, not wanting to cause more worry in herself, or the bird. Frantically, she decided that gathering Twilight to accompany her back was her best option, not wishing to have a giant black thing knocking on her front door.
So there she was, passing through the middle of town, worrying about so many scenarios that could pan out, some more ridiculous than the others. Not noticing that she had run full force into a pink tail in front of her, she gasped in surprise falling backwards onto the ground, visibly shaking.
"Oh Fluttershy, how are you! You know, my tail looks like cotton candy but it actually isn't silly." The pink blob giggled, one that was a pleasant sound, one that might make you smile if it hadn't continue for the next 5 minutes. Fluttershy, in that time had gotten up, brushed herself off, composing herself before speaking in a very deliberate, small voice.
"S-sorry Pinkie... I-I..." Fluttershy frowned, she wanted to apologize to her friend for being a nuisance, but she wasn't sure she wanted to worry the overly bubbly pink mare about her troubles.
"Fluttershy what's wrong!" Pinkie smiled at her cream companion, hoping that her infectious grin would help make her friend feel better. What she got in return was the smallest smile one could muster, which judging from whom it was from, was enough for the Pink pony.
"I-I'm going to go see Twilight... Uhm... I'll talk to you later Pinkie... Goodbye." Fluttershy righted herself, before continuing in the direction of the library, only half listening to the response she had received from the smiling mare. Pinkie, to her own credit was too busy to actively pursue her friend, the Cakes asked her to hang up some posters advertising a new item they had introduced, and she wasn't keen on disappointing them. Still, while she hammered them into posts with a hammer and her mouth, she couldn't help but feel... a little twitchy.
Fluttershy had finally arrived to the library, taking more time than she had hoped by running into her friend's rump in the middle of the street. Luckily, Pinkie had seemed preoccupied in her work, and didn't pursue Fluttershy's obvious fake smile, and opted to continue after she had departed. Sighing, she wished she could just express her worries, but she didn't want to cause her friend any trouble. Thoughts of the black monster her bird friend had told her about, flashed in her mind for a brief moment, causing her to squeak in fear. The door opening in her face before she knocked might have also been a factor.
"Fluttershy? What's wrong?" A purple unicorn stood in the doorway, curious as to why a certain cream colored Pegasus was now covering her face with her hooves and drooping onto the ground, shaking visibly.
"I-I... Uhm..." Fluttershy stammered out, still being petrified by so many scary things happening at once. She looked up at the confused Twilight, whom was staring intently at her friend on the ground.
"Would you like to come in? I hadn't been expecting visitors, so I planned on going shopping. But I suppose I can make time." Fluttershy nodded her head vigoriously to which Twilight raised an eyebrow. Whatever the issue was, it was obviously important and pressing for the mare to be all worked up as she was.
Twilight turned inward, motioning Fluttershy to follow her in which she shakily complied to. The library was in a surprisingly spotless shape, books not fluttered on the ground haphazardly, paper wasn't strewn about, among other things the library had certainly endured the past. A small scaly figure stood in the corner, dusting off a bookshelf that already stood spotless, disregarding that anything had come through the door.
"Spike!" The purple mare looked towards the scaly figure who jumped about 5 feet in the air. "Please go get our guest a glass of water." The small dragon quickly scrambled to his feet and barreled into the kitchen.
"N-No... It's okay... I don't want to be a bother..." Fluttershy exclaimed, not particularly interested in anypony or anyone going out of their way to help her. Her friend shook her head in response, with a certain firmness.
"It's quite alright Fluttershy, the shelf was clean enough, besides you look quite winded from your walk here. Now do tell what is troubling you?" She sat down on a couch, followed behind by the cream mare closely, seeming like she wouldn't tell anypony, even if the world depended on it. Twilight looked upon her friend with kindness, full knowing that she wasn't forthcoming about these kind of things. Fluttershy, to her own credit, attempting to form words much quicker than the unicorn expected, whom was now leaning in close so she wouldn't miss a single word.
"Well... M-My bird f-friend told me it s-saw... Something... Uhm... T-Tall..." Fluttershy hung onto the last word, putting forth effort to convey that the bird had put much emphasis on the word as well. Twilight gazed upon her friend for a minute, confused and curious all the while.
"What did this... Uhrm... "Something" look like? Did it have a color?" Twilight ensured to put air quotes around something, wanting her friend to not throw her in the vague shadow that she was currently in. Fluttershy nodded slowly, attempting to compose herself to fully explain what she had been told.
"Y-Yes... It was a black... Black as the night sky..." shakily from her last comparison she made she continued, "I-It also had thin white lines..." She finished, breathing heavily from thoughts that kept flickering in her mind about whatever the thing was. Twilight however, hadn't noticed any of it as she was staring off in thought.
"Tall... Black and White..."
"A-also... A giant black s-stick..." Fluttershy added, the words almost getting caught in her throat. "W-Walking..." She trailed off, instead deciding to hide under her pink mane.
"A black stick... Hmm..." Twilight turned towards her hundreds, if not thousands of books that stood almost at attention, waiting to be used. Twilight however, wasn't going to waste her time on researching something she wasn't completely sure of yet, besides it's much better to see to believe, right?
"Fluttershy, why don't we go take a look ourselves?" She noted the visible shivering her question had brought to her pink maned friend, not out of rudeness, but out of curiousness she continued to press on. "You said Everfree forest? I think I have time to go look, besides what's the worst that could happen?"
Fluttershy visibly shook at the thought's of what could happen, more so than she was. She had wished in this moment she could sink into the couch she was currently sitting on and disappear forever. No such luck would soon catch her.
Flowers can float?
No, I shook my armored clad head in frustration, staring at the lightly glowing orb in front of me, hovering a few inches off the ground. I had been walking through the forest for a while now, trying to get my bearings on where in the hell that damn structure went. Luck wasn't on my side however, as not a single Phantom had flown past to maybe at least alert me to where it was.
For that matter, nothing came near me.
The humming songs of birds had evaporated, small animals scurrying through the underbrush all but gone. It was nothing. Silence. The only sound that I could hear was the occasional thump of my metallic boots hitting the dry dirt that sat on the forest floor. Trails of dust followed me, almost being attracted to my armor. As I had gotten deeper and deeper into the trees, or so I felt I was getting deeper, everything continued to grow more ominous. There was even a certain species of flora I had never seen that tried to sink it's razor sharp fangs into my armor. A flower! I shook my head at the surreal thoughts of a flower being able to bite at my armor.
Trudging on with a sinking feeling that this wasn't the same forest that I had been in before the structure, it started to clear up again, becoming just trees, grass, and dirt. This stifled my fear, bringing back memories of when I had first ran into the overgrowth.
Still, images of the crazy flora, either trying to eat whole pieces of my armor, or floating off the ground burned into my head, giving my confidence a crack on the surface. Grim thoughts settled over me, again reeling back on maybe, just maybe, this wasn't the same forest, and I indeed was in a completely different place. Who knows, maybe an even different planet?
Opening up my communication channels once more, I heard the deathly static that followed. It was always a trend that I stay radio silent during the majority of my missions, as stealth was the defining factor of what I do. Stealth. You were real stealthy when you alerted 5 grunts to your position back on the carrier. Sighing at the thought of becoming rusty, while not entirely true, put a damper on my mood. Spartan's are razor sharp, perfected humans, that can complete any mission with painstaking perfection. When one slipped up, it often wouldn't go unnoticed, besides the kick to one's self esteem.
I slammed my right foot into the ground in frustration, creating a billowing dust cloud to rise from the ground. Stealth had gone out the window, I dropped my guard down to mope in self pity. Emotion's weren't something I performed extremely well with, killing Covenant had always tickled my fancy more. It's hard to get in touch with such a subject when you took pride in breaking the necks of your enemies. At this point, I couldn't care, I was alone, no idea where I was, surrounded by what seemed like an endless forest. I could self reflect a little about my mistakes without creating many issues.
Self-reflection, I soon realized was deadlier than any weapon in the Covenant arsenal. It caused doubt, depression, among other defects in one's mind. Defects that could hinder a Spartan from completing her mission. I pushed all doubt in my personal ability from my head, chalking it down as a simple mistake. I was still here, and ONI knew where I was in that structure, if the message ever reached them. A new sense of self endowment about myself spread like wildfire, I focused on what was ahead.
The tree's of the forest began to dwindle, becoming few and far between, along with a path I hadn't noticed before that paved way straight ahead. The path, I thanked, lead straight out of the forest, even if there was still plenty to walk. This long strip of dirt also gave me hope, this was no mere accident by mother nature, no someone had to have made this. Prints in the dirt showed this. Although none resembled a human by any stretch of the imagination. Deer, horses, bunnies, and other small animal prints littered the path.
Fully coming to terms with real animals being present, it slowly pushed my mind away from this being the same Forerunner planet I had found myself on before. Although at this point, the lack of the giant structure that loomed over the land before had already seeded those doubts long before.
My journey came to an end through the forest, I stepped into a pasture. Grass spread out for all to see, perfectly green, not a single charred piece of war touched it. The sun shone beautifully in the distance, creating a certain sense of awe in me. Not a single cloud dotted the sky. I felt like I had stepped into a story, the perfect setting to create a calming piece of literature. While I was admiring the beauty of the seen before me, I caught the glimpse of the sun reflecting off of something to my left. Turning my head I spotted a bridge, with crystal clear water flowing under it, causing the reflection. Looking past the bridge, my pace slowed straight to a halt.
There was a house, if you could call it that. It was constructed entirely out of greens for a roof, with a light brown substance for the foundation. On further inspection it was almost like a plaster, hiding the bricks that lay below. Standing on the bridge that led it's way to the house, I inspected further. The door was made out of a hard slab of oak, a slit appearing between the top and bottom half, which I assumed each swung open independently. Another peculiarity I noticed was the amount of birdhouses that littered the house itself, along with a tree that was to my immediate right.
This made my heart both rise, and fall, so it just stayed in the same position. This was not something I found on the Forerunner planet. Looking behind me towards the forest I had just come from, the giant looming mountain was no where to be found, only beating in my fears to the metaphorical wood.
I walked slowly up to the structure, as quiet as a snake, ready to jump it's prey. Once I got to the front door, I realized how small it actually was. Spartan's could reach up to seven feet with full armor on. I wasn't near that height at six feet and nine inches, but this door was still too small to house even a normal adult. The door reached to my chest, making it sit around five feet and a few inches. Could this be some kind of child's little playhouse?
I looked around, gauging if a child would put this together, or if a parent loved their child so much so that they would put something this detailed together.
"Fluttershy, if you could just try to point me in the direction that your friend heard the noise, please." A voice rang out from behind me, stalking ever closer to my position, in the open. I quickly rolled out of the way, into the grass which masked any noise I may have made. I laid down fully concealing myself inside the grass to get a look at who was behind me. UNSC? By their mention of the noise I created it's obvious they know I'm here-
Wait. What?
Coming down the road that I was just on were two... horses? But that's not possible. I had heard someone talking in clear English. Before me were two small equine beings. Horses would be an under exaggeration for what I saw however. The cream colored equine with pink hair, walking to the right of a purple one, had wings that immediately caught my attention. They held similarity to that of a bird, the feathers almost looking exactly the same. The purple equine with multicolor hair ranging from a deep purple to a lighter pink, had a horn jutting out from the center of her forehead.
"It came from the forest..." The words came out so lightly, even from my somewhat close distance, they were hard to decipher with enhanced hearing. What was said didn't matter, the fact the words were omitted from the cream equine's mouth was what startled me. It's mouth moved in a light feminine voice that was extremely timid. The first voice, I could imagine, had come from the purple one, which had more of a motherly tone to it.
The two continued their walk towards my position, giving me little time to think about exactly I was seeing. Maybe I was dead? Maybe the two Elites had gotten me back in the Forerunner structure and I was just in some kind of hell.
No. I could feel my armor moving, I could feel the tingle in my body from the ground I was resting on. The armor blocked out most feeling, but I could tell I was laying on solid ground.
They continued until they reached the hardened oaken door I had stood at moments ago. Continuing their conversation that probably involved me in some way or form. There was no way they hadn't heard the rustle of grass, it didn't exactly provide good cover either. However, knowing these things they didn't even look in my direction, instead they gazed over me at the forest I had come from, staying silent.
"Did your bird friend tell you how fast it was traveling perhaps?" A simple shake of the cream equine's head answered the other's question. It? What could it be? I hated the pronoun game, too much grey area to look through. On a daily basis, I played that very game with every file I had read. Files preferred to refer to anyone as he or she without giving names, leaving the job of snooping through them all the more harder to gain information.
I concentrated back at the two creatures, who haven't budged a muscle, apparently waiting for whatever the "it" is. Probably being impatient, the purple one wanted to know how long it must wait. Using it to describe the Equine creatures that, by all accounts, were female, was probably disrespectful. As someone who had respect nailed into my mental being time and time again, I wasn't about to show disrespect even if the creatures weren't humans.
I thought rationally for the first time thus far, if the creatures can speak English, fluently, then they are sentient. If they are sentient, not covenant, that must describe friendly, right? This could all be a ruse to see through my training done by the UNSC too, maybe to test out a Spartan's abilities outside of combat? Although, using such strange colorful creatures as a test seemed far too complicated. Unicorns and Pegasi exist only in myth, told to young children as a form of happiness.
Whatever this might be, laying in this grass wasn't about to accomplish anything for the continuation of my own life. So I did the only thing I could do, I stood up.
There was a louder rustle coming from my rise, the grass angrily jolted around me, scratching against my shields. While they didn't flare, since it wasn't damaging by any stretch, it still made enough of a noise to command the attention of anyone close.
Also standing above six feet in the air, towering a good two and a half feet over the small creatures, may have been an attention grabber as well. The timid one physically jumped into the air with a squeak, running far in the other direction with no intent to stop. The purple one however had a different reaction. Her eyes widened, fear etched all over her face, but she kept her ground interested in what I was going to do next I assume.
I walked forward, slowly, not wanting to cause any harm to either a set up by the UNSC, or a new species altogether. While the latter seemed impossible, as we had explored much of space and what we couldn't, we saw through other devices. At this point with Forerunner technology, I wasn't about to put any option above the other.
I was standing no more than a foot away from the small equine, her shivers of fear and expression had done nothing but worsen the closer I went. I stood still, staring at her large orbs, which she only stared back. However her reflection is what met her eyes through my thin visor. I awaited a response, or perhaps an action from her. Speaking first would be a problem I didn't want to face.
"H-Hello?" She finally stammered out. Her voice was not the same fluid tone I had heard before, it was instilled with fear. I simply waved in response, hoping the action wouldn't cause an issue. My motion startled her, letting out a small yelp. I couldn't help but find her fascinatingly cute. Cute wasn't a word I could use for many things, as it left a bad taste in my mouth. What I was experiencing now however, was the one good time I could actually use it.
"C-can... Y-you talk?" I cleared my throat. First contact had been made, but she still looked like she was about to pee herself.
"Yes, I can." Thankfully I cleared myself before speaking, as my voice was still a tad hoarse from being unused. I cleared it once more, waiting for a question, or perhaps something to happen.
I wasn't sure what to do with the awkward silence that ensued. She visibly stopped shaking after I spoke, but still eyed me up and down like prey about to be eaten by the predator. Thoughts of this all being a test started to fade, recreating emotions this spot on is extremely hard to perform even with advanced technology. She looked entirely real. Sounded entirely real. Even her face contorted the same way a human's might after experiencing fear.
I exhaled deeply, the silence being too much for me.
"What are you?" I asked plainly. I knew what she looked like to me, but I didn't want to assume wrong and offend her in any way.
"I-I'm a unicorn... What are you?" Her voice cracked between fear and curiosity now, becoming much clearer and fluid allowing me to understand her entirely. I grinned under my helmet, satisfied with how it was going.
"I'm a human, well, more than a human I suppose." I cringed at my own wording, not wanting to sound like an arrogant asshole. I studied her face which formed into a smile. I let out a breathe I didn't know I was holding, not wanting to be in a war I didn't know existed with this Unicorn I was talking with.
"But, you guys only exist in myth! How could this be possible?" She looked at the ground, presumably deep in thought. I began thinking as well, about me being a myth to her. Perhaps she knew I was a Spartan, which some people still considered us to be a myth for a morale boost to the UNSC. Then something popped into my head.
"That's strange, where I'm from Unicorns and-" I gestured behind her to the Pegasus hiding in the bushes, watching us from afar, "-Pegasi are myths." She looked up at me, confused, probably the same face I had when she told me I was the myth. This was now beyond the point of being a test made up. Her words were so real, as if she truly was seeing a human for the very first time. Her fear had been all but erased, even if I was carrying enough weapons to put her six feet under ten times over.
It hadn't occurred to me that she wasn't all too interested in what I was carrying. Which was not hidden. She either didn't know what any of it is, or didn't care. The latter being quite a brave trait.
"Well, my name is Twilight Sparkle! Nice to meet you... Uh." She looked up at me, expecting the blank to be filled.
"L."
"L? That's your name?" I nodded slowly, unsure if I should reveal any information about myself yet. I was also taken aback by her name, it was nothing like a human name. It was basically slapping nouns together and saying voila!
"L..." She repeated, mulling it over. "Well it's very nice to meet you L!"
"Likewise, Twilight Sparkle."
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Well, I guess I'll be the first to say that you did a really good job :) I cannot wait for the next chapter! I am very excited.
I like this, I hope you keep working this story. I've noted that a lot of Halo stories on this site suddenly stop before or after the first 20,000 words. Lets see you fair better.
Hmmm. I like. Let's see if it can avoid avoid dying eh. Pls don't let it die.
I wonder how many more chapters you'll do before you throw in the obligatory covenant invasion.
8344437
I'll give you a tiny hint, time travels much faster in Equestria than in the human universe. Judging from how quickly the Covenant figure out Forerunner technology, we are safe to assume it won't be long.
8344406
The story or the main character? Hehe.
8344390
Being serious, I have a very well thought out direction I want to go with this story, and it's sequel for that matter. I've never actually had that with anything else I've written, which makes getting chapters out much harder. I hope to reach at least 150-200k before I move on.
So, if I get to 21,000 can it die then?
8344272
Thank you so much!
8344636
I was afraid of that.This is basically the path of 99% Halo crossovers on this site.
8344701
Oh no, you misunderstand. Without giving too much away, the structure that appeared in the first chapter is much more than "teleporters". In fact, most of what the Covenant would happen to get through won't even make it into the same world. I plan on twisting the events, creating an entirely different world I can play with. This is not going to be "Wow magic girl with power armor goes to equestria and kills many purple aliens and now she is revered as a god forever" kind of story. Hell, the covenant play but a small part in this game I plan on creating.
Darker secrets are yet to come. Don't worry.
8344638
Both kek
8345037
Can't promise either!
8344640
I can't wait to see what you have in the future.
8344706
Sounds interesting, I look forward to reading it.
8350656
I hope I don't disappoint!
8351352
You have not, I am going on 4 years with my original stories...
Honestly thought that was felix in the cover art.
I really like it so far. The story has been set up perfectly and can continue with pone interaction. Keep up the great work!
When will the next chapter be out?
8355028
Commissioned some coverart, so it won't look like him for much longer!
8355934
Thank you so much!
Well currently I work 5 days a week in preparation for college. I currently have 3,000 words on Chapter 2, from writing about 400-500 words a day. Weekends are when I shine! Expect it sometime this weekend?