This Is Not Your Jail, But You Are Welcome In It
Jennings lay back into the jail cell bed, sighing in comfort. The furnishings in these jail cells were comparatively luxurious to what he had endured for the last few years. Most of the time, he was sleeping on the ground in extreme temperatures. The few times he wasn’t in the field, he was cooped up with the rest of his squad in sparse barracks on Navy ships. Even if the Marines were a department of the Navy (the Men’s Department), the Navy didn’t go out of their way to provide comfortable rooms for the fiercest and deadliest soldiers around. In fact, it rather seemed the opposite.
Most of the rooms he stayed in on Navy ships were what one might consider ‘devoid of common comforts.’ The Navy laid out wafer-thin mattresses over solid metal frames, in order to fit more soldiers vertically. With that arrangement, they could get four Troopers to a bunk, fitting entire ODST squads into two bunk beds. The gunmetal grey everything cried out for a splash of color here and there, if for no other reason to provide something for the Troopers to do.
Needless to say, the Troopers got bored on those ships rapidly. They were used to thinking on their feet, killing, and being constantly on the move doing something productive. When that amount of killing energy gets bottled up inside a ship, mayhem rapidly forms. In fact, ODSTs were notorious for their destructive behavior on ships. ODSTs were responsible for so much trouble, that regulations were constantly being updated regarding the behavior of ODSTs during transit. It had become a nuisance for the Navy Captains, and a game for ODSTs. They tried to find new holes in the regs and new holes in the brigs. Most ships had developed ODST-specific holding cells, which of course just challenged the Troopers to invent new ways of escaping. Imagine the combined creativity of a squad of highly trained escape artists, and you are now getting an approximate picture of what the Navy brass had to put up with on a day-to-day basis.
Fortunately for Jennings, the Equestrian jails were much more comfortable than the Navy jails. In fact, if the Navy made their jails more like the one he was staying in now, ODSTs would be waiting in line to be locked up during their voyage. Despite his comfort, he did not want to stay in that room forever, but it was a good place to spend the night, at least. He had already enacted most of his escape plan, and could essentially leave whenever he wanted. But for now, he didn’t feel the need. Right now, he was just going to lay back and relax. He bolted upright.
Could have sworn he heard Naber say ‘Never stop fighting.’ But he knew that wasn’t true. Not only was he in a different dimension than Naber, Naber was… well…
“So you’re the creature that’s been plaguing Ponyville,” a blue-haired unicorn said. It was standing a bit behind the bars of his cell, just out of arms reach. Jennings would discover later that this guy was ‘Shining Armor.’ Jennings thought the name was hilarious.
“If by ‘plaguing’ you mean ‘saving,’ then yes. I did save Ponyville from the Covenant. Thank you for noticing.”
“You drew those things to that location, you put all of Ponyville at risk. Most importantly, you put my sister at risk.”
“Uh huh. I drew them there. Right. I just shot a flare up in the sky and invited them to tea and crumpets. How much experience do you have fighting them, again?”
“None.”
“I didn’t think so. Leave the war fighting to battle-tested soldiers, kid.”
“You think I can’t fight? I’ve fought in plenty of wars. I repelled an invasion with my wife not too long ago.” Jennings almost choked.
“Did you say your wife?”
“Yes.”
“And is she a combat master?”
“No, she spreads love wherever she goes.”
“Right. And together you fought off an invasion? With love?” Jennings chuckled, not sure if he should be taking this guy seriously or not.
“Of course!” The Shining Armor said, growing agitated at the creature’s indifference. For a second, Shining Armor thought that the creature’s face was about to break. And in a sense, it did.
“Bwa ha ha ha ha! Let me get this straight—hee hee—you fought off an invading army with nothing but the love of your wife? Oh, ha ha ha, this is rich!”
“Yes!”
“Oh, that’s comedy gold! And how, pray tell, did you do that?” Jennings was doing a poor job of suppressing his snickering.
“The power of her love enabled me to cast a spell that knocked them out of Equestria.” Shining Armor was now past agitation, and fully into the realm of anger.
“And how many died in this operation?”
“None.”
“Alright, Romeo. Once you engage in a campaign against a genocidal alien race, and watch all your friends die in your
arms, then come back and we can talk about combat.”
“All your friends died?” Now it was Shining Armor’s turn to not believe a word that Jennings said.
“Yup.”
“Well, they must have been terrible soldiers, then. If they had half the capabilities that my guard does, you wouldn’t have lost a single one of them. It probably also means that you are a terrible soldier, too.” All the joviality left Jennings.
“Excuse me?” Jennings said, rising to his full height, walking up to the bars forming his cage. He kept his body at an odd angle so that his right hand stayed concealed behind his back.
“Do you need it spoken more clearly? You’re obviously a terrible soldier if you let all your friends die.” Shining Armor normally wasn’t this abrasive, but frankly he was pissed off at this creature’s actions. It had endangered his sister, and been rather rude regarding his wife. It needed to be put in its place.
“You think you’re safe, don’t you?”
“From the ‘Covenant’ as you call them?”
“No, not the Covenant. They’re probably regrouping right now, so you have a day or two to come up with a plan of attack. I was referring to myself. You think you’re safe because I’m in here. You think this cell can contain me? Think again, Romeo.”
“I’d like to see you escape,” Shining Armor said with a daring tone in his voice. Jennings twisted rapidly, tossing a bar through the air with lightning speed. Shining Armor reacted a second after the sharpened barb had buried itself a couple inches into the wooden wall on the other side of the hallway, mere inches away from his head.
“I don’t need to escape to cause damage. I could have easily killed you there, but I didn’t. See? Evidence that I’m a good guy.” A look of pure rage covered Shining Armor’s features.
“I’m going to have to put you in the deepest, darkest dungeon we have.”
“Knock yourself out, I’ve gotten out of the best brigs the Navy has to offer.” A knock sounded on the door, followed by a guard poking his head in.
“Sir, the prisoner has a visitor.”
“Not. Now,” Shining Armor seethed.
“We tried to delay it sir, but she was given permission from Princess Celestia to visit.” Shining Armor muttered something under his breath, and then admitted the guest on the condition that a guard was always watching. Shining Armor left the room in a huff, already making preparations to move the prisoner. He left at the same time that the visitor entered.
“Hey, Jay.”
“Dash!” Jennings was pleased to see a friendly face. Hopefully Dash wouldn’t turn on him, too. Needless to say, he’d had about enough of former friends turning against him of late. “How’s life?”
“Ok, I guess. I just wanted to come and apologize.”
“For what?”
“ I just feel so bad about this whole deal. I brought the guard to Ponyville, and they arrested you. I hope you know I didn’t think they’d arrest you for trying to help out,” Dash said, her eyes downcast and body slumped forward in a guilty posture. Jennings leaned forward.
“Hey, Dash. Don’t worry about it. I’m used to stuff never happening according to plan. Battles, flights, even vacations can become disasters at the drop of a hat.”
“Vacations? How do those become disasters?” Jennings leaned back, looking calm and contemplative.
“Some people change over time, and many things happen beyond your control.”
“That’s very vague.”
“That’s all I can tell.”
“Why? Is it a big secret?”
“Sort of. It’s not like I’m being coerced to not speak, I just don’t think I’d be physically able to discuss it rationally.”
“That makes no sense,” Dash said, looking at him askew.
“And let’s hope you never have to understand.”
“Okay…” Dash said, not really sure what to say next. She’d never had a conversation with a prisoner before. She didn’t usually frequent prisons, and was only visiting because she—in a way—led to Jay’s arrest. “I’d ask to come in, but I don’t think I can.” She chuckled awkwardly, not really sure what was considered acceptable behavior in a prison.
“Oh, you can. The door is unlocked,” Jennings gestured towards the metal grating that constituted a door. The guard who was observing gave a slight start in surprise.
“They just leave it open like that?”
“Nah,” Jennings said, returning to a seated position on his bed. “But it wasn’t hard to open.”
“So you opened it and didn’t leave?”
“Meh, I was bored. And these beds are way more comfortable than what I’ve been working with for the last few years, so I didn’t really have a reason to leave.” Dash reached for the door, swinging it open cautiously, half expecting klaxons to sound and guards to come running. Noting nothing out of the ordinary, she stepped into the cell, and moved over to where he sat. She sat down on the bed next to him. She noticed that he shied a few inches away from her.
“What’s the matter,” she laughed, prodding him with her elbow good-naturedly. “Are you afraid I’m going to bite?”
“Well no, it’s just I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing,” he admitted with a perplexed look. Give him hordes of Covenant to fight, and he could tell you what to do in chronological order. Stand here, position body just so, shoot here, throw grenades here, move here, etc. He had trained for war and was an expert in all things ground warfare. He was sort of out of place in inter-species politics. Especially when the alien species looked to be about the same size as the Great Dane he had had as a kid. The coat looked like about the same as his dogs’ too—color notwithstanding. He had a sudden urge to throw his arm around it and scratch behind its ears, maybe throw a tennis ball or something. He had to keep reminding himself that this was another sentient being, and not the dog he’d loved in his teenage years. Who knows? Maybe scratching behind the ears was considered foreplay here. Wouldn’t that be awkward.
“Doing in jail? Probably not much.”
“No, I meant inter-species politics. Never been a focus of mine. I’ve always focused on carrying out the orders of the politicians. And now I find myself in their shoes. Fantastic. Just what I wanted.”
“To be honest, I’m not a politician myself. I’m an athlete. The fastest flier in all Equestria!” She said proudly.
“No kidding?”
“Hay yeah! I’ve won a few competitions for amateur fliers, and I’m working on trying to get onto Equestria’s best flying team, the Wonderbolts. This is the first year where I’m old enough to try out, it’s been my dream my whole life!”
“Well good luck with that. Hold on to your dreams for as long as you can,” he said. “When I was growing up, I wanted to be an actor. I never had the greatest upbringing, and theater was always a good escape for me. I wanted to capture people with the world I was portraying, and together we could have adventures away from the troubles of daily life.”
“I can kind of understand that, too. My family wasn’t what you’d call the best family around. As soon as I could fly, I practiced flight as often as I could, just so I could get away from my drunken father. When the wind whistled in my ears, and clouds dropped behind me at breathtaking speeds, I almost forgot that I had to land again. It was my way to escape.”
“Makes sense to me. I’d probably have done the same,” Jennings said.
“But you didn’t, you abandoned your dream. You became a soldier.”
“I didn’t abandon it, I just refined it. My reason for being an actor was to escape. But that was selfish of me. I decided to take the next step, and become selfless. I joined up so I could protect those who can’t protect themselves. I wish I had had someone there to protect me growing up, and now I can provide that for someone else.”
“That’s… noble. I guess. Ah jeez, you’re making me feel bad for being an athlete, now.”
“Woah, wait! I’m not suggesting you join up. Far from it. I’ve sacrificed more than I could have ever imagined. Don’t have a magical change of heart from what your dreams are based on one conversation. You can still protect people and inspire people by being the best athlete out there. This is just the path I chose.” There were a couple of seconds of silence between the two.
“Aw ponyfeathers! How’d you get me to talk about that! I’ve never told anypony that before!” Dash suddenly cried out. “Are you some sort of dark wizard?” She was hovering a little bit above him, gesturing downward with an accusing hoof. Jennings had barely seen her move. She really was fast.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to bring up bad history,” he said apologetically.
“Well, next time don’t ask questions about my past!” She was nearly shouting at Jennings.
“You brought it up!”
“Yeah… well… fine!” Dash stormed off in a huff. Jennings noticed that the guard was tracking Dash’s movements with his eyes. The guard let out a low whistle when she had gone. When the guard looked back at Jennings, he saw that Jennings was just looking straight back at him with a knowing smile.
“You think she’s hot, don’t you,” Jennings asked with a waggle of his eyebrows.
“Don’t you?” The guard said with an ‘isn’t it obvious’ expression.
“Not exactly attracted to your body type, sorry,” he said with a chuckle. The guard was saved an extremely awkward silence by an interruption from another guard.
“Princess Celestia wants to meet the prisoner.”
A/N: I am aware that Shining Armor may be a little out of character. I tried to give him a reason why he was being such a jerk. And I must say, if someone had endangered my sister in the same way, I'd probably act very similarly.
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no
1192496 What?
I hope Shiny gets a few bones broken
1192516 Oh yes indeedy.
You sir are a genius
1192516
Shining armor is VERY VERY lucky that Jennings is passive around them. If he wasn't, Shining armor would be between his great grand father and his great great uncle. But I really want to see him actually wnat to escape so he could, you know show them that they know NOTHING about war.
Prisoner treatment 101, DONT give them a cell more comfortable then their average room.
"I was bored." LOL
Can shining get his face beat in, please! A couple of bones broken at-least, is that too much to ask?
1193490 I feel like a terrible Halo fan right now. Where specifically did I make this mistake?
1193097 now I've got a scene stuck in my head of Jennings utterly thrashing the Royal Guards, set to Disturbed's "The Game"
1201113
thanks to you i can see it too.....and its fucking awesome
1204774 ODST+ Disturbed? Of course it's fucking awesome
1201113 O.o That is indeed an awesome image. If I could animate, I'd probably start working on making that a reality.
1218255 I don't think that's true. I just pulled out Halo: Glasslands, and one of the elites is Field Marshall Avu Med 'Telcam. However, I don't know anything about naming elites, I just made up something that sounded Sangheili-ish. If there is a guide on how to name them, please let me know.
I really really hope that those words get thrown right back in shining armour's face. More specifically the part about his own soldier's, nothing like a bit of humility taught at the end of a plasma rifle eh? Can it happen? Please?
Good chapter by the way!
1219681
Not to give any key plot points away, but the Covenant are going to come back. Soon. Not the next chapter, but soon. Contrary to the way it may appear, I do have a general outline in my head, and certain things have been planned out.
Shining is stressed about the violent, hostile aliens that showed up and attacked his sisters home. I would act the exact same way
Ah well.
Guess we had to overpower the humans again.
Though technically a unicorn could send a spear through that guys face at a million miles an hour...
Or teleport a knife into his heart....
Shining Armor needs to get some smarts beat into him, and quick. At this point I feel like Derpy would if someone stole her muffins.
Not about the story though! The story is epic.
3351446
shining would never kill and the ponys aren't capable of violence
I love this paragraph