Feet First Into... Equestria
“Wake up, Marine!” Sergeant Paul Jennings woke with a savage kick to the side from his squad leader, the battle-hardened Gunnery Sergeant Jake Bowman.
“Hell, Gunny. Was that really necessary?” Jennings said, after quickly checking over his gear to make sure that none of his buddies from his ODST squad had messed with him or his gear (most importantly—his food), during his nap. A quick glance at the grizzled NCO told him all he needed.
“Maybe,” Bowman said, turning away quickly. Nevertheless, the gleeful look in his eyes, and the rest of the squad guffawing off to the side told him all he needed.
“Damn bro, that shit was hilarious,” one of his squad mates finally managed between bursts of laughter.
“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.” Jennings tossed the first thing in reach—an orange—at his friend Smith Jefferson, or ‘Smitty’ as the squad called him. The over-ripened fruit burst on Smitty’s blackened armor, sending sticky orange juice in all directions. Smitty immediately yelled a few epithets towards Jennings, mostly regarding how long it would take to clean the mess from his gear. Fortunately for morale’s sake, the entire exchange had been recorded by CPL Fogh’s handheld camera. This was definitely being passed around the company.
Jennings got to his feet, double checking his gear before their imminent combat drop. His Battle Rifle was still functioning smoothly, a magazine inserted into the mag well, with a bullet out of the chamber: perfect. Slinging the comparatively bulky firearm onto his back, he grabbed his M7S, suppressed submachine gun from his side, checking the same functions on that weapon as well. Upon conclusion of these quick inspections, he clicked on and off his VISR mode on his helmet, and checked to make sure that all of his magazines and grenades were firmly seated in their respective pouches. A quick tug on his various armor plates ensured that they were properly tightened down.
“Let’s go, Helljumpers. Gather round me,” Bowman said in an especially loud voice, considering the confining spaces of the cruiser they were on. Already used to Bowman’s volume, the squad of six ODSTs sauntered up to their commander.
“What are we doin’ now, Gunny?”
“Yeah, we’re dropping in to take back New Mombasa, right?”
“The heck with that. Let’s turn this ship around, and attack the Covenent homeworld!”
“And where’s that, dumbass?”
“I don’t know, I’m just tired of winning the fights on the ground in order to let the Navy lose the war.” The squad bickered back and forth for a few seconds before Bowman lost his patience, and politely (loudly and rudely) told the squad to be quiet.
“And if you jackasses are done spinning your conspiracy theories,” Bowman said gruffly, staring down his squad. His battle-wearied eyes shifting their piercing gaze from face to face. “I will tell you what our next mission is.
“All done, Gunny,” Smitty said with a lopsided grin. Bowman silenced him with a cold stare.
“We’re dropping onto the covenant cruiser that’s above New Mombasa.” The announcement was met with a mix of blank stares and disbelieving looks.
“Excuse me?”
“What?”
“Where’s the entry point?”
“For that matter, how do we exfil?”
“What happens if we bounce off the side?”
“Or worse, what happens if we stick to the side, the door opens, and we fall to our death?”
“Don’t those things have AA? Are those going to be neutralized before we land?”
“Is there a rally point?”
“What about a main objective?” The firestorm of questions flew at Bowman rapid-fire, each one poking holes in what seemed like a poorly conceived plan to the ODSTs. Bowman held up a hand, trying to answer each one in turn.
“No intel on entry point. The goal is to secure the ship itself, so we exfil with the ship. I think. If you bounce off the side? Look out below. Same if you stick to the side. Yes they have AA. And maybe. No RP of yet.” The squad still stared at him, expecting any second to hear a ‘just kidding, we’re attacking a normal target,’ especially as such cruel jokes were common to the military. He didn’t say a thing, he just stared back. Finally, the stupidity and obviously rapid planning of the raid became apparent.
The individual soldiers slowly moved away from their squad leader, each performing final mission prep before dropping into a firefight. Jennings re-double checked his gear, partially stripping each weapon to check for debris or rust. Smitty had spent his own personal money on extra large magazines for his MA5C Assault Rifle, turning the already deadly weapon into squad-based suppressive fire destruction weapon. When covenant troops came upon Smitty with his AR expecting the normal 32 round magazine, they were unpleasantly surprised by a hail of bullets that lasted in excess of 150 rounds. Needless to say, this came at a price, and Smitty’s armor was by far the bulkiest and heaviest of the squad, and hence his armor needed the most maintenance Fogh clicked shotgun shells into place for easy reloading, simultaneously chugging water.
Jennings stepped into his drop pod, surveying the door seal for cracks or abnormalities as hard-learned lessons had taught him. He surveyed his fellow squadmates, noting their individual war faces taking over their features. Not the Hollywood ‘Hoorah let’s kill things’ face; instead it was a stern, jaw-set, mentally bracing, no-nonsense look that would terrify the lucky few who have yet to face combat.
The door to the metallic coffin closed slowly, sealing with a soft hiss. Jennings settled back into the frame, preparing himself for the bumpy ride, literally and figuratively. Glancing down at the various displays, he grasped hold of the familiar guidance system, scanning multiple displays simultaneously. Each display provided countless details on an almost innumerable amount of topics. Temperature and weather at various altitudes displayed on a small panel to his left. Small images of the helmets of his squadmates appeared before him, each one with a small heartbeat indicator underneath, as well as various other indicators of health of teammates. A large panel flashed to life to his right.
“Alright, troopers. Now’s the time to-” Jennings tuned out the rest of the motivational speech from the Sweet Williams cigar-chomping Sergeant Major Avery Johnson. While a legend in the ODST ranks, he had heard speeches from the good ol’ Sarn’t Major before. He heard a few snippets though, something about “sonsabitches” and “kick some Covenant ass” as well as a few other colorful descriptions of what the human forces would do to the alien ship.
Jennings took a few slow breaths as the familiar countdown beeping signaled his soon departure from the ship. A harsh jolted reverberated through his body, as his pod hurtled towards the ground. He glanced out the window, fiddling with controls to keep his small vessel in a tight formation with his fellow troopers.
“Smitty, close distance.”
“Workin’ on it, Gunny.” Each craft wove slightly, trying to lock in the ideal trajectory towards the alien vessel. Jennings spotted the danger first.
“Gunny, the ships is moving! Suggest trajectory change, up two-five-zero, right three-zero-zero-zero.”
“Course correction confirmed. Squad, adjust trajectory accordingly.”
“Earg-” the transmitted scream immediately cut off in a burst of static. Fogh shouted over the radio.
“Smitty’s KIA! Incoming anti-aircraft fire!” Below them, the surface of the ship boiled with a white-hot fury, pulsing brilliant flashes of plasma towards the frantically dodging pods. Each pilot yanked on the controls, forcing the pod to bob and weave in ways it was never designed.
“Deploy chutes!” The command sounded garbled over the radio, nevertheless the squad knew what to do. Jennings felt the material jostle the craft as it lurched open.
The world turned a blinding white, the pod’s internal temperature burst suddenly to unbearable levels. The pod began accelerating again as the bolt of plasma incinerated the parachute that slowed his descent.
“Jennings is hit! His chute is gone!”
“Jennings, engage thrusters!” Jennings slammed the emergency override button, starting the thrusters before they normally would.
WARNING, LEFT THRUSTERS FAILURE
WARNING, SIDE SLIP DETECTED
WARNING, CASCADE FAILURE
Alarms blared within Jennings pod, as it began tumbling end over end spinning towards the bow of the ship.
“Jennings, correct the pitch of the pod, or you’ll burn up in atmo!” Gunny Bowman shouted over the radio. Jennings struggled with the controls, which refused to respond.
“Gunny! The carrier is slipping!” Fogh screamed in alarm.
“What in the— brace for impact!”Jennings disappeared into the slip, spinning and twisting to infinity.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“And that’s Polaris!” Twilight announced proudly, pointing her powerful telescope at the star. She stepped to the side, allowing Applejack to peer into the telescope. Twilight had long-since decided that it was time to teach her friends basic astronomy, and this was the third of five well-planned lessons detailing star formation, constellations, celestial movement, celestial bodies, etc.
“Oh hey, I know that one!” Rainbow Dash said from the group, brightening suddenly. “A lot of pegasi use it to navigate at night,” she announced, proud to have already known something in an otherwise unfamiliar subject. She grinned for a few seconds, glancing at her compatriots who had their noses buried in star charts to prepare for Twilight’s infamous quizzes. Not drawing a reaction from any of them, she dropped her head back to the chart, frowning slightly.
“Hey Twi?” Applejack queried, her southern drawl strongly accenting her questioning tone.
“Yes, Applejack?”
“Why is that star getting bigger?”
“Let me see.” Twilight gently pushed her friend out of the way of the telescope, peering through the device again. She gasped gleefully.
“What is it, darling?” Rarity asked, thankful for an excuse to look up from the garish star chart.
“Everyone come quick!” The other five crowded around the window. Twilight pointed out the window towards the star that was gaining a tail and glowing brighter. “Can anyone tell me what that is?”
“A meteoroid!” Pinkie Pie squealed, jumping up and down.
“Close, but not quite.”
“Meteorite?” Rainbow Dash ventured.
“Nope.”
“Meteor?” Fluttershy said quietly from the back.
“Yes! And why?”
“A meteoroid is still in space, a meteorite has already hit the ground.”
“Correct! Now this meteor is slightly abnormal. The meteor shower wasn’t supposed to begin for a few days, and—”
“Boy, that sure is gettin’ bigger,” Applejack cut in. Twilight turned back to the window, gaping at the growing fireball.
“It almost looks like it’s going to—”
“Duck!” Pinkie screamed from the back. The meteor smashed through the top branches of the tree shattering every single window in the building. Twilight looked thrilled, despite extensive repairs that would have to be undertaken.
“Everypony outside!” The six ponies sprinted outside to catch their first glimpse of an extraterrestrial rock. Who knows, maybe they could do tests on and discover new minerals! Oh the things they could learn! Wow, that’s pretty angular for a rock. Oh.
The six ponies halted their charge just short of the ODST pod.
“What is it?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Whatever it is, the grey, black, and angular lines are not doing anything for its figure,” Rarity observed. The ponies fanned out, spreading around the pod, looking closely but careful not to touch the burning hot surface. Twilight rounded the front.
“Hey, there are windows!” She peered carefully inside, catching a glimpse of the ODST inside. “There’s something inside!” The others crowded around, peeking in.
“Is it a robot?”
“It certainly isn’t a pony.”
“Ugh! More grey, and look at those bulky plates on its body! I swear, nopony thinks about fashion anymore.”
“I hope it’s alive, then I can introduce it to everypony!” Pinkie seemed to be already absorbed in party planning.
“Hey, it’s moving,” Twilight observed. The figure slapped something on the inside, and cracks around the windows hissed momentarily. “Duck!” She jumped sideways, pushing the others out of the way as the door exploded outwards, spinning off into the night.
“Hey, I could have moved faster if you hadn’t grabbed me!” Rainbow Dash objected.
“What is it?” Applejack said, ignoring Rainbow Dash completely.
A long-limbed figure crawled from the box, obviously injured. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air as the being emerged fully. It slowly stood up, towering above the ponies at approximately twice their height. An appendage that most closely resembled Spike’s claw reached up towards its head, pulling off the helmet.
Twilight closely observed the face, noting its worn and ragged appearance. The mane was close-cropped, presumably to fit the helmet. Scars from a wound long healed snaked up the neck and across the face. Recent burns covered the neck and face. Most noticeable to Twilight, however, was the eyes. The eyes looked tired and worn, like they had lived one too many a lifetime.
The lanky figure tried to take a step forward, but collapsed under its own weight. Twilight dashed up to the creature, almost gagging on the overpowering stench of singed flesh.
“Quick! Somepony call a doctor!”
A/N: If it feels rushed and fairly unedited, that's because it is. I wrote this under extreme time limitations, and wasn't planning on publishing it at all. I only decided to at the last minute to see what kind of reception it would get. If it is well received, I'll continue it. If not, I'll continue it anyway for my own enjoyment.
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oh man
this is pretty good so far.
i was thinking about when he stepped out of the pod there would be guns blazing, and i was like "that wouldn't be good D:"
but i like it. keep it up!
a star and thumb for you good sir.
EDIT: i think the whole ODST intro was a little bit drawn out. but that's ok, i'm a halo fan so it was fine :P
Insta-favorite, every halo story will be great someday, just you wait.
Edit: Bang bang! Who's there? My halo nerdiness that gives you a thumb up!
It pretty good, some things you can do over if you decide to edit, but its good.
this story deserves a moustache
Me gusta, broduski, write some more.
This has potential... carry on...
liked and faved, good intro but i think i sould have been a bit longer. felt a bit rushed. great job though
941585
It was too long? I felt the entire thing (both ODST and Equestria) was a bit rushed. The next chapter, for example, will begin with a flashback to ODST school. I will try to make it a bit shorter.
941596
Halo nerdiness FTW
941653
Like I said... very rushed in the writing.
941667
The mustache will be worn proudly.
941676
I will then. Unfortunately, I will be on an gone for the next 4-5 days, so that will impact the writing schedule significantly. Don't expect a new chapter this week. Maybe Saturday or Sunday at the earliest.
941699
The potential has been doubled.
942123
Like I said, very very rushed writing schedule. Take a look at my last story (i.e., only other story) for an example of writing when not rushed.
its a meteor!!
nope.avi
941585
Actually, I thought the ODST intro was too short. I thought it could use some more fleshing out. But the author already said he was rushed writing it, so I won't talk about it more.
943541 This is great except for the fact that I have to wait a week for an update. It didn't seem too rushed to me, and it seems like the start of something awesome
First good Halo crossover I've found so far
, though I really hate swearing
(But I know that can't really be helped). Got my fave 
and I'll read the next chapter after vacation.
nice chapter
UPDATE THIS NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is actually a really well written and thought out story.
I can't wait to read more.
944633 Yup. Thanks for your understanding.
953910 Yeah. I have planned out that Twilight is disapproving of the cursing native to the military environment and makes Jennings cut back on it, but the flashbacks are still full military. I tend to think that swearing is unnecessary and limits vocabulary, but I can understand it used in the military where it could be beneficial just to get the message across. "An explosively formed copper rod penetrated his chest" is less helpful when speed is necessary in comparison to "a f***** rocket hit him."
955633 Thanks.
959360 Working on it. Literally just got back from the field a couple hours ago.
964729 All good stories are well thought out. It's why I refuse to write " 'so and so' woke up in Equestra" stories because they make no sense.
I hate it when they take off there helmets
Oh, wow, this looks interesting!
Too bad its 11:30... grade 12 sucks.
This is epic and of course he wouldn't be guns blazing because he was shot luckily it was in the town instead of in the Everfree where nearly every halo fanfic I've read has had the human drop there!
>> DrakeRenar1
I have noticed that as well. There is one where the vehicle crashes in AJ's apple orchard but that has been the only other place, since most do go to Everfree for a start.
Finally I found a cool Story!!!!
Oh and mustache for you
Why did you make him take off his helmet you blew it
3740408 The truth has been spoken
2892736 There was one were a drop pod crashed
intothrough Canterlot Castle.While bumpy, no pun intended, this starts off a lot better than some of the Halo diva I've read.
Though I thought ODSTs were trained to never remove their helmets on the ground to protect their identities and their families...
And rarity is a little too... Blunt...
But hey this has a whole host of chapters left. Let's get to readin'
“I hope it’s alive, (then) I can introduce it to everypony!”
“I hope it’s alive, because then I can introduce it to everypony!”