> A Marines peace
>  by Cone of Wonders
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Overwhelmed
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Pelican swooped down carrying a group of marines known as Arrow squad to the surface of Requiem. They had been informed about a covenant squad that had set up a jammer in an area referred to as "CONTROL". A forerunner outpost in which the covies where hiding out. Within seconds, the pelican had reached CONTROL and suddenly changed from a hundred and thirty MPH to nothing within a matter of seconds and just hovered in the air, thanks to its powerful thrusters, low enough for the six marines to jump out and secure the area.

"All good from down here ZULU 14". Spoke Rust, the leader of the team for this mission. He carried with him a DMR with 98 rounds as well as the newly discovered forerunner scattershot which he had taken from his first Promethean knight he had killed. There was no doubt that humans favored human weapons more than covenant most other Promethean weapons. But seeing the effects of the scattershot close up when used on an elite or even a hunter, the effects were incredible to say the least as the victims would usually disintegrate into dust and atoms. That was enough of a reason to keep hold of the magnificent weapon.

"Copy Sergeant. Good hunting down there". Responded the pilot before flicking several switches activating the thrusters to maximum, lifting the metal beast higher into the sky before its engines kicked into gear, flying away back to the UNSC 
INFINITY up above Requiem. The mission was now in effect.

"Nexus, Hammer, move up".

The two marines, now known as Nexus and Hammer, raised their primary weapons which were both the standard MA5D assault rifles that most marines used and moved forward, being sure to check the area for any sign of covenant forces or even Promethean. Once they were certain the area was clear, Nexus held up his arm keeping it at a 90 degree angle and moved his hand forwards indicating that the area was clear.

Keeping an eye on the two upfront was Buzzard, the teams sniper who saw the signal from Nexus by watching him through the powerful scope fitted on top the sniper rifle. "Clear up ahead Sergeant". He reported back to Rust. Rust confirmed this with a nod before ordering the rest of the squad to move up.

The entrance to the forerunner structure was up ahead and the marines held their position apart from Buzzard who was watching the area from afar, hiding in the rocky area should the covenant be near. One by one the marines walked in, keeping their rifles in front of them. There was no telling what could be around the next corner. They entered the room with the glass ceiling and multiple pillar like structures in the middle of the room, each one was a different height. There were two ramps on either side at the far end of the room which led up to the second floor and back outside.

"Sergeant, I'm unable to cover you at the moment. You're on you're own until you're back outside again". Spoke Buzzard though the comms channel the moment the last marine had entered the structure.

"Understood Buzzard. Check the second floor for hostiles".

Buzzard used the snipers scope to zoom in at 10x and checked for any sign of hostile forces while the rest of Arrow squad moved their way up to the second floor which was nothing more than a corridor leading back to the outside. They had yet to encounter the covenant or the jammer.

"Sarge, Second floor is clear. Still no Covenant".

"Still? Where are the bastards at"? Rust asked himself.

"Maybe they heard that Arrow squad were coming to tear them a new one and ran away with their tails between their legs". Joked Forest, another member of Arrow squad. His job on the team was assault and close quarters specialist. His weapon, the obvious choice for close quarters, the M45D combat shotgun, powerful enough to blow a hole through an elites stomach, but not as powerful compared to the scattershot Rust had.

"Stow it Forest". Commanded Rust. Forest just smirked and kept near the front of the group.

"Okay Buzzard we're proceeding to the third floor. Get yourself to higher ground and tell us what you see".

"Roger sarge". Responded Buzzard. Buzzard checked the huge stone pillars and saw what looked like the highest pillar to provide cover from. Getting up there was no problem as Buzzard had been handed one of the few armor abilities marines could use. The jetpack, powerful enough to lift even a spartan off of the ground. 

While Buzzard activated the jetpack, Arrow squad had split into two teams in order to cover the two identical pathways which led both left and right. Rust and Hammer took right while the other team took the left path. Along the way, both teams encountered more gravity lifts but passed them even though they would have helped in reaching the top of the structure faster.

"Permission to speak Sarge". Asked Hammer.

"Go ahead Hammer".

"Why don't we just use these things to take us up top faster"? he asked while pointing his gun at the gravity lift".

"we need to check the entire area for hostiles. Any unchecked area could result in bad news for any science teams, whether its clear or not". Responded Rust, getting his point across to Hammer.

"Understood sir". He nodded as they approached another ramp leading to the third floor.

At this point, Buzzard had managed to get on top of the stone pillar, giving him a clear view for both the third floor and the final floor.

"Sergeant. I have the two remaining floors in sight".

"Glad to hear Buzzard. Any sign of hostiles"?

Buzzard checked using the scope once more. Nothing seemed to be on the third floor. He brought the sniper rifle up slightly and saw an elite. Not just any normal elite. This one wore crimson armor and had its helmet cover almost all of its ugly face. Several violet lights shone from the center of its head and it had an energy sword strapped to the side of its hip.

"Sarge, third floor is clear but I have confirmed sighting on one elite zealot".

"Understood Buzzard. Be prepared to fire on my command".

Both teams had encountered no covenant so far but all of the marines were now aware of the lone zealot above them. They slowly crept up the final ramps and were ready to engage as soon as Buzzard had taken his shot.

"Buzzard, confirm that hostile is visible"?

"Roger Sarge. I have a clear shot. Just say the word and I'll splatter his brains all over the walls".

" Fire the shot".

Buzzard pulled the trigger and the sniper bullet fired from the barrel of the rifle and through the helmet and the skull of the elite in less than a single second. The elites lifeless body fell to the ground and became still with only its purple blood exiting from its cranium.

"Zealot down".

"Good shot Buzzard. Keep your eyes open in case any more of those covenant freaks try to flank us".

"Don't worry sarge. I got your ass covered". Buzzard cheekily responded.

The five marines made their way up the two ramps and found the circular area stashed with covenant ammo crates. Standing in the center of the final floor was the jammer itself. Apart from that there was nothing else. No other covenant forces, just the dead zealot which just lay there on the cold hard metal ground.

"Only one freak alone guarding a jammer. Something seems off". Thought Rust before switching to comms.

"Buzzard. Check the entire structure for any possible movement. I've a feeling that we're about to walk into a trap".

"Understood sir".

While Buzzard was checking the area for enemy forces, the rest of Arrow squad began what would hopefully be the final step of their objective.

"Mech. You know what to do".

Mech was the final marine of Arrow squad, This was his first mission he had ever been on. A new edition to the team, the rookie. It was his job to arm the explosives given to Arrow squad to complete their mission.

"Yes sir. Arming explosives". 

Mech made his way to the front of the jammer and placed all of the explosives on his person onto it. Any more explosives and the jammer would be blown so high into space, the crew of the UNSC INFINITY would be able to witness its destruction as it flew over them.

"Mech, This thing ready to blow"?

"Affirmative sir. It's ready to blow as soon as we're clear". Mech said, holding the switch needed to trigger the explosives.
Nexus stood over the body of the elite zealot and laughed.

"You know something? These freaks ain't so to- AAAAARRGH"!!

Whatever Nexus was about to say next was cut off as a plasma sword had activated and had penetrated his chest. The pain was too much for Nexus as he could feel his insides melting away and died.

"NEXUS"! Rust cried out as he watched one of his team stabbed and swept off of his feet before his body got thrown off the edge of the floor. Without warning, several Zealots appeared out of nowhere. They must have been hiding with their active camo ability.

"Arrow Squad, ENGAGE"!

All of Arrow squad picked their targets and fired at will. Most managed to shrug off the weak weapons with their shields the armor offered them. Others were blown away instantly with the stopping power of the shotgun Forest had or the accuracy of the sniper rifle from Buzzard. 

Another zealot charged forward only to be met with automatic fire from the assault rifles, peppering its shields until they overloaded, leaving the zealot vulnerable. It was quickly finished off with a three round burst from the battle rifle Mech was carrying.

"HOLD THEM OFF ARROW. THEIR NUMBERS ARE THINNING! BUZZARD, PICK UP THE PACE AND BLOW THEIR HEADS OFF"!

"I'M ON IT SARGE, HANG ON"!

Buzzard fired as quick as he could, targeting one elite. Firing off one, maybe two shots if the bastards were persistent enough, and moving onto the next. So far he had taken out a total of four but more were making their way towards the rest of Arrow squad from the lower platforms and Buzzard knew this.

"SARGE! YOU HAVE MORE COMPANY"!

Rust took out the last zealot with his DMR and checked the edge of the platform seeing elites, jackals and grunts making their way up the stairs and towards their position. He also noticed Nexus's lifeless body  on the third floor. One of his team was gone.

Without thinking, Rust jumped onto the ramp below and made his way to the third floor.

"ARROW, COVER ME"! He yelled. He then bent down and closed the poor soldiers eyes which had remained open from shock of being attacked from behind. The sound of gunfire from his men above filled his ears but he paid no attention as he stretched out his hand and pulled the dog tags from his neck.

"Rest in peace Nexus". He said quietly. He stuffed them into his pocket and stood back up. He looked to the left. The covenant had made it to the third floor and had just noticed him. Now with adrenaline rushing through his body, Rust ran as fast as he could back up the ramp, shots of plasma barely missing him. It was a good thing for him that the covenant were not very good at aiming.

"BUZZARD, TAKE OUT AS MANY AS YOU CAN".

"ON IT".

Buzzard aimed his scope, ready to fire until he heard a familiar sound head towards him. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw four type 52 TC Covenant phantoms heading towards his position.

"SARGE! WE GOT MULTIPLE PHANTOMS HEADING TOWARDS US"!

"ROGER BUZZARD! GET OUT OF THERE NOW"!!

However it was too late. Two of the dropships opened fire and the stone pillar collapsed. The last thing Rust heard from him a scream as Buzzard tried to activate the jetpack, then a sudden thud caused him to go silent.

"DAMN IT"! Rust yelled. He had lost another valued member of his team. What pained Rust most was that there was no way to honor his death by retrieving his dog tags. Arrow squad kept on firing, doing all they could to keep the covenant forces at bay.

Behind them, something unusual happened. A forerunner portal opened itself. Rust was the first to notice.

"Arrow Squad! We have to fall back now. Through the portal"!

"WE DON'T KNOW WHERE IT GOES"! Yelled Hammer. Fear was starting to get to the marine.

"Anywhere's better than here"! Replied Mech, agreeing with Rust.

The marines ran towards the portal as quick as they could. The covenant were nearly at the ramps without the marines firepower holding them.

"MOVE IT FOREST"! Yelled Hammer, impatiently pushing his fellow soldier out of the way. And at the wrong time too as a purple beam entered his back and tore through the front. He fell to the floor.

"SNIPER"! Yelled Mech.

Rust managed to quickly grab Hammers dogs tags just before the first covenant had made its way up the stairs. 
"Here goes nothing". Thought Forest as he managed to jump through the portal.

"Okay, Mech let's go. NOW"! Yelled Rust.

Mech just stood behind the jammer, cowering from the plasma fire from the advancing covenant which had nearly reached him. Luckily the jammer was big enough to shield both Mech and Rust from anymore sniper fire.
"MECH? WHAT ARE YOU DOING"?

"I'm sorry sir. But I've still got a job to do".

Out of nowhere, another zealot uncloaked itself right next to Rust and swung its sword at him. Rust jumped back in time but the sword cut straight through his DMR rendering it useless. Rust rolled to the left as the Zealot swung again and picked the scattershot off of his back and fired. The first shot was enough to overload the zealots shields. Rust fired again. The second shot hit the elite in the center of its chest. The chest of the elite quickly turned orange and the color spread all over the zealots body before it burned away, leaving nothing of the elite but dust.

"What are you talking about? We need to go"! Spoke Rust turning his attention once again to Mech.

Mech just simply raised his arm, holding the switch to activate the explosives still stuck onto the jammer. Rust realised what he was about to do.

"NO! COME ON, WE CAN STILL MAKE IT OUT OF HERE"!

"I'm sorry Sarge. But I have to do this otherwise they'll follow you through the portal and kill you".

As much as it pained Rust to admit it, Mech was right. There was no other way.

"Good luck Mech". Responded Rust weakly. Mech just threw something over to Rust who managed to catch it in time. He looked one last time at Mech who smiled back before entering the portal. The last thing he heard was a massive explosion followed by many screams. One of them belonging to Mech.

The portal slipstream flashed white before disappearing around Rust. He quickly found himself landing hard onto the ground that the portal had taken him. His vision was covered with grass as he had landed on his face, nearly breaking the orange visor that was fitted onto his helmet. He sat up and brushed the dirt off of him. He seemed to have landed in a forest. forest?

"FOREST"! He suddenly yelled remembering that Forest had managed to make it through the portal as well. He looked round desperately, hoping to see the only member of his team still alive. His hopes were extinguished after noticing that there was nobody near. Perhaps he had been teleported somewhere else. Somewhere safe Rust hoped. 

He couldn't help but think of everybody else who he had lost. Nexus, Buzzard, Hammer and Mech. It was mechs first mission ever since he had joined the marine corps, and already he was gone forever.

Rust couldn't help but feel responsible for his team, most of them he had worked with for years, even during the Covenant war from 2547 until its end in 2553.

He would have to mourn later. At the moment he needed to find a way out of the forest he was trapped in.

"Infinity. Do you read? Need immediate pick up". He spoke through comms only to be met with static.

"Odd". Thought Rust. "The Signal should be detectable at all times by the INFINITY".

Looks like he would have to find a UNSC outpost as he headed north, hoping to God that nothing else would go wrong.

After a good ten minutes of walking, Rust had made it out of the forest at last and rested at the treeline, trying to get a good view of his surroundings. Nothing but more damn ground to cover and a giant steep hill right in front of him which blocked most of the view. No sign of human, covenant or Promethean forces in sight. Rust wasn't sure if this was a recognized area of Requiem. After all, there was still much of the planet had to offer.

There was not really much of an option except to keep walking and to keep trying to contact Forest or the INFINITY. Still no luck as all he received was just more static. Perhaps it would help if he got to higher ground as he began to climb the hill.
He put his boot on the dirt and began to slowly climb up the steep slope the hill presented. The grip the boots offered made the task much easier as he climbed. He reached the top of the hill and saw something he didn't expect to see. 

From Rusts distance, it was hard to tell but it looked like some sort of old town. Made of wood? Very unusual that the forerunners would build a replica of an old town but surely they must have had a reason. Nonetheless, it was worth investigating. As far as Rust was concerned, Forest could have already found it and was taking shelter as we speak.

Rust ran down the hill and carefully as he could and ran towards the town as fast as his legs would take him. A full minute of running and Rust found himself before the entrance to the town. He noticed a sign just before entering the town which read.
"Welcome to Ponyville. The friendliest Town in Equestria".

"Ponyville? Damn, the Forerunners must have been high or something when naming this place"? Rust asked himself, giving a small chuckle to his joke. He proceeded to walk through the town.

Halfway up the street, Rust noticed that something was wrong. The town looked abandoned but it looked as though it had just been used. There were stalls with fresh looking food, Inside the dark wooden houses there were fireplaces lit. Even if Forest had found this place, it wouldn't explain the market which sold seemingly everything from food to clothes. 

As though he was expecting an attack, Rust raised the scattershot and cautiously walked through the town, checking for anything that would dare to even move.

Once he came to what looked like a giant tree with a door and windows, Rust decided to check it out. However rather than shooting the door, Rust did not know how long it would take until communications were re-established. He would have to preserve his ammo for later just in case, He just kicked the door as hard as he could. The kick seemed to be effective as the door swung clean off of its hinges.

"Damn, I'd love to see what would happen if a spartan tried that". He said while imagining the door being smacked towards the other side of the room or even be smashed into little chunks of wood.

Rust slowly entered the tree. The inside of it looked a lot like library. It was filled with hundreds of books. Intrigued, Rust walked over and picked up one of the many books and inspected it.

The front cover said "The many species of Equestria". And showed a silhouette of what seemed to be a small horse.
The marine couldn't help but flick the book open and take a look inside. What he read was incredible.

Inside the book, he saw the forms and descriptions of small harmless creatures to humongous soul eating monsters which could easily rip apart a covenant scarab. Griffons, Hydras, Unicorns, Ursa Majors and other creatures which were only supposed to exist in myth. Other creatures like Windigos, Changelings and Cockatrices. Creatures of which he had never heard of before.

As he read on, he became baffled as he read one paragraph.

"Griffons are known for their self pride and interesting abilities. Few have even been accepted into Pony society to learn our ways and understanding of the land of Equestria. The griffon king, Cherek the 2nd, was the first king to discover our own species and established peace between the two lands with aid from Princess Celestia herself over six hundred years ago".

The book seemed to read as though Griffons actually existed. But surely they couldn't. Before Rust could think any further, he heard a sudden clank from across the room and dropped the book and bringing the scattershot up and aimed down its sights. 

There was nothing in sight. But it could possibly be an elite with cloaking ability. Another clank was heard. This time, inside a nearby cuboard. Rust moved slowly towards the cupboard, trying to shift his weight around so the floor boards wouldn't creak. He reached the handle and pulled it open as fast as he could. There he saw the most shocking thing anyone has ever seen!

A purple unicorn was huddled up in the far corner of the cupboard, afraid of the human that stood before her.

Rust lowered his weapon, not sure if the thing before him was a threat. It was certainly a threat to his eardrums as it created an unusually feminine scream for a unicorn, or any kind of horse for that matter, as loud as it could. The next thing Rust knew, his helmet was surrounded by a light blue aurora and got yanked off of his head revealing his short hair. Something was behind him. He turned around to engage but the last thing he saw was a huge frying pan being swung into his face at 50 miles an hour.
> First impressions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rust began to wake up; the first couple of things he realised was that his head was in great pain as though somebody had tried to open it with a jackhammer and that he had been placed on a small chair in the middle of the same tree house he had entered earlier, before somebody whacked him in in the face. That was the last thing he could remember at the moment. That and the strange looking purple horse that was hiding in the cupboard.

“Ah, bloody hell”! He cursed, his head was really hurting. Whoever it was who whacked him was going to pay big time. As he tried to use his hands to soothe his head, he quickly discovered that his wrists had been tied to the chair he was sitting on.
“Figures” He sighed.

He tried to make an attempt to lift the chair by simply sitting up which resulted as failure as the chair legs remained on the floor. Rust assumed that it had been bolted to the floor which struck him as interesting seeing how the chair wasn’t even in the middle of the room when he first entered the place. How had they managed to bolt the chair to the floor so fast he wondered, Rust hadn’t even been knocked out for long. At least it didn’t feel like it.

Rust looked round the circular room, scanning his environment for anything he may have missed from earlier. Hopefully something to help him or at least tell him where he was. Nothing. The only thing that Rust noted as useful was that his equipment was all the way over on the other side of the room. His helmet, the scattershot, even his standard issue army 
knife laid on its side on top of a wooden table.

“Shit”. Rust cursed again.

He paused as he heard footsteps coming from the room above him. There was somebody else in the house with him!
Rust tried his best to remain quiet just in case whatever it was heard him. No further sounds were heard for a while allowing Rust to go back to his thoughts.

Remembering his training, Rust used his fingers to feel the knot which secured the rope round his wrists. Interestingly enough, the knot had not been tied as tight as he thought, giving Rust a glimmer of hope. Hopefully he could untie it with his fingers before the thing upstairs comes down and finds out that he’s awake.

Carefully he took the very end of the rope between his thumb and his index finger and slowly forced it through the knot. Even though the knot was not as tight as expected, it still gave some resistance and took some time until the ropes end was successfully pushed through the knot causing it to break apart giving Rust the full mobility of his arms once more.

“Thank God” He thought to himself as he stretched his arms in relief. He then began to get off of the small chair just in case it collapsed from his weight.

Carefully but quickly, he dashed over to his equipment, glad that everything he needed was in front of him and was in one piece. Without any further hesitation he grabbed his helmet with both hands and gently slid it onto his head trying not to cause any further pain. He attached the grenades onto his belt, slid his magnum sidearm into the holster and grabbed the scattershot which still had three shots in the slot. He also noticed the dogtags from two members of his squad, Nexus and Hammer, and grabbed the both with one hand before giving them a long look and putting them back onto the table for a minute more.

Best to be sure, Rust felt his ammo pockets. It seemed that he still had his ammo. Why it had not been taken from him seemed a little strange, but who cares? He still had the remaining shots for the scattershot, three ammo clips for the magnum with one already placed inside of the sidearm and two more ammo clips for the DMR which he lost to the elite from earlier.

As he remembered that moment, another thought suddenly sprung to his mind. The object Mech had thrown him before he detonated the jammer!

Rust searched each pocket for something new on his person and came across a new object from his back left pocket. He 
pulled it out and saw what Mech had given him, his Dogtags.

They read

PVT. SAMUEL B SMITH
Service Number 02158-82216
ARROW SQUAD MECH

Rust could not help but feel a slight stinging sensation, he gave his life for his team and the sake of the mission. 

Wasting no time, he put all the dogtags together and put them safely in his pocket. It was time to leave, Find Forest, Contact INFINITY, and call for extraction.

Rust crept over to the door, aiming down his sites as he went and reached for the door handle until something hit him.

“Wait, didn’t I break this door down”?! He asked himself as he remembered kicking the door off of its hinges. “What the hell is going on”? 

Nether the less, he grabbed the handle and swung the door and felt the sun shine onto his face. Even though he had been told that Requiems sun was not real, it did not make it any less beautiful.

However, natural scenery would have to wait. Rust tore his gaze off of the sun only to stare into the eyes of an white unicorn, with a shitload of makeup and the weirdest hairstyle possible, and a yellow pony with a pink mane who looked terrified beyond comparison.

Rust did not take what he saw all too well himself. Unknown creatures standing before him which may possibly try to rip him to pieces or worse. Hell, they may even be some sort of Forerunner A.I. But then again, these things could be sentient and aggressive like the covenant. To him there were three options he could try out.

“Okay”. He began in his head. “There are two possible covenant or forerunner visuals right in front of me. Should I try to communicate with them, shoot them or run”? Going over the options, there was no reason to try to provoke them and decided to go with the first option. 

Rust took a simple step forward and spoke.

“I-“

Unfortunately that was as far as he got before the yellow one let out a girly scream. What surprised Rust the most was that it had wings that stretched out from its sides. WINGS! And flew up into the air as fast as it could leaving Rust gobsmacked.

He then turned to the White unicorn which was either very brave or frozen with fear. Either way Rust tried again.

“As I was trying to-“

Again Rust was cut short as the white unicorn fainted upon being spoken to.

“God Dammit”. He muttered.

His troubles were not over however as the figure inside had heard something outside, most likely the yellow horse thing screaming, and was heading downstairs.

Now was a good time to choose option three as Rust sprinted back the way he came, towards the forest seeing how if he stayed, he would have to deal with more of those things which may prove troublesome, especially since the first two he met did not take even his appearance too well.


Five minutes earlier, the purple unicorn was busy upstairs, writing a letter. It seemed that she was trying to inform somebody else about the strange creature that she had tied up no less than a couple of minutes ago.

Dear Princess Celestia.

Today I was enjoying a normal day with my friends, Applejack and Rarity, learning about spells and the values of friendship when an unknown beast emerged from the Everfree forest and headed straight for Ponyville library.

Doing what anypony would have done we hid hoping that we would be safe. We were not as I heard the door break open and hoofsteps were heard. For a minute I thought everything would be fine until the cupboard I was hiding opened and the monster was standing in front of me.

If it was not for my friends, I may not have been able to write this letter to you. 

I have managed to secure the beast in the living room and have bolted the chair just in case. Rarity has gone to fetch Fluttershy to see if she knows anything about this animal as I have never known or seen this creature in my life and Applejack has set out to warn everypony to stay inside until we know what we are dealing with.

I now await your response and-

In the middle of writing her letter, she jumped from hearing a scream which sounded a lot like…

“FLUTTERSHY”! She yelled in fear for her friend. Twilight trotted towards the top of the steps and saw the door, which she had repaired with her magic, open as well as an empty chair.

“Oh nononononono! This is Bad”! She panicked before running back over to the letter once more and scribbled furiously,

P.S. The monster has just escaped and is roaming round Ponyville! PLEASE HELP US!!

Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.

As she finished off the letter, she rolled it up quickly and yelled while leaving the safety of her room to help her friends. 

“SPIKE! WAKE UP AND SEND THAT LETTER TO THE PRINCESS IMMEDIATLEY”!

In the corner of the room, a small figure wrapped in bedsheets tossed and turned rapidly, although he may have just been struggling to free himself from the sheets that were nearly constricting him, and moaned.

After a minute or so, the small figure, named Spike, wrestled off the sheets, revealing to be a purple dragon, and calmly walked over to the scroll which had been rolled up.

He gave a small chuckle before speaking to no-one but himself.

“What’s so important this time? Did she leave a book at Canterlot castle, again”?

His question was immediately answered with a loud “HOO”. The young dragon turned round seeing a certain brown owl.

“Twilight of course”. Replied Spike to the owl before turning to face the scroll once more and opened it up.

As spike read on, his cocky smile slowly faded and changed into one of fear and panic.

“Oh Man! There’s a monster running amok round Ponyville”!? Spike pondered as he rolled the scroll back up and blasted it with fire before following Twilight.

As soon as Twilight left Spike to send the letter, she trotted downstairs, saw the equipment she had placed on the table gone and through the front door where she spotted Rarity lying on the dirt ground but no Fluttershy. “Wait! Where is Fluttershy”? Twilight began to worry when she noticed that Fluttershy was not with Rarity. “Is she safe? Has the monster eaten her?! Did she-“ Her paranoia was quickly thrown aside as she heard a soft moan. She looked down and saw Rarity’s eyes open slowly. Then upon full consciousness, her eyes shot open to their fullest as she got up within less than a second and spoke to Twilight with the most dramatic voice possible.

“TWILIGHT! Oh this is awful, simply awful”! She nearly screeched as tears formed in her eyes.

“Don’t Worry Rarity”. Twilight assured her while patting her with a comforting hoof. “You’re fine now”.

“I am far from it Twilight”! Rarity sobbed loud enough for the entire town to hear. “Look at what that ruffian did”! 

Rarity turned to the side to show twilight the aftermath of her encounter with the two legged beast. Twilight expected the worst as she cringed slightly expecting to see a scar on her side. However, all she saw was dirt.

“Uh, Rarity? That’s just dirt”.

“EXACTLY TWILIGHT”! The white unicorn wailed causing Twilight to flinch at her sudden outburst, even take a small step back. “Do you know how long dirt takes to wash out”?!

And with that line, Twilight face-hoofed.

“What about Fluttershy and the animal”?

“Oh, Fluttershy flew away and the beast ran back into the Everfree forest”. Rarity explained simply, more focused on brushing as much dirt out of her fur as she could.

Twilight gave a couple seconds thought before coming to a decision.

“Then we need to round up the rest of the elements and stop that beast before it comes back and causes harm to anypony else. If that creature tries to attack Ponyville again then we must stop it before it gets the chance”.

“Question”? Asked Rarity as she shot her hoof up into the air.

“Yes Rarity”?

“Can I take a bath first”? She pouted as she stared at her once beautiful white coat.

Twilight just simply rolled her eyes and responded. “Fine. You take a bath and I’ll round up the elements”.

Both ponies took off in different directions, and just before Spike ran through the front door as fast as his stubby little legs would carry him. 

“TWILIGHT! WAIT”! Yelled Spike hoping to get Twilights attention. Unfortunately she couldn’t hear her as she kept on running leaving Spike to his own thoughts.

“Rats”.

> Hal Bjan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONTROL was now crawling with the four covenant species under Jul Mdamas rule, including a couple of hulking hunters which seemed to do nothing other than make growling type noises.

At the top of the forerunner construct, where the portal had once opened, several zealots and gibbering grunts stood guard as though they were waiting for the arrival of somebody else. They didn’t have to wait long as a phantom appeared from the sky towards the fourth floor where the zealots and the deactivated portal awaited. 

The phantom turned to its side as it drew ever closer to the edge of the metal floor and opened its massive side door. Revealing another elite only this one wore the armour of a general and was escorted by two shock troop elites. 

The generals amour was a beautiful golden colour which looked unscarred from any of the battles it had endured. A deactivated energy sword strong enough to cut through the toughest of UNSC armour hung at his side. And finally, he wore no helmet which allowed the zealots and grunts who faced him to see the fury in his eyes which caused a couple of grunts to hide behind their zealot masters.

The general jumped from the phantom, which was only five feet away from touching the ground, and up to the nearest zealot as his two bodyguards followed him, almost as fierce looking as the general himself. The closest zealot walked up to the general and bowed respectfully, placing one of its four digit hands onto its own chestplate.

“General Hal Bjan. We are honoured by your presence and bring great news on the ambush”. The zealot spoke in Sanghelios.

“Rise Glakjul”. Responded the general speaking in the same language. “If you are true to your word then we are blessed. The human scum known as Arrow squad have been dealt with”?

Glakjul stood up gently until he stood face to face with Hal Bjan and told him about the battle. 

“Our forces crushed the majority of the human forces as they put up little resistance my general. Many of our brothers were defeated by the humans primitive weapons but we prevailed. The jammer was lost but not in vain”.

Hal Bjan walked past Glakjul with thoughts racing though his mind. The zealots and grunts parted out of his way as he walked slowly up to two large foreruuner doors. A few seconds passed before Glakjul spoke up.

“Something troubles you my general”? Hal Bjan turned back round to face him and walked back up to Glakjul, walking faster than he did when he walked past him.

“You mentioned that the majority of humans were defeated did you not”?

“Yes my general” Responded Glakjul, a hint of panic could be noticed escaping with the words he had spoke. Unfortunately for him, Hal Bjan noticed.

“Your words betray you brother. What have you not told me”?

“… Two of the humans escaped through a portal”. Spoke Glakjul as calmly as he could.

“Which ones”? asked Hal Bjan asked slightly irritated. Glakjul lowered his head, unsure of the identities of the humans who escaped with their lives. Knowing the answer, Hal Bjan snarled angrily.

“And yet you have done nothing about this crucial matter other than wait here while they desecrate the sacred soil of this planet with their filthy footsteps”?

“… My general, there is little to fear. Though we have not killed them, the promethean knights will surely-“. Glakjul was suddenly forced to stop as he felt Hal Bjans hand squeezing his jugular. Out of instinct, Glakjul placed one of his hands onto Hal Bjans as to try to force it off. His efforts were useless.

“Your failure shall not go unpunished brother”! Hal Bjan began. “The human group we know as arrow squad is stronger than you think. Even if most of them are dead, they are strong. Perhaps you have foolishly forgotten but we are stronger in faith. We shall not dishonour the Gods nor the Didacts hand by allowing these pathetic humans to use a forerunner artefact to their advantage and get away with it”!

Hal Bjan released his grip, pushing Glakjul to the metal ground as he did. The shock troops readied their storm rifles, expecting to be dealing with a heritic.

“Stay your weapons”! Commanded Hal Bjan to his bodyguards who obeyed and lowered their weapons. “I know what you think, Glakjul is not committed blasphemy among us. Not yet”. He turned to Glakjul who was using most of his strength to push himself off of the ground and did what he could from coughing and gasping for air.

“My general”? He managed to speak as he got back up to his feet.

“Your honour lies by a thread brother. If you wish to regain it and show your loyalty to our great covenant, you must find these humans and make them suffer for using the technology of the Gods”!

Glakjul respectfully bowed once more. “It will be done”.

“I shall come with you. That way I shall see if you are true to your word”. Responded Hal Bjan, not entirely able to trust Galkjul to his word as he placed a hand onto Glakjuls shoulder. “I hope you will not disappoint me a second time”.

Glakjul nodded as Hal Bjan took his hand off of Glakjul and walked back to the front of the bulky metal doors.

“One more matter of importance brother”. Hal Bjan spoke. Glakjul sprinted up to Hal Bjans side to hear his command.

“Yes my general”?

“As a personal request. Should one of these humans go by the name of RUST, then let me deal with him myself”. He growled. “Now find a way to get the portal running once more. We shall be going nowhere until it does”.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At this point Rust had been running through the forest known as the Everfree none stop for a good fifteen minutes. He may have been tough but he was no Spartan, he needed to rest for a while.

He sat on top of a large rock and reloaded another two shots into the scattershot in case any of those creepy brightly coloured ponies were following him. 

He looked round, it was dark and spooky. The thick fog covered much of the ground and vines hung loosely from the surrounding trees. If you even listened closely, the howling of a wolf could be heard.

“So, lets clarify”. Rust thought to himself. “I’ve been transported to an unidentified location of Requiem, found a forerunner settlement made of wood only to be populated by small talking horses which are now hunting me down while I try to contact INFINITY in the middle of the creepiest forest in the world. Could this get any worse”?

As on cue, a mighty roar broke the silence as a giant lion emerged from the darker part of the forest with bat wings and a giant scorpion tail. It stood not too far from Rust as it sized him up, getting ready for lunch.

“And of course, there’s giant monsters. Thank you so bloody much universe! What did I ever do to you to deserve this”? He said to the sky. He second he looked back in front of him, the manticore had pounced into the air with a mighty leap and swung its left paw backwards ready to knock Rusts head off.

“SHIT”!! Rust yelled, caught off guard by how fast the beast had moved in the two seconds he had taken his eyes off of it. He managed to roll backwards just in time as the manticores paw smashed into the ground where Rust had been standing less than a second ago. Rust backed up at least twenty feet and readied his forerunner weapon.

“Bring it you big bastard”! Rust taunted as he aimed the scattershot in front of the manticore which did not see the weapon as a threat what with the fact that it had never seen or dealt with a gun before and charged once again.

Rust kept a steady aim until the monster was close enough to shoot. The scattershot was a shotgun after all and was useless at long range, but up close, well the manticore would find out soon enough.

30 feet away, Rust softly put a finger on the trigger. 

20 feet away, He aimed at the beasts massive head.

10 feet away, Rust moved his left leg slightly to the side, ready to dive out of the way.

5 feet away, Rust pulled the trigger.

Luckily for the manticore, its huge arm took the impact as it had swung its arm a little earlier to catch Rust off guard and paid for it dearly as bright orange bolts dug deeply into its skin, tearing though muscle. 

The manticore was too big to die from the powerful weapon or be incinerated by it. But the shot had pretty much damaged its arm, maybe even broken it, from trying to attack something it had never encountered before although the same could be said for Rust who remained unharmed, barely. 

Knowing the danger the human posed, it headed back into the deeper parts of the forest from whence it came.

“HAH! That’s right kitty cat! YOU BETTER RUN FOR YOUR LIFE”! Yelled Rust with overwhelmed joy at easily beating a monster more powerful than a hunter and could tear a Spartan in half. 

Given the time, Rust took a glowing bolt from his pocket and placed it into the ammo slot of the scattershot. No way did he want to be unprepared for anything else the forest had to offer. Little did he know that six ponies were now on the hunt for him.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now that Twilight had rounded up the girls, and Rarity was done with her third bath, all the elements of Harmony stood at the edge of the Everfree forest with five of them stood in a line apart from Twilight who went over the plan with them.

“Okay girls listen up. As you now know there is some sort of new monster now roaming around in the Everfree and we must find it and stop it from hurting anypony. Last time was too close and it could have rampaged through the town if it wanted to, so now”- Twilight was quickly interrupted by a blue Pegasus, who flew into the air several feet and spoke.

“So now we need to kick its behind and show him who he’s messing with”! She spoke before zooming into the forest only to have Twilight use her magic to catch the over enthusiastic Pegasus by the tail and left the rest of her body dangling in mid-air as she was dragged back to the group and face to face with Twilight.

“Not so fast Rainbow Dash”. Scolded Twilight like a mother would do to a disobedient child. “If that thing is as smart as we think it is, then we should try to at least communicate with it first and find out why it tried to attack Ponyville in the first place. Right girls”? 

Her gaze turned towards Fluttershy and Rarity who remembered their first encounter with Rust all too well as they slightly blushed. Twilight dropped rainbow Dash who quickly recovered before touching the grass.

“Alright girls, lets do this. If we all stick together then there is no obstacle we cannot overcome, no river too deep, no mountain too high, no”-

“Uh, Twi? Ah think we all get what yer sayin sugarcube”. Spoke the orange pony with a western looking hat on its head which caused Twilight to give her own blush of embarrassment.

“Sorry girls”. She apologised to the group. “Lets do this”! All of the ponies said in unison before charging into the Everfree forest, apart from Fluttershy who remained at the edge.

“Ummm… Perhaps I should check on Angel. He tends to get cranky when he doesn’t have his afternoon lunch. So- EEEP”! Fluttershy was cut short as she was picked up by a purple aura surrounding her whole body and was forcibly taken into the dark forest.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“INFINITY! Do you read? Come in INFINITY this is Arrow squad leader Rust reporting in. Need immediate evacuation. Four casualties reported in. One soldier M.I.A. INFINITY, do you read? I repeat, DO. YOU. READ”?

Either the trees were thicker than they looked or INFINITY’s communications array was down. Either way there was no response which left Rust to utter out one simple word.

“Shit”.

What seemed to be Rusts main worry at the moment, according to the position of the sun, it would be dark in a matter of hours. Looks like Rust would have to prepare for a long night.

An hour slowly passed and Rust had managed to cut off some branches and sticks no thicker than his own arm with his own strength and gathered them all into a pile before surrounding them with a bunch of smooth stones. Now all he needed was something to light the fire. He grabbed two of the stones and scraped them together as hard and as fast as he could.

A minute or frustrating scraping and Rust was victorious as one of the sparks managed to set one of the sticks on fire. The sun was still out but it didn’t stop the Everfree forest from becoming any darker.

As Rust warmed himself up, he took his helmet off and placed it to the side and looked into the flames.

“What I wouldn’t give for one of Forest’s shitty jokes right now”. He joked improving his mood slightly. 

But it didn’t help him forget everybody else he had lost no less than three hours ago. Shame there was nothing he could do about it. So which that thought he laid onto his side and prayed that he wouldn’t be attacked by crawlers while he slept. The fire was enough to keep the predators of the forest away. However, it wasn’t enough to keep away six figures standing only a few feet away from him.

> Tensions rise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rust had been asleep for almost twenty minutes. He had placed his helmet on once more and kept all his equipment around him in case he needed it. The fire beside him was still going thanks to all the firewood he had collected from earlier which shone brightly showering his form in its orange glow. 

However he was not the only one to experience the fires warmth as the six ponies observed Rusts sleeping body from no more than a few feet away. This allowed them to whisper among themselves. The purple one spoke first.

“Alright girls remember, we need to try to be very careful with this thing. If things take a turn for the worst then we’ll have to restrain him. Applejack, do you have your lasso”?

“Ah never leave home without it”. The orange pony whispered back as she drew out a long wrapped rope.

“Good. Fluttershy, it’s up to you now. Your ways with animals should get him on his good side. But if anything goes wrong, don’t worry. We’ll be here to protect you”.

The yellow Pegasus only managed to exchange a weak smile as her friends hid in the nearby bushes behind her to both ease the tension for the monster but also to ambush it if things did not go the way they hope for it to go.

Fluttershy took a step forward, looking down at the sleeping giant below her. She was about to make an effort to speak until Rust rolled over. The Pegasus leaped into the air backwards a few feet in a single second, allowing an “Eeeep” type sound to leave her mouth as she did. Luckily not loud enough to wake the human and startle it. She froze for a second until she realized that it must have been a reflex from its dream.

One part of Fluttershy was begging for her to turn tail and retreat to the safety of her friends. The other part tried to convince her that this thing was an animal in need of help. Not only should she be letting it down but also her friends. Something she wasn’t ready to give up just yet. Remembering why she was doing this, she mustered as much courage as she could, walked back over to the still sleeping human, raised a hoof and tapped it on the shoulder.

“Umm, excuse me? Sir”? This managed to get the humans attention as it woke up but kept its back on the pony. Needless to say, it was still slightly hazy from being woken up.

“Uhhh, da hell? Is that you Forest”?

Unsure what to do, Fluttershy gave a look back at the bushes her friends were hiding in. The instant she turned round, a purple hoof shot out of them bushes and gestured for her to keep going. So she did and lowered herself down to his level to make him feel more at ease, even if he wasn’t facing her.

“Well, we’re in a forest, if that’s what you’re asking”. This time round, Rust noticed the feminine voice and rolled over, talking as he did.

“Wha- who the hell are you”? He asked as he rolled over to face the figure in front of him only to by caught off guard as he was met by two gigantic blue eyes and screamed.

“AAAAAAHHHHHH”!!! He yelled causing the yellow pony to do the same as she backed away a couple of feet. Rusts reflexes kicked in, jumping back from the figure and grabbing the pistol from the holster before getting up on his two feet and aiming his gun right between the poor things eyes. Fluttershy was too scared to move and closed her eyes expecting the worst to come as she thought of the ponies she had come to call friends.

Before Rust dared to pull the trigger, he remembered that this was one of the few ponies he met. And upon that, this was the cowardly one who flew away from him. Why had she come back to him? Perhaps now was a good chance to start fresh. Slowly but carefully, he bent his elbows and lowered his gun by only an inch. Before he could lower his gun any more he got tackled by something fast and blue.

Rust landed onto his back hard. Luckily the grass underneath him was soft enough to cushion the fall. He didn’t even get the chance to raise his head as the blue thing pinned his arms down while staring at him face to face and man, did she look pissed.

Rust struggled and managed to get his foot stuck on the middle of the blue Pegasus’s stomach and kicked her off as hard as he could. Thankfully it worked quite effectively as the pony flew through the air, yelling in surprise as she did, before colliding with a thick branch at least ten feet above the ground causing her to fall into some more bushes which saved her from breaking anything important. Rust spun round, realising he had dropped his side arm when he got tackled. He muttered “Damn” to himself as he quickly looked round and saw the thing shining only a few meters away. He quickly made a run for it and nearly had it until He tripped on something.

As he landed on the ground, his head smacked into the ground. If it wasn’t for his helmet he could have been knocked out. He tried to get back up, onto his feet well enough until something pulled at his left foot causing him to fall over again. He turned round to notice a rope round his foot. “What now”? He complained as his eyes followed the rope up to an orange mare pulling the end of the rope with its mouth.

“Gods sake, how many of these damn things are there”? He asked in his head.

The pony gave a mighty tug on the rope, reeling the marine in like a fish caught on a line.

Realising the trouble he was in, Rust pulled out his knife and cut the thin rope with one swing causing the orange farm pony to fall on her behind. 

Wasting no time, Rust shook the remains of his rope from his leg and grabbed the pistol in both his hands before aiming at the farm girl, ready to fire until… He couldn’t move his fingers. He couldn’t move his hands! Rust looked at his hands seeing that they were encased in a purple aura as his arms were forced into the air which pulled him from the ground a couple of feet. He took his eyes off of the gun to see the purple unicorn again.

Rust tore his eyes off of her fiery gaze to see that her horn was glowing in the same aura as his hands and gun. This gave him an idea. A risky idea but an idea none the less. Luckily this unicorn was close enough to be hit with his boot.

“Look, we-“ Twilight tried to speak but was interrupted as one of the humans feet smashed into her horn which interrupted the magical flow releasing Rust and his gun as he landed on both his feet. The unicorn rubbed her head in slight pain as she opened her eyes only to see the barrel of the magnum placed on the centre of her head. Rust had had enough of these things once and for all. He began to press the trigger again until…

“STOOOOOOOOOOOP”!

Both Rust and Twilight spun round to the sound of the voice and saw the yellow Pegasus right next to them. She was not happy, that much was clear as a slight hint of anger was detected from everybody around, even the ponies who still hid in the bushes, not given a chance to act.

She walked up to the pair, both remained as still as statues. Once she had reached them, she turned onto Twilight.

“Twilight, This creature didn’t mean any harm! What made you think you could attack him when he was trying to defend himself”?! She nearly yelled in a slightly louder than normal voice at one of her best friends. Twilight did her best to respond.

“But it-“.

“HE! Not it”! Fluttershy was just inches away from Twilights face.

“But-“.

“But nothing Twilight. I know you meant well but you should have known better”.

Twilight hung her head in defeat, knowing that her friend was right, she had nothing to fight back with which got Rust smiling a bit. Relief at last as he opened his mouth to say thank you to the little yellow pony until.

“And as for you”! Fluttershy turned round to face Rust.

“Oh crap”. He thought knowing that this wasn’t going to end well.

“What made you think you could just try to hurt us for just trying to help you”!

“But I thought-“.

“Thought nothing! There’s no reason to just attack us because we accidentally scared you”!

“I thought you were-“.

“Did we do anything wrong? NO! Did we try to hurt you? NO! What made you try to hurt me and my friends”!?

“Because… I…”. Rust managed to say as he tried to muster his courage. To a small cute looking pony that was three quarters his size.

“Well”? Asked Fluttershy wanting an answer. Rust sighed, dropping his magnum on the floor.

“Because I’ve lost people I cared about! OK? Is that a good enough answer for you and your friends”?! Rust growled, causing Fluttershy’s own anger to suddenly disappear.

“I had four brave soldiers- No! Four friends who were killed only hours ago and another who could also be dead or alive OR HURT OR WORSE!

Everypony, including Pinkie and Rarity in the bushes stepped forward to listen to the marines tale of woe.

“So I attacked you and your friends! I know I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did and I’m sorry. But after going through the hell, THAT I SUFFERED IN LESS THAN A DAY, WHAT THE HELL WOULD YOU HAVE DONE”?!

The marine finished ranting, breathing heavily as he tore his gaze from the yellow pony and walked over to his scattershot to pick it up and moved over to his magnum and bent down to pick it up when something softly bumped against his side. Fed up, he turned his head to tell the pony to get lost until something caught him off guard, the yellow pony, now beside him was now nuzzling him, with tears softly strolling down her face.

“I’m sorry”. She managed to speak between sobs, giving the marine a look sad enough to erase all of his anger he had only moments ago.

“I’m so sorry. I- I didn’t know”… The marine looked at her and raised an arm and put it round the young Pegasus and pulled her into a hug.

“I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to yell at you”.  And unknowingly to any of the ponies around him, a tear escaped his eye.

Everypony else, except Rainbow dash who kept her distance, closed in and waited a minute until the human broke the hug, grabbed his pistol sliding it into the holster and stood up.

“Never thought I’d be hugging mythological creatures in my life”. He thought in his head. His attention was soon drawn to Twilight who made the next move.

“I’m sorry too. We all are”.

Rust looked round him to see everypony nodding their heads in agreement while offering friendly smiles, apart for the one with rainbow hair. Guess there’s no pleasing some people, or in this case ponies.

“Well, thanks I guess”. Rust spoke up. “At least you’re all not as…hostile as I first thought”.

Rust felt a small tug on his leg, looked down and saw the yellow Pegasus, smiling.

“So, if you don’t mind me asking, what is your name”? She asked gently.

“Just call me Rust”.

Twilight stepped in once again. “Well, Rust. Perhaps we could make this whole misunderstanding up to you. How about we offer you a bed for the night? The moon will be rising soon and we don’t want to be out here after dark”.

“I’ll manage here”. Replied Rust. This received a shocked gasp from half the ponies causing Rust to raise an eyebrow although it was hard to notice with his helmet on.

“But I thought you forgave us”? Asked Twilight with concern.

“I do, it’s just that I still need to find somebody else out here and going back to that town won’t help the issue”. Replied Rust with confidence, knowing he had survived worse during the covenant war years ago when he had to sleep in the remains of a destroyed building with no roof, hard rain, thunder and lightning with nothing but his armour and an SMG.

“Trust me, I’ll be fine”. This caused the white unicorn to jump into the conversation.

“Oh but Darling, we couldn’t possibly let you spend a night in this dreadful, cold… messy place”. 

“Why not”? The hardened marine asked not understanding the danger.

“The plants grow,”. Began Twilight.

“Animals care for themselves,”. Continued Fluttershy with fear.

“And the clouds”. Rainbow Dash spoke after Fluttershy had finished.

“What about them”? Asked Rust, hardly affected by their efforts.

“They move all by themselves”! She ended dramatically. This got the marine to just stare at them as though they were crazy and uttered one word.

“Seriously”?

“MMM HMMM”. Everypony nodded in unison, again Rust didn’t seem phased in anyway.

“I think I’ll survive easily enough”. He said sarcastically. In an instant, Rarity was at the front of him as to block his path.

“Now see here, we shall not allow our new friend to wander the most dangerous forest in Equestria. Especially not alone! We can find your friend in the morning but for now, you must allow us to help you in your time of need”!

Rust made a note of that. Equestria. Interesting name for a forerunner location.

“I appreciate it but-“. Rust was quickly cut off.

“You must”.

“Yeah but-“.

“You must”!

“The thing is-“.

“YOU MUST”!

“OK OK FINE! I BLOODY MUST”! Rust finally gave in.

All the girls gave a slight cheer with victory even though none of them knew what the word “Bloody” meant.

With everybody all set and Rust had sorted all of his equipment out, they headed back to the town. The walk was long so everypony thought to ask Rust some questions to help pass the time.

“So Rust”, Began Twilight with a smile on her face. “What species are you”? Rust turned to face her as he walked.

“I’m a human being. Homo-sapien if you want to be fancy”. He replied almost emotionless. Rarity seized the opportunity to ask the next question.

“What type of outfit are you wearing darling? I do not mean to be rude but what you have right now just screams for new colours! I’m thinking a light shade of blue, followed by-“

“I like my armour the way it is thanks”. He replied calmly which let the unicorn keep her mouth quiet. Though it didn’t stop her for thinking up new ideas to dash his armour up.

“Do you like to party”? asked a certain pink pony, who was hanging from the top of Rust’s helmet giving him a real shock as he met her head upside down. He took a second to calm down before responding, not really wanting to know how she did that.

“Not much. I haven’t been to a party in a long time. And please get off of my helmet, I can’t see a thing”.

“Oki Doki Loki”. She responded gleefully before lifting her head back up and out of Rusts sight, although when he turned to look at her half a second later, she was the furthest pony away from him. 

“Talk about fast”. He thought. If only he knew the truth.

“So um, Mister Rust”? Began Fluttershy, being so quiet, Rust had to crouch slightly just to get the gist of what she was saying.

“Do you ummmm… have any pets of your own”? This caused Rust to sigh.

“I had a dog once. Nuff said”. He seemed to be avoiding the questions but the very personal ones he seemed only to give a single sentence.

“Ya don’t talk much do you”? Asked the farm pony who noticed this.

“Nope”. Shortest answer ever. Surprisingly this gave her something to laugh about.

“Ya really remind me of ma big brother. Perhaps if y’all get the chance, you could meet him and the rest of the Apple family”. Rust just exchanged a smile and nodded showing that he would love to.

Before any of them could say another word, a mighty roar sounded off not too far away. Only instead of a roar of anger, this one seemed to be one of pain which caught the attention of one particular Pegasus.

“Oh my”! She panicked before flying rather quickly towards the sound of the roar. Everybody quickly followed and eventually, Rust.

“What the hell is she doing”? Complained Rust knowing that if there was an unknown creature roaring loudly, you were supposed to turn and head the other way instead of running towards the bloody source!

“Jest trust her on this” Replied the orange pony with a wink. Eventually, they came across the source of the pained roaring and Rust couldn’t help but say.

“Oh shit”.

If front of him only a few meters away, Fluttershy was patting a big lion with bat wings and a scorpion tail. And several serious wounds in its arm. Normally Rust would have put the beast out of its misery with a scattershot blast to the head but Fluttershy was already working on a different, less lethal method.

“There there. It’s ok”. She soothed the beast as she looked at the beasts round shaped holes in its arms.
“Oh you poor thing. What did this to you”?

Slowly but surely, Rust raised his hand declaring himself responsible which earned him a shocked look from everypony.
“What”? He began noticing all the looks around him. “That thing tried to eat me alive for Gods sake! It’s not my fault”!
Twilgiht stepped in front of him and spoke.

“We’ll talk about this later”. She turned to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, are you going to be ok”?

The yellow Pegasus responded cheerfully. “Oh yes of course Twilight. My cottage isn’t too far from here. I’ll be alright”.
“Alright then. I guess we’ll see you tomorrow”.

The group left Fluttershy alone with the beast which seemed quite content with Fluttershy around. Rust thought it actually looked friendly, especially when it wasn’t trying to rip him limb from limb this time round. Eventually curiosity got the better of him and he had to ask.

“Hey uh, Twilight was that thing”? The purple mare nodded, happy that he could remember her name.
“What was what”?

“What was that big lion bat thing we just saw”?

“Oh that was a manticore. A baby one at that too”.

This shook Rust slightly. THAT was only a baby?! That thing was almost twice the size he was! What an interesting location Requiem had sent him. However, none of them noticed a small floating orb with an orange light glowing in its centre watching them from afar among the trees. It spoke in a high pitched feminine voice.

“Curious”.

> Decisions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The strange orb sped through the dark forest in the opposite direction to the human at a fast speed, almost as though it was eager to tell of its new discovery.

Within mere minutes of travelling, the orb reached a shiny metal gateway, like an arc with strange symbols covering each side. It stood just over two meters and was covered with small black lines in which inside, an illuminating light could be seen travelling down from the top of the gateway to the bottom in a matter of seconds.

Soon enough, as the orb had gotten close enough, the top of the gateway revealed a small hole less than a centimeter in diameter and almost instantly, an orange light burst from it and covered the orb in its glow. A few noises were heard as the light moved carefully up and downs its round form before deactivating.

The orb shimmied forwards and stopped and waited. 

As expected to the orb, a fast pitched, disorientated voice crackled from the machine before it. To any life form it would be too hard to understand but this orb understood every word it said and replied in its own high pitched voice.

"Negative, the perimeter is clear of all sentient life forms. But what you must realize is that I carry vital information that must be delivered immediately".

The gateway spluttered back towards the orb in a questioning tone.

"That is none of your concern. You shall let my pass or I shall be forced to contact D-2. And with what I have to say, it is likely that you will be disciplined for interfering". The orb responded making sure the gateway understood the seriousness of the situation.

A few seconds of perfect silence passed. Suddenly, a rectangular metal box shot up from the ground fitting within the gateway perfectly. The front of the box broke into three identical pieces before they slid slightly forwards and then outwards to the sides until there was enough room for the orb to get inside the box.

"Excellent. Now then...". The orb floated inside the box, the front closed behind him and the box lit up with more illuminating lights travelling down each corner of the box. It the middle, there was a pillar in which the orb rested upon.

Only a minute passed until something else happened. The back of the box, which was now in front of the orb, opened up in the same manner as the front part and surely enough, the orb flew up off of the pillar and  through the door.

Instead of coming out of the box and remaining in the forest, the orb was now floating within a giant metal room with greatly advanced technology compared to any other species on the planet, including the human. The box had been so still, so quiet, it was hard to believe that it had moved at all. Not even the smallest of shakes could be felt inside yet it had moved at great speed as could be told by the way the box shot up into the darker part of the 50 meter high room once the orb had left it.

The orb traveled down the  room until it had reached the center where a cylinder, 10 foot in diameter stood attached to the ground. As wide as it was, it was no more than 2 foot tall. However the small height was made up thanks to the large curved pieces of gray metal over it, one layer of the thick metal hovered in two pieces slightly above the 2 foot cylinder, spinning slowly to the left. Above the curved metal was another layer of the exact same design, only this one spun in the opposite direction. And above that one was a third set of curved metal pieces, spinning in the same direction as the first set. The top of the structure was sealed by a thick lid which remained still and was circled by a ring with four symmetrical lights shining on and off quickly. It looked like the structure was built to conceal something within. Then, before long, a voice echoed through the hollow structure, addressing the orb.

"I trust you have news of great importance at the risk of returning to my chambers once again Calm Fire 27"? Asked the voice to what seemed to now be Calm Fire 27.

"That is correct D-2. It may concern you greatly that I have news of a human reclaimer within the area of equine residence 7, travelling outside of the forest and what seems to be towards that said residence".

Silence filled the room like it had outside mere moments ago until the echoing voice returned.

"If this is true then this world may soon fall prey to the horrors that the humans once reflected upon us! I won't allow this human to reap what we have sewn"!

"Shall I have the prometheans to dispose of the reclaimer"? Asked Calm Fire in a small but noticeable disappointing tone.
"Alas I would ask that, but often in life it is the simplest of choices that carry the greatest risks. There may be more of his wretched kind among the equines which would only reveal our existence to them".
At these words, Calm Fire seemed happier.

"Then what do you propose"?

"Bring the human to me at once. Once we have discovered his motives, we shall then decide his fate".
"Very good, I shall fulfill your request at once".

As the orb began planning, The human had returned to the library in which he had been tied up earlier. Rust had been offered a seat by the ponies but he preferred to stand in the corner. That way he could keep an eye on them all, after all he didn't want another frying pan to the face when his back was turned. As he kept an eyes on them all, the 5 ponies huddled round planning their next step, whispering as they did.

"Okay girls, now that our new...associate is in the library, what do we do"?

"I say we take him by surprise, captures him and throw him in the dungeons first chance his back is turned. There's no way we can trust it".

"Rainbow dash, don't be so barbaric! Although I must agree that the brute can not be trusted. After all, look at it! So hideous and indimidating, and don't get me started on its taste in fashion sense"!

"Ya know, there are more important things right now than worryin about what that things wearin Rarity"?

"Oh and I suppose you could name one"?

"Yeah, I can. What do y'all think would be a way to make peace with this critter from outta space"?

"Lets throw him a party"!

Everypony faced the pink mare for a second.

"...What? Sometimes all you need is a little fun to help turn even the meaniest meany pants aliens into the niciest nicest nice aliens"!

"As much sense as that makes, no parties! For all we know it may not even know what fun is".

"WHAT?! That's just plain silly Twilight! How can somepony not know what fun is? Look, I'll ask him myself"!
"Wait, Pinkie-".

Before anypony could object, Pinkie had disappeared from the huddling group which left the two ponies who had been holding onto her from each side fell over from lack of support which resulted in the entire huddle falling inwards and collapsing in on itself.

Rust saw this and laughed to himself. The pink one seemed to be his favorite one so far despite her standing on top of his head earlier on, she seemed to be quite nice. And soon enough, the pink pony was now standing in front of him with a friendly smile which Rust... sort of returned by grimacing and showing his teeth which felt awkward for both sides.
Then, Pinkie Pie spoke.

"Sooo... Do you know what fun is"? She asked making Rust turn his half smile into a look of confusion.

"Excuse me"? He asked, caught off guard by the unusual question.

"Because my friend Twilight over there...". Pinkie pointed her hoof back over to the group still trying to get up and off from each other.

"...She said that you may not know what fun is, and I was all like UHUH and  she was like NU UH, And I thought maybe asking you would settle our arguement. Of course now that I think about it, you don't seem avery friendly but looks can be decieving right? So anyway, my name is Pinkie Pie and I like parties but then again who doesn't? But anyway, I'm Pinkie Pie and what was your name again"?

Rust thought hard for a second before coming to a decision in his head.

"These ponies are crazy".

He then answered Pinkies question, seeing how it was one of the few things he managed to pick up due from the speed she talked from.It seemed that she had completely forgotten the reason she had come to talk to him in the first place.

"I'm-".

But before he could tell her, he recieved a hoof over his mouth catching him by surprise causing him to instinctively reach for his magnum sidearm still strapped to his waist in case he decided that he wanted  to shoot the pink menace. Or himself for that matter.

"Ooh ooh don't tell me don't tell me, I remember! Your name's Trust!... Wait, no... Aha, no its Bust. No that's not right either... Must? Crust? Just? Plus? Bus? Dust? Thrust? Pus? Lu-".

Before Pinkie Pie could ramble on any longer, she was ensnared by a lasso and pulled back over the the rest of the ponies who had  recovered from their little mishap caused by Pinkie. This let Rust sigh with relief, unsure how one little pony could be so annoying. He then even more unsure of how he could now taste cotton candy.

Once the lassoed pony has been dragged close enough to the main group, the orange pony who had the end of the rope in her mouth spat it out and tried to talk some sense into her hyper active friend.

"Uh Pinkie, first off ah believe the man said his name was Rust. And second off, why did y'all think it was a good idea ter just go ahead and walk up to him like that?! Y'all could have ben hurt by it"!

Surprisingly to everypony and everybody, Pinkie Pie giggled.

"Oh Applejack, you're such a riot"! She managed to speak between laughs. "Rust wouldn't hurt us, he's too kind to do something so cruel".

"How do ya know that"? Asked Applejack.

"uh, Duh Applejack. The author would have written about Rust hurting us by now". She said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. To everyone else, not so much.

"...Beg pardon"? 

"The Author. The guy writing the story. Only he's been on holiday so he hasn't had much of a chance to write much lately".
Pinkie then looked over behind to the side and pointed.

"And there's the audience. HI EVERYBODY"!

At that point, she gave the "Audience" a huge wave along with a friendly smile which was odd enough, not to mention saying "Everybody" instead of everypony which left Applejack to look back to her friends seeing that they were just as clueless as she was. However this was Pinkie Pie, half the stuff she did never made sense anyway and decided to ignore it.

"Well... anyway...". Began Twilight, trying to forget what had just happened. "I believe I should inform the Princess that we... caught... uh oh"!

Twilight's calmness was almost immediately replaced with worry and panic as she remembered  something from earlier today. In a flash she hurried upstairs and burst open the door to her room, waking the sleeping dragon Spike up as she did.
Spike stirred for a moment before coming to his senses. "Twilight! You're back! Good news, I"-

"Not now spike"! Spoke Twilight, paying little attention to the dragon as she grabbed a bottle of ink, a quill and a piece of parchment with her magic and brought each item down on a table in front of her.

"But Twilight, the Pr"-

"Spike, I'm a little busy at the moment". Twilight replied, sounding a little more irritated as she spoke. Obviously Twilight wasn't going to let spike speak so he decided to come out with what he had to say.

"The Princess replied"!

Almost as though Spike had said the magic words, in which case he kind of had done, Twilight had stopped writing her letter which seemed to be a good page long, God knows how long the actual letter would have been if Spike hadn't been around, and faced Spike, her eyes were slightly bloodshot and a couple strands of hair from both her mane and tail shot up. She even made a small noticeable twitch with her left ear.

"She did..."? Asked Twilight.

A few seconds of silence passed.

"WELL, WHERE'S THE LETTER"?! Screeched Twilight as she picked Spike up with her magic and brought his face dangerously close to her own.

"Umm.... Right here"? Replied Spike nervously as he lifted his arm which held the rolled up parchment from Princess Celestia herself. As soon as Twilight noticed the letter, She engulfed it with her magic and accidentally dropped Spike, causing him to land on his butt with a thud.

Twilight basically scanned every word, even every single letter that had been written. As soon as she was done she let out a sigh of relief.

"What does it say Twilight"? Asked the impatient dragon now standing on his small chubby legs.

"It says that she already knew of his arrival... and would greatly appreciate it if I were to bring it to her as soon as I can. She would also like it if myself and the other elements are present". 

Twilight took a few seconds to absorb the letters words many questions rung up in her head. "How did she know about the human already? Did she already know about his species? But most importantly... why didn't she help us when we needed it earlier? She'd surely have had to react swiftly knowing her star pupil was in danger. Was she no longer that important to her"? With that though she looked down to the ground, unable to think or move. That was until a small purple hand landed on her shoulder causing her to look at the figure who owned the hand, or claw for that matter.

Come on Twilight. You're her personal student for petes sake. As far as I know, you're the most important thing in Equestria to her".

That said, Spike followed it up with a reassuring smile, and Twilight gave the same one back before pulling her number one assistant into a caring hug.

"Thanks Spike, I don't know what I'd do without you".

"Yeah well, you know". Replied Spike rolling his emerald eyes.

Soon after, they both broke the hug and went back downstairs to her friends. Although their expressions were a mix of slight fear, confusion and concern. Even Rust, who had still remained in his corner after all this time, raised an eyebrow at her. Soon after putting two and two together, Twilights ears dropped in embarrassment.

"Did you hear... everything upstairs"?

Everypony nodded causing Twilight to grin sheepishly and even give a uncomfortable laugh.

"Well, anyway". Twilight walked over to Rust. Rust braced himself for anything that the unicorn might pull off.

"Rust, I have good news for you". At this note, Rust smiled.

"You found Forest or get me back to INFINITY"? He asked enthusiastically.

"Well... not really".
Rust's rarely shown smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared it had appeared into a scowl.

"Then whatever it is, I don't care".

All the other ponies glared at the human for his bluntness and rudeness.

"But...". Continued Twilight, catching Rusts attention. "I know somepony who could, and she's requesting a meeting with you, if you accept".

Rust thought carefully about this, He looked down and considered his options. Everypony waited nervously for his response.

"...Fine, I'll do it".

Everypony sighed in relief.

"Excellent, we'll set off tomorrow morning". Spoke Twilight with glee.

"Great, can't wait". Muttered Rust as though he didn't feel too comfortable with his decision. Rarity then spoke up, something was on her mind.

"Just one question darling". 

"Yes Rarity".

"Where exactly is our... guest going to stay"?

Twilight realized that she hadn't put any thought into something that seemed so simple and her ears drooped to prove it.

"Well, I suppose I could allow him to sleep over at the library just for tonight". She said uncertainly, choosing her words carefully before turning to Rust. "You don't mind do you"?

Rust shrugged. 

"Meh, I've slept in far worse places".

He wasn't lying, he had slept in woods, destroyed buildings, even inside of a covenant super carrier but that was a story for another time.

"Okay then, I guess that's settled".

An hour passed and Rust had reluctantly agreed to sleep in Twilights room in a bed opposite to her own so that she could keep an eye on her. Everypony had left bidding their farewells to Twilight while only Pinkie Pie and Applejack were either brave or trusting enough to do the same to Rust.

The human could only lie down on the bed, unable to sleep while Twilight and Spike slept like two babies. Too much had happened to the soldier, one minute he had been fighting a losing battle, the next he was being escorted by ponies. This would make an interesting briefing to captain Lasky.

Time ticked on and sleep was beginning to take its toll on Rust and he slowly shut his eyes. Hopefully by tomorrow he could wake up in a cryo pod aboard INFINITY and forget this nightmare. He hoped. But nonetheless all he could do was shut his eyes and pray.
> Emotional Q and A
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once the sun had begun to rise over the hilltops, Twilight woke up with the hopes of making the alien feel more welcome after last nights performance.

She looked over and saw the human still sleeping in his armor. How he was able to sleep in it would be a good question for later if the princess would let her. But for now, she hopped out of her bed, brushed her messy mane and galloped softly over to Rust.

"Rust"? She whispered gently, trying not to make him jump out of his sleep.
No response. She tried again, this time a little louder.

"Come on Rust, wake up".

This time, Rusts eyes opened slowly. He groaned before sitting up, forcing Twilight to take a step back. He looked around the room before moaning and covering his face with both hands. He wasn't happy.

"Are you ok Rust"? Asked Twilight.

Rust turned his head over to his left where Twilight was and gave her a look that said "What do you think"? But nonetheless answered her question.

"You mean apart from the fact I'm still stuck here? No I'm completely fine". His voice cranky and moody.

Twilights ears dropped to her sides. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the human. After all, how would she have felt if she was in some unknown land separated from all her friends and family. Especially after having lost some of his men, the situation must have been torturous to say the least.

"I'm sorry". Spoke Twilight. "I didn't mean to upset you".

Rust sighed and stood up before the unicorn.

"It's all right. I never was a morning person anyway".

Twilight smiled a bit at his friendly response and walked a little closer to him. There was something that she felt like she had to say.

"Listen Rust, about last night, I-". Rust cut her off.

"Look, Twi. I know what you're going to say. And I forgive you and your friends for attacking me. Especially your yellow friend. Besides, you already apologized yesterday for that remember"?

"Actually that wasn't what I meant to ask you".

Rust raised an eyebrow.

"No"?

"No. I just wanted to know, you said you lost your friends yesterday. I know that Fluttershy gave her... condolences but the rest of us, well we didn't give you much support. So, on behalf of all my friends, I'd like to say sorry for your loss".

Twilight lowered her head with sorrow, truly showing how sorry she was to the marine.

Rust stood there for a few seconds. He certainly didn't expect that to come from the purple pony's mouth. However he took a step forward up to Twilight and patted her on the head. Figuring how regular horse enjoyed that, he figured that ponies would too. 

Twilight lifted her head upon feeling the humans hand touch her mane and saw him with a small smile on his face.

"Thanks Twi. I appreciate it".

Twilight smiled back and Rust lifted his hand off the unicorn. He then walked over to the spot he had been sleeping on and picked up his gear, attaching it to his armor as he did.

"So Rust, would you like some breakfast"? Asked Twilight, still being as friendly as she could.

Rust grunted and nodded before he began to follow Twilight down the stairs and into the room where he had been tied to a chair the day before. He walked over to the table which had a wodden horses head standing in the middle of it and assumed it was the dinner table. He sat down carefully as the chair was a little smaller than average chairs.

Twilight walked into the kitchen leaving Rust for a moment. Soon enough, she came back levitating two plates of eggs and toast. One for both her and for Rust. How she was able to do that with the plates was something that Rust would need to ask later, but for now he didn't seem to care about anything other than food.

As she set the plates down, Rust began to dig in. It had been too long since his last meal. However it became apparent that the purple unicorn sitting opposite him was eager to ask him some questions.

"So Rust"?

Rust took his eyes off of his food and up to Twilight and noticed that she was now levitating a notepad and what looked like a quill.

"Yes"? He asked cautiously.

"Is it okay if I ask you some questions about you and your species"?

Rust thought carefully. He could just tell her the general knowledge of the human history. That would keep her amused for a while, as long as she didn't ask anything that was classified. Besides it wasn't like he had anything better to do.

"Sure, why not"? He said halfheartedly before digging into his toast.

"Wonderful"! Twilight nearly squeaked as she got ready.

"Question 1, What species are you"?

Rust lifted his head up for a second. Didn't he tell them that already?

"Didn't I tell you yesterday back in the forest"? He asked. Was the pony trying to mess around with Rust or was it just him?
"Well, yes but this isn't for me to just learn, its for the princess too, so that we can understand your species better".

"As much as that helps me, that still dosen't explain why you can't just write it down".

Twilight nodded awkwardly before attempting to write it down, but stopping and looked back at Rust with a look of worry mixed with confusion. Rust raised his eyebrow, wondering what was taking her, then it hit him.

"You don't know how to spell human do you"? He said simply.

Twilight shrugged and gave him an apologetic look. Rust sighed.

"H-U-M-A-N".

Twilight wrote each letter carefully as though she was attempting to create a masterpiece.

"Now I know how Spike feels writing some of my letters". She thought, a little embarrassed, after all it was only a five letter word.

"Sorry". She apologized after finishing writing the word.

"Happens to the best of us". Rust admitted.

Twilight nodded before writing down her second question.

"And the strangest". Rust finished in his head.

"Okay, question two, how many of your species are there"?

"It was once at twenty six billion, but now its nowhere near as much".

Twilight paused for a moment. She was expecting a few million at the most. But twenty five billion?! How was that possible? But one thing caught her attention the most.

"Once"?

"Pardon"?

"You said that there was once twenty six billion humans? I don't understand".

Rust looked down, hoping he wouldn't have to explain the last thirty years of humankind's history... and survival.

"We were at war, with another species. Well, several different species that joined together centuries ago to form this... group called the covenant. And we nearly lost.

If Rust hadn't lowered his head, he would have come across Twilights face, shocked and horrified.

"You were at war? With these covenant"?

"Yeah... we were. By the time the war ended five years ago, Humanity's numbers were no higher than two hundred million".

Twilight could only raise her hoof to her mouth and hold back tears as she took it all in. Over twenty six billion killed in one single war. Rust seemed to be managing well enough, memories are easier than the real thing, once they've been experienced.

"But, how? How could they do something like that, the covenant"?

"You know, Instead of explaining it to you".

Rust took off his helmet and place it on the table.

"I'll show you".

Rust fiddled with his helmet for a minute until some sort of light shone out revealing a picture of the middle of a city from Rusts point of view. There was also a noticeable isosceles triangle in the bottom right corner facing to the right.

"If things get a little too much for you, just tell me and I'll stop it, okay"? 

Twilight nodded before using her magic to pull the curtains on, making the room darker and easier to see the projection. Rust then pressed a button on the helmet, making the video log play.
> Ten years ago, part one
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

10.06.48
COLONY: TALOS
CITY: SPERIA
COVENANT ASSAULT ON WESTERN FRONT
ARROW SQUAD SENT TO ASSIST SHIELD SQUAD

The city of Speria had been breached by two covenant cruiser class ships only minutes ago when the last of the UNSC destroyer class ship perished in an orange inferno. 

Most of the civilians were running for their lives from the covenant bomber banshees which swooped down, taking out groups of terrified civilians. Those who were able to survive didn't seem to be as lucky. Behind the banshees was a platoon of covenant made up of elites and grunts. They attacked just as ferociously as their brothers had inside the banshees, but killed their prey at a much slower rate, making them suffer as they believed that they had earned it.

As the slaughter was taking place, several pelicans flew overhead. One of them containing Arrow squad plus an extra two marines. Being held in place by the pelicans powerful magnetic clamps was a standard M12R Light Anti-Aircraft Vehicle. Or as the marines preferred, the rocket hog.

The pelicans scattered, each taking at least one marine squad to either assist with evacuation plans or to delay the advancing forces of the covenant. For Arrow squad however, they had been tasked with assisting a pinned down recon unit known as Shield who were under heavy fire according to their last message only three minutes ago. Their radios had been silent since.

Arrows pelican landed just outside a nice little restaurant which was only several streets from where Shield was meant to be. The marines jogged out once the back hangar had opened up. 

Three marines lined up on each side of the pelican. The area seemed clear and untouched by the heavy mortar fire taking place further within the west side of the city. Hopefully there was no chance of running into that type of covenant armor. But just in case, the pelicans pilot released the rocket hog a few feet of the ground. As it landed, its tires caused it to bounce once before it became as still as a statue.

From the group of Arrow squad, there were four members. Forest, Buzzard, Hammer and Rust. The other two marines were considered additional support. Their job was to guard the area so that the pelican could re-land without worrying about a hot LZ. Rust began to go over the assigned roles with his own squad.

"Ok people listen up. We haven't got much time before the fighting spreads. Hammer and forest will take the Rocket hog and destroy any and all light armor that the covenant have over at the Plaza north of here. That way we won't need to worry about the covenant calling in nearby units to assist them in case we're compromised. The Marines will stay here and keep the area from falling into covenant control in case we need a fast ride out of here. Buzzard and myself will head into the hot zone and assist Shield. Once we have completed our primary objectives, we will meet back here to this location and prep for evac. Remember we only have a twenty minutes on the clock. After that this area will be overrun by the covenant. Are your objectives understood"?

Every marine shouted "SIR YES SIR" before saluting, making Rust give a small grin.

"Mmhm. Glad to damn well hear it. Now move out! Double time"!

Each group of marines immediately begun their missions. Forest and Hammer climbed onto the rocket hog, Forest driving and Hammer shooting, and sped off round the corner, ready to encounter whatever the covenant was ready to throw at them. Rust and Buzzard jogged round the corner leaving the other two marines all alone.

Only two minutes into their objective, Rust and Buzzard had made it down the street and reached their second corner. But before they advanced, they heard something talking. It wasn't human. It sounded more along the lines of... an elite.
Rust peeped round the corner and true enough, two elites stood halfway down the street. One an officer and the other a minor. It was hard to see what they were doing but the officer had its energy sword activated. It looked as though it was holding something in front of it with its other hand but the massive bodies of the sanghelios warriors made better doors than windows.
Suddenly, the officer swung its weapon in front of itself and was followed by a scream. The officer then threw what it held to its right. A human body fell lifeless onto the cold concrete road which was followed by both aliens laughing.

"Those damn bastards". Rust muttered to himself, though Buzzard was able to hear him.
"Orders Sarge"?

"We'll need to play this carefully, stay here and be ready to take out the blue one. I'll sneak up behind and kill the major".

"Roger".

Buzzard pulled the sniper rifle he had taken for the mission off of his back and aimed at the minors head. Rust stayed to the right side of the street, letting the shadows mask his approach.

As soon as he was convinced he was close enough, the left the safety of the shadows and crept into the middle of the street, five meters away from the eight foot tall monsters. Rust put his main weapon, an assault rifle, onto his back and pulled out his knife from his flak jacket.

The minor elite stared at the human body for a little while longer before it found itself distracted by the pitter patter noise coming from behind it. The minor turned round and as it did, Rust broke into a run, still focused on the major.

The minor warrior aimed its carbine at the human and shouted something in its own language before a shot rang out and the minor was blown backwards with a hole in its head.

The officer saw the body of its brother fall to the ground. But before it had the chance to do anything else, Rust jumped onto its back causing it to stumble forwards and yell. Rust then grabbed onto a bulky part of its armor and drove his knife though the back of the elites neck. The force of the blow was enough to overload the majors shields and pierce its scaly skin at the same time, giving it a more painful and slower death than its brother.

Rust swished his knife around to try and get some of the blood off the knife. Droplets of purple flew all over the pavement.
However, a lone jackal a few blocks away on top of one the buildings on the left side of the street noticed the human and sought to avenge its masters. It aimed its beamrifle at Rust until it was convinced it had a kill shot. Then...

*BANG*

The jackal sniper dropped its weapon and fell from the building and onto the ground with a big thud. Rust looked back to Buzzard to see smoke coming from the barrel of his weapon. Rust nodded as to say thanks and both continued down to the next street where Shield awaited. Or what remained.

The last transmission from Shield squad was believed to have come from the location where Rust and Buzzard now stood. But they hadn't expected the sight to be such a bloodbath.

Concrete had been ripped up, Destroyed cars still burning. The bodies of human corpses covered in so much of their own blood, it was had to see the white of their armor. What ever had happened, it had been a massacre.

Buzzard reluctantly stepped forward and looked past into the distance. An empty sniper rifle with no ammo casing lay on the ground. Whatever attacked, it must have been one tough behemoth.

Rust heard the shuffling of rubble to his left. He pulled the assault rifle from his back and went to investigate while Buzzard continued his own search. Rust walked up to the source of the disturbance, aiming his rifle, it came from behind one of the cars that hadn't been completely demolished. Rust aimed his rifle and turned the corner of the car to see a marine. One barely hanging onto life as he seemed to be holding his chest and coughing violently.

Rust crept down to face the soldier properly.

"What happened here trooper"?

"We- we were attacked... I. I can't"... The marine struggled to speak. Rust noticed this.

"Don't worry trooper, just try to rest".

This rescue op seemed to be taking a bad turn. Only one member of Shield still alive, and in terrible condition, out of five. But what?

"RUST, BEHIND YOU"!!

Rust turned behind him, seeing a giant boot raise up and try to crush him. Rust got out of the way just in time. The injured marine, not as lucky who screamed as the massive boot came down upon his face, crushing the poor soldiers skull into very small fragments.

Rust looked back at his attacker to see a twelve foot hunter. Bullets had left slight dents in its shielded arm which meant that this was the monster responsible for attacking Shield. The gargantuan creature roared as it charged for Rust. Then...

*STATIC*

"Damn it"! Rust shook his helmet. The video had seemed to malfunction. Shame too, it was just about to get to the good part. He checked the camera feed, it seemed fine a moment ago.

"I don't think I can fix the recording feed just now". He apologized to Twilight. However, Twilight couldn't help but stare in fear at what she had witnessed. Such violence and death. It was horrible.

"Rust"...

Rust turned to face the unicorn. Tears flowed from her eyes.

"I... don't think I can watch anymore. please don't make me".

Rust sighed and switched off the camera feed. The static visual ended.

"Look, Twilight. I know you may think that"-.

"It's okay Rust". Twilight looked Rust in the eye. "I know you did it to protect your own kind. If I was put in you position, I would have to do the same thing. To protect my friends and family". Twilight then offer a small smile.

"...Thanks for understanding". Rust smiled back.

Twilight sighed and stood up, realizing that it was time to go.

"So, you ready to meet the Princess"?

"Sure. I'm curious in knowing how she was already aware of my presence".

With that, both of them got up from their seats and got ready to round up the other elements of harmony.
> Reunion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rust grabbed the scattershot and allowed the metallic clamps automatically attach it to his back. He looked back to Twilight who nodded, signalling that she was ready.

The pair left the library and entered the village where Rust found the streets to be empty, just like the first time he entered the ghost town. He couldn't help but ask the only pony next to him for answers.

"Is there a reason we're the only two living people in this town"?

Twilight looked at him with annoyance. Rust had no idea why she was giving him that look, then it clicked.

"Sorry. The only person and pony. Happy"? Rust cheekily replied.

"Don't worry about it. Most ponies are just afraid that your a monster is all". Twilight replied as though this sort of thing was common.

"...Okay"... Rust spoke, unsure if he wanted to go into any further detail.

"It happened with an old friend of mine, Zecora. I'll take you to meet her sometime".

"So... about this war with the covenant"...

Rust sighed.

"Go on". He spoke dryly, not even bothering to look at the purple unicorn.

"Did it end"?

"...Sort of. Humanity won the war. But only several years later, a small section of loyalist covenant refused to believe that everything they served for, their so called Gods, were not as great as they once thought. They saw it necessary to try and search an unknown planet only discovered by humanity six months ago. Requiem. A forerunner planet containing more than we expected".

Twilight wasn't sure if she wanted to press on. But on second thoughts, this talk could help to ease the humans burden and make pony- human relationships stronger. Plus she may need to write some of this information down for the sake of science.

"What did you find there"?

"Personally, a whole bunch of pissed of robots called Promethean knights. As for the UNSC in general. What we believe to have been the last forerunner alive, and one of the best the UNSC has to offer, thought to be lost after the collapse of the ark portal. Spartan 117".

With every answer given, Twilight thought of at least another five. What's a forerunner? What does UNSC stand for? Who is Spartan 117? Before she could press on...

"RUSTIE"!

Rust looked in the direction of the yell and quickly found something latched to his face which was both very pink and had no respect for personal space.

"Hmmmf Fnkke Fhii"! Rust mumbled as his face was covered in pink fur. He eventually got over the shock and pryed the pink pony off of him. Behind her were the rest of the ponies as Rust could now clearly see.

"Hi girls". Twilight greeted in her usual friendly manner. Everypony greeted Twilight before eventually and hesitantly greeting the six foot armored alien next to her. Rust slowly waved, not caring about anything except the meeting with this princess character which was kept on his mind since this morning.

"So how are we getting to the Princess"? Asked Rust impatiently, gaining Twilight's attention.

"With that". Twilight pointed to the left of Rust. The marine followed her hoof until he saw some kind of pink olden steam train like earth used to use centuries ago, only this one was pink.

"I see. Let's go then". Rust spoke before making his way towards the train. As he did, Rainbow Dash began to have a private talk with Twilight, away from the other girls.

"Are you sure about this Twilight? I mean, that thing is dangerous"!

"I know what I'm doing Rainbow Dash. Besides, he's quite nice. When he wants to".

"Still, I don't like it". Rainbow Dash took another look at the creature and glared behind it's back as it talked to Fluttershy.

"So hows that Manticore from yesterday"?

"Oh he's fine. Just a few deep wounds but Manticores are quite resilient".

"Good to know". Rust spoke to Fluttershy. In his head, he made his own comment.

"Next time I'll know to shoot it in it's face if it tries anything again".

"So what do you do for a job"? Asked the timid Pegasus nervously.

"Putting it simply, Soldier. Infantry".

"And who do others see you as? If you don't mind me asking"...

"I'm usually friendly, as long as there isn't something wanting to kill me".

Fluttershy gasped in horror, though Rust chose to ignore it. Before Fluttershy could ask what he meant, Rust had boarded the train and took a seat away from her, almost as though Fluttershy had said something offensive to him.

Rust waited for the other five ponies to board the train until he decided to stare out the window, viewing the still empty town. Many of the buildings were made of stone or wood, with straw roofs. It reminded Rust of the Dark Ages, one of his favorite history subjects. Only that here, the population was made up of talking horses and happened to have trains. It just didn't seem to mix. 

"Tickets"! Rust heard from the next car and turned round to face the door. In a matter of seconds, what looked like the conductor, came through the door. Unaware of the armored human just meters away.

"Tickets! Get your tic- HOLY CELESTIA WHAT IS THAT THING"!?! The conductor suddenly yelled out after finally seeing Rust who wore an annoyed expression over being called a thing.

"Nice to meet you too". Rust said calmly, ignoring the poor stallion who looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"Sir, this... sentient being means no harm. Please be a little less jumpy". Twilight spoke up, saving the day with words.

The stallion was still jumpy but no longer looked like he was scared shitless. Instead, he handed, with hooves, seven tickets for the train. Six for the ponies and the other for Rust. After selling the tickets, the conductor made himself have no reason to stick around and exited the train car. Rust just sighed.

"This is going to be a long ride".

That was the last thing he said before the train set off. As the train moved further away from the town, Rust could barely make out several ponies exiting the buildings, believing that the big bad human had left them alone. Deep down, he found it a little funny to be seen as a threat for once, though in a silly way.

SIX HOURS LATER

After one of the longest train rides Rust had ever gone through, they were finally at the City of Canterlots station where several golden armored guards waited. Inside the train, Rust had been silent the entire way, him and Twilight who seemed down. Being the good Samaritan, Rust got up from his seat and tried to talk to her while the other girls were busy talking amongst themselves.

"Are you okay Twilight"? Rust spoke in a caring tone.

Twilight acknowledged Rust's presence but didn't turn to face him. Rust then figured out what it was that was bothering her.

"Is this to do with Celestia"?

Twilight nodded before opening up to the soldier.

"I just don't understand why Princess Celestia didn't give me more information on you. I mean, she obviously knows about your presence so I just would have thought she would have trusted me with such vital information. I am her student after all".

"We all have our reasons Twi. Why Celestia didn't give you more info on my kind or... why I chose to show you that mission log from this morning, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you need to put some faith into your... Princess as I've done with you".

Twilight turned and looked at Rust with a confused look.

"With me"?

"Yes, I showed you some horrific videos back at the library and you've kept it to yourself. Not many souls would keep such secrets to themselves. And I wouldn't have shown you it unless I could have trusted you".

Twilight seemed to smile but only slightly before nodding and looking out the window again Rust decided to let her think about that and waited for the train to come to a stop. The mane six lined up next to him and allowed the doors to open. As they walked out of the car, they were met by...

"SHINY"! Twilight yelped happily.

"Twily"! The white unicorn greeted before the two hugged each other. As they let go, Rust noticed that the greatly armored pony soldier had a black eye.

"Shining, what happened to your eye"?

Shining armor said nothing at first but looked up to the human and glared at him as though his injury was somehow the humans fault.

"It's a long story". Shining spoke coldly, locking eyes with the humans before turning to Twilight with a more friendly attitude.

"The princess is waiting for us. Please follow me".

"Sure thing, shiny". Rust replied.

In a few minutes of entering the castle from a secret tunnel that led underneath the city, as having an unknown creature parade around Canterlot would cause mass chaos, Rust found himself inside a large, marble room with stained windows and a huge chair at the very end of the room. Sitting in said chair was the biggest of all ponies that Rust had seen. Seven foot tall, white fur, had both a horn and a wing, a crown.

"Celestia I presume"? Rust asked, earning him a push from behind from "Shiny" until Rust was standing just in front of the few stairs. The other ponies had been taken to another part of the castle so for now, it was just Rust, Celestia and Shining armor.

"Good afternoon Rust". The alicorn spoke with a kindness in her voice. "I am glad to see that you have arrived safely to Canterlot".

"As much as I appreciate the kindness, how do you know about me? I mean, you already knew what I was and left it at that".

"Ah yes. Forgive my bluntness but Ponyville was not the only residence to receive an unusual visitor". She said calmly, allowing a smile to form on her face.

"And that means"...?
"It means you weren't the only son of a bitch who landed in the land of fairytales Sarge"! Came a familiar voice from behind Rust. Rust turned round to see another human smiling at him, wearing the same armor as himself and was holding a shotgun with both his arms whilst being escorted by two golden unicorns with spears.

"No way! Forest"!?