Chapter 01

CHAPTER 1

UNSC FFG-818 “LIGHTNING”
MAY 21ST, 2556
DESTINATION: DEEP SPACE MONITORING OUTPOST ALPHA-6
0616 HOURS, EARTH STANDARD TIME

Spartan Adam-D014 was where he always was on the UNSC Lightning: in the hangar bay, working on his custom retrofitted Pelican dropship. Adam was a SPARTAN-IV, the newest generation of UNSC supersoldiers whose purpose was clear: protect humanity at all costs. Unlike most S-IV’s, Adam chose a lone-wolf lifestyle. Most of the others he knew in training had been grouped up in four-to-five man squads, but Adam had didn’t work well with other people. On solo training missions, his scores were above average, even for a SPARTAN. But whenever he was paired up with another person, he always felt that they got in his way. Because of this, the navy had decided to put him by himself, throwing him into more reconnaissance/assassination missions. It wasn’t that he couldn’t work well with others, it’s just that he preferred not to. Not anymore…

And that is why Adam spent most of his time in the hangar. Usually, it was quiet. Occasionally a tech would come in to check that all of the smaller craft were secure, or to fix a small mechanical problem. But most of the time, the hangar was a land of peace and quiet. This was the case on this particular day. Adam had followed his morning routine: he woke up, showered, ate breakfast, went to the fitting room to get his armor on, and then came here. He always would work on the custom D79H-TC Pelican dropship that the UNSC had commissioned for him. Unlike most Pelicans, this one sacrificed room in the troop bay for an expanded weapons rack, and had extra space in the ceiling where a small active camouflage unit was installed. Of course the Pelican was always in perfect shape, but Adam still liked to work on it. He felt like there was always something to do; increase engine output, improve active camo efficiency, whatever came to mind.

Today he was cleaning the missile tubes. Due to several weeks of neglect, they had accumulated a thin layer of grime and dust. It was nothing too serious, but Adam did not want to risk having a missile jam in its tube, and explode while still inside. Once he finished this rather quick and easy task, and had placed the missiles back inside, he entered the cockpit. He turned on the small craft’s computer, and checked system diagnostics. Everything was running perfectly. Adam spared a glance upwards, out of the cockpit and through the thick glass windows in the hangar doors. Slipspace looked strange, like a tangle of blues, whites, and greens, all travelling at faster than light speeds. But there was something off; a flicker here, a lapse in color there… it was not normal. Slowly, the Spartan began to reach his hand up to his ear to activate his comm. But before he could reach it, the ship’s emergency alarm began to ring out. The view of slipspace began flickering and flashing with increasing intensity, and looked as though it could collapse at any minute. The intercom buzzed on, and the captain’s rushed and anxious voice filtered through.

“All crew, prepare for emergency slipspace departure!” He said urgently. Adam felt the ship begin to shudder, as though it was going to tear itself apart. Following procedure, Adam did the safest thing possible, and strapped into the Pelican’s pilot seat. The view outside began flickering and flashing even more, until it finally glowed a brilliant white. Adam held his arm up in front of his visor as it struggled to polarize to block the sudden burst of light. The ship began shaking even more intensely, and Adam began to hear the groaning of the ship’s superstructure. His visor finally polarized, and he lowered his arm. All around him was chaos. The extreme turbulence had caused many of the other craft’s securing straps to snap in half, and the docking clamps to demagnetize. To his right, an F-41 Broadsword lifted up off of the deck as artificial gravity briefly cut out, only to slam back down onto the ground, creating a large hole in the floor. To his left, two Pelican dropships that had become unsecured crashed into one another. One had its fuel tank breached, spilling oil all over the deck. The oil soon caught flame, and sent the two Pelicans roaring up. The flames triggered several fuel tanks on the wall to explode, breaching the hull in several areas. The large room started decompressing, and while it put out the flames, it also sent any small objects not secured to the deck flying out of it. Finally, the white light outside subsided, and half of the ship was flung unceremoniously out of slipspace.

The stress on his Pelican’s securing straps was too much, and they finally snapped. As a last ditch effort to save himself, Adam turned on the engines, and deactivated his docking clamps. From somewhere behind him, another Pelican fell towards the hangar door, smashing it open and sending various other items out into the vacuum of space. Debris was raining all around the hangar, and power continued the flicker. The lights cut out, but the klaxons continued blaring on emergency power. Ship stabilization was lost, and the ship continued to tumble violently through space. Adam set his Pelican’s thrusters to match the random rotations of the frigate as best as they could, and as soon as he had an opening, he fired the main thrusters and flew through the destroyed hangar door. On the way out, a warthog that had become unsecured from the deck slammed into the starboard side of his Pelican, damaging the engine. As he frantically sped to control his descent, Adam barely noticed the massive moon looming in front of him. Adam hit the ventral thrusters, pushing him upwards and away from the gravity well of the rocky satellite.

Beyond the moon was a view that surprised Adam: a planet. It appeared terrestrial; it seemed to be mostly water with one massive supercontinent and several islands surrounding it. From what he could see beneath the cloud layer, it seemed to have a landscape not dissimilar to that of any other UNSC colony, like Reach. But Adam allowed himself too long of a look, and soon heard a loud alarm ringing in the cockpit. Adam looked down at the diagnostics, and saw that his starboard engine had completely blown out from its collision with the warthog, and was now completely useless. Adam tried using the other engines, but power was not reaching them, there was likely damage to the Pelican’s small reactor. As his orbit began to decay, Adam frantically tried anything he could to save himself. Backup power wasn’t responding… he could jump; his armor would absorb the impact of the collision, but he didn’t have anything to use as a heat shield. Still, Adam tried all that he could to get power flowing back to the engines. The outside of the hull was beginning to glow, and the ship was shaking. Every few seconds, Adam allowed himself a glance at the altimeter. 20,000 meters, 15,000 meters, 10,000 meters… He was falling too quickly. There was no doubt now, he was going to crash. Adam looked up out of the window and saw before him… a town? Adam blinked, believing that it was his eyes fooling him, but when they reopened, it was still there. Though it was clearly early morning on this planet, he could’ve sworn he saw movement in the town as his doomed ship fell overhead. Beyond the town lay a large, expansive forest. There seemed to be no clearings in the next few miles of it, so crash survival was unlikely, not unless he could slow down. Frantically, Adam continued issuing commands on the Pelican’s terminal, and finally managed to divert just enough power to the ventral engines for a small burst that would slow him down. Adam looked out of the window anxiously. He had to fire the thrusters at just the right moment or he wouldn’t make it. 5,000 meters, 2,500 meters, 1,250 meters… When the altimeter read a mere 300 meters he hit the thruster activation switch, and felt a sharp jolt as the ventral thrusters briefly activated, slowing the ship down just enough to keep him alive. Adam now only had a few seconds before he would hit the trees. With nothing else left to do, he locked his armor, closed his eyes, and hoped for the best…

Princess Luna, diarch of Equestria, had not been having a good day so far. She usually was asleep during this time, having already lowered the moon, but today her sister had requested her attendance at a small meeting with several of Canterlot’s chief scientists. 5:30am was an odd time to meet, but she and her sister had a pressed schedule. This was the only time that they would be able to host this meeting. After an hour of listening to a plethora of scientific jargon, they finally broke for an early breakfast. Luna, being much more anti-social than her sister, opted to eat in her room. She knew Celestia didn’t like it, but Luna still felt uncomfortable around the castle staff after her return from banishment a mere three years earlier. She had spent a thousand years on the moon. This was only a fraction of her lifetime, but when it was spent all alone, it seemed a million times longer. Luna sadly placed her plate of food on her desk, and cracked open the door, looking at one of the guards.

“I am not to be disturbed for the next several minutes,” she commanded. The guard simply nodded, and looked back down the hallway. Luna closed her door, and walked into the center of the room. Her horn glowed brilliantly for a moment, and when the light subsided she was in a far different place. She looked at her surroundings, taking in all of the lack of color. The moon may have appeared bland and boring to most ponies, but Luna had always had a connection to it. She was princess of the night, after all. She sighed, and soaked in the beauty of the gray, cratered orb around her. This was her special place, where nobody else could find her. She came here often after her banishment, seeking solitude in a place that was familiar to her. It was always quiet on the moon. There was nothing to carry sound, offering a perfectly serene environment for her to relax.

Seemingly, this was not the case today. Off in the distance, only a few hundred kilometers from her moon, there was a small distortion, like a tear. The “tear” slowly grew until it formed a white, luminous light. Out of this light emerged a large metal construct, the likes of which the lunar princess had never seen. It spun at incredible speeds towards the moon, while hundreds of pieces of debris flew out of it. Multiple explosions tore at the outside of the thing, sending even more debris flying into the moon. One piece in particular seemed to be heading straight for her, but then it suddenly changed direction and began heading right for the planet. Bewildered, Luna stood frozen for several moments. The large construct continued hurdling right for the moon, before it finally impacted on the surface, skidding for dozens of miles before coming to a complete stop at the edge of a large crater.

Luna spread her powerful wings and began to fly as quickly as possible over to the crashed construct. She was about 500 meters from it before she stopped herself. What if it’s dangerous? she thought. Luna decided that the best course of action would be to return to Equestria and inform her sister immediately. Lighting up her horn, Luna teleported back to her quarters in the Canterlot Palace, and immediately rushed out to inform her sister of what she had seen.

Chapter 02

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CHAPTER 2

Ponyville at 6:30 in the morning was certainly not the most exciting place. While larger cities like Manehattan or Canterlot usually were bustling with early morning activity of ponies getting to work, most individuals in the quaint countryside town were still asleep. One pony who was not asleep, however, was one particular Twilight Sparkle. It was a Wednesday, and every Wednesday Twilight would get up bright and early to get a head start on her studying. While most ponies thought that the mare already studied more than enough on most days, she never was one to underachieve. Feeling that it was time to get to work, Twilight quietly crept out of her bedroom (so as not to wake her sleeping assistant, Spike), and trotted down to the kitchen to brew some coffee. Entering the kitchen, Twilight used her magic to retrieve a bag of coffee grounds, and placed it next to the maker. While she filled the filter with the grounds, she hummed a happy tune. Most ponies would have felt glum about having to get up so early to study, but today Twilight had scheduled one of her favorite subjects: astronomy. Ponykind’s knowledge of the cosmos was still very limited, which, to her, made studying the subject all the more exciting. The coffee finished brewing, and she poured herself a cup. Walking into the main room of her library/home, she grabbed her astronomy book and took a seat on her couch. Her dark purple eyes moved back and forth, carefully taking in every word on the page.

She had just gotten to reading about the life cycle of a star when her reading was interrupted by an obnoxious whining noise. Annoyed, she folded her ears over her head to block it out. It worked for a few moments, but then the whining simply got louder… and louder, and louder. The sound was coming from outside, so Twilight carefully put her book aside, placed her coffee mug on an end table, and walked to the front door. She pushed the large door open with her magic, and stepped outside into the cool, crisp morning air. As soon as she passed through the door, the whining became much louder. She took several steps from her home, then turned her eyes skyward. Immediately, her eyes met a large, burning fireball clearing the upper atmosphere. As the fireball descended below the cloud layer, the flames diminished, but whatever it was, it was still billowing a large amount of smoke. Her eyes opened wide in wonder as the object quickly continued falling towards the ground. It was still well over a thousand meters away, but Twilight was beginning to be able to make out small details. Whatever it was, it was reflecting the ample sunlight that 6:30am provided, meaning that it was made of some form of metal. She also noticed that the object appeared symmetrical. From her angle, it had a large, bulbous front, with two boxes extending out from either side. After a few more seconds, the object soared over Ponyville at incredible speeds, heading straight past the town and into the Everfree forest. Another few seconds passed, and then she heard a dull boom as whatever it was crashed into the dark, dangerous forest.

“Twilight!” a scratchy, feminine voice yelled from behind her. Twilight turned around and saw her Pegasus friend, Rainbow Dash, hovering a few meters off of the ground. She lowered herself to the ground, and then ran to the lavender unicorn. “Did you see that!?” she said.

“Yes, I saw it crash in the Everfree forest,” Twilight replied. Before Dash could speak again, a loud, southern accent filled the air.

“Just what in tarnation was that!?” yelled Applejack. Twilight turned to address the earth pony farmer, but before she could open her mouth, her eyes were met with a large pair of blue ones, supporting a large pink mane.

“OHMYGOSHTWILIGHTDIDYOUSEETHAT!?” the pink party pony, Pinkie Pie, yelled right in Twilight’s face. Surprised, Twilight jumped back a few paces. Twilight once again opened her mouth to reply, but was once again cut off, this time by a rather grumpy looking white unicorn.

“Just what is all the commotion about, my dears? And must it be taking place at 6:30 in the morning?” Rarity said, clearly upset about having been woken up.

“I-,” Twilight began, before she was, yet again, interrupted, this time by a soft, clearly shaken voice.

“Twi-Twilight?” Fluttershy asked nervously. “Wh-what was th-that?”

Believing all of the interruptions to be over, Twilight finally opened her mouth to speak.

“Everypony, I do not know what that was,” Twilight began. “From what I saw before it crashed, it seemed to be made of some kind of metal, and was symmetrical in nature. It crashed just a couple of miles that way, in the Everfree forest.” Twilight pointed in the direction that she had seen the object crash in. Her friends all looked, and noticed a small plume of smoke rising from the area.

“Obviously, nothing like this has happened before. That is why it is critical that we go to investigate.”

The reactions of her friends were varied: Rainbow seemed excited at the challenge, Applejack was indifferent, Rarity yawned, Pinkie (as usual) smiled, and Fluttershy retreated in fear. As for Twilight, she wasn’t quite sure what she felt. Deep down she was fearful of what might be awaiting them at the impact site, but on the other hoof, she was excited to satisfy her naturally high curiosity. Twilight set off down the main street of Ponyville, her friends walking close behind (the exception being Fluttershy, whom Applejack had to push). As Twilight walked down, she noticed many other ponies exiting their doors and looking around, confused as to what was going on. When they saw that the Elements were handling it (as usual), they went back inside their homes to continue their rests.

It was a short trek to the edge of the Everfree forest, just by Fluttershy’s cottage. At the threshold to the dark woods, Twilight and her five companions stopped. Twilight turned to glance at them, then set forth into the forest. Ponies, no matter how hard they tried, had never been able to fully control the forest. The place was the embodiment of chaos; it rained whenever it pleased, dangerous beasts roamed freely, and for that reason it was heavily cautioned that nopony enter the area. Of course, Twilight and her friends had been in many times already. They had never been too far deep inside, the furthest being the Castle of the Two Sisters, which was a relatively safe area. The crash site of the foreign object would take them just about a mile further than the castle. For all Twilight knew, nopony had yet been this far into the forest. She felt excitement at the opportunity, but most of her was terrified of what they would encounter.

The group travelled in silence for most of the journey. It was still early, the only one of them who was fully woken up was Applejack, who had been up before the sun to go applebucking. After about a half an hour of walking, they came upon the crash site. Whatever it was had created a sizeable clearing, and was currently resting lopsided next to a small hill. Sparks flew out of the object every few seconds, and parts of it appeared to be twitching. The object was something that nopony in the group had ever seen before. Twilight couldn’t even begin to imagine what it was or what it did. Lighting up her horn, Twilight searched the area for any life signs. The last thing she wanted was to be snuck up on by a creature of the Everfree. Surprisingly, she found one, and it appeared to be inside of the crashed object.

“There’s something in there!” Twilight called out. She ran towards the back of the object, her friends in close pursuit. The back was sloped upwards, with what appeared to be a small window set into it. The window was too foggy to look inside of, but it lead Twilight to believe that the slope was some form of door. She could see no obvious knob, and with no other ideas of how to open it, she turned to magic. Gripping the door in her telekinetic pull, she began to yank against its very tight hinges. She pulled continuously for several seconds, before finally the door slammed downwards, revealing the interior of the object. Lining the sides were what appeared to be small seats, but they were shaped oddly for anypony to sit in. At the back left was a large, olive drab box, and next to it was another door. The group of ponies ventured inside, with only Rainbow Dash staying outside to keep guard. Twilight approached the second door, and spotted what she believed to be a button on one side. Cautiously, she pressed the button, and the door quickly slid open.

What lay beyond was a mess. Long tubes were sticking out of parts of the walls, and many were sparking. In the center was another strangely shaped seat, though this one was occupied. Inside it sat a very large… something, bent down over a table with many buttons on it. Whatever it was, it too was made out of metal, this one a dark gray color. At certain intervals, the dark gray gave way to black, which appeared to be made of some other material. Twilight activated her life detection spell, and found that her lone life sign seemed to be emanating from the metal “something”. Twilight gripped the metal creature with her magic, and attempted to sit it upright. She was surprised to find that, though it seemed limber, it was actually quite heavy. She kept on trying, and finally sat it upright in the chair. The creature’s face appeared to be a flat, reflective gold surface, which had a large crack running down the middle. Dried blood covered the wound, and Twilight noticed there was also a fair bit on the front window. Curiously, Twilight extended a forehoof and carefully, very carefully, touched the creature.

Adam-D014 awoke with a jolt. The first thing he took notice of was the raging headache that he had. The second was a warm, painful feeling on his forehead. He opened his eyes slowly so as not to let in too much light at once, and make his headache worse. When they were fully opened, he noticed that most of his HUD was gone. A large crack ran down the middle of the visor, which scrambled any HUD elements in the area. He was currently without crosshairs, a shield status display, and health status bar. What he did have was flickering, making it hard to see what the HUD element was trying to tell him. His motion tracker cut out every few seconds, and didn’t seem to even be showing anything. His ammo counter cycled through dozens of weapons, none of which he was currently carrying, and his grenade counter was turning on and off.

Adam tried to move, but found that he couldn’t. Right, he thought, armor lock. With a series of blinks, Adam brought up his (still shaky) systems panel, and deactivated armor lock. His arms fell to his sides, and immediately his suit registered a touch. At first, Adam chalked the touch up to malfunctioning systems, but upon second thought, he realized that he had felt his arm move as well. Slowly, Adam turned his helmeted head towards where the touch came from, and came face to face with… a horse? The horse stared back at him, equally confused. Normally Adam would have believed that he was on a UNSC colony that had animals transported to it, but then he realized that his particular horse was a bright lavender color, and had a large horn extending from its forehead. The horse, clearly nervous, began to retreat back through the cockpit door into the troop bay. Adam released his harness, and stood up out of the chair. He felt light-headed for a brief moment, and put his hand on the back wall to steady himself. When it passed, he stepped forward and exited the cockpit, entering the troop compartment. Inside was something even more confusing: six horses, each an equally ridiculous color. He noticed that two had horns, two had pairs of wings, and two seemed to be much more like the horses of Earth, which no strange extremities attached to them. All but one of them gave him quizzical looks, the only one not looking was watching outside of the Pelican. Adam looked at each of the small horses, and each of them looked at him. Well, they don’t appear too intelligent… thought Adam.

“… Hello?”

… Wait, what?

Something had definitely spoken. He had heard something, in perfectly clear English, say “hello”. Looking around, his eyes settled on the purple horse, who had stepped just the slightest bit closer. It couldn’t have been-

Adam’s train of thought was cut off as a loud roar split through the air. All of the horses quickly turned their heads out of the door, and ran outside. Quickly grabbing an M6H Magnum pistol and clipping it to his thigh, Adam followed them into the clearing his Pelican had made. Once outside, Adam immediately saw the source of the angry roar. Right outside of the dropship stood what appeared to be a massive lion with huge bat wings and a scorpion’s tail. The six horses all exchanged nods with one another, and Adam saw the purple ones horn begin to glow. A soft lavender glow slowly enveloped the giant beast. It stared at the glow for a few moments, confused, but then set its sights back on the horses. It leaped forward, and swung a large, clawed paw at the purple one standing right in the middle. The paw connected with its side, and sent it flying into the side of the Pelican. It hit it with a dull clang, and fell down, unconscious.

“Twilight!” one of the horses, a blue Pegasus, yelled out. At the sight of their now unconscious friend, Adam noticed the horses begin to nervously back off. This time, Adam was sure that he had seen one of the horses speak. Unsure of what to do, Adam figured that the horses were the more peaceful creatures here. He unholstered his M6H, aimed at the beast’s head, and fired off two shots. Both connected with the forehead, and sent blood and brain matter spraying out. The creature continued standing for a moment, before it crumpled to the ground, dead. One of the horses, this time a yellow Pegasus, put a hoof to its mouth and then proceeded to throw up in the bushes. The other four looked at Adam, their expressions a mixture of surprise and fear. His present job done, Adam holstered the magnum, and walked over to the unconscious horse. Based on its body shape, and the way it had definitely spoken to him earlier, he concluded that it was a female. He picked up her unconscious, bleeding body, and carried her inside the Pelican. The five other horses followed, all confused as to what he was doing. Once inside, he pressed a button on the side of the troop bay and the back hatch closed. Almost immediately, he heard a frantic banging on the large bulkhead. Adam set the horse down in the middle of the floor, her wound facing up at him. Adam retrieved a medical kit from the back wall, and began to assess the damage.

The horse clearly had some broken ribs, and very likely had a concussion from hitting the Pelican so hard. Adam noticed that her breathing was shallow, as she had likely had the wind knocked out of her too. Every few seconds she would cringe in pain, and would twitch. Adam grabbed a sedative from the medical kit and injected it into her. Almost immediately the twitching stopped, and she fell into a deep sleep. She had already lost a lot of blood, so Adam had to work quickly. He reset each one of her ribs into their proper locations, which, considering the different anatomy, was not easy. He then grabbed a canister of biofoam, inserted the nozzle into the wound, and sprayed it in to seal it shut. Already the bleeding had stopped, and her breathing was returning to normal. All that was left was to cover her up. He took a roll of battle dressings from the medical kit, and rolled her midsection in it. He then taped it down, and covered her with a long body splint. It didn’t fit well, but he had to make sure that she did not move, or else her ribs could move again before they were healed. Adam checked his clock. It had been thirty minutes since he brought the alien creature into his Pelican, and still he could hear the annoying banging against the bulkhead door. Deciding it was high time he returned her to her friends, Adam picked up the wounded horse and walked towards the door.

Rarity sat on the ground outside of the strange metal object, examining the amount of dirt getting into her coat. She scoffed at how dirty her hooves were getting, and then looked up at Rainbow Dash, who was slamming both of her forehooves into the door of the object.

“Dear, you’ve been at that for half an hour now, and you haven’t made much progress,” said Rarity. “Why don’t you just stop and wait?”

“Wait for what!?” the aggressive Pegasus replied. “For that thing to kill Twilight? Nu-uh, not on my watch!” She then turned back to the door and continued hitting it. She stopped when she saw a burst of steam emerge from the corners of the door, and cautiously took a few steps back. The door lowered itself down, and Dash saw the same metal creature from before, now holding a bandaged Twilight Sparkle. It walked forwards, out of the object, and stood in front of the five ponies. Carefully, it lowered her to the ground, and then stood back up. Both parties looked at each other for an awkward minute or two, before finally, it surprised all of the ponies by speaking.

“The sedative will wear off in a few hours,” it began, with a deep, gravelly voice. “She suffered multiple broken ribs, and has a pretty bad concussion. Keep her well hydrated, and make sure she doesn’t move, not until her ribs heal.” It then turned back towards the object, and began to walk inside. It stopped when Fluttershy wrapped her forelegs around one if it’s long legs. She looked up at him, teary-eyed.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. The creature simply stared for a moment, and Fluttershy peeled herself off. It then looked back forwards, and entered the metal object. The door closed behind it, leaving the ponies all alone in the Everfree.

“Come on y’all,” said Applejack. “Let’s get going.” She gingerly picked Twilight up and placed her on her back, then began walking out of the clearing. The other four ponies followed behind. Rainbow Dash heard an odd shimmering sound as she left the clearing, and turned to look back at the object, only to find it was not there. She squinted, confused, but decided that what was best right now was to get Twilight back to Ponyville. She ran to catch up to her friends, and they began the long trek back.

Chapter 03

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CHAPTER 3

In the span of about an hour and a half, Adam’s day had gone from seemingly normal, to so strange he almost couldn’t wrap his head around it. After he returned the purple horse to her friends, he had closed the door and activated the Pelican’s active camouflage module. Fortunately, it ran on a different power source that was isolated from the rest of the systems. He had briefly considered using that to power up his ship, but soon realized that he had no tools to complete this action, and it was unlikely that the generator would supply enough power anyway. Adam sat down in one of the seats in the troop compartment, and got to work on repairing his armor. He hit the neck seal on his helmet, and slowly pulled it off. Once it was off, he ran a gloved hand through his short, dark brown hair. He turned the helmet so that its visor was facing him, and assessed the damage. The helmet boasted several new dents, and one of the lights was broken, but by far the worst of the damage was the large crack running right down the middle. As long as that crack was there, he would lose access to many of his suits core systems. Adam began mentally recalling everything he knew about the visor. It was the weakest part of the helmet, and in the event that it was broken, it could be taken out and replaced. Standing up, Adam opened up one of the ceiling panels and took out a supply box. He always kept spare parts with him, whether for his MJOLNIR armor, his weapons, or a piece of the Pelican. He opened the supply box, and inside saw several armor abilities, a couple of hardware upgrades for his suit, and two spare visors. After he took a visor, Adam took his pick of armor abilities. He figured that, because he was on an alien planet, active camouflage would be useful. He also took an auto sentry to put on guard outside, and a hardlight shield.

Adam closed the supply box and put it back into the ceiling compartment, then set to work on removing his own visor. He released the clamps on the sides, and it fell to the floor in two pieces. Adam then placed the new visor into the clamps, closed them, and begin to initialize it. Initialization would take several minutes, so Adam decided he should go outside and assess the damage to his Pelican. He deactivated the cloak, opened the back hatch, and stepped outside. The body of the alien beast was still there, and upon further inspection, Adam thought he recognized it from somewhere… Adam shook the thought off for now, and continued with his inspection of the dropship, to see how long it would be before he could leave this world. The starboard engine pod had completely blown out, and was likely irreparable with his current tools. All other ventral engines had burned out in his last ditch effort to slow himself down, so that eliminated a vertical takeoff. He inspected the main forward thrusters, and found them to be in surprisingly good condition. However, the forest was too thick here to be turned into a launch strip for horizontal takeoff. Even if he could clear out enough trees for a runway, it was unlikely that the mini reactor was still functional. Adam then realized that even if he was able to fulfill all of the criteria for a successful takeoff, where would he go? What remained of Lightning was probably smashed to pieces on that moon, and the frigate had been in fairly deep space when they had their unexpected drop-out. His inspection finished, Adam walked back inside of the Pelican, closed the hatch, activated the cloak, and checked on his helmet. The visor initialization was finished, and ready to use. Adam slipped the comfortable helmet back on, and entered the cockpit to check systems there.

When Spike woke up, he, as expected, found Twilight’s bed empty. She always woke up early on Wednesdays, and thankfully allowed him to sleep in. Spike sat up in his bed, yawning, and then stood up. He exited the bedroom and slowly walked down the stairs into the main room. While there was no sign of Twilight, he did see her astronomy book lying on the couch, and a half-empty cup of coffee set on the end table. Curious, Spike wandered into the kitchen, and found it was devoid of life as well. Figuring she had just gone out with her friends, Spike wandered back into the main room and set to work on his daily chores. He had almost completed dusting the “R” bookshelf when the door opened. Spike turned around and saw Rainbow Dash walk in, followed by Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack, who was carrying Twilight on her back. Nervously, Spike jumped down from the shelf and ran over to Applejack.

“What happened!?” he asked anxiously. The five ponies exchanged nervous glances back and forth, and Rainbow Dash stepped forward.

“We were in the Everfree when Twilight, um…,” she began. She looked back to the other four ponies for help, and Rarity stepped forward.

“She was hit by a manticore in the Everfree forest, dear,” Rarity finished. The two ponies stepped back, and Applejack walked over to the couch and carefully set Twilight down on it. Spike began to nervously curl his claws into fists, and tears began to form in his eyes. Fluttershy noticed this, and quickly ran forwards.

“Oh, don’t worry Spike, she’s going to be all right!” Fluttershy said, attempting to comfort the dragon. Spike simply choked down his tears, and walked over to the couch where Twilight was sleeping. When he got closer, he noticed strange bandages were wrapped around her torso. Curiously, he turned around to face the ponies.

“Who healed her?” Spike asked. The five ponies nervously looked at one another again, before Applejack stepped forward.

“Zecora,” she said nervously. “We ran as quickly as we could to her house and she fixed Twilight right up!” The dragon looked at her, almost disbelievingly. Applejack forced a smile and looked back and forth, before the dragon shrugged.

“Okay… good…” he said, walking back to Twilight’s side. Occasionally she would twitch, or scrunch up her muzzle. Spike sat down next to her on the couch, and the other five mares took places around the rest of the library. Just then, Spike felt a warm feeling in his chest, and the need to burp. He opened his mouth, and a burst of dragon flame came out, with a letter following, which dropped to the floor. Spike bent down and nervously picked it up. He turned it over, and on one side was the golden royal seal of Princess Celestia.

EARLIER THAT DAY…

Princess Luna’s quarters had remained undisturbed for the duration of her trip, as her guards had been commanded to keep it. As soon as the lunar diarch rematerialized in the center of her room, she sprinted for the door, and blew it open with her magic. Outside, her guards turned around in terror, only to be forced to move out of the way by the large alicorn. She stormed down the hall, and quickly made her way to the dining hall, where Celestia was having breakfast with the two representatives from Canterlot’s science committee. She ran towards the large doors, frightening the two solar guards on duty, and once again, blew them open with her magic. Inside, as she expected, Celestia and the two scientists were eating breakfast. As soon as Luna entered, they all looked up in surprise at the intrusion. Once Celestia noticed it was her sister, a warm smile came across her face.

“Luna, I’m so glad you decided to join us,” she said. “Please, si-“

“Sister!” Luna interrupted. “We must speak! It is urgent!” Princess Celestia’s expression grew stern, and she stood up, and exited the room with Luna. She closed the doors, and dismissed the two guards. Once they were out of sight, she spoke.

“What is it, Luna?” Celestia asked anxiously.

“I-,” Luna stopped herself to choose her words. She did not want to reveal to her sister that she had in fact been seeking solitude on the moon, the place of her banishment. Rather, she came up with a short lie.

“I was eating in my room, when I felt… a disturbance, on the moon,” Luna continued. “I left to investigate, and…” Luna faltered, unsure of how to describe exactly what she had seen.

“What is it, sister? You can tell me,” Celestia said, wrapping a large wing around her sister.

“I do not know exactly how to describe it…” Luna began. “It was a large metal construct, travelling at incredible speeds. It impacted upon the moon, near the Sea of Harmony.” At this, Celestia’s face grew troubled.

“What did you do then?” she asked.

“I was about to go investigate, but chose to come and tell you first,” Luna replied. Celestia smiled.

“That was good of you,” she said. “What else happened?”

Luna thought back to the whole event. Other than the giant metal contraption hurtling at her moon, nothing else seemed odd… except the piece of debris that overshot the moon! Luna’s eyes widened.

“A piece of debris from the construct was heading for the moon, when it suddenly changed course! It began to head here!” Celestia’s face grew troubled again. She reached out with her magic to see if she could detect anything odd. There were no results. It must not have reached our gravity well yet, she thought.

“I would like to see this construct,” Celestia decided. Luna nodded, and lit up her horn. A moment later, they both disappeared from the hallway.

Celestia opened her eyes, and was met with the sight of the dull, cratered moon. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Celestia looked over to her sister. Luna was staring intently in the opposite direction at something. Celestia turned around, and soon saw what her sister was staring at. Just a kilometer away laid the massive smoking remains of a large metal contraption. Surprisingly, it still seemed to be primarily intact, though the front looked as though it was missing something. Still, many features were warped or bent out of shape, but Celestia did notice that one side of whatever it was had a large white eagle emblazoned on it, with the letters “U N S C” inscribed into the center. Underneath it read “FFG-818”. Celestia did not know what it meant, but it was clear that this was no invention of ponykind.

“Come,” Celestia said to Luna. “We must explore it, to see that it is-“ Celestia was cut off as she felt a disturbance back home. Luna looked up as well, surprised, so Celestia assumed that she felt the same thing. They exchanged glances, and with one spark of her horn, Luna sent the two to Celestia’s bed chambers. Immediately, the solar princess used her magic to call up a large map of Equestria. Their two sets of eyes scanned the map, looking for anomalies. Both of them found it at the same time, in the area neither of them wanted it to be: the Everfree Forest.

Celestia sent the apparition of the map away, and sat down on her hind legs, letting out a sigh. She looked up to her sister, who seemed very troubled as well. Had the strange object landed anywhere but the Everfree, both of them would have had instant access to knowing what it was. But because of the strangely chaotic magical anomalies that surrounded and thrived in the Everfree forest, they were both totally cut off. Just then, a thought came to Celestia’s mind. Using her magic, she levitated a quill and piece of parchment off of her desk, and brought them over to her. Luna eyed her, confused, until finally she understood what she was doing.

“Are you sure it is safe to send in your student and her friends?” Luna asked. Celestia was already writing at a very fast pace.

“My student and her friends have saved this land four times now from some of the most dangerous forces that reside here,” Celestia said, still writing. “I have the utmost confidence in their abilities.” Luna nodded, realizing that her sister was right. If anypony could solve this mystery, it was the Elements. Finishing her note, Celestia rolled the scroll up tightly and sealed it tight. She lit her horn and sent the letter away with a flash of dragon flame. With her job done, Celestia walked over to her bedroom door. When Luna did not follow, she turned around.

“Coming, sister?” she asked. “We still have to finish our meeting.” Luna sighed, and stood up to follow her sister out of the room.

With Twilight incapacitated, Spike took it upon himself to open and read the letter from Princess Celestia. He broke the seal, and unfurled the scroll. His green eyes began to skim over the rather lengthy letter, and as he progressed into the text, his expression changed from one of confusion to one of fear. After a few more moments, he lowered the scroll to his lap and looked at the ponies, confused and afraid. The five ponies looked around at one another, clearly hiding something. And then Spike spoke…

“Just what were you doing in the Everfree?” he asked. The ponies continued to exchange glances, and Applejack bit her lip so hard that a small trickle of blood began to flow. She seemed so close to bursting and telling Spike everything, but before she could open her mouth, Fluttershy jumped forward.

“Oh I’m sorry Spike!” she yelled, embracing the small dragon. “We were investigate something, and she was hurt!” Spike pushed away from Fluttershy, betrayed. Spike looked at the five ponies once again.

“Tell me everything.”

Twilight awoke to a very painful headache, and a sharp pain in her chest. Her eyelids fluttered open, and in her blurry vision she saw Spike sitting next to her on the couch, deep in thought. Across from him was Fluttershy, who seemed to be telling him something. She was clearly upset, and her other four friends were behind her, occasionally nodding. Rainbow Dash spared a glance in Twilight’s direction, and saw that her eyes were open. Dash yelled something, interrupting Fluttershy and prompting all of the ponies (and dragon) to look at her. A look of relief flooded over Spike, and he began speaking to her. Twilight could not make out anything, there was only a dull ringing in her ears. She shook her head violently, and slowly her hearing returned.

“-o glad you’re okay!” she heard Spike finishing. Twilight looked at the dragon and smiled.

“Hello, Spike,” she said weakly. She tried standing up, but found that she could not move. She looked down and saw that there was a long tube completely covering her torso. Written on it was “UNSC Medical Body Splint”. Underneath that was some smaller writing that she could not make out. Confused, she looked up at her pony friends.

“What happened?” she asked. Fluttershy stepped forward and recounted the tale of her being hit by the manticore, the strange metal creature taking her into its object, and coming out with her almost fully healed. Twilight was honestly surprised; she had no idea what this creature was, they had never met, and yet, it had saved her life. Twilight looked around once more, and spotted a letter from Princess Celestia discarded on the floor.

“What’s that?” she said. She tried picking it up with her magic, but as soon as she lit up her horn, her headache went a hundred times worse. She let out a scream, and dropped the scroll in mid-air. Fluttershy ran to Twilight’s side.

“Oh, are you okay?” said the yellow Pegasus. Twilight nodded.

“Yes, I just have a headache…” Twilight said. “I guess I’ll have to hold off on the magic… What does the letter say?”

At this, Spike perked up.

“Princess Celestia sent it while you were still unconscious,” he began. “It was talking about some strange anomaly in the Everfree forest, one that she wanted you to go check out.”

“Well, consider that a task completed…” Twilight laughed. “Have you replied?”

“No dear, we wanted to wait for you,” Rarity replied.

“Thanks,” Twilight said. “Spike, could you get a piece of parchment and a quill?”

Spike stood up and walked over to a table by the wall. He took out a piece of parchment, and dipped a quill in the inkwell. He stood by, pen at the ready.

“Dear Princess Celestia,” Twilight began. “I apologize for my delay in replying to you, but I believe that my explanation should more than suffice. I saw this anomaly of which you spoke. In fact, I saw it fall right over Ponyville and heard it crash. I gathered up my friends and we all went to investigate. It was here that we found a strange metal object smoking in the forest. We found a door and went inside, where we found a very odd metal creature. I said ‘Hello’, but it did not reply. It was at this time that a manticore happened upon us. I tried using my magic against it but was… incapacitated. From what my friends tell me, the metal creature… killed… the manticore, dressed my wounds, and then returned me to my friends. As they left the clearing where the object crashed, Rainbow Dash reports that she heard an odd noise, and when she turned to look at the object, she saw it had disappeared. I will wait for your next request. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.” Spike signed off on the letter, rolled it up, sealed it, and sent it on its way to Canterlot. The letter had only been gone for a few seconds when there was a bright flash of light in the library, and when it faded, there stood Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Immediately, the ponies (minus Twilight) bowed. Celestia nodded, and they rose. Celestia and Luna then made their way to Twilight.

“My faithful student,” Celestia said. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Princess,” Twilight replied, smiling.

“Good,” Celestia said, relieved. “We just received your reply, and we… we would like to see this creature you spoke of.”

Twilight looked at her mentor, surprised. Celestia knew better than anypony how dangerous the Everfree forest was. Even she, princess of the sun, was vulnerable there. Going in meant that she could end up like Twilight, or worse!

“Princess!” Twilight said anxiously. “Are you sure? It’s-“

“I am sure, Twilight,” Celestia interrupted, holding up a hoof. “If this creature is as powerful as you have described, my sister and I would very much like to meet it.”

“Wait, your highness!” Rainbow Dash cried. “That thing killed a manticore in a single second! What if he takes you going there as a threat!?”

The two princesses looked at one another. Luna frowned.

“Rainbow Dash has a point, sister,” Luna pointed out. “Perhaps we should wait for the nightfall, and I shall watch from afar.” Celestia frowned, but ultimately accepted.

“Very well, sister. You shall go tonight, and if it is safe, I shall join you again tomorrow,” Celestia said. Luna smiled, satisfied.

“Then if it is okay with you, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said. “I would like to stay with you for the rest of the day, and see if there is anything else I can learn from you.”

“Of course, Princess!” Twilight said, smiling. She and Luna did not spend enough time together, this would be good for the two of them.

“Thank you, Twilight,” Luna smiled. “Farewell sister. I shall see you tomorrow morning.”

“Good luck, Luna,” Celestia replied, before teleporting out of the room. Luna then turned to Twilight and her friends.

“Now,” Luna said. “Tell me everything.”

Chapter 04

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CHAPTER 4

Adam’s search of the cockpit had turned out up fruitless. As he had feared, no power was reaching the computer systems. A physical check of the ship’s reactor showed that it had been badly damaged, and was completely dead. Adam cursed his bad luck, and decided to turn in for the night. He had been working for so long he hadn’t even realized the sun had set. Adam hung a flashlight from the ceiling and lay down along the rows of seats. MJOLNIR armor wasn’t as uncomfortable to sleep is as some might think. The gel layer actually conformed to the body shape, and offered a soft barrier between flesh and the multilayer alloy armor, making sleep not very hard. Adam closed his eyes, and slowly began to drift off…

Darkness. Movement. Lights. Plasma. Gunfire. Death. Surrounded. Engines. More gunfire. Reinforcements. Help.

Adam awoke in the back of his Pelican dropship to the sound of a rapid alarm. He grabbed his M6H and ran out of the dropship into the darkness of night. He had set up the auto sentry with a security upgrade to keep watch outside of the Pelican, to make sure that no more intruders approached. So far, none had, but now it was picking something up. Adam could see nothing, so he activated the Promethean Vision upgrade built into his helmet. Whatever had entered the security cone around his Pelican was very obvious, as it was the only living thing likely within a kilometer of the crashed ship. It stood a small bit taller than the small horse he had fixed up earlier today (though it still stood about a foot shorter than he did), and had a dark blue coat. Compared to the horses he saw earlier today, this one had several obvious differences. For one, this one had a pair of wings and a horn, and its mane seemed to be blowing in a non-existent wind. At present, it only seemed to be watching him. But then it must have noticed that Adam had locked eyes with it, because Adam could clearly see its body tense up, as though it wanted to run, but couldn’t. Adam smirked as he realized what was happening. It’s spying on me, he thought. Adam figured that it couldn’t hurt to learn more about the creatures spying on him, so with a series of blinks, he activated his suit’s active camouflage unit. Instantly the light was warped around him, and he became almost totally invisible. Of course there was still a blur of where he was standing, there was nothing that could be done about that, but to the untrained eye, he was as clear as glass. Still using his Promethean Vision, he noticed that the horse’s eyes widened in shock. Adam stealthily made his way around the Pelican and behind the horse, where he raised his pistol. Adam was about to subdue the creature when it suddenly whirled around on him, its horn glowing. Instinctively, Adam swung his pistol, and cracked the horse on the side of the head with it. It fell onto the ground, unconscious. Well, Adam thought, crap. He now had an unconscious alien creature lying at his feet, and he had no idea if it was a good idea to help it this time. The first time, the horse he had healed had been the victim. This time, this horse had provoked him. Adam mentally reprimanded himself for his rash behavior, and thought of what he could do. He could fix it up, but it would undoubtedly be mad when it awoke, and he still had no idea what these horses were capable of. On the other hand, he could carry it somewhere far away and leave it until it woke up. Adam decided on the latter. However, this forest had shown itself to be very obviously dangerous. If he could find the edge, he could leave the horse there. Adam opened up a link to his auto sentry, and commanded it to raise altitude to maximum. The anti-gravity device blasted up about 50 feet, and began to spin around, scanning the region. When it was finished, it lowered back down and transmitted the information to Adam’s helmet. Adam opened up the pictures it had taken, and saw that the edge of the forest was only a couple of kilometers away. He looked back down at the horse. It won’t be out for that much longer, he thought. Adam entered the Pelican, grabbed a sedative from his medical bag, and walked back out to the horse. He inserted the syringe into its neck, and then picked up the horse onto his back. It was smaller than Earth horses, but that did not mean it did not weigh that much. Adam struggled for a moment to keep his footing, the finally began to walk off in the direction of the edge.

His walk took the better part of an hour, and when he reached the edge of the forest, the moon was slowly approaching the horizon. Adam cleared through the underbrush and came out in a wide open field. It was still dark, so he activated his Promethean Vision to see what there was to see. To his surprise, the town that he had flown over during his crash was only half a kilometer in front of him. About 50 meters to his left was what appeared to be a small cottage, surrounded by sleeping animals of all types. Adam put the dark blue horse down on the ground, and noticed that it was beginning to stir. Its eyes were flickering open and closed, so Adam quickly activated his camouflage unit. The horse struggled to its hooves, and looked around, confused. Just then, it spread its large wings, and took off into the night sky. Adam was surprised at this; previously he had thought that the wings served some ancillary purpose, perhaps even short-range gliding. But to see this, he was rather stumped. How such a large, heavy creature was supported by such light wings he could not even begin to guess. He watched the creature as it flew further away, before it stopped and began to hover. Its horn began to glow, and it slowly hovered higher and higher, before it then hovered right into the center of the setting moon. The horse flashed brilliantly, and the moon began to fall at an increased rate, and Adam noticed that sunlight was beginning to stream in from the east. Adam stood, wide eyed and mouth agape at the spectacle. He had no idea what just happened, but he knew it was extraordinary. A loud beep suddenly filled his helmet, and he noticed his active camo unit was running out of energy. He ran off into the forest, and began his trek back to the Pelican.

Princess Celestia awoke early, as she always did, to raise the sun as her sister lowered the moon. She stepped out onto her bedroom balcony, and looked to the east, where soon her great radiant sun would be shining. She waited for the signal from Luna, but it did not come. She waited, and she waited, but after ten minutes, the signal still had not come. Celestia began to grow troubled. Her sister had gone off into the Everfree to spy on their guest, perhaps something bad had happened? Celestia was just beginning to get very worried when she suddenly felt the moon begin to descend rapidly; her signal to raise the sun. Celestia lit her horn, and felt herself grab on to the massive sphere. She tugged upwards with the grace that only came from years of practice, and began to raise the sun over Equestria and lands beyond. Her job done, she reached out to Luna with her magic. Luna, where are you? She said. Luna? Just then, Celestia heard a flash coming from her room, and turned around to see her weary sister lying in the middle of the floor. She stood up and unsuccessfully tried to walk. Celestia ran over to Luna, her fear beginning to overwhelm her other senses.

“Luna!” Celestia cried. “What happened!?” Luna panted as she caught her breath, then spoke.

“I made… contact… with the creature…”

Adam awoke to the sound of his suit’s alarm clock going off. After he had returned to the Pelican, he lay back down in the back compartment in an effort to get as much sleep as he could. The rest of his sleep had remained undisturbed, for which he was thankful. But he had no time to sit around today; he needed to begin making whatever repairs he could. He knew that he had none of the right tools to fully repair his Pelican, but Adam hated just sitting and waiting. He had to do something. He opened the ceiling compartment of the troop bay, and began rummaging through the various items he kept stored up there. Finding what he was looking for, Adam took a box down from the compartment. He opened it up, and pulled out a portable battery. It would never power the Pelican, but he could at least try to get the computer up and running again. He put the box back into the compartment and closed the hatch, the made his way to the cockpit.

Once inside the cockpit, Adam ducked down underneath the main control panel, and pulled off a maintenance hatch. He took two wires from inside, and plugged them into the battery. He then turned the battery on, and stood up to inspect the computer. Adam frowned as he noticed that no power was flowing. He checked the charge on the battery, and found it to be dead. Another inspection showed that it had been cracked along the side, and had leaked out any useful energy. Adam sat down in the pilot seat, feeling defeated. Now what? He thought. Before he could think of anything else to do, Adam’s HUD began beeping at him. The auto-sentry had detected something in the perimeter. Adam called up a feed of the camera, but before it could load, the connection was severed. Whatever was out there, it had just destroyed his auto-sentry. Cautious, Adam walked into the back compartment, opened the weapons locker, and took out an MA5D assault rifle. He walked up to the back door, ready to defend himself. Before he could open it, he head a strange knock on the door. Confused, Adam lowered his weapon, and figured that he had nothing left to lose. He was already lost on an alien world inhabited by strange talking horses, what else could go wrong? Adam pressed the switch on the wall and the hatch lowered itself down. Outside, Adam saw a dozen of the horses, these ones all white and wearing gold armor. All of them had horns, each of which was glowing. Nearby were several floating… spears? Adam almost found the display amusing. The guard horses then lowered their primitive weapons, and parted way, allowed eight horses to enter the clearing. Seven of them he recognized: six were the ones who originally visited him (he noted with annoyance that the purple one he had healed was no longer wearing her bandages, though upon further investigation he noticed that her scars were completely gone too), and the seventh was his visitor from last night. The eighth was a new face. It had an alabaster coat, a golden crown, and stood the tallest of them hall. It was still half a foot shorter than he was, but it boasted a large pair of wings, a long horn, and (like the dark blue one) a colorful ethereal mane. All eight of them had upset, even angry, countenances. The large white one stepped forward, its look of displeasure becoming even angrier as it neared him. Adam raised his assault rifle threateningly. To counter this, the twelve guard horses all raised their spears again. Adam chuckled. Their spears would do nothing against his shields, and even if they did go down, his armor was more than strong enough to handle whatever they were made of. Then the white one spoke.

“Relinquish your weapons and surrender peacefully,” it commanded. From the sound of its voice, Adam deduced that it, too, was female. She took another threatening step towards Adam, so he responded by raising his weapon more, now aiming at her head.

“Relinquish your weapons now!” she yelled. Her horn glowed golden, and an aura of the same color enveloped his assault rifle. He felt it being tugged out of his grasp, so he quickly swung the assault rifle and threw it at one of the guards. It hit the guard in its muzzle, and it fell over with a bleeding nose. Adam used this distraction to unholster his magnum and grabbed the white horse. He held her neck and turned her around so she was facing the rest of the horses, and held the magnum to the side of her head. Her horn glowed gold again, so he used his arm that was holding her neck to hold her horn instead. Immediately the aura disappeared, and she cried out in pain.

“Tia!” the dark blue one yelled, clearly afraid. The guards exchanged nervous glances, unsure of what to do. Adam smiled. He had them completely under his control.

Twilight stared in horror as the metal creature who had shown kindness to her and healed her grabbed her beloved mentor by the neck, and held a small silver tube against her head. The Princess tried fighting back and lit up her horn, but the creature grabbed it instead, eliciting a cry of pain from Celestia. Twilight began to tear up, desperately wanting to do something but not wanting to cause harm to her teacher. Luna stepped forward.

“Release her!” she yelled. Twilight could’ve sworn she heard the creature quietly laugh a sadistic laugh, and its grip on Celestia’s horn tightened. Luna looked to each of the guards, and soon their fear went away, and was replaced by anger. Luna closed her eyes, and her horn lit up. She was interrupted as she heard a loud BANG echo through the forest. She opened her eyes, and saw the creature was pointing its weapon to the sky. A small trail of smoke was coming out of the end. This was clearly a show of force, so Luna decided that if she was to save her sister, it would have to be very quick. Luna prepared the energy she would need, and then lit up her horn. A split second later, a light enveloped Celestia, and she was teleported back next to Luna. The metal creature stumbled for a moment, confused, and two of the guards threw their spears at it. Only a few millimeters from hitting the creature, a golden field formed around it, and the spears clattered to the ground, having missed their target. At this, two more guards threw their spears, and the same thing happened. The creature aimed its weapon at one of the guards, and pulled on a small handle. A bright flash came from the end of it, followed by the same loud BANG, and the guardspony fell over, holding his shoulder. A large amount of blood was flowing from it, and the guard was screaming and writhing in pain. The creature then aimed its weapon at Princess Celestia, and then said, in perfect Equish:

“Leave.”

Celestia and Luna lit both of their horns, and enveloped everypony in the clearing, minus the metal creature. They then disappeared in a flash of light, leaving the creature alone again.

The twenty ponies reappeared in the center of Twilight’s library in Ponyville. As soon as they all rematerialized, Celestia and Luna ran to the wounded guard. He was still losing blood. Celestia and Luna looked at one another, and once again combined their magic. A mix of a gold and blue aura surrounded the guard, and they both began to use their magic to heal him. They continued their magic for a few moments, then stopped, confused.

“What is it?” asked Twilight nervously.

“We cannot heal him. This wound is unlike anything we have ever encountered,” said Celestia. “It’s as though our magic has no effect on it.”

Fluttershy ran forward, running right between the two princesses, and approached the guard. She gingerly moved his unharmed foreleg, and took a look at the wounded one. Right in his shoulder blade there was a small hole, only a few millimeters wide. Through the hole, all of the ponies could see the wood floor of the library. Whatever he had been harmed with, it had gone right through. The blood was still pouring out, so Fluttershy grabbed some bandages from her saddlebags. Already she noticed that the life was leaving this poor stallion. She used one hoof to keep pressure on the wound, and used her other hoof (along with her mouth) to straighten out the long bandage. Her hooves shaking, she began to wrap the bandage around the shoulder, but before she could finish, the guard let out a loud scream. He convulsed, and then lay motionless on the floor. His eyes glazed over, and his head tilted to the side. Fluttershy stopped what she was doing, and stood back, horrified, tears already streaming down her face.

Princess Celestia approached the guard, and closed his eyes with her hoof. All of the ponies in the room lowered their heads in respect. When they raised them again, Celestia’s usual calm expression was replaced with one of loss. For the first time ever, she was unable to help one of her subjects. Then, she grew angry.

“Whatever that creature is,” Celestia began. “It has just made an enemy of Equestria.”

Chapter 05

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CHAPTER 5

There was a bright flash of light, and suddenly, Adam was once again left alone in the clearing. He placed a new magazine into his magnum, then went back inside the Pelican, thinking over what had just happened. He had taken hostage who he assumed was their leadership, and then shot one of her guards. He now realized that these horses, based on their technology level, had never seen a gun before. They probably had no idea how to heal the injury. Adam sat down on one of the troop bay seats, and sighed. What had he done? These creatures seemed peaceful, they were probably just scared. Adam looked at the clock on his HUD: it was 1300. He stood up once more, this time with a plan. If he was to ever get back to UNSC space, he would need help. He had rations to last three days, but him being a Spartan, that could potentially last two weeks. There was no way he would have the Pelican repaired by then (if at all), so he decided that the only possible thing he could do would be to surrender. He unholstered his magnum and assault rifle, and put them back into the weapons cabinet. Tonight, he would walk into the town he had seen, would find whoever was in charge, and surrender.

Twilight sat down on her couch, in a very somber mood. The mood in the rest of the room was no different. Everypony there was very upset, and rightfully so. Celestia and Luna had called for a chariot to come and recover the body of the dead guard, but it would not arrive until tomorrow. The two Princesses had decided to stay in Ponyville for now, to decide what to do with the creature. Barely and words had been spoken since they got back, as nopony was really in the mood for conversation. Twilight decided that if they were ever to get talking, now was as good a time as many.

“I don’t understand,” she said. “Why would he show such kindness to me, then act with such hostility to all of us?” Rainbow Dash shook her head, and Pinkie Pie lay down on the floor dejectedly.

“I do not know, my faithful student,” Celestia replied sadly. “There are some creatures in this world who simply are that way.”

“Maybe…” Fluttershy said. “Maybe we scared it?” All of the ponies in the room looked up towards Fluttershy, surprised.

“’Shy, how could somethin’ so violent be scared by us?” Applejack asked. Fluttershy frowned.

“It seemed not to even know who the Princesses were, maybe it’s lost?” Fluttershy suggested. “How would you react if you found yourself in a strange land surrounded by ponies holding weapons at you?” Twilight’s eyes went wide as she realized her soft-spoken friend was right. But then her eyes crossed over the covered corpse of the guard, and she felt anger again.

“That still doesn’t justify killing a guard!” she said angrily. Twilight was about to continue on when the front door knocked. It cracked open, and one of the guardsponies they had left outside poked his head in. No sunlight was coming through the door, Twilight had not even noticed Luna raise the moon.

“Your highness?” he asked Princess Celestia.

“Yes?” she replied.

“Um… there’s somepony here to see you,” he said.

After Adam had made his plans to turn himself in, he began to work on a way to better hide the Pelican. It had kicked up a lot of dirt around it, so activating the camo unit would only leave mysteriously floating dirt. He spent the rest of the daylight hours cleaning the dirt off and clearing the entire area around the Pelican. He was finished by the time night fell. He then activated the ship’s cloak, and set off for the edge of the forest.

This time, without the dark blue horse weighing him down, the walk only took about 25 minutes. When he cleared the brush, he once again activate Promethean Vision, and took a good look at the town. There appeared to be a large building in the center, so Adam figured that that was probably the most likely place for the horses to be. He activated his personal cloak, and set off for the center of the town. As he expected, the town was currently very quiet. There were very few of the horses around, as he figured that most were probably inside and asleep. He navigated through the rows upon rows of houses. The architecture reminded him of some small European towns during the middle ages. They were not too large, but Adam was fascinated that they had managed to build them at all, without opposable thumbs. But then, Adam had seen the unicorns using their horns for something, so perhaps that could have had something to do with it. Finally he came out into the center of the town. It appeared to also be some sort of marketplace, as there were several empty stalls arranged in a circle around a large statue. He recognized the statue as belonging to the large white horse he had seen; the same one he had held hostage... At the far end of the town center was the building he was looking for, though now he saw it was not actually a building. Rather, it seemed to be a huge hollowed-out tree. Many windows were set into it, and light was streaming out of them. Two of the guard horses he had encountered in the forest were flanking the front door. That was a sure tell that this was the place. Carefully, he approached the front door, and decloaked. Immediately, the guards gave out surprised screams, and pointed their spears at him. They likely thought he was going to shoot them too. Adam smirked, and realized that it was now or never. Slowly, very slowly, he raised his hands above his head, and said the most cliché thing he could think of:

“Take me to your leader.”

Celestia regarded the guard curiously, wondering who was looking for her at such a late hour.

“Very well,” she said. “Send him in.”

The guard stepped aside, and in walked the large metal creature, its hands above its head. Behind the creature stood the second guard, holding a spear very close to the creatures back. At this, all of the ponies in the room jumped up in shock. The remaining guards who stayed inside grabbed their spears and ran up to the creature.

“It claims to want to speak with you, your majesty,” said the guard. Celestia’s expression of fear soon turned to one of confusion. The metal creature took one step forward, hands still in the air. The guards pointed their spears closer, but the creature continued to step forward, until he was only a foot or so from Celestia. Celestia puzzled over the creature, and reached out with her magic. It tensed up at the sight of her horn glowing, but then calmed down. Celestia scanned over the creature, trying to get a read on its emotions. Surprisingly, it seemed rather emotionless. She could just barely feel anything, but what she did feel was a feeling of sincerity. Celestia smiled.

“Guards, lower your weapons,” she said. The guards, though confused, did as they were told. The metal creature relaxed, and lowered its arms.

“So,” Celestia said. “Tell us your name.” The metal creature paused for a moment, regarding everypony in the room. Then it looked back at Celestia. She found it rather unnerving that its face seemed to only be a flat, reflective gold surface. Finally, it let out a sigh.

“Spartan-D014, reporting,” it said in a very deep voice. Celestia found it curious that its name was composed of numbers, but for now, she let it slide.

“I am Princess Cel-,” Celestia began. Before she could finish, the creature looked into the corner, where the covered body of the dead guardspony was. It began walking over, every step letting out a loud thump. It reached the dead guard, and bent down by him. It lowered down the sheet covering him, and took a look at the body. It stared at the body for a moment, then lowered its head. Celestia found this display rather shocking. Here this creature was, paying respects to the guard it had killed. Perhaps there was hope yet. The creature stood up, and looked at Celestia.

“I’m sorry,” it said. It slowly walked back over to Celestia.

“I shan’t lie to you, Spartan-D014,” Celestia said. “We were planning an attack on your object to take you into custody. That you have come here on your own accord shows that there is still hope.”

“Please,” Spartan-D014 said. “You don’t have to call me by that. You can just say D, Delta, D-014, 14, whatever you want.” Celestia nodded, and smiled.

“As I was saying, Delta, I am Princess Celestia, symbol of the sun and co-ruler of Equestria,” Celestia continued. “This is my sister, Princess Luna.” Luna regarded Delta with a bit of anger. This was, after all, the creature that knocked her unconscious and dragged her to the edge of the Everfree. Delta nodded at Luna, almost apologetically. Luna frowned.

“And this,” Celestia said, looking at Twilight. “Is my student, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight looked at Delta with wonder. Delta looked back at her, and nodded.

“Now, Delta,” said Celestia. “Let us speak.”

Adam had come into this building to speak with their leader not expecting what would happen. He had a hunch that he would instantly be arrested, and they would try to kill him. Rather, he was met with a strange kindness. The white horse had introduced herself as Princess Celestia, and she was the co-ruler of the land he had crashed in, called Equestria. The dark blue horse he had knocked out was Celestia’s sister, Princess Luna, and the purple horse he had healed was named Twilight Sparkle. All of the other horses (or ponies, as Celestia had said they were) had equally as ridiculous names: Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity.

“Now, Delta, let us speak,” Celestia said, and she walked over to a couch, and took a seat. Adam opted to keep standing, as none of the furniture looked like it would support him. The rest of the ponies all sat down, and looked at him.

“First,” Celestia said. “Your name. It is very strange, why does it have numbers?” Adam laughed quietly to himself, and looked at Celestia.

“It’s not my full name. ‘Spartan-D014’ is my military name. My full name is classified,” Adam responded. Celestia looked a bit annoyed, but continued on.

“Your military name? So you’re a soldier?” she asked.

“Yes,” Adam replied. Celestia nodded.

“My sister and I have been on this world for many generations,” Celestia said. “We have never seen anything like you. Tell us; what are you, and where are you from?” Adam sighed to himself.

“I am part of a species known as ‘humans’. I come from a planet called Reach. As for where humanity originates, that’s classified,” Adam replied. Celestia looked annoyed once again, but continued on.

“Originated? So humans have more than one planet?” Celestia asked.

“We had hundreds a while ago. That number has since diminished, but we still have a few,” Adam said. The ponies seemed surprised at this, and Adam noticed that Twilight was staring at him in wonder. He smirked, and looked back at Celestia.

“If you had hundreds, what happened to them all?” Celestia asked. Adam paused, unsure of what to say. Sure, he could tell them all about the Covenant threat. It was no secret to all of humanity that they existed and, until four years ago, wanted to wipe them out. But on the other hand, this species seemed so… peaceful, so happy. He did not want to taint that.

“I’d rather not say, ma’am,” Adam replied. Celestia stared at him, as if she could see right through him. Adam stayed standing strong, not wanting to let them know of the horrors he had seen. Celestia seemed ready to continue fighting for an answer, but then Twilight spoke up.

“What about other humans?” Twilight asked curiously. “Do they all look… like you?” Adam mulled over the question, wondering what she could mean. Then it hit him: he was wearing a ton of humanity’s most advanced powered assault armor.

“No,” Adam said. “You’re not even seeing the real me right now.” This seemed to confuse the ponies. “I’m wearing a suit of armor. I look nothing like this underneath the gear.”

“What do you look like, then?” Twilight pressed on. Her five friends were staring with encouraging glances. Adam knew he couldn’t take off the whole suit, not without the equipment (which was currently still aboard Lightning). He could easily remove the helmet, but that would leave his head completely vulnerable to any form of attack. So, he came up with a small lie.

“I’m pale, I have eyes, a nose, and a mouth,” he said. “If you’re attempting to get me to take off the armor, you can save it. It doesn’t come off by itself. Not even the helmet.” This seemed to satisfy the purple pony, though she did seem a bit annoyed. With that question answered, Celestia spoke up again.

“How did you end up arriving here?” the princess asked.

“Ma’am, I’ve been asking myself that since I woke up,” Adam began. “It’s a bit of a long story, so… get comfortable.” The ponies all exchanged glances, and settled down. When they were ready, they looked at Adam once again.

“I was assigned to the UNSC Lightning, FFG-818. Lightning was one of our frigates, a ship capable of interstellar travel. We were on our way to a deep space outpost, and were still a few days away, when our ship was ripped apart by… something. I don’t know exactly what happened, but the next thing I knew I was flying my dropship through the frigate that was exploding around me, narrowly avoided hitting a moon, and then I crashed into that there forest of yours.” Celestia and Luna looked at one another, then back to Adam.

“So you were a part of a larger ship, then that one crashed into the moon?” Luna asked.

“Yes,” Adam said. “Why? Do you know something I don’t?” Again, the two princesses exchanged glances.

“We saw your ship,” Luna said. “It crashed into my moon.” Adam tensed up at this, his mind now swarming with questions. He forced himself to calm down, and picked the most important one.

“Did you see any survivors?” he asked.

“No,” Luna replied. “The ship seemed heavily damaged, but we did not go too close to it.”

“What kind of condition was it in?” Adam asked, still hopeful that there could be some survivors. Luna scrunched her forehead, trying to recall as many images of it as she could. Adam awaited her response eagerly.

“The front section seemed to have been ripped in half, as you said,” Luna began. “As for the back, it only had a few holes, though it was dented very badly.”

“Could you see lights on?” Adam asked, still eager.

“Yes, here and there, though they were very dim,” Luna replied. Adam sighed, relieved. If she ship still had power, even if her crew was dead, he could send out a distress beacon. “If you wish, we could transport you there.”

They have space travel? Adam thought. From what he’d seen, they looked to be fairly primitive in comparison to humans. Still, even if they did have viable transport, he had only just met them.

“No,” Adam said. “No offense, but we just met, and I’m still not entirely sure that I can trust you all.” He regarded the ponies cautiously still, though the feeling seemed mutual. “I will make my own way back.”

“But how?” asked Celestia. “You said your small ship crashed into the forest. If you could leave, you would have by now, so it must be damaged…” Adam looked at the princess. She was completely right. If he was to get back by Pelican, he would need to repair it, which meant that he would need help. Adam sighed.

“You’re right,” he said. “My ship is broken. The engines are burned out, the reactor is out of power, and there’s no suitable area for a takeoff. I’m trapped.” The eight ponies, and even some of the guards, looked at Adam in sympathy. Celestia approached him, and put her hoof on his shoulder. Adam almost withdrew from the contact, but somehow felt comforted by it.

“If you do not trust us enough to teleport you, then perhaps you can gain our trust through us helping you repair your ship?” Celestia suggested. Adam looked her in the eye.

“You’d do that for me?” he asked.

“Sure we would!” Applejack spoke up.

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie chimed in.

“It wouldn’t be kind of us at all to abandon you,” added Rarity.

“Why not?” said Rainbow Dash.

“You’re just lost and want to get home,” Fluttershy whispered.

“And you need our help!” finished Twilight. “We’ll help however we can!”

Adam smiled underneath his helmet. So far, humanity had had no luck in finding peace among the stars. After the Covenant onslaught, almost nobody held any hope for finding a peaceful alien race. But these ponies, whom Adam had just met, were already choosing to help him return home, simply because they thought it was right. Perhaps there was hope for humanity yet.

Chapter 06

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CHAPTER 06

The questioning had continued early into the morning, only stopping because the ponies’ exhaustion was finally catching up with them. Five of the ponies, Twilight’s friends, had left the earliest. Then, Twilight had continued questioning Adam for a few more minutes, before she too was forced to succumb to her bodily needs. Adam watched as she slowly trudged up the stairs, muttering something about not wanting to wake up “Spike”. The only living beings left in the library were the two princesses, their guards, and Adam.

“Are you sure you do not want to return to Canterlot with us?” Princess Celestia asked him once again.

“No, ma’am,” Adam replied. “I need to plan for today.” The princess had asked him the question several times now, and each time, Adam had given the same reply. Sighing, Celestia shook her head. Outside, Adam heard a loud thump, followed by a knock on the door. A guardspony poked his head inside, and looked at the two diarchs.

“Your majesties,” he said. “Your chariots have arrived.” Celestia and Luna made for the front door, followed by the guards. Before she could exit, Celestia turned around once more and regarded Adam.

“I will send our scientists later today to assist you,” she said. Adam nodded.

“Have them come to my crash site at…” Adam ran through the time he would need in his head. “… 1400. That should be plenty of time.” Celestia nodded, and walked through the door. The other ponies followed behind, and soon, Adam heard the sound of their chariots taking off. He looked at the chrono displayed on his HUD. It was currently 0500. That gave him a good seven hours of sleep (this previous night had taken a lot out of him), then two hours to plan for the pelican repairs. He waited until the chariots were out of site before he himself stepped through the door into the outside air. To play it safe, Adam activated his camo unit. He could already see several ponies exiting their doors, likely getting an early start today. Adam silently crept through the town, and headed back to the forest. He had a long day ahead of him. He needed to rest up.

Slowly, Twilight Sparkle’s lavender eyelids gave way, allowing the morning sunlight to pierce her retinas. She squinted, and closed her eyes again, willing for a few more minutes of precious sleep. Suddenly, the events of the previous night slammed into her, and she was wide awake. She bolted upright, and jumped out of bed. Twilight looked at the large analog clock hanging above her doorframe: It was 10:00am. Only five hours of sleep, she thought. Still, she had a busy day. If they were to help Delta return to his ship on the moon, she would need to be prepared for anything.

Twilight checked her surroundings, thinking of what to do first. Her eyes glanced over Spike’s empty bed, and she smiled. She had requested that he remain upstairs for the majority of yesterday, so as not to reveal to him the body of the dead guard. He was too young, and she did not want to taint his mind with such things. She looked around, trying to find evidence of his whereabouts. Then, her nostrils suddenly flared as the scent of fresh pancakes crept underneath the doorframe and surrounded her. Smiling, Twilight exited the bedroom, and trotted down the stairs. The door to the kitchen was cracked, and Twilight could occasionally catch a glimpse of the purple dragon cooking inside. She pushed the door open with her magic, and stepped inside.

“Good morning, Spike!” Twilight said. The dragon turned around to regard her just as he was putting the first few finished pancakes on a plate.

“Hey, Twilight,” he said. “I heard you come up pretty late last night. What were you doing?”

“Oh, you know, just some work,” she said, trying to avoid the question. “The pancakes smell delicious.”

“The first few just came off,” he said, carrying the plate over to her. “Syrup is on the counter.” He pointed a claw to the counter on the other side of the room, where a pitcher of syrup was sitting. Twilight grabbed it with her telekinesis while Spike walked back to his stool by the griddle, and continued cooking the pancakes. Twilight doused her pancakes in a generous amount of syrup, and using her telekinesis, grabbed a fork and took a bite.

“Mmm,” she moaned. “Good work as usual, Spike.” The dragon smiled while he continued working on the pancakes. Twilight was in the middle of her third bite when she heard a knock on the front door.

“I’ll get it,” she said, standing up. She walked to the front door and opened it with her magic, revealing her five friends standing outside. She stepped aside, granting them entrance. They filed in, and took seats around the room, each muttering an early-morning “hello”. Rainbow Dash took a seat near the kitchen door, which put her in perfect proximity to the pancakes. Her eyes widened.

“Are those pancakes?” she asked, her stomach grumbling.

“More are on their way!” Spike yelled from inside the kitchen.

“Thank you, dear!” Rarity called back. Twilight took a seat with her friends, and looked at each of them. Finally, Fluttershy spoke up.

“Has Princess Celestia sent you anything about Delta?” she asked quietly. Twilight shook her head.

“This is a big event in Equestrian history,” she replied. “If I know her, she’ll be taking all the time she can to plan everything out.”

“Ah still don’t trust him,” Applejack stated matter-of-factly. “He killed a guard! And now we’re playing nice with ‘im? I don’t like it.”

“I agree,” Twilight said. “There is no justification for killing a guard. But you saw how he did it; Princess Celestia and Luna had no idea how to heal the wound! Who knows what else he’s capable of?” The other ponies nodded in agreement. That is, all but Fluttershy.

“But… that’s not very fair,” she said timidly. “If the only reason we’re helping him is to get him to leave sooner… well, then that goes against everything we all believe in. Everypony deserves a second chance, no matter what they’ve done…”

“I never said we were ostracizing him, Fluttershy,” Twilight retorted. “I’m just saying-“ Twilight was interrupted as Spike ran into the room, clutching a claw over his mouth. Finally, he burped, which was followed up by a jet of green flames, depositing a sealed scroll on the ground. Twilight grabbed it with her magic and unfurled it, then began to read it. When she was done, she put it down.

“What’s it say!?” asked Pinkie excitedly. Twilight made to answer, but then looked at Spike.

“Uh, Spike,” Twilight began. “Why don’t you go keep working on those pancakes?”

“Alright, Twi!” he said, and left the room. When he was out of earshot, Twilight chose to speak.

“Princess Celestia just sent me more information on when we are to meet Delta,” she said. “Princess Luna will be around soon with several scientists from the Canterlot Academy of Science and Research, and we will meet him at 2:00.” The ponies nodded. “So, for now, we wait.”

Darkness. Movement. Lights. Plasma. Gunfire. Death. Surrounded. Engines. More gunfire. Reinforcements. Help.

Adam looked up and saw a Covenant CCS-class cruiser hovering over New Mombasa. Every few seconds it would release a beam of superheated plasma and would burn a new hole into the surface of Earth. He had dropped into New Mombasa with the rest of his ODST Platoon, the 67th Assault Division. Almost immediately they had come under AA fire, and lost half the platoon before they even landed. The situation on the ground was no better. Only seconds after jumping out of his pod, it was engulfed in a plasma mortar fired from a Covenant Wraith tank. He had barely gotten out of the way in time. Three of his squadmates didn’t. The area was cleared a few seconds later by a squadron of Longsword interceptors who assaulted the Wraith position and bombed them into oblivion. Adam looked around and, realizing he was the only one in the vicinity, he hefted his M7S Caseless Submachine Gun and began to run to the rendezvous. Before he could make it, however, he came under attack again. A cloaked elite dropped its camouflage unit and rushed at him with an energy sword. He raised his SMG, but it had already started to swing. Just then, the sound of a 99D-S2 Anti-Materiel rifle filled the air, and the elite’s head exploded mid-swing. Adam look around for his savior, and on a balcony about 750 meters away, he caught the scope glint of an ODST sniper. Adam waved his thanks, and was about to begin making his way for the sniper, when he heard a banshee from far off. He looked in the distance, and saw a small purple blob slowly growing larger. Adam dived behind the wreck of a car, hoping not to be spotted. He looked back to the sniper, and saw the soldier hurriedly trying to disassemble his rifle to make a run for it. The banshee was growing closer now, and would soon be upon them. A small green flash emanated from beneath the banshee, and a small mortar fired out, heading right for the sniper. He decided to abandon his kit and run, but was too late, and was caught in the blast. Thankfully, the vehicle had not spotted Adam, and it flew off to attack somewhere else. Adam looked around him. He had seen several members of his platoon land somewhat outside of the designated LZ, perhaps they were still alive. He called up a map of allies on his HUD, but saw nothing. Within this entire section of the city, he was the only living human.

Adam awoke with a start, nearly falling out of his spot stretched out in the pelican’s troop bay. He collected himself, and sat up straight, then put his gloved hands to his eyes. It wasn’t the first time he had had the dream. It was the most botched operation he’d ever been a part of, after all. It was the reason he chose the lone wolf lifestyle…

Adam shook the memories away and began to focus on the task at hand. He picked his helmet up off of the floor and put it on. His onboard chrono read 1130 hours. It was a whole 30 minutes before he had set his alarm, but it was still time that could be used to plan. His day was going to be another long one, that was for sure. He stood up, and began to run a mental checklist, making sure he had everything he needed. He had many of the spare parts for his pelican tucked away in the overhead bins, just, for the most part, he lacked the know-how and the manpower to actually do any of the fixing. All of the instructions for repairing the ship were on his terminal, which was out of power. The battery was depleted, so there went the terminal. Adam nodded. The first part of his plan, then, was to restore power to the terminal. From there, he could repair the rest of the craft with the help of the ponies. Adam ran through the time-table he had had devised in his head. He had no idea how long it could take to restore the terminal, but once he had access to instruction and repair manuals, it would only be a week and a half before his pelican was once again space worthy. A week and a half to be able to get to Lightning and send out a message. A week and a half.

Twilight paced around her library nervously, occasionally sparing a glance at the clock. It read 1:31pm. They had to be at Delta’s crash site by 2 to begin helping with repairs, and still Princess Luna and her scientists had not arrived. Twilight gulped audibly, anxiously wondering what was keeping her. Applejack noticed this, and looked up at the nervous unicorn.

“Relax, hun,” said the farmer pony. “I’m sure Princess Luna will be along shortly.” This did nothing to quell Twilight’s anxiety, and she continued to pace around. She was about to respond when a dark blue flash filled the room, and when it subsided, there stood Princess Luna, along with four scientists (two of whom were the leaders of the Academy) and their equipment, and a contingent of five more guards. Twilight noticed that these guards wore thicker armor, and their spears were tipped with enchanted diamonds, so that if push came to shove, hopefully the ponies wouldn’t lose anyone. Luna looked around the room, and her dark eyes settled on Twilight.

“Twilight Sparkle,” she said, smiling. “Hello.” Twilight bowed, as did her five friends.

“Hello, Princess,” Twilight replied. Twilight’s attention then moved to the four scientists who had accompanied the princess. They each carried very full saddlebags, filled to the brim with scientific equipment. Twilight frowned. The walk to Delta’s ship was already an hour, but this would likely slow them down even more. Luna noticed Twilight’s discomfort.

“Something wrong?” she asked, frowning slightly.

“Well, we’re already going to be late arriving at the crash site,” Twilight explained. “I hope he’s not mad, is all.” Luna smiled, and her horn began to glow. A dark blue aura surrounded all of the ponies in the room, and in a bright flash of light, they were gone.

Adam reached up into the pelican’s overhead compartments, took out the last box of spare parts, and then walked outside to add them to the pile he had been organizing for the past hour. His current job done, he checked his chrono. It read 1:35; the ponies would be arriving soon. For now, he could simply rela-

*FLASH*

There was a blinding flash of light, and when it faded, Adam saw sixteen ponies standing in the clearing before him. Six of them he recognized as the ponies from last night, one was the blue princess, Luna, four were what appeared to be scientists, and five more were guards. Adam stared at the ponies, an expression of shock on his face beneath the visor. The ponies must have noticed that something wasn’t right, and Twilight cocked her head to the side.

“What?” she asked, genuinely confused. Adam struggled to find his words.

“I… Wh…” he began. “What was that!?” The ponies all shared nervous glances.

“Um, teleportation?” Princess Luna replied.

“You have teleportation technology?” Adam asked, even more surprised. Once again, the ponies all shared glances.

“No,” Twilight said slowly. “It’s… magic?” Adam stared, dumbfounded.

“Right.”

“What?” Twilight asked.

“Magic. Right,” Adam replied. “Definitely magic.” This seemed to only confuse Twilight even further.

“What do you mean? Do you not know what magic is?” she asked.

“I know what magic is supposed to be,” Adam said. “I also know that it doesn’t exist.” This seemed to shock all of the ponies, and even the guard’s stoic expressions faltered for a moment.

“What do you mean magic doesn’t exist!?” Twilight yelled. “Of course magic exists!” Adam stepped back, slightly afraid. Did these ponies really believe in magic? Or was there something else going on here?

“I mean magic isn’t real,” Adam replied cautiously.

“If magic isn’t real, then how do you explain your flying machine!?” Rainbow Dash shouted, stepping forwards.

“Decades of research, technology, and engineering!” Adam replied, starting to get heated. “No magic!”

“ENOUGH!” Luna yelled loudly enough to quiet down both parties. Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash stepped back, and Adam straightened his back. “Delta, I understand that you are an alien being. And as such, we all understand that there is a possibility that you do not have magic.” The last part was pointed specifically at Twilight, who flattened her ears against her head. “But we do; in fact, we rely on it for many of our day to day activities. This includes short-to-long-range teleportation.”

“Hmm…” Adam replied. “I know a few eggheads who’d get a kick out of this…” Rainbow Dash seemed to laugh at the use of the word “egghead”, and Twilight shot her an annoyed glare. Well, I guess they don’t have space travel, then, Adam thought. Adam was about to say something else when one of the scientist ponies stepped forward.

“Um, hello,” he said in an accent that, to Adam, sounded heavily British. “I am Doctor Star Gazer, head of the Canterlot Academy of Science and Research.” Star Gazer walked closer and closer to Adam until he was standing right in front of him. “It is a pleasure to meet you!” At this, Doctor Gazer shot out a hoof, and did his best to lift it high enough for Adam to shake. Adam paused for a moment, and finally bent down to shake the pony’s hoof. After a shake, Adam released the pony and stood back up. The pony began walking back to the rest of the group, and Adam took a chance to examine the doctor. He, like many of the ponies present, was a unicorn, and stood about half an inch taller than Twilight. He had a very light gray coat, with a short brown mane sitting atop his head. On his back were very full saddlebags.

After Doctor Gazer returned to his group, the other scientists decided to introduce themselves. One, a blue Pegasus with a short white mane, was named Skychaser, and was also the head of the Canterlot Academy. The other two were their assistants, who did not offer out their names, but rather began setting up the equipment in their saddlebags. While they did this, Adam began to do the same. He checked over the spare parts he had organized, and set up several work lamps, in case they had to be working late into the night. When he was done, he turned back to the scientists, who seemed to be finished setting up.

“Everybody done?” he asked. The ponies all stood back from their work, and looked to Adam. “Good. Here’s the plan:

“On the long term, what we’re trying to do, is get this thing flying again, so that I can return to my frigate that’s crashed up on your moon. To do this, we need to repair the engines, and to do that, we need to repair the reactor. Any questions so far?” Skychaser raised his hoof.

“Yes,” he said. “This technology is far ahead of anything that we currently possess. How are we supposed to help?”

Adam smiled beneath his helmet, and said, “Don’t worry, I’m getting to that. The thing is, I don’t know exactly how to fix it either. I do know, however, that the terminal inside my cockpit has instruction manuals on ship repair. Unfortunately, it is out of power. So, phase one of the plan is to get my portable battery fixed, so that we can power the terminal. From there, we will look at the repair manuals, and fix the reactor. Once the reactor is fixed and power is restored, we will fix the engines.” The ponies began to nod in understanding. Adam, however, was not done, and he held up a hand.

“That’s not all,” he said. “Getting this thing to fly won’t be easy. When I crashed, I used what little power I had left to activate the ventral engines and slow myself down. The strain on the engines was too much, and ventrals were completely destroyed. So that eliminates a vertical takeoff.

“However, it is possible for this thing to do a horizontal takeoff. The main engines are still in good condition, they just need a little fixing up. The hard part of that will be creating a launch strip long enough, and getting the ship there.” At this, Luna stepped forward.

“I shall have workers create this ‘launch strip’ for you at once,” she said. “I will find a suitable location, but how long must it be?” Adam thought for a moment.

“Hmm… These engines should get us airborne in 500 meters,” he said. “But, for safety, let’s go 550.” Luna nodded, and closed her eyes for a moment, seeming to concentrate. Then, she reopened them, and smiled.

“The message has been sent. Construction will begin immediately.” Adam nodded.

“Right then,” he said. “We have work to do. First thing’s first, I’ll bring out the busted battery.” The ponies all nodded, and set about doing their various tasks. The guards took up positions around the crash site, Twilight joined the scientists at their workstations, and her five friends took to doing whatever they saw was necessary. Luna, however, stepped aside, and cut Adam off just as he was about to enter the pelican.

“Delta,” she said. Adam looked her in the eyes.

“Yes?” he asked curiously.

“When your ship is repaired…” at this Luna faltered, as though she believed that he would not like what she was about to say. “We would like to have a few ponies accompany you.” Adam stared at her, not sure if she was serious for a moment.

“Absolutely not,” he said, and tried to push past Luna. But Luna persisted, and moved back in his direction.

“Delta,” she said. “It is merely a safety issue! Were I crashed on your world, would you not do the same?”

“It’s not about that,” he said. “It’s about standard operating procedure, the fact that you ponies have never flown in a ship, and that it’s just not safe at all!”

“Delta,” she said, still not backing down. “We will be as careful as we can. We will not interfere while you are flying, and we will not do anything to endanger the lives of anypony.” Adam sighed, and looked at Luna, defeated.

“Who would be coming aboard?” he asked. Luna smiled, and her eyes brightened.

“Well, myself, of course,” she said. “Twilight Sparkle would also join us, as would Rainbow Dash and Doctor Star Gazer.” Adam frowned.

“Why Rainbow Dash?” he asked. “I get you, Twilight, and the scientist, but…”

“She’s curious,” Luna admitted. “She claims that she wants to see you prove that you can actually go faster than her…” Adam frowned, but for now, he’d allow it.

“Alright,” Adam said. “But as soon as we take off, I expect you all to do exactly as I say, when I say it. Or else we all could end up in a lot of trouble.”

“Right,” Luna said, gulping nervously. “Of course.” Luna stepped aside, and granted Adam entry to his ship. Once inside, Adam retrieved the broken battery from the overhead compartment, and took it back outside to the scientists. He put it on a table they had set up, and immediately, the four scientists and Twilight were all over it.

“What is this device?” asked Skychaser, eyeing it carefully.

“This,” Adam began. “Is the portable battery that I intend to use to power my terminal.” The ponies continued to look at it, taking in its every detail.

“As you can see,” Adam continued. “It is broken, and as such, is totally useless. What we need to do is repair the breach in the side, then get it recharged. Do you think we can do that?” Star Gazer looked up at him, a look of determination in his eyes.

“Yes, Mr. Delta,” he said. Adam figured he would leave the scientists to do their jobs, and went to his pile of spare parts he had created. While he was looking through them, he felt a presence move up near to him. He looked over his shoulder, and saw Rainbow Dash hovering above the ground behind him.

“I’ve been wondering,” Adam said, breaking the ice. “How do those wings support you?” Dash gave him a quizzical look. “I mean, yeah, the wings are bigger than a birds, but you’re a full-sized pony. How do they support you?”

“Magic,” Rainbow Dash replied. Of course, thought Adam. Everything is magic. “What are you doing?”

“Making sure I have everything I need,” he replied as he continued sifting through the parts.

“Ya know,” she said. “You say I’m too big to fit my wings… but what about that thing?” Dash pointed a hoof at the pelican. “It’s huge, and it’s gotta weigh a ton. How does it fly?” Adam stepped back from the pile, satisfied that everything was in order. Then, he turned to address the curious Pegasus.

“Well,” he began, ready to confuse the poor pony. “You’re right about one thing. It is too big to be supported by those wings alone. It flies by utilizing a lifting body, which helps take some of the weight off. Coupled with that, the four engine pods on the craft provide thrust, thus allowing it to hover and fly. As for actually maneuvering around, each pod can independently articulate, allowing for alteration of the direction of thrust, and therefore allowing for movement. It’s basic physics.” The cyan Pegasus stared back at Adam with a face of pure confusion, which lasted for several seconds, before she shook her head and stared back at Adam normally.

“I have no idea what you just said,” she replied. “But I’m going to just decide to trust you on that.” Dash then hovered away, back to her friends. Adam smiled beneath his helmet, and wandered back over to the scientists examining the battery.

“How’s it going over here?” he asked them. Doctor Gazer spared a glance upwards in his direction.

“Ah, hello Delta,” he said. “We’ve just been examining the extent of the damage with our magic. Fortunately, it seems to be mostly superficial. Once we repair the outside, it should be fine to be recharged.”

“And you think you can recharge it?”

“Of course,” replied the doctor. “We believe that we can channel our magic into it, and use that. Incredible design, really… we’ve been searching for years to find a way to channel our magic… Ah, but I digress. We shall have it ready in a few hours.” Adam nodded, satisfied with the answer. He, once again, left the scientists to their work, and walked into the pelican’s cockpit, taking a seat in the chair. He sat there for a few moments in thought, before he heard a cough behind him. The turned around, and there stood Twilight.

“Hello,” Adam said, turning back around. Twilight took a few steps forward, now coming closer to Adam.

“What will you do after?” she asked.

“After what?”

“After you return from your ship,” Twilight continued. “What will you do then?” Adam thought to himself for a moment. He really had not thought that far ahead. His plan was to get to the ship, and drop a distress beacon to the UNSC so that they could come find him. Until somebody actually found the signal, he could be waiting for a long time.

“Lightning has a cryobay that operates on emergency power,” Adam replied. “I could probably stay in there, asleep until somebody comes to pick me up.”

“What?” Twilight said, sounding surprised. “You’d rather stay aboard that crashed ship up there, than down here where it’s safer and more comfortable?” This surprised Adam. A day ago, he had been a known hostile to these people. He had killed one of their guards! And now they were offering to put him up until he was rescued… Adam smiled.

“It’s kind of you to offer,” Adam said. “I’ll think about it.” This seemed to please Twilight.

“So what are you doing now,” she asked him.

“Oh, just thinking about what to do right now, while those scientists are busy outside,” he replied. “I hope that the battery will get the computer running. It’s possible that there was a power surge that fried all of the circuits.”

“You’ve mentioned your computer several times now,” Twilight said. “What does it do?”

“Oh, um…” Adam thought of the best way to describe what a computer did. He had always just known, having grown up around them, and suddenly found it was very hard to describe the true purpose of a computer. “I guess you could say it stores information. You like books, right?” Twilight nodded. “Well this is like a huge book, one that stores millions of pieces of information.” At this, Twilight’s eyes widened, and she became visibly excited.

“Really!?” she asked, smiling. “What kind of information?” Adam thought for a moment.

“Everything, really…” he said. “I guess once I get it working, I could run the first contact program. It gives you basic information about humanity, but of course the computer itself has even more on it.”

“How much more?” the lavender unicorn asked, her smile widening.

“Well, about 500 years ago we created a website called Wikipedia,” Adam replied. “It was essentially a massive encyclopedia, constantly being updating with all information known to humanity. Most computers are now preloaded with a downloaded version of the site, so basically, this computer has everything on it.” Twilight of course did not understand most of the words Adam used, like “website” and “downloaded”, but she did get the gist of what he was saying: this computer had every public piece of information known to humankind on it.

“I’ll…” she began to say. “I’ll go help the scientists. The sooner we get that computer working, the better!” Then she trotted away happily. Adam laughed to himself at her child-like innocence, and will to learn. He would have to remember to restrict exactly which sections of the Wikipedia program she had access to, but he saw no harm in her learning a bit more. From outside, Adam heard one of the ponies yell out “aha!”, so he stood up and walked out to them. He saw the battery being levitated by a blue aura, another of which was surrounding Star Gazer’s horn. Telekinesis, Adam realized. No doubt another use of their “magic”. Adam walked over to the gray scientist.

“What’s going on?” he asked. The floating battery then rotated to show Adam the once-broken side. Where there had once been a large breach, was a pristine and perfectly repaired surface.

“We have repaired the damage to the battery, and are ready to attempt filling it with our magical energy!” the doctor said enthusiastically.

“Well done,” Adam said. “How long will this take?”

“Just a mere moment,” replied Doctor Skychaser. “All we need is somepony to actually do it.” Princess Luna stepped forward.

“I shall,” she said. “I am the most experienced here with magic, I believe it shall be easier for me to channel my energy.” All of the ponies nodded in agreement, and Luna stepped closer to the battery. Doctor Gazer set it down onto a table, allowing Luna to pick it up with her telekinesis. She closed her eyes, and squinted in concentration. After a few moments, small tendrils of dark blue magical energy crept from the tip of her horn, and began to fill in around the battery. Adam looked at the display on the side, and noticed the charge bar beginning to go up. Luna continued to channel the energy for another minute, before the battery began beeping rapidly, a sign that it was full. Luna levitated it down, then released her hold on it. Almost immediately, she stumbled, and gasped for breath. The guards rushed to her aid, and Twilight Sparkle jumped to her side.

“Princess!” she cried. “Are you all right!?” Luna continued gasping for air for a moment, and finally, stood up to her full height.

“I am fine,” she finally said. “That simply took more out of me than I initially thought…”

“Honestly, I should’ve thought of that,” Adam said, stepping forward. “It is a 30 megawatt battery, fairly high-capacity.”

“It is alright, Delta,” said Luna. “Now, shall we test it?” Adam nodded, and picked up the battery. He then carried it into the pelican, being followed by Twilight, Doctors Gazer and Skychaser, and Princess Luna. He entered the cockpit, and removed the panel underneath the computer. He then hooked the battery up to the slot, and sure enough, the computer lit up. Adam stood up, satisfied, and then turned to face the ponies.

“Alright,” he said. “Now let’s get to work.”

Chapter 07

View Online

CHAPTER 07

Luna stared curiously as the large human bent down below his computer, and pulled off a panel, revealing the various pieces of machinery beyond. He then grabbed the now repaired “battery”, and put it into a slot that fit it rather perfectly. Almost immediately, the device lit up, and what Luna assumed to be the main screen came on with a picture of a spinning eagle, beneath which was written “UNSC”. Delta stood up, his helmet not hiding his satisfaction. He turned to face herself and the other ponies inside.

“Alright,” he said. “Now let’s get to work.” Delta took a seat in the chair in front of the computer, and began pressing the various buttons around it. The picture of the eagle disappeared, and made way for a picture with various words in it. Before the human pressed one of them, she managed to read off “Pelican Diagnostics”, “BiOS Settings”, “Power Distribution”, and “Access Information”. The one that he pressed read “Help”. This “help” picture lead to another picture with many more words on it, and Delta pressed one that read “Repair Manuals”. This picture lead to one with, yet again, more words, but this time, Delta pressed one that looked like a set of parentheses growing in size, coming out of a megaphone.

“PERSONAL ASSISTANT ONLINE. PLEASE CONFIRM UNSC IDENTITY,” said a soft, female voice, seemingly out of nowhere. The ponies all looked around, surprised and confused.

“Who said that!?” Luna demanded. “Show yourself!” Delta turned his head to look at her.

“Relax,” he said. “It’s just the personal assistant.” This meant nothing to Luna, nor did it mean anything to the other ponies, so all she offered in return was a confused stare. Delta seemed to realize that his words fell on untrained ears, so he offered an explanation.

“It’s basically a smart computer program,” he began. “It’s nothing as smart as the AI’s we have aboard ships like Lightning, but basically what it does is it provides assistance based on what I ask it. For example…” He turned back to the computer.

“Access reactor repair guide,” he said. The computer made a beep noise, and flashed red.

“Unable to comply,” said this ‘personal assistant’. “Please confirm UNSC identity.”

“Oh, right,” Delta said. “Confirmed, Spartan-D014, service number 09238-11426-SA.”

“Stand by,” the personal assistant continued. “Spartan identity recognized. Please provide retinal confirmation.”

“Oh, for the love of…” Delta said. “Uh… Can you guys… turn around?” The ponies all looked at him, confused, but complied, and turned around. Luna heard a hissing noise, followed by a pop. She then heard two beeps, and the personal assistant said, “Retinal scan verified. Welcome, Spartan D-014.” Luna heard the pop and hiss again.

“Alright, you can turn back around,” he said.

“What did you do?” asked Twilight, curiously.

“Uh… I had to show the computer my eye,” he said awkwardly.

“But I thought you said the helmet didn’t come off by itself,” she pressed on, getting suspicious. Delta sighed.

“I lied,” he said quickly. “Now, let us continue on.” Twilight was about to retort, but Luna put a hoof on her shoulder, and Twilight stepped back. Delta leaned in to the computer.

“Access reactor repair guide,” he said. The picture on the computer faded away, followed by the spinning eagle again.

“Accessing…” said the voice. It repeated this twice more, then the eagle faded away, and an image of the schematics of what Luna assumed was the “reactor” appeared.

“Pray tell, Delta,” said Luna. “What does this ‘reactor’ device do?”

“It creates a large amount of energy via the fusion of two atomic nuclei,” he said. “Thus producing power that the ship can use to fly and function.” As he said this, he began moving his finger up and down, and with it moved the words on the screen. It seemed that he was looking for something. Luna spared a glance at Twilight Sparkle, and saw that her mouth was agape.

“Nuclear fusion!?” she said loudly. “We didn’t even think that that was possible!”

“Yeah, neither did we, for a while…” Delta said. “But when we figured it out, well…” He trailed off, still looking for whatever he was looking for.

“So how does it work?” Twilight said, ever eager to learn.

“I don’t know,” Delta replied. “I just am trying to find how to fix it… Come on… Ha!” Finally, Delta stopped moving his finger, and pressed on a line of words. A diagram of the reactor device appeared on the computer, and Delta stared at it, looking for something. Finally, he pointed at one part of it.

“There,” he said. “From what I saw when I did my visual check of the reactor, this is the broken part. And there, too.” He moved his finger to point to another part. “The first part is the section of the reactor that actually collects the energy produced. The second part is the section that channels the energy into the sections of the ship.”

“Right, then,” said Doctor Gazer, stepping forward. “How should we proceed?” Delta pressed a few more words on his computer, and the computer then turned back to the picture of the spinning eagle.

“I’ve downloaded the repair instructions to my HUD,” he said. “I’ll get it on a tablet for you all to look at. The reactor is accessible by removing the plating on top of the aft of the pelican. We’ll open it up, and get to work with the spare parts I have outside.” Everypony nodded, and Luna followed them all outside. Delta walked over to his pile of parts, and picked up a small ladder. He pulled down two switches on both sides, and the ladder extended to be much longer. He propped the ladder up against the back of his craft, and climbed up.

“Doctor Gazer?” he asked from above.

“Yes?” replied the unicorn scientist.

“Over in the pile of spare parts you should see several flat, black rectangles,” said Delta. Luna looked over towards the pile, as did Doctor Gazer. “Pick it up, and tap on it.” Doctor Gazer walked over to the pile, and picked up one of the rectangles in his telekinesis. He tapped it with a hoof, and the rectangle suddenly lit up with an image of the reactor.

“Ah!” Gazer yelled. “Incredible! What do you call this device?”

“A tablet,” said Delta. “Basically a small, portable computer. I’ve sent the schematics to all of them, distribute them as you see fit.” Delta continued to do whatever he was doing, and Star Gazer passed out the tablets to Skychaser, Twilight, and their two assistants. They all tapped on the “tablets”, and pictures of the tablet schematics (which now had the damaged areas highlighted) appeared. Luna heard several “pops” from on top of the craft, and a large section of the hull plating fell to the ground across from the ponies. Delta jumped down after it.

“There,” he said. “The plating is off, and the reactor is exposed. I can already see the damage, it’s pretty obvious. First, we’re going to repair the power channeling parts. To do that, we’ll have to completely take out the damaged one and all other damaged parts, then replace them. Questions?” Luna looked around her. The ponies all shook their heads.

“Right then,” Delta said. “Let’s get to it.” Delta climbed back up his ladder. Doctor Gazer (rather humorously) followed him up. Skychaser went up next, but he opted to fly up, carrying some of the spare parts detailed on the tablet in his mouth. Luna flapped her powerful wings, and flew up to get a view of the reactor. When she got to a good height, she looked down at the device. It was a small circle, with a diameter of only about half a meter. Several cylindrical tubes sprouted off, each going in different directions. One tube was much wider, and originated from the center of the bottom of the circle. It appeared to be burnt and the metal was bent. This was, undoubtedly, the broken piece. Delta held out his hand to Star Gazer.

“Can you pass me the blowtorch?” he asked. Doctor Gazer stared back, confused. “Oh, um, it’s that ‘L’-shaped thing with the pointy bit on one end, and a canister on the other.” Star Gazer used his magic to teleport the ‘blowtorch’ into his hand. Luna stared at it with unease, as it reminded her of the weapon that he used to kill the guard. Delta held the device to one end of the broken piece.

“Stand back, and cover your eyes,” he commanded. The two scientists did as they were told, and Delta squeezed part of the device. A small jet of flame leapt from the end of the device, and began to cut through the broken metal of the component. When he was done with one end, he directed the blowtorch to the other. This job done, Delta picked up the now removed piece, and threw it to the ground, where it hit with a clang.

“There’s that piece. Now we have to remove the parts that were connecting it to the reactor,” he said. “That piece was too damaged to remove normally, but I think that these should be fine… Pass me the screwdriver, please.” Delta was about to go without explaining it, too, but then caught himself. “It’s also L-shaped, and has a circle at the end.” Doctor Gazer found what Delta was looking for, and teleported it into his hands. Delta aligned the odd-looking screwdriver with one of the screws, and squeezed on end. As he squeezed, he pulled it backwards, and the screw came along with it. He did this several more times, until the component that linked the broken piece to the reactor was free. He then took it off, and set it aside.

“There, now we can-,” Delta was interrupted by an ear-splitting roar that split through the air.

10 MINUTES PRIOR

Rainbow Dash looked on with a sigh as Delta, Twilight, Princess Luna, and Doctors Gazer and Skychaser all walked into the crashed ship. She really didn’t understand why she, along with Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, had all been dragged along. There was too much egghead stuff going on, and not enough action. She had nearly collapsed on the ground when the human had detailed his plan for repairing his ship. It sounded very time-consuming. With nothing better to do, Dash decided to go bother the guards.

They all were standing in a perimeter around the craft, spears ready to eliminate any threats that the Everfree forest may throw at them. She picked out a particularly young looking one to mess with. The young ones were always the easiest targets, as their stoic expressions fell much quicker than the seasoned veterans of the guard. She circled the guard, and watched as he struggled to keep his eyes facing forward. She stopped right in front of him, and stared him right in the eyes, unblinking. Her gaze sharpened, and her brow furrowed. In response, the guard swallowed nervously, and sweat began to form on his brow. Rainbow Dash inched closer and closer, never taking her eyes off him. He began to sweat more profusely, getting more and more nervous by her unending stare. Dash was standing right in front of him now, with only a few centimeters separating them. She stayed like that for a few seconds, and then…

“Hi.”

The guard visibly jumped backwards an inch, and he released his breath, blinking. Rainbow Dash started laughing uncontrollably, and she fell to the ground. The guard sighed, and resumed his watch on the forest. Rainbow Dash stood up, satisfied, though a bit annoyed that her escapade had only lasted five minutes. She was about to go find something else to do when she heard a rustling in the trees ahead of them. The guard noticed too, and pointed his spear towards it. Dash squinted, trying to make out a shape, but the trees were far too thick. Anything could be hiding in there, and they wouldn’t see it. There was another rustle, further away in the forest.

“Did you hear that?” Dash whispered to the young guard.

“Yes,” he said. “Stay back, I’ll check it out.” He began to walk forwards, but Dash put a hoof on his shoulder.

“You have no idea what could be lurking out there! I’ll go with you, watch your back,” Dash said. The guard opened his mouth to protest, but Dash put a hoof over it. “I’m coming.” The guard sighed, and closed his mouth. He then looked to one of the other guards.

“Hey, Iron!” he yelled. The guard looked his way. “I’m going to check out a noise, be back soon.” The guard nodded, and continued his patrol. The young guard cautiously stepped into the forest, followed closely by Rainbow Dash. Both kept their eyes peeled, and watched all around them. The guard motioned to Dash for her to get behind him. She complied, and he led the way. They walked for another minute, before the guard stopped. Dash looked at him quizzically.

“Hey,” she asked. “Why’d you stop?” The guard began to breathe heavily, and turned his head to look at Dash. Dash was surprised to see his face was stricken with fear. In front of the guard, two massive eyes opened, and a scorpion tail descended from above. The tail hovered in place for a moment, before the manticore let out a loud roar, and swung his tail. The tail connected with the guard, and sent him flying through the air, until he hit the ground a few meters behind Dash. Dash wasted no time in running to the guard’s crippled body, and she picked him up onto her back. She then flapped her wings with all her might, and flew to the crash site. When she arrived, the other four guards were standing at attention, and she saw Delta and two of the scientists on top of the crashed ship. She rather ungracefully landed behind the guards, and let down the wounded soldier. The trees began to shake, and the ground rumbled. Out of the forest and into the clearing stepped a massive manticore, twice as large as the one that Delta had killed a few days ago.

“EVERYPONY, GET DOWN!” one of the guards yelled as the manticore pounced into the center of the clearing. One of the guards threw his spear, and it landed in the manticore’s shoulder. This did nothing more than annoy it, and it ripped the spear out. It then pounced at Rainbow Dash, who dived out of the way, just in time. Dash looked up to Delta, and saw him springing into action. He jumped down from the top of the ship, and ran inside. When he came back out, he was carrying a rectangular shaped device, with a tube sticking out of one end. He stopped in the entrance, and squeezed a small handle on the device. Similar to the weapon he had used to kill the guard before, it let out a jet of flame, although this one was continuous. Dash saw the blur of several small objects coming out of the fire, and they impacted into the manticore, wounding it in several places. This one, however, was much larger and stronger than the one he had faced before. It shrugged off most of the blows, and advanced for Delta, preparing its scorpion tail. It swung at the human, and he ducked beneath the appendage. He let out another burst of fire, and hit the manticore several more times in its chest. The fire stopped, and Dash could hear a clicking noise coming from the weapon. Delta quickly pressed a switch on the side, and a box fell out of the back. Delta took another box from his belt, and shoved it into the weapon. Before he could fire again, the manticore swung its tail, only this time it connected, and sent Delta flying across the clearing. Rainbow Dash saw a golden aura surround him, before it disappeared with a pop, and he impacted on the ground. He struggled to stand up, but the manticore pounced on him, and secured the human on the ground with a paw. Slowly, the manticore began pushing Delta into the ground. The three guard who still had spears all threw them, and the all landed in the creature’s back. It let out a pained roar, but did nothing to stop it from crushing Delta.

The human continued to squirm under the weight of the manticore. Dash heard the sound of flapping wings, and saw Princess Luna fly overhead, her horn charging with energy. She let out a burst, which hit the creature directly in the head, burning it. However, she was still not fully recovered from charging Delta’s battery, and after she fired, she fell to the ground, unconscious. The creature screamed at the almost-lethal burst of energy, and put up its paw for a moment, which Delta used to escape the manticore’s grasp. With the creature now stunned, Delta raised his weapon, and let out several more jets of flame, each one impacting it directly in the face. Blood, flesh, and brain matter splattered onto the ground around the manticore, and stained the armor of Delta. The creature fell to the ground, finally defeated. Delta remained standing for a moment, before he, too, fell. The four scientist ponies ran to the aid of Luna, while Twilight and her friends ran to the human. Dash approached Delta, who lay face-down in the dirt. He picked himself back up, and stood up. The chest piece of his armor was dented, and several other parts had cracks.

“Delta!” Twilight cried. “Are you okay!?” Delta did not reply at first, instead taking the opportunity to catch his breath.

“I’m fine,” he finally said. His gaze turned to the wounded guard, who was surrounded by his comrades. “Crap.” Delta ran to the guard, and pushed the other guards out of the way. He flipped the guard over, and examined his wound. The tail of the manticore had cut deep, and had opened up much of the guard. Through the blood, Dash could clearly see parts of his kidneys, ribs, and a lung. The guard was breathing rapidly, each breath becoming shallower. Princess Luna was the only pony with the magic ability to heal the guard, but she was still unconscious. Who would heal him? Dash looked on with horror as she realized that he was still conscious.

“He’s in shock,” Delta announced. “Everybody stand back.” Delta ran into the ship, and came out with a large box that had a red “+” on it. He opened it up, and inside, Dash saw various pieces of medical equipment. Delta cursed several times under his breath as he rapidly gathered up the things he needed. Once everything was ready, Delta began to repair the damage to the guard. Dash had no idea just what he was doing, but she hoped it would help. He worked for about fifteen minutes cleaning out the wound and resetting anything that was out of place. In several areas he used some strange cream to coat a damaged organ or tissue. Finally, he pulled out a long canister, and inserted the nozzle into the wound. He squeezed on it, and the entire wound was soon filled with a foamy white substance. He was about to grab what looked like medical tape, but then froze. Dash wondered why he stopped, then she realized.

The guard had just stopped breathing. Delta put two fingers to the guard’s throat, and put his ear to it as well. He pulled away quickly, and took a small box out of the medical case. He picked up two rectangles from the box, and covered them in some kind of gel. Then, he pushed a button, and Dash heard a noise like a whistle coming from the device. He put the two rectangles on the guard’s chest, and pushed a button. The guard jolted upright, but fell back down. Delta pushed another button, and the whistling became louder. Again, he pressed the button, and the guard jolted upright, but once again fell back down. Delta pushed a third button, and the whistling became extremely loud. He put the rectangles to the guard’s chest again, pushed the button, and the guard jolted upright, his eyes opening wide as he gasped for air. Delta pulled the rectangles away, turned off the device, and put it back in the medical kit.

Delta continued from where he left off, grabbing the medical tape and wrapping the guard in it. He then took out a long tube similar to the one that had been given to Twilight Sparkle, and wrapped it over the guard. Slowly, the guard opened his mouth.

“Thank…” he said, beginning to struggle. “Thank… you…” The guard then lay his head back, and fell asleep, his breathing becoming rhythmic as it returned to normal. Delta closed the medical kit, and stood up. Dash then looked over at Princess Luna, who was just beginning to stand up. She shakily made her way over to the, now sleeping, guard, and looked down on him sadly.

“He’s going to be fine,” Delta said to her. He then turned to address the whole group. “Go ahead and get him someplace safe. We can be finished for today.” Delta picked up his medical kit, and put it back into his ship. He then walked back outside, and got to work putting the plating back over the reactor. One of the guards gingerly put the sleeping one on his back, and began walking out of the clearing. The scientists followed, and they were joined shortly after by Princess Luna and Dash’s friends. Dash turned to look at Delta, who was almost finished putting the plate back on. She then turned, and flew after her friends.

It was a quiet walk back from the Everfree to Ponyville. Everypony was still a bit shaken up at what had transpired, and so they all left one another alone to think about it. Twilight kept on thinking back at how Delta had, after nearly being crushed, rushed to the rescue of the wounded guard. She looked ahead at him; he was still asleep. As she thought over what Delta had done, she began to regret more and more what she had said earlier that day. She had been acting only in her benefit, to get him out of Equestria. She had offered him a place to say, sure, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t still wary of him. And now he had completely neglected to check over his own wounds in order to bring a single guard back from the dead. Twilight craned her head and looked up at the position of the sun in the sky. It was about four in the afternoon. They hadn’t gotten too much work done, but they were certainly on their way. The group of ponies got a few strange looks as they entered Ponyville, but for the most part, everypony kept to themselves. They all reentered the library, and the sleeping guard was set down onto the couch. With that done, the ponies all took positions around the room.

“I…” Princess Luna started to say. “I don’t know how we can thank him. You say that Delta brought him back from the dead?”

“It sure seemed like it, Princess,” Twilight responded. “He had stopped breathing, then Delta used that device, and suddenly he was back.” Twilight looked at the guard, who was now sleeping peacefully on her couch.

“He’s a very… capable... creature, isn’t he?” noted Star Gazer. “The technology is incredible…” The other ponies nodded in agreement.

“When will we return?” asked Skychaser.

“Tomorrow, sometime in the morning,” said Luna. “I would return us to Canterlot now, but I’m afraid that my magical capabilities right now are… limited.” Luna rubbed her horn with a hoof, frowning slightly.

“What did he say about us accompanying him?” asked Twilight. Rainbow Dash perked up at this, for she was going to be going along too.

“He has allowed it,” replied Luna. “Under the condition that we do exactly as he says to maintain our safety…” Twilight nodded.

“But for now, we should rest, and eat,” said Luna. “We have many more busy days ahead of us, and we should be ready.” The ponies all nodded in agreement, and Twilight called for Spike. Twilight thought, and she realized that this was by far the most interesting adventure she and her friends had ever been on. And it was up to them to make sure that the outcome would be better for everypony: for Equestria, the other nations of Equis… and for Delta.

SPARTAN LOG – FRIDAY, MAY 23RD, 2556
LOCATION: UNKNOWN
TIME OF LOG: 1756 HOURS

RECORDING STARTED…

Uh, this is Spartan D-014… I figure that, as long as I’m trapped here, I may as well start keeping a log. Uh, where to begin… Well, two days ago, Lightning underwent some sort of slipspace failure, which deposited half of the ship over the moon of this planet. I escaped in a Pelican, and landed on the planet which the moon was orbiting. Well, turns out it’s inhabited. *Laughs* Yeah, I know that, should I fail, if somebody ever finds these logs, they’re going to think I’m crazy… Well, I haven’t really nailed down whether or not I am either… But they seem friendly enough. Technologically, I’d have to say that they’re tier 7, pre-industrial. At least, I haven’t seen any factories yet. To be fair, I’ve seen barely anything beyond this forest. Either way, they seem to be pretty good at learning, so a few of them are helping me repair the pelican. Oh, and did I mention that the things living here are horses? Well, ponies to be exact. They’re actually divided up into four groups: earth ponies, which are a lot more like the ones that we know, then there’s unicorns and pegasi. Yes, unicorns and pegasi. As in the creatures from ancient mythology. The fourth one is a mix between unicorns and pegasi. Though that’s not all, this world seems to be teeming with mythological animals. I’ve been attacked twice now by a manticore. I couldn’t recall what it was at first, but after some perusing of the database on the computer, I found it. Strange…

Anyways, the pelican repairs: once they’re done, I’m going to the moon to board Lightning, and see if there’s anything left. I doubt anybody survived, but it’s still worth a look. And if nobody did, I need to drop a beacon. After that, I don’t know… One of the ponies, Twilight Sparkle, offered to put me up. Nice gesture on her part… My relationship with these creatures is a rocky one at best… Well, I don’t know. Repairs should be done in about a week and a half, then I’ll head to Lightning, drop the beacon, and get rescued. Alright, Spartan D-014, signing off.

RECORDING STOPPED.

RECORDING ARCHIVED.

SIGNING OFF…

Chapter 08

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CHAPTER 08

The next few days were, fortunately, uneventful for Adam and his pony assistants. They had returned the day after the incident with the manticore, and had managed to finish removing the damaged components of the energy channeling section. Adam had noticed that a lot of smaller parts beneath those components had been broken as well, and they had to remove them too. By the time they were done, a rainstorm had started up, and they were forced to postpone their work yet again. The next day, they had finally begun to install the replacement parts, and by the middle of the fourth day of working, the power channeling components were fixed.

Adam stood back, impressed at the work that had been accomplished. He had expected the first part of reactor repairs to take at least five days, but even with delays, they had finished in four. He looked back, and realized that the telekinesis ability of the unicorns was probably the reason that they had finished so effectively. Adam jumped down from the top of the pelican, landing in front of Princess Luna, Twilight Sparkle, and her group of friends. By now the sun was high in the sky, and Adam’s chrono read that it was 1200 hours. A good time for lunch, he thought. Adam began to make for the entrance to the pelican, when he was intercepted by a very eager Doctor Gazer.

“So, what’s next?” he asked, excited.

“I was thinking lunch,” Adam said. Gazer frowned, but ultimately nodded as Adam heard his stomach growl.

“Very well,” the unicorn replied. “Would you care to join us today? Although I feel as though I already know what the answer will be…” Adam shook his head.

“No thanks, Doctor,” Adam responded. “I’ll just eat inside.” Star Gazer sighed, and stepped aside, allowing the Spartan passage into the dropship. Once inside, Adam hit the switch to close the hatch, and he sat down on the seats. The hatch closed with a hiss, and Adam hit the seals on his helmet, taking it off. He normally would keep it off always, but he was still wary around the ponies. It was better to err on the safe side and keep it on. Adam retrieved a MRE from the box that he had set up by his weapon case, and peeled it open. The food tasted horrible, but it was nutritious enough to keep him in good health. He ate in solemn silence, thinking over the odds of ever getting rescued.

Lightning had been en-route to a deep space monitoring outpost that was further out than any other UNSC colony or base. When they dropped out, they were still about a day and a half away from reaching the station. That was still far out enough that it was possible that nobody would catch his beacon, and he could be stuck here forever. Adam shook away the pessimistic thoughts, and focused instead on finishing his meal. He was interrupted mid-bite as he heard a knock on the back hatch. He finished chewing, swallowed, and put his helmet back on, before finally the Spartan walked to the hatch and opened it. Adam looked down, and saw Twilight Sparkle.

“Yes?” Adam asked. Twilight paused for a moment, looking inside of the Pelican. Something seemed to be troubling her. “Twilight?” This shook her out of whatever was going on in her head, and she once again focused on Adam.

“Um…” she faltered. “We’re all finished eating, and are ready to continue when you are…” Twilight then walked back over to the rest of the group. Adam regarded her curiously, wondering what was troubling her. He followed her path to the other ponies, and his eyes settled on Princess Luna. She was levitating an unraveled scroll in the air, her expression grave. Adam cautiously walked over.

“What’s going on?” he asked. Luna’s head snapped upwards, and she looked at Adam. Immediately her expression changed to one of forced content.

“Oh, nothing,” she said, smiling. “Just some small problems with our neighboring countries, nothing bad.” This got Adam thinking. Sure, he had seen their guards, but they seemed to be fairly poorly experienced. When he had taken Princess Celestia hostage, they had all faltered, and allowed fear to control them. That was a sure sign that they were not hardened soldiers, like him. Adam wondered for a moment when the last time the ponies had a war was. They always were very joyful, and military and defense seemed to be at the back of all of their minds. His thoughts were interrupted as Doctor Gazer approached, levitating his tablet.

“So,” said the unicorn scientist. “Shall we continue with repairs?” Adam nodded and called up the reactor diagram on his HUD. He then selected the second broken area, the parts that actually collect the energy produced by the fusion. He confirmed the changes, and sent the update to all of the tablets. Adam looked at Star Gazer’s tablet as it changed to show the new section.

“Right then,” he said. “I’ve updated your tablets. Same process as last time: remove broken pieces, clean everything up, and put in the new pieces.” Gazer and Skychaser both nodded, and made their way to the top of the pelican. Doctor Gazer painstakingly climbed the human-designed ladder, while Skychaser simply glided up.

“I’ve estimated that this part will take the next several days to complete,” Adam continued. “There are a lot of parts involved in this damaged area, and most of them are tiny. Your magic should come in handy with removing and replacing them, but there’s still quite a lot.” Doctor Gazer nodded as he scrutinized the part of the reactor that they were about to repair.

“Very well,” he said, still eyeing the reactor. “Where shall we begin here?” Adam climbed up the ladder, and moved in next to Star Gazer.

“I’ll remove most of the plating here first,” the Spartan replied. “Then I’ll get to work on the bigger pieces. Once I’m done with that, which probably won’t be until tomorrow, you can get to work on the smaller ones.”

“Alright,” sighed Doctor Gazer. “I shall leave you to it, then. In the meantime, I would very much like to study these reactor schematics… If you require my assistance, please simply call for me.” Star Gazer slowly climbed down the ladder, and sat down by the spare parts with the tablet Adam had loaned to him. Adam reached for the blowtorch (which they had decided to keep on top of the pelican, for convenience’s sake), and began to cut through the larger parts.

Princess Luna’s day had been off to a good start. She woke up in her castle quarters, had breakfast, gathered up the guards and scientists, and teleported to Ponyville to meet up with Twilight Sparkle and her friends. From there, they walked to Delta’s crash site deep within the Everfree forest. The repairs had been going quite well, when they had decided to break for a brief lunch. It was during this lunch that Princess Luna’s day took a wrong turn. She received a letter from her sister, Princess Celestia, which, as soon as she got it, she knew did not contain good news.

The contents of the letter were regarding three pony archaeologists, who had found a set of ruins on the Equestria-Gryphonia border. The Griffons had always been aggressive when it came to border patrol, and when the archaeologists exited from the other side of the ruins and found themselves in Gryphonia, the Griffons were less than pleased. Now the archaeologists were being held captive, and the Griffons were demanding that their territory be expanded to encompass the ruins. Luna scowled at the prospect of giving up so much land just to appease the barbaric creatures. For a reason she never understood, the Griffons had always had a strange infatuation with ancient pre-historic ruins. These were no different from the ones that were already in their territory. From what Luna had been told, they were collapsed in most areas, were made of a decaying brown stone, and served no clear purpose whatsoever.

When Luna got heated about something (particularly threats to her subjects), she became very grumpy. It was for this reason that she had distanced herself from the other ponies in the clearing, so as not to focus her anger on them. Rather, she channeled this anger into energy, and slowly began to clear her mind of her troubles, instead focusing on the good things going on. She looked up to Delta, who was leaning over the reactor on top of his ship. He had just finished cutting another piece out, and he threw it over the edge of the craft into a trash pile that had been accumulating over the past few days. Immediately after he threw it over, he began cutting another piece.

As she watched the human work, she wondered if humans ever had wars. Delta was a soldier, and he was obviously well trained and had some experience, so it seemed as though they did. However, it seemed that he was just as good at healing as he was at killing. Luna found this curious. She hoped that the humans who would eventually come to rescue him would not be too violent. Luna had, on several occasions, attempted to enter Delta’s mind, to find out more about him, and more about humans. Every time ended in failure, as his mind seemed to be very well protected against her magical intrusions. In the brief moment that she made contact with his mind, all she felt was great determination… and great sadness. The sadness was almost overwhelming to her. It reminded her of the sadness she felt when she was banished to the moon, but his was worse. Whatever had happened to cause this sadness, he had made no attempt to tell the ponies, and he hid it very well.

Luna moved her gaze to her sister’s protégé, Twilight Sparkle. She was sitting in the shade provided by Delta’s crashed starship, reading something on the tablet that had been given to her. Luna stood up and wandered over to her.

“Hello, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said, smiling. Twilight looked up, and smiled back.

“Hello, Princess,” she replied, then looked back at her tablet.

“What is it that you are doing?” Luna inquired, as she craned her neck to see what was on the screen. Twilight lowered the tablet, offering the Princess a view.

“Delta gave me access to some other parts of the tablet,” she explained. “I’m currently reading one of the books that is on here.”

“’One’ of the books?” Luna asked, growing confused. Twilight looked up at her, excited.

“Yes!” she said. “This device has many functions, including the storage of dozens upon dozens of books!” Luna’s eyes widened.

“Really?” Luna said disbelievingly. “What book are you reading right now?”

“An astronomy book,” she said, smiling sheepishly. “As I suspected, the human’s knowledge of the cosmos vastly outmatches our own. They know many things that are hundreds of years ahead of us!” Twilight began to use her hoof to search for a section of the book.

“I also found a section that talks about how I think Delta arrived here,” Twilight began. Finally, she stopped moving her hoof, and came to stop at a page titled ‘SHAW-FUJIKAWA TRANSLIGHT ENGINE’. “They use something that they call ‘slipstream space’ to travel great distances in a short amount of time. Delta’s ship was likely using it when they arrived here.” Luna nodded, fascinated by the technology.

“What other books are on there?” asked Luna, remembering about her thoughts regarding human war. “Are there any on human wars?” Twilight pressed a button, and began navigating through a selection of books.

“There are a few,” she replied. “But I think that Delta has blocked some of the functions on this thing… I can only access a few features, and even those are still limited to me.” Luna found this odd. What did Delta have to hide? She was about to respond when she heard a loud clang as Delta dropped another damaged piece into the pile. He then jumped down after it, and walked to the ponies.

“Alright,” he said. “I’ve finished removing the larger pieces, but it’s beginning to get dark. We can be finished for today.” Delta turned to look at Doctor Gazer, who was examining his tablet near the edge of the clearing. “Doctor, I’ll be needed your magic to get the small pieces out tomorrow.” Doctor Gazer smiled and nodded, and walked to join the rest of the ponies.

“Good work today,” Delta said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He then walked into his ship, and closed the hatch. The ponies all exchanged glances, and Luna flared her horn, teleporting them all back to Ponyville.

Adam wished the ponies farewell, and walked into the peace and quiet that was his pelican. He had become quite accustomed to living in it over the past few days, and he regretted that it was so badly damaged. He was beginning to grow hungry, but before he ate, he figured he would record another log.

SPARTAN LOG - MONDAY, MAY 26TH, 2556
LOCATION: UNKNOWN
TIME OF LOG: 1648 HOURS

RECORDING STARTED…

This is Spartan-D014, recording my… fourth log. We just wrapped up the fourth day of repairs, and we are on schedule. The reactor should be finished shortly, then we can get to fixing anything else, which shouldn’t take long… My relationship with the ponies seems to be getting a bit better. As I mentioned in last night’s log I uh… shot and killed one of their guards with my sidearm… They’re a very forgiving race, they seem to put a lot of emphasis on apologizing and making up for one’s past mistakes. I’ve decided to thank them for their kindness by giving one of them access to the Wikipedia program when they arrive tomorrow. She’s been mentioning it on-and-off over the past few days, and I figure it couldn’t hurt too much. I’ll obviously block access to a few things, like Earth, any information on Spartans, and… and the Covenant. But she’s just curious, she likes to learn. She means no harm, and that is something I know.

I’ll continue making a log entry each night after we wrap up repairs. I’ll also record my SOS at some point to upload it to the beacon once I get aboard Lightning. Alright, once again, Spartan D-014 signing off.

RECORDING STOPPED.

RECORDING ARCHIVED.

SIGNING OFF…

Chapter 09

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CHAPTER 09

Over the course of the next six days, Adam and the pony scientists continued to repair the damage to the reactor, and, upon completing that task, began to repair some of the smaller things in the engines. And finally, midway through the tenth day of repairs, the pelican was once again in shape to fly. Adam circled the pelican, inspecting every last detail of it for the umpteenth time, running through his mental checklist. As the previous inspections had proven, everything was in good condition, and the flight to the moon, hopefully, would be a successful one. The final step in getting the pelican ready to go was to move it to the landing strip that Princess Luna had ordered to be created. Unfortunately, the strip would not be completed until later today, near nightfall. So, for now, Adam and the ponies were spending the rest of the day relaxing and celebrating. Pinkie Pie had baked several trays of cupcakes, which she was distributing out to everybody. Adam had decided to save his for later, for he was still not quite comfortable with taking off his helmet in the presence of the ponies.

Adam looked around, watching what each pony was doing. Doctors Gazer and Skychaser were talking with their assistants while the schematics of the reactor were on a tablet in front of them, Princess Luna was sitting alone, eating a cupcake, the guards were all in a perimeter formation around the crash site, and Twilight’s friends were all eating cupcakes together. Adam looked around, wondering about the whereabouts of the lavender unicorn. Then he remembered: a few days ago, he had given her limited access to the Wikipedia program on the pelican terminal. Since then, whenever they arrived, she would spend all of her time in there, reading anything she could think of. Adam smiled beneath his helmet and shook his head at her continuing want to learn. He then walked over to Princess Luna, to go over the plan for takeoff. She smiled as he approached.

“Hello, Delta,” she said, finishing off her cupcake. “Is your ship prepared for the launch tonight?” She had clearly been watching him do his inspections.

“Yes,” he replied. “Pelican dropships were built for vertical takeoffs, but horizontal ones were never out of the question. She’ll fly.” Luna smiled again and nodded.

“My sister will be joining us later today,” Luna said. “She told me that she wished to see the progress that was made, and to be there to wish us farewell.”

“Right,” Adam said. “About you coming with me…” Luna frowned, and glared at Adam. Adam quickly put up his hands. “No, no, no, you can still come with me.” At this, Luna calmed down. “It’s just… there’s no oxygen on the moon, and the spacesuits I have in the pelican don’t fit pony anatomy.”

“Ah,” Luna said. “That will not be a problem. I have the ability to summon a field of breathable atmosphere within a certain radius around me. So long as everypony remains in this radius while we are on the moon, we shall be fine.” Adam’s eyes widened, surprised that this was possible.

“Incredible,” he said. “Well, that makes things a lot easier. Hopefully, when we actually get aboard the ship, the damage will be negligible enough that we can get the ship pressurized.” Luna nodded.

“Tell me, Delta,” Luna began to say carefully. “I sense a great sadness within you… what has transpired to cause this?” At this, Adam froze up. It had come out of nowhere. Adam began to carefully pick his words.

“Something…” Adam began, not sure exactly what to say. He did not want to tell them about the Covenant. He would put that off as long as he could, to save them the pain. “Something… bad… happened to humanity a few years ago. A lot of people were… hurt… and the pain is still fresh.” Luna frowned, clearly seeing that he was avoiding the real question. She was about to press further, when a bright gold flash of light encompassed the area, and Princess Celestia appeared, along with several other unicorns. Princess Luna stood up, and Celestia ran to her. They embraced, and smiled at one another.

“Hello, sister,” Celestia said, smiling. Her gaze then shifted to Adam. “And hello to you, Delta.” Despite the fact that Adam had held her at gunpoint only a little over a week ago, her voice harbored no resentment or anger towards the Spartan. Adam nodded at her in greetings.

“Hello, ma’am,” he said. “All ready to see us off tonight?” Celestia smiled.

“Indeed I am,” she said. “These unicorn mages who have accompanied me will be the ones to teleport your ship to the landing strip, as soon as it is finished.” Adam nodded.

“Well, until then, we’re pretty much relaxing and celebrating,” Adam said. “I think Pinkie still has a few cupcakes, if you’re interested.” Celestia grinned at this, and walked over to Pinkie Pie.

“She doesn’t seem mad at me,” Adam said to Luna. “I mean, for me killing one of her guards and holding her at gunpoint.” Luna looked to Adam sympathetically.

“You have more than made up for you crimes here,” Luna said. “While nothing you do can bring that guard back… You have saved the life of another guard, and her student, Twilight Sparkle.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Adam continued. “How is that guard doing?”

“Night Flyer?” Luna replied. “He shall be fine. While his wounds have taken much longer to heal with magic than Twilight Sparkle’s did, he will make a full recovery.” Adam laughed.

“That magic of yours sure does come in handy,” he said. Luna nodded in agreement. “In fact, once I’m back, I’ll-.” Adam was cut off as Twilight Sparkle exited the pelican, tears staining her lavender cheeks. Princess Celestia noticed, and ran to her student’s aid.

“Twilight!” she cried. “What is the matter?” Twilight ignored the Princess, and walked to Adam, grabbing him in an embrace.

“I’m sorry!” Twilight cried between tears. “If we had known, if- if we- we wouldn’t have…” Twilight could not continue as her tears began to overwhelm her once more.

“Twilight,” Adam whispered, trying to comfort her. “What are you talking about?”

“I- I read,” Twilight began, her tears subsiding, though she was still shaking. “The- the war… The Covenant… So many, gone!” Twilight burst into tears again, and Adam froze. He thought that he had blocked all pages relating to the Covenant. He had blocked the various species involved, the alliance itself, their history… But not the war. Adam cursed to himself as he realized that, while he had blocked everything about the Covenant themselves, he had blocked nothing about the Human-Covenant War.

“My god, Twilight,” Adam said. “I’m so sorry you read that.” Adam mentally reprimanded himself. He had taken every precaution to protect these peaceful beings from the truth of the Covenant, but it had all been in vain for a stupid mistake. At this, Luna and Celestia stepped in.

“What is she talking about?” Luna asked. “What did she read?” All of the other ponies, minus the guards and Celestia’s unicorn assistants, were now gathered around Adam, urging him to explain. Adam sighed.

“Are you sure you want to hear this?” he asked them gravely. They all nodded, and Celestia put a hoof on his shoulder.

“You can share anything with us,” she said. Adam sighed one again, and sat down on the ground. The ponies mirrored his movements, and all gathered around.

“Alright,” he began. “Here goes…

“31 years ago, we had a colony on a planet called Harvest. It was fairly small, it only had a population of about 300,000, and it was the most distant colony we had ever established. This colony was on the fringes of known space, and for that, we were careless…

“We made first contact, with an alliance of alien species known as the Covenant. We attempted to make peace, but they claimed that the world belonged to them, and that our presence there was desecration. They began an invasion of the planet. Compared to us, they were far more technologically advanced. They had massive warships that destroyed entire cities with beams of plasma that they fired from orbit. It didn’t take long for us to lose Harvest. But we were humans, and humans don’t back down easily.

“We sent a massive fleet, one of the largest ever assembled, to take Harvest back. And after five long years, we did it. But not before the Covenant burned the world and turned it into a ball of glass.”

By now all of the ponies shared shocked expressions that something so terrible could happen. But they wanted the full story, so Adam continued.

“But that wasn’t the end of it. The Covenant continued fighting us, and soon we realized that they didn’t want to subjugate humanity… They wanted us gone. All of us, men, women, children, gone. They didn’t care. We were a blight on the galaxy and an affront to their gods, so we had to go. They destroyed colony after colony, slaughtering billions of people. And while occasionally we would win a battle, the end to the war was not in sight.

“So we adapted. That’s what humans do when we’re met with a seemingly unsurmountable challenge. We adapt. We created new soldiers, new warships, and new technologies, to push the Covenant back. Everything we did had one singular purpose: to protect our original homeworld, Earth. And for a while, we did just that. We pushed back Covenant assaults, and while we continued to lose colonies, the location of Earth remained a secret. Or so we thought. On October 20th, 2552, the Battle for Earth began.”

At this point, most of the ponies in the group were tearing up, or, in Fluttershy’s case, were already crying. Even Rainbow Dash began to feel the moisture of tears collecting beneath her eyes.

“Most of us thought that was it: Earth was found, the Covenant were glassing, and many were dead. Until a miracle happened. One alien race that was a part of the Covenant, a race that we call Elites, started to disagree with the Covenant’s leadership. They had uncovered evidence that pointed to their gods not being real. This caused them to split off, and the Covenant was flung into a civil war. We took this opportunity to regroup, and, in the midst of the confusion, we eliminated their leadership. With nobody to listen to anymore, we stepped in and provided them with evidence that the gods that they were killing us for were not real, but were actually an alien race that had died off a hundred thousand years ago. Upon finding out that their gods were false, and their mission was a lie engineered by their leadership, the Covenant disbanded, and are now incredibly weak. We stepped in to the power vacuum left behind, and the Covenant are all but eliminated.”

All of the ponies, even Rainbow Dash, were crying at this point. Princess Celestia stepped forward, and placed a hoof on Adam’s shoulder.

“I’m…” she began, but was interrupted as she continued to wipe away her tears. “I’m so sorry. If we had known, then we wouldn’t… we wouldn’t have reacted to your presence with such hostility.” Celestia lowered her head, and stepped back. Luna raised her head, and wiped away her tears.

“How…” Luna asked. “How many were lost?” All of the ponies perked up at this question. They had all been wondering it, but were all too afraid to ask.

“Between the soldiers who died fighting, and the civilians who died in the glassing…” Adam began. “… We estimate that we lost about 23 billion humans.” All of the ponies tears were restored at hearing this, and Fluttershy fell to the ground, bawling. Rainbow Dash, still crying herself, flew down to comfort her Pegasus friend.

Adam began to feel anger welling up from within him. It was a problem he dealt with often, mainly whenever he recounted the story of the Human-Covenant War within his mind. He stood up, and began to stalk towards the pelican.

“Let me know when the launch strip is ready,” was all he said before he stepped inside and closed the hatch.

The ponies all stood in stunned silence after hearing Delta recount the story of the war. Occasionally a sniffle could be heard as the ponies continued to feel sorrow for the humans.

“23 billion dead…” Applejack said. “Ah just don’t understand! How can somepony hate somepony else so much enough to do that!” Twilight shook her head, wiping away tears.

“It’s called genocide,” she said. “The senseless killing of a group of individuals simply for existing.”

“Wow…” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m glad the humans won. What if the Covenant had come after us next!?” The ponies all nodded in agreement. It was not something that they liked to consider.

“Should we…” Fluttershy began to say, still crying. “Should we… comfort him?” Pinkie’s mane had fallen completely flat, but she perked up at this.

“Yeah,” she said somberly. “I still have some cupcakes…” Celestia shook her head.

“No,” said the Princess. “Right now, I sense great anger from Delta. We should give him some alone time. He shall return to us when he is ready.”

“I hope he’s not upset that I found that…” Twilight said. “If I hadn’t, then he wouldn’t have had to tell the story, and he wouldn’t be so upset…” Celestia walked to Twilight, and draped a wing around her.

“It is not your fault, my faithful student,” she said. “And now that we know, we can help him through it. For now though, we shall wait.”

SPARTAN LOG – SUNDAY, JUNE 1ST, 2556
LOCATION: UKNOWN
TIME OF RECORDING: 1729 HOURS

RECORDING STARTED…

They found out about the Covenant. And it’s my fault. I accidentally left the page on the Human-Covenant War unblocked, and that had everything that Twilight needed to know on it. She came out, crying, apologizing for how the ponies had reacted to me. I then explained to everybody else present what she was talking about… I told them about the war. They didn’t take it well. They were all crying when I left. However they took it, I’m sure they took it better than I did. God, I was there, I lost countless friends and loved ones in the war, and it still gets to me. I’m a Spartan now! These kinds of things aren’t supposed to affect me! Why… Why can’t I get over this?

*sigh*

… The repairs to the pelican are done. All I’m waiting on now is the completion of the launch strip, and the go-ahead from the Princesses. In a few hours, I’ll be aboard Lightning, and I’ll drop the rescue beacon. Once again, Spartan D-014 signing off…

RECORDING STOPPED.

RECORDING ARCHIVED.

SIGNING OFF…

Adam backed away from the Pelican computer, and ventured into the troop compartment. It had grown quite messy with the trash that had accumulated from his living in there. Before takeoff, he would have to clean it up. Adam figured that now was good a time as any, as he had, at this point, been sitting in his pelican alone for several hours, and he gathered up the various pieces of garbage lying around in the dropship. He then opened the back hatch, and stepped outside. The ponies were all sitting together, conversing quietly, but giving Adam his space. He was glad that they respected him enough to recognize that he needed to be alone right now. He dumped his trash next to the pile of damaged parts, and then walked back into the pelican. As he entered, he heard a pop noise, and the sound of parchment unfurling. He turned around, and saw that Celestia was levitating a letter that she had just received. She skimmed over it, then smiled, and rolled it back up. Princess Celestia stood up, and made her way to Adam.

“Delta!” she called out. “I have good news! The launch strip is complete, and they are all ready for us. Are you ready to go?” Adam smiled beneath his helmet.

“Just let me make one last inspection,” he said. “Then let’s get going.” Celestia nodded and stood back, allowing Adam to walk around the ship as he inspected each part. All of the engines had been cleaned, and any damaged part had been replaced. Luna had then kindly levitated the pelican for a few seconds, which allowed Adam to deploy the landing gear and get it in a proper, upright position. He circled the pelican completely, then walked over to the ponies.

“It all looks good,” he said. “You all help me clear up the area around it. Princess, you can tell your unicorn assistants to get ready.” The various ponies nodded, and walked off to do their tasks. The four scientists, Twilight Sparkle, her friends, and Adam all went to clear off the area around the pelican. When they were finished, they met back up with Princess Celestia.

“My unicorns are prepared to teleport the ship,” she said. “Are you ready?” Adam took a look back at the pelican, then stared at Celestia.

“Do it,” he replied. Celestia nodded to her assistants, and they each took a position around the pelican. It began to glow several different colors, and it began to shake. Then, there was a bright flash of light, and the pelican disappeared from in front of them. The unicorns all collapsed to the ground, exhausted, and the guards walked over to help them up.

“Excellent work!” Celestia said. “Delta, shall we now go to the launch strip?” Adam nodded.

“And just where is the launch strip?” he asked. He had ordered it to be made, but had not yet inquired about its position.

“It is located just outside of the Everfree forest, on the side opposite Ponyville,” Celestia replied. “Please, this way.” Celestia began to walk out of the clearing, flanked by her guards. Luna, the scientists, and the Ponyville ponies followed behind. Adam took one more look at the clearing, and then followed behind them.

Rainbow Dash flew alongside her friends as the group all made the journey to the launch strip that Delta had ordered. She was feeling mixed emotions about the flight. On one hoof, she would be among the first ponies ever to go into space! On the other, she would be entrusting her life to this human to fly them up there safely. Dash knew a thing or two about flying, and she found it hard to believe that that huge thing flew. But Delta seemed calm about it, and he had done it many times before. He had proven himself to be mostly trustworthy, so Dash decided to trust him.

As she floated along, her mind began to wander to the Covenant. Equestria had a population of only about thirteen million. For the humans to have lost 23 billion… It was impossible for her to wrap her head around. Dash banished the thoughts from her mind, and once again focused on the prospect of going to space. She wondered briefly just how fast the craft could go. Dash could break the speed of sound, she had demonstrated this talent several times, and that was not nearly enough to escape the atmosphere. She would have to ask Delta. Slowly, she dropped off from her position hovering next to her friends, and fell back to fly alongside the human.

“Hey,” she said. Delta did not reply at first.

“Hello,” he finally replied.

“I was just wondering,” Dash began. “If that ship of yours can go to outer space… how fast does it go?” Delta perked up at the question. It was likely taking his mind off of the Covenant.

“Well, the main engines themselves don’t go too fast, only capping at about 500 kilometers per hour,” Delta explained. “But the primary thrusters, which I use to achieve escape velocity, are capable at reaching incredibly high speeds. For example, on Earth, they can reach escape velocity, which is 11.2 kilometers per second. So it goes fairly fast.” Dash stopped flying and stared, wide eyed, at the Spartan. Could that be possible? Could something really go that fast? Well, Dash thought. I’ll find out soon. Dash continued flying and looked ahead. Just a few hundred meters away she saw light beginning to flood through the trees. She smiled. They were almost out.

After Adam finished explaining how fast a pelican could go to the excited Pegasus, he smiled, amused, at her shock. He then looked ahead, and noticed that they were nearing the edge of the forest. Only a couple of minutes later, and they were out. Once out, Adam noticed that, only about a hundred meters away was the launch strip he had ordered. And, while he couldn’t be sure, it looked to be the exact length he had ordered: 550 meters. As Adam drew closer, he noticed that it was not just a dirt strip, like he had expected. Rather, it was made out of a very firm material that reminded him of concrete, but with a darker color, and a more metallic texture. Whatever it was made of, he hoped the melting point wasn’t too low… Adam then turned to inspect his pelican. It was at the end of the landing strip closest to him, facing down the runway. Adam smiled, satisfied. He then checked his chrono. Already the sun was nearing the horizon, and the HUD read that it was 1831 hours. Very soon, they would be in orbit.

“Alright!” Adam said, turning to face the ponies. “If you’re coming along on the flight, step up front with me. If not, please stand back, and once you hear those engines come online, cover your ears.” The ponies did as they were told, with Princess Luna, Twilight Sparkle, Doctor Gazer, and Rainbow Dash stepping forward, and everyone else stepping back. Adam directed his head towards the pelican, instructing the ponies to follow him. Once he was at the ship, he stepped into the troop bay. Then, he turned to face them again.

“Now, these seats aren’t going to be the most comfortable,” he said. “But they should work fine. Come on up, I’ll strap you in.” Princess Luna was the first to step up, and she walked to the very back to the troop bay, by the cockpit entrance. She awkwardly sat down in the human-intended seat, and Adam brought the harness down over her. It barely fit, but it still fell within safety regulations. Adam repeated the task three more times, until all of the ponies were sitting in the seats.

“Okay,” he said. “Now stay put here, I’m going to run through the pre-flight checklist, then we’ll get underway.” The ponies all nodded, and squirmed in their seats. Adam walked into the cockpit, and secured himself in the pilot’s seat. He began bringing the various systems online, and began to check through everything, making sure it was all working. The reactor was generating plenty of energy, and it was all flowing to the correct engines. The engines were showing that they were operational, and ready to go. He pressed a button and closed the back hatch, then started to close the cockpit door. He stopped when he realized that the ponies may want to see him for the duration of the flight, and so he kept it open. Adam then spared a glance out of the window, and saw the ponies standing outside covering their ears. He spun the engines up to full power, and soon the sound began to permeate even the pelican. Adam turned on the intercom to address the ponies.

“Everyone ready back there?” he asked. He looked back behind him, and they all nodded. “Good. Prepare for takeoff.” Adam turned off the brakes on the wheels, and slowly inched the controls forward. Very gradually, they began moving down the runway, slowly picking up speed. He checked the speedometer every few seconds, waiting for it to reach the speeds necessary for takeoff. The dial slowly continued moving up, until it gave him the first confirmation. Slowly, he began to rotate the flaps and engine pods, angling them downwards. He felt a slight bump as the front wheel left the ground. There was still a hundred meters of runway left, and he intended to use it all. He rotated the engine pods even more, and felt another bump as the back wheels came up as well. Now off the ground, Adam angled the pelican upwards, and fired the engines. He looked out the window as the ground was falling away below him. Once at a respectable height, he pulled the landing gear up, and locked them in place.

“Takeoff successful,” he said over the intercom. “Firing primary thrusters at 85,000 meters.” Adam looked behind him and saw the ponies all sigh in relief. Dash, ironically, seemed to be the most nervous, likely because she was used to being in control when flying. Adam turned back around to focus on the ship systems. Everything was operating efficiently, as though it had never been damaged. He checked the altimeter every few seconds, waiting for it to hit 85,000 meters: the mesopause. 70,000 meters… 75,000 meters… 80,000 meters… The ship was quickly approaching the edge of the mesosphere, so Adam began to warm up the primary thrusters.

“All passengers, prepare for firing of primary thrusters,” he said. The ponies all tensed up in their seats nervously. The altimeter let out a rapid beeping noise as it read 85,000 meters, and Adam gave full power to the primary thrusters. He jolted backwards, his harness keeping him in the seat, and the ship fired forwards, exiting the planet. It only took a few seconds to break free of orbit, and Adam immediately set course for the moon. Once the course was laid in, he set it on autopilot, and freed himself from the harness, floating up.

Adam pushed himself into the troop compartment to check on his passengers. They were all a little shaken up, but everyone seemed to be okay. He angled his feet at the ground, and activated his magnetized boots. He quickly fell and clamped to the ground. Then, he slowly marched over to Princess Luna, and undid her harness. She began to float free around the cabin. Adam did this with the other three ponies, and soon, they were all floating above their seats.

“We’ll arrive at the moon in just over two hours,” he said. “I’ve set us on autopilot, and it will alert me when we’re just a few kilometers from the moon. For now, we can just relax and float freely.” The ponies were all attempting to adjust to the lack of gravity, though Rainbow Dash seemed to be the most confused. She was used to using her wings for transportation, but with nothing to flap against, they were useless.

“This is weird,” she said as she flipped around, occasionally bouncing off of the walls.

“Fascinating…” Twilight said to herself as she experimented with movement.

“Have a look out the window,” Adam said to the ponies. He pointed to the small back window set into the hatch. They all pushed themselves over to it, and looked through.

“Oh my…” Doctor Gazer said, putting a hoof to his mouth. “It’s… beautiful.” From the view out of the window, all of the ponies could see their home, Equis. Equestria was the center of focus, for it was where they had taken off from, but many of the other countries on the supercontinent were also visible.

“I remember the first time I saw my home from space,” Adam said. He thought back to his childhood days on Reach, living in New Alexandria. “It was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen.” His family had frequently travelled from Reach to visit the rest of their family on Earth, which gave him the opportunity to, at a young age, view his planet from space. He shook away the old memories, and looked back to the cockpit. They still had quite a bit of time before reaching the moon. In the meantime, they could exchange stories. Adam could tell them about humanity, and perhaps he could learn a bit about ponykind too.

The next hour and fifty minutes were occupied with questioning and storytelling by both species. Adam told them much about human history, and any information on Lightning that he thought was important. In return, they had told him about pony history. It seemed almost like something out of a fairytale. In the beginning of their world, the three pony tribes were constantly at war with one another. Finally, they made peace, and Celestia and Luna were born to be leaders. Adam already knew that they were immensely powerful, but he had no idea that their lifespans were a hundred times longer than that of a human’s. Then, a being named Discord had risen up, and plunged the world into chaos. Celestia and Luna used something called the “Elements of Harmony” to defeat him, and he was encased in stone. Then, a thousand years later, Luna became jealous of her sister, and Celestia was forced to banish her to the moon for a thousand years. Luna became quite embarrassed and ashamed as Twilight recounted this part of the story. Adam would normally have not believed a word he had just heard, but with his experiences in Equestria, these events seemed somewhat normal.

The story ended as Adam began to hear a rapid alarm coming from the cockpit.

“What’s that?” asked Doctor Gazer nervously. Adam stood up and navigated himself back into the cockpit.

“Strap in, everyone,” he said. “We’re approaching the moon.” Adam deactivated his magboots, secured himself in the pilot’s seat, and checked to see that the ponies had done the same. It had taken them some effort, but after a bit of struggling, they were all in their seats. Adam checked their distance from the moon: only three kilometers. He used the pelican’s short-range scanners to search for any UNSC ships in the area. On the third scan, it finally picked up the very faint IFF of Lightning.

“I’ve found Lightning,” he reported to the ponies. “Taking us in.” Adam then deactivated auto-pilot, and took them down to the surface of the moon manually. After flying for several more minutes, the pelican flew over a massive crater. On the opposite edge of the crater sat something that was rather out of place. Lodged into the ancient moon rock, and slightly tilted to the side, sat the Strident-class heavy frigate, Lightning.

Chapter 10

View Online

CHAPTER 10

Adam navigated the pelican dropship to a position about a hundred meters off the starboard side of the ship. Landing was more difficult than taking off, especially without ventral thrusters, so it took Adam a while to find an area flat enough. But once he did, he set the ship down, and helped unsecure the ponies from their seats. Luna then flared her horn, and nodded that she was ready. Adam hit the button and the back hatch lowered, revealing the stark landscape of the moon beyond, and looming ahead of them, the crash of Lightning. The ponies all stepped out of the pelican, and stared in awe at the frigate.

“Wow…” Twilight said, mouth agape. “How do you build something so large?”

“Actually, this is one of our smaller ships,” Adam replied. “We have some ships that are standard in the fleet that clock in at around a kilometer. We also recently finished a massive warship that’s six kilometers in length.” This shocked all of the ponies, and their mouths all opened in surprise.

“Shall we get moving?” asked Luna. “I’m not sure how long I can keep up this spell so that we all fit in the radius.” Adam nodded, and began walking towards the hull of the frigate. If Adam remembered correctly, then the lower starboard airlock would be nearby. They could enter through there, pressurize the ship if needed, and then continue on. They continued walking for about a minute until they reached the hull, and Adam found himself correct. The heavy doors of the airlock were now right in front of them, with a control panel next to it.

“Here’s our entrance,” he said. “Let’s get going.” Adam approached the console, and began typing on it. He entered several command codes, and finally, the doors opened with a hiss. The ponies and human all stepped inside, and Adam pressed the button to close the door. Immediately after, oxygen started flooding the room, and Luna dropped her spell. After another few seconds, the oxygen stopped flowing in, and the personal assistant came online.

“Airlock oxygenation complete,” it said in a soft female voice. “Warning! The hallway beyond is not pressurized. Would you like to pressurize the ship?” A computer panel lit up next to Adam, and he pressed the confirmation button on it. Through the set of doors adjacent to the one that they entered through, they could hear another hissing noise. Thirty seconds passed, and then the personal assistant spoke again.

“Ship pressurization complete. Sealing bulkheads. Isolating breached sections.” The doors then opened, granting the group passage into the ship beyond. Adam stepped into the hallway, and saw that it was a mess. The metal walls were scorched, panels had come loose, and wires were hanging free… And the bodies. Down the hallway were two bodies of dead technicians who were likely servicing this area when the ship crashed. Adam slowly approached one of the bodies and flipped it over, so that it was facing him. The eyes were glazed over, and the face was very pale. Whoever this man had been, he had been dead for many days.

“Oh, my…” Luna said, approaching Adam. “Delta I’m… sorry.”

“There may still be survivors,” he replied, and he called up his motion tracker. He extended the range of the life signs scanner, so that it encompassed what remained of the ship. Throughout the whole ship, the only life signs were coming from right where Adam was standing.

“We’re alone…” Adam sighed. “It’s likely that they all died in the crash, or died afterwards when the ship depressurized.” Adam leaned over and closed the eyes of the crewman, then stood back up and began walking down the hall.

“Where are we going?” asked Doctor Gazer.

“Luckily, the front of the ship was almost completely devoted to the main cannon,” Adam said. “Anything important that we need to access should be in these back sections. First, we’re heading to the AI core. If he’s still online, we may be able to get some answers.” Twilight perked up, excited at being able to possibly speak to the AI. Adam noticed, and nodded at her. Then he began walking, until he came to a stairwell.

“AI core is two decks up, and further aft from where we are,” he said. “Let’s get there quickly.” Adam then began running up the stairs with the ponies following him. Once they were two decks up, Adam began navigating the various hallways, picking the course that would get them there the quickest.

“How do you…” Twilight panted. “Know where to go…?” Adam turned to look at her.

“I’ve been stationed about this ship, and others like it, several times,” he explained. “I know the layout like the back of my hand.” He then faced forwards, and continued running towards the end of the hall. Once he reached the end, he slowed to walking, and came to stop at a reinforced door marked “AI CORE”. Adam pressed a button on the side, and the door slid open. The AI core had fared no better than the rest of the ship. Many of the wall panels had come loose, dislodging any computer parts or wires that once ran through them. The actual core itself seemed to be mostly undamaged, but the lights on it were dim. Adam approached the hologram panel next to the core, and turned it on. He then activated the AI core. On the holo panel, a flickering and unstable apparition of an American Civil War-era general appeared. He looked around, then noticed Adam.

“A-A-A-Ada-am?” he said, his voice unstable.

“Ulysses!?” Adam yelled.

“Ad-d-d-am,” Ulysses continued, still unstable. “Li-i-i-ste-e-e-e-e-en. Our tu-urning up he-e-re. N-ot -oincidence. Sca-a-ans show --rerunner struc-c-c-tures unde-e-er-gro-o-o-ound. –epeat, Forerunner stu-u-ctures. –ou must investig-a-a-ate.” Ulysses went on to say something else that was entirely unintelligible. Adam grabbed each side of the holo panel, urging Ulysses to continue.

“What do you mean!?” Adam yelled. “What’s going on!?” Whatever Ulysses said in response was consumed by static, and the hologram cut off. The lights on the AI core faded out, and the room went silent. Luna then approached Adam.

“So, ‘Adam’, is it?” she said. “It would seem that your appearance in Equestria is more than mere coincidence.” Adam stood back from the panel, and turned to address the ponies.

“Yeah, I don’t know…” he said. “But what I do know, is that we need to finish our mission here. Come with me.” A few nights prior, Adam had recorded a very long message, detailing everything he knew about Equestria. He intended to upload this as an attachment to his SOS message. But to send out the message, they needed to get to the comms room.

“Come on,” Adam said. “Comms room is this way.” Adam exited the AI core, the ponies behind him. He then turned down several more hallways, until he came to the door leading to the comms room. The door slid open at his command, and revealed a dark room beyond. The lights had been taken out, and the computers were offline, leaving the room in complete darkness. Adam blinked at his HUD several times, and the helmet-mounted flashlights came online, illuminating the room. When they came on, the ponies all reeled back in disgust. Sitting in two of the chairs of the comms room were two dead technicians, both staring endlessly at the ceiling above them. Adam sighed sadly, and picked up one of the dead crewmen from his chair, and relocated him to the wall. Adam then took a seat in the chair, and powered on the computer. It lit up with a screen of all available comm buoys situated throughout the Orion Arm, which, in their current position, was none. Adam switched the screen to the SOS recording screen, then pressed the microphone button.

“Mayday, mayday, mayday,” he said. “This is UNSC FFG-818, Lightning, requesting immediate recovery and assistance. This is Adam, Spartan D-014, sole only survivor of the crash. Attached to this message is a data packet with all necessary information. Please render assistance. Spartan D-014, over.” He stopped recording, then uploaded his data packet to the message. With the message recorded, and the information attached, Adam saved the SOS, uploaded it to the beacon, and began broadcasting. Any ships looking for them within this sector would then be able to locate them, and provide rescue. Adam stood up from the chair, and turned to face the ponies.

“Okay, that’s that, now I suppose we can-,” Adam was interrupted as a notification inside his suit began beeping rapidly. He checked the notification, and it read “SUIT REACTOR LOW. PLEASE SEEK RECHARGE.” Adam cursed under his breath. He hadn’t realized that he had been running continuously on full power for so long. Plus, his tangle with the manticore several days ago probably damaged the power systems. He would have to get it to a repair bay, and soon.

“What’s the matter?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“My suit reactor is low on power,” he explained. “I need to get it to the repair bay, follow me.” Adam exited the room, the ponies following closely behind him. He reached the stairwell once again, and climbed up two more decks, then ran to the armory section. He was the only Spartan stationed aboard, so the armor fitting area was only a single room. The rest of the military complement was comprised of ODST’s and normal marines. Adam located the door to the fitting room, and stepped inside. The fitting room was, fortunately, situated in the middle of the deck, and was on one of the upper floors. This meant that damage was almost non-existent, though a few wall panels were crooked.

“What are you doing?” asked Twilight, curious.

“Stand over there,” Adam commanded, pointing to the wall opposite the fitting area. While in Equestria, Adam had been cautious of taking off his helmet for fear of becoming vulnerable to the guards. Here, he had the upper hand, as he knew the way around the ship. That, and the ponies were all unarmed. Either way, he had no choice. If he didn’t get the suit off and get it recharged, then the hydraulics would fail and it would instantly become much heavier. Adam walked to the control panel on the wall, and started the suit fitting initialization sequence. In the center of the room, on the floor and ceiling, were two circles.

Each circle slid open, and vertical beams ascended from the bottom circle to the top circle. Then, a ring with several robotic arms lining the inside descended from the ceiling, and spun so that it was facing upright. Adam stepped forward, and the robotic arms moved aside, allowing him to enter the fitting cylinder. Adam stepped into it, placing his feet into the two slots on the floor, and his hands into two circular handles on either side of him. He then stood still, back rigid, and let the machines get to work. First, the circle tilted him upwards, and an arm with a small square on it descended from the ceiling. It connected to his chest piece, and unscrewed all of the various seals that connected it to him. It then pulled away, taking the chest piece with it. The same was happening simultaneously to the back piece, and soon his torso was bare of armor. Next, arms extended from the ring and began unscrewing his shoulder pads and thigh plates. Once they were unscrewed, they too were pulled away. The same arms then returned and removed his gauntlets and the upper section of his boots. These were taken away, and the handles that he was holding on to removed his armored gloves, while the foot pads removed his armored boots. Finally, a single arm descended from the ceiling, and latched onto his helmet. It unfastened his seals, and slowly pulled the final component of his MJOLNIR armor away from him.

Twilight watched as the series of strange arms that moved by themselves rotated around Delta – Adam, she reminded herself – and relieved him of his armor. The way the arms moved and rotated around him was so perfectly orchestrated it was almost trancelike. Finally, all of the body armor had been removed, leaving only his reflective gold helmet. A final arm descended from the ceiling of the room and latched on to the helmet. Twilight her a pop and a hiss, and slowly the arm removed Adam’s helmet, giving Twilight her first look at a living, breathing human. She had briefly seen the faces of the dead crewmen in the hallways, but she had chosen not to look at them, as it made her nervous. But now she was staring at the face of the human whom she had come to know over the past several days. He had a long, flat face, with incredibly pale skin. He had two blue eyes that shone brightly, and atop his head was a “mane” of very short brown hair. The circular device lowered him back down to his original position, and he stepped out of it, now clad only in the black suit that was underneath his armor. He rolled his shoulders several times, and flexed his hands, clearly glad to be free of the armor. The circular machine that had removed his armor retreated back into the ceiling, and the hatches closed, sealing the chambers beyond shut. He noticed all of the ponies staring at him, and he looked back, smiling.

“What?” he asked. “Never seen a human before?” The ponies all stared at him in silence for several more moments, before they all smiled. Twilight scrutinized every inch of his form, and, though it was still mostly covered, she did notice one strange thing.

“Adam,” she said. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but… I notice that you’re much larger than the rest of the humans aboard this ship. Why is that?” At this, Adam’s smile disappeared.

“Yes, well, I mentioned before that I was a soldier?” he said quietly. The ponies all nodded. “I’m not just a normal soldier. I’m what we call a Spartan: a genetically enhanced super soldier designed specifically for incredibly high-risk missions, and to be able to tolerate extremely high amounts of pain.”

“Why would you become such a thing?” asked Luna. She did not understand exactly what he meant by “genetically enhanced”, but she knew that it did not sound too good.

“I volunteered,” he replied. “When the Covenant were finally driven off, we were still quite paranoid. Many years before we had developed the Spartan-II and –III programs, but I won’t get into those. Most of it is still classified. Anyways, we were still very paranoid, so we developed a new Spartan program, the Spartan-IV’s. We were trained extensively, then given surgical augmentations to enhance our strength, vitality, agility, everything. The process was incredibly painful, but when we made it out, we were prepared to take on anything…” Adam looked down to his feet, clearly not happy to be talking about it.

“What shall we do now?” Luna asked, attempting to change the subject. Adam perked up, glad to have his mind taken off of his recent past.

“Not sure,” Adam said. “I honestly hadn’t anticipated having to stay here longer while my armor got repaired…” Adam scratched his short mane, and rubbed his chin. Finally, his eyes lit up, and he looked to the ponies.

“I could show you some cool human stuff,” he said. The ponies all exchanged glances, and then nodded at Adam. He smiled and exited the room, walking out into the hallway beyond.

The next several hours that Twilight and the other ponies spent aboard Lightning were consumed by touring the ship, and Adam showing them various pieces of technology. He had taken them to the “R&R Room” to show them what he called “videos”. Twilight was surprised to find that they were similar to the short movies that were occasionally shown in Ponyville, but were of much higher quality. They were shown many different videos throughout human history, from the launch of their first spacecraft to their own moon (which excited Princess Luna quite a bit), to the first slipspace drive test. Rainbow Dash was, as Twilight had expected, intrigued by all of the various flying machines that were shown. For most of her life, she had known herself to be the fasted Pegasus in Equestria. But to see these vehicles going many times the speed of sound, and even reaching FTL speeds, was incredible to them all. As the video that they were currently watching ended, which was a simulation of something called the “Keyes Loop”, Adam stood up and stretched.

“What’s the next one?” Doctor Gazer asked. As he watched, he had been hurriedly writing down as many notes as he could on what was occurring. Adam walked up to the large flat screen that was projecting the images, and tapped it. It gave way to the library of videos that were available to watch, and Adam began scrolling through them.

“Hmm,” he said. “I guess we could watch-.” He was interrupted as Princess Luna’s head jolted upright, and her pupils shrunk. Adam heard the sound of her back straightening, and he turned around to face her.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, concerned. Luna did not move for another few seconds, before she shook her head, then stared at Adam gravely.

“We must go,” she said sternly.

“Why?” Adam asked. “What’s going on?”

“There had been an incursion,” Luna explained, standing up. “We must return to Equestria, quickly. Please, will you allow me to teleport us?” Adam shook his head.

“What about the pelican?” he said. “You can’t teleport all of us, and the pelican, all that way. You’d kill yourself.” Luna nodded, knowing he was right.

“Very well,” she said. “I shall teleport back, you all shall fly. I will meet you in Canterlot. Land in the royal gardens.” Adam stepped forward, about to protest, but Luna lit her horn and suddenly, was gone. Adam turned to face the other ponies.

“Alright,” he said to them. “Let’s go.” He exited the room, walking quickly. Twilight shot up from her spot curled up in a chair, and followed him out. She followed him back to the armor fitting room, beginning to grow nervous. Trotting behind her were Rainbow Dash and Star Gazer, both equally as nervous. Adam entered the armory, and once again started the fitting process. Only this time, everything was done backwards, with the gauntlets and boots going on first, and the rest of the armor on after. As the armor was assembled around the human, Twilight noticed that the dents caused by the manticore several days prior had been repaired. It also seemed to have been cleaned, and she noticed that some parts of the armor looked a bit different.

“Did you get new armor?” she asked him as he spun around in the circular fitting mechanism.

“Just got a few upgrades, is all,” he said as the helmet descended over his head, once again sealing it from view. The arms retracted and the circle restored its original position, and Adam stepped out. He looked to the ponies.

“This way,” he said. Twilight noticed as he led them throughout the ship that they were going a different way from the way they had come in.

“This isn’t the way to the airlock!” Twilight called out to him. As he ran, he turned his head to face her.

“We’re not exiting that way,” he explained. “Well, hopefully.” Adam then once again faced forwards, and kept running. Twilight was curious as to what he meant, but continued to follow. He led them down two more flights of stairs, then down a long passage. The passage ended at a large door labeled “HANGAR”. Adam stopped in front of the door, then turned around to face Twilight.

“Do you know that atmosphere spell?” he asked.

“Well, yes,” Twilight said, confused. “But I’m still not very good at it. I can only maintain it for a couple of minutes.” Adam nodded, and turned back towards the door.

“That should be enough,” he said, and began typing on a panel next to the door. At the end of the passage behind them, a large door closed, and alarms began to go off.

“What are you doing!?” Twilight asked, becoming afraid.

“Getting us a ride that still works,” Adam said. “Turn your magic thing on… now!” Twilight lit her horn, and a small radius of breathable atmosphere expanded over the ponies. The large door in front of them opened, revealing a massive room, filled with debris and wrecked items. On either side of this massive room were two walls exposed to outer space. Twilight recognized several of the vehicles in the room as being “pelicans”, though most were completely wrecked. All except one, which was still miraculously tied down at the end of the hangar.

“Come on!” Adam yelled, and he began running for the intact craft. They reached it in just under a minute, and they all clambered inside. Adam closed the back hatch, and while he walked into the cockpit, Twilight, Dash, and Doctor Gazer all secured themselves into the seats. The overhead lights came on, and Twilight heard the sound of the engines spinning up outside.

“Life support is on,” Adam called from inside of the cockpit. “You can drop your atmosphere field.” Twilight did so, and began panting. It had taken a lot out of her, only a few more seconds and it would’ve dropped on its own. Adam pressed a few buttons in the cockpit, and the pelican hovered off the ground. Vertical takeoff, Twilight realized. This one must be undamaged. The pelican hovered for a few more seconds, before it shot forward, out of the large frigate and into the space over the moon. Twilight looked out of the forward window, and saw the distant orb of Equis looming ahead of them, steadily growing closer.

“These engines are in better condition, so we should arrive in only a little over an hour this time,” Adam said as he floated out of his seat, then magnetized himself to the deck.

“Adam…” Rainbow Dash asked nervously. “What do you think Princess Luna meant by ‘incursion’”? Adam shook his head.

“Yeah, I don’t know,” he said comfortingly. “But I’m sure everything will be okay.” None of the ponies were very eager to talk this time, so Adam walked back into the cockpit, and strapped himself back into the seat. All Twilight could do was watch out the window as Equis grew larger, and hope that everything was okay.

Princess Luna disappeared from the R&R room in a flash, and an instant later, she was standing in her sister’s quarters in Canterlot Palace. Princess Celestia was pacing nervously, an ethereal map of Equestria hovering in front of her. Luna noticed with dismay that the area around the ruins on the Gryphonia border was highlighted red.

“Sister,” she said, snapping Celestia out of her trancelike pacing. “What has transpired?” Celestia stared at her sister gravely.

“The Griffons have attacked the contingent of guards we had securing the ruins,” Celestia replied. “Many are already dead, and the Griffons are amassing around the ruins.” Luna’s heart sank at the news, and she felt sadness for the guards. But there was something else she felt… Something she had not felt since she had faced down Discord, all those years ago. For the first time in two millennia, she felt fear.

Chapter 11

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CHAPTER 11

Adam maneuvered the pelican through Equis’s atmosphere, breaking through the cloud layer around the area that Twilight that pointed out to him. As soon as the puffy white walls of the cloud layer ended, Adam came out flying over a large mountain range. He turned his head back to address Twilight.

“So where exactly is this city?” he asked her. She pointed a hoof out of the window.

“There,” she said. Adam turned back around, and was surprised to see a massive city wrapping around the middle of one of the mountains. It seemed to wrap around the entire spire, meaning it must have been fairly large, as opposed to Ponyville, which was only about a kilometer in either direction. Adam flew the pelican closer, until he began to see banners emblazoned with symbols of the sun and moon. That must be the palace, he thought. Now where are the gardens? Almost reading his mind, Twilight called out from the troop bay.

“The palace gardens are further to your left, on the lower levels of the palace.” Adam nodded, and turned the pelican to the left. It was very early in the morning, as they had only been on Lightning for a few hours, so there were very few ponies up and about. Even if they were awake, however, the pelican was painted a rather dark color, so even without the active camouflage upgrade, they still remained mostly hidden. Adam looked out the window, and spotted a massive green courtyard, filled with many pieces of flora. The center of the courtyard had a large fountain, and ahead of that was a long, wide walkway. This walkway was plenty large enough to accommodate for the pelican, so Adam maneuvered the pelican down, and hovered to the ground, back hatch facing the palace entrance.

Adam stood up from his seat, and walked into the troop bay. He helped the ponies out of their harnesses, and they all stood up and stretched briefly, before Adam walked over to the back hatch, and opened it up. Standing outside were two guards, both with very stern expressions. One stepped forward.

“Their highnesses have been expecting you,” he said. “Please, follow me.” He then quickly spun around, as did the second guard, and began walking towards the palace doors. Adam cautiously followed behind, the other ponies following closely. They were led through several massive hallways, with sets of guards flanking the walls every several meters. Finally, they came to a set of large doors, and the guardspony knocked on them three times. The door was enveloped in a golden aura, and quickly opened, revealing a room whose starkness was an exact opposite of the grandiose hallways. In the center of the room was a large circular table, with a well-drawn map of Equis set on it. One part in particular was highlighted red, and several flags were planted in and around this area. One set of flags were blue, and the other was red, with the red ones outnumbering the blues by five times. Surrounding the table were Princesses Celestia and Luna, as well as several guards. One guard appeared to be fairly young. He had a long, electric blue mane, and decorated purple armor. He glanced upwards at the newcomers, and, at the sight of Twilight Sparkle, he smiled and his face lightened up.

“Twily!” he yelled, running towards her.

“Shining!” she yelled back, and she ran to meet him halfway. When they met, they embraced, happy to see one another. They disconnected from one another, and Twilight turned to look at Adam.

“Adam,” she said. “This is my brother Shining Armor, captain of the guard.” Adam nodded politely, and Shining regarded him cautiously, sizing him up. The Spartan did not want any trouble, so he took the initiative, and stepped forward, extending his hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Adam said. Shining stared at his hand for a few moments, evaluating the threat, before he cautiously extended his hoof into the Spartan’s awaiting palm. Adam closed his hand around the hoof, and they both shook. They were interrupted as Luna coughed, attempting to get their attention. Shining Armor immediately shot his hoof back, and stood straight, awaiting instructions. Adam turned to face the two alicorns, and then regarded the map.

“What’s the situation?” he asked. Princess Luna approached the map, and moved all of the blue flags around the highlighted area, and all of the red flags across the Equestrian border, into Griffon territory.

“You remember I told you about the… difficulties that we have been having with one of our neighboring countries?” she asked him. Adam nodded, and Luna slowly began moving the red flags towards the blue ones, and the highlighted region.

“Earlier, when I was alerted while aboard your ship, the Griffons moved forward, and drove our guards from the ruins.” As she spoke, the red flags moved forward, and surrounded the area that must have been the ruins, and the blue ones retreated, several of them falling over.

“Many have already died, Adam,” she said, her eyes full of sadness. “And we do not know if we can drive them back. Our military is skilled, yes, but against the might and size of the Griffons… We need help.” Adam nodded, and looked up at her.

“What do you need me to do?” he asked, his tone serious. Celestia stepped forward.

“We wish for you to scare them away, Del- er… Adam,” she said. “We do not want all-out war with the Griffons over a dispute such as this, but if they will not cooperate, then we must react.” Adam nodded once more. He understood what they were trying to do. He knew better than any of the ponies in the room that war was something that was best when it never happened. Adam stepped back from the map table, and began walking out of the room. Before he exited, he turned around.

“Give me the coordinates, I’ll upload them to my pelican,” he said. He then turned back around, and exited the room.

As Adam flew his pelican high above the green Equestrian landscape, he thought about his current predicament. The coordinates provided to him pointed him far to the northwest of Equestria, right on the border of the nation. His briefing had been quick, but it provided him with his objectives: clear out the Griffons using as little violent force as possible, and secure the interior of the ruins. It was fairly easy in comparison to the other missions that the UNSC had sent him on over his time as a Spartan-IV. With any luck, the Griffons would recognize his technological superiority, and his battlefield experience, and leave without incident. However, based on the short description he had received about Griffon behavior, he doubted that this would happen. If push came to shove, he hoped that he wouldn’t have to kill too many of the creatures. The princesses didn’t want a war, and he understood their reasoning. And as such, it rested upon him to prevent the Griffons from trying anything.

As plains turned to forest, and as forest turned snowy, his mind wandered to the short conversation he had had with Ulysses, Lightning’s old AI. While most of what he had said had been garbled, two things had been made clear: his appearance in Equestria was not a coincidence, and there was at least one Forerunner structure on the planet. Adam didn’t know all that much about Forerunners. Anything that was uncovered by the UNSC or ONI was usually kept rather hush-hush. In the three years that he had been in the Spartan program, only two missions had involved the Forerunners. One was a set of ruins that Insurrectionists were trying to exploit, and he had been sent to wipe them out. The second was simple reconnaissance of a set of Forerunner structures on an old human colony, but once he had reported that the area was clear, a team with much higher security clearance than his was sent in.

Other than those two missions, and the limited information granted to him for being a Spartan, he knew nothing about the ancient beings. Adam checked the Pelican’s radar, and saw that he was quickly approaching the Equestrian military’s encampment near the Griffon-occupied ruins. A visual check out the window confirmed this, and he set the ship down in a large clearing that had been prepared for him. He powered down the engines, and entered the troop compartment. Filling every seat of the bay was a royal guard. Princess Celestia had seen fit to send reinforcements to the camp, and since he was the fastest way there, she sent them with him. They all undid their harnesses, and filed out into the camp before him. He followed behind, and looked around for the pony in charge. Celestia had instructed him to report to the commander, a pony by the name of “Iron Hoof”, so that he could inform the soldier who he was, and that he was there to deal with their Griffon problem. He scanned the camp, and at the far end, he saw a large pony with a purple crest on his helmet. Adam walked up behind the pony, and coughed to get his attention. The pony turned around, annoyed, but lightened up upon seeing Adam.

“You must be the ‘surprise’ that her highness sent to help us out,” he said. Iron Hoof eyed Adam up and down, clearly trying to assess the threat level. “I honestly can’t say I’ve ever seen anything like you, but if her majesty trusts you to do this, that’s enough for me.” Iron Hoof jerked his head towards a tent, and began walking towards it. Adam followed behind him, and pushed the flaps open, revealing a table not unlike the one at Canterlot palace. The only difference was that the map, rather than showing the whole world, only showed the region that they occupied. Borders of the hot zone had been outlined in red ink, and troop placements were shown in much finer detail. Iron put his forehoofs up onto the table, and sighed, shaking his head.

“The Griffons attacked without warning,” he began. “One moment we were patrolling the perimeter, the next I had already lost two squads…” He lowered his head sadly. “I had no choice… We had to fall back to the camp. No sooner had we evacuated the area than the Griffons had occupied the entire ruins. They outnumber us heavily…” Adam looked over the placement of the Griffons around the ruins. Most were organized into two or three rows of about fifteen soldiers per row, and some were in perimeter defense positions, with only a soldier or two. Adam looked at the rows of soldiers, and realized that they were using very old firing line tactics. It made sense, really. If their primary ranged weapon was the bow and arrow, then they would likely stay in static positions, and barrage the enemies from further back. Guerilla warfare would mean nothing to them, then. If he was forced to fight them, he would have an advantage.

“Prepare your soldiers,” Adam said, still scrutinizing the map. “If I can’t talk them down, I may need some… backup… Just wait for my signal.” Adam turned and began to walk out of the tent.

“What’s the signal?” asked Iron Hoof, stepping towards him.

“You’ll know it when you see it,” Adam replied as he continued walking. Adam made for the edge of the camp, in the direction of the ruins. The walk was short, as only about 400 meters separated the camp from the ruins. For a Spartan, that was a brisk walk in the park. As he neared the area that the ruins (and Griffons) occupied, he began to see movement ahead in the forest. They were likely only sentries, but just to be safe, Adam activated his active camouflage. He then equipped his MA5D, and turned the safety off. Adam walked forward another few meters, and then entered the clearing. Before deactivating his cloak, he looked around, examining the Griffon soldiers. They were all quite large, much larger than the average pony. By his estimates, most ponies were only about 3 feet 8 inches tall, with some of the larger ones reaching four feet. The Griffons were about 6 feet each, making it clear to Adam why the ponies had lost the ruins. Even if the ponies had outnumbered the Griffons, they still would have lost due to simple strength.

As the map had shown him, most of the Griffons carried short bows on their backs, and remained in firing line positions. Each firing line contained about 30 soldiers (15 per row), and he counted four such firing lines, meaning that there were at least 120 hostiles there. However, there were isolated pockets of sentries and perimeter guards, and there were likely more firing lines further back that he couldn’t see. Adam frowned. He didn’t like going in with so little intel, but when one’s enemy was relying on bows and arrows to eliminate their enemies from afar, he realized that his chances were much greater. One more visual scan of the area gave him the location of the commander in charge of these soldiers, a large Griffon with extremely dark feathers, and a heavy set of chainmail armor covering most of his body. He carried a large spear on his back, and next to that, a large bow. Adam noticed that his energy levels were going down, so if he was to reveal himself to the Griffons on his own accord, now was the time to do it. He stood up in the center of the clearing, and deactivated his cloak. Immediately, dozens of spears and arrows were pointed right towards him, and he responded in kind by aiming his assault rifle at the Griffon commander. The Griffon commander cautiously looked over Adam, then he scowled.

“Whoever you may be, you would do best to leave this area immediately!” he shouted angrily. “If you do not leave, we shall open fire!” Adam smirked.

“These ruins do not belong to you!” Adam responded. “Leave, and nobody has to get hurt…” The Griffons all laughed at this, underestimating the great threat that stood before them.

“You think you can hurt us!?” the Griffon commander shouted back. “You and what army?”

“I am an army…” Adam said. He pointed his assault rifle in front of the Griffon’s large talons, and fired off several shots. The dirt in front of the Griffon exploded upwards as the 7.62x51mm armor piercing rounds impacted into it, and forced the Griffon to move backwards. He looked at the ground, surprised, then back to Adam, and snarled.

“A show of force, hmm?” he asked, taunting Adam. “Very well. Squad one, ready!” One of the firing line squads to Adam’s left pulled back on their bows, aiming directly towards him.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Adam warned, and pointed to his rifle. “This thing does a lot more than make noise, it can and will kill you. Stand down, and leave.” This only seemed to amuse the Griffons even further, and the commander chuckled.

“Fire.”

The first firing line released their bowstrings, sending thirty arrows soaring through the air. A few missed, but most made their mark, impacting directly on the Spartan. The crude arrows did little to no damage to his shields, only taking the bar down by ¼. The golden glow of his shields causing the arrows to bounce away from him surprised the Griffons, and the commander’s eyes widened. He commanded the second squad to fire at Adam right as his shields were recharging, so no damage was taken, once again. This only enraged the Griffons and their commander, and the large Griffon took a step forwards.

“Whatever magic you are using, it will not work forever!” he screamed. He then pulled the large spear off of his back, and hefted it above his head. He pulled his arm all the way back, then shot it forward, releasing the spear at incredible speeds. It flew towards Adam, and hit him square in the visor, taking the shield down to 1/3 strength. The spear hitting so close to his face caused him to blink, but this was not visible to the incredibly angry Griffons. The Griffon commander was not one to give up, it seemed, and he then proceeded to pull a wicked knife out of a belt around his midsection. Adam’s eyes widened at this. While things like arrows and spears could be deflected at range, knives at close range could cut through the shield and, if angled properly, could go right through the black undersuit. This knife was not nearly as effective as the standard issue UNSC combat knives, but it could still possibly do some hurt. Either way, Adam didn’t want to find out. The Griffon began rushing right for him, knife raised above his head, so Adam raised his MA5D, sighted in on the Griffon’s head, and let loose five consecutive shots. Each one made their mark, and a second later, the Griffon fell to the ground, dead. Blood oozed from the wounds in his head, and the Griffon soldiers faltered. Adam raised the assault rifle high in the sky and fired off half of the magazine. The Griffon’s looks of determination were now replaced with looks of fear, and they slowly began backing off. Adam heard rustling in the trees behind him, and saw that the ponies had interpreted his ‘signal’ of killing the commander. The pony force stood strong behind him, spears held menacingly at the ready. The Griffon soldiers took several steps back, before they all launched themselves into the sky, and fell back.

Once they were out of sight, Adam heard the ponies begin to cheer behind him. He reloaded his magazine, and turned to look at the ponies.

“Fortify the ruins,” he said. “From what I’ve heard, the Griffons aren’t ones to give up so easily. They’ll be back.” The ponies all nodded in agreement, and marched forwards, beginning to fortify the area. The pony commander, Iron Hoof, approached Adam, smiling.

“Well done!” he said. “Please report back to the princess that we will not let these ruins fall.” Adam nodded, and walked back to his pelican at the pony encampment.

He entered the troop bay, and closed the back hatch. He then proceeded into the cockpit, strapped himself in, and started up all of the systems. As he looked from one side of the control panel to the other, his eyes quickly ran across the scanners. Normally he would have kept moving on to the other side of the panel, but something caused him to do a double-take. On the scanners, right over the ruins, was a flashing green symbol. It was not just any symbol, however. It was the symbol used by the UNSC to indicate possible Forerunner signatures. His eyes shot open as he realized he had found the structure that Ulysses has been talking about. He began shutting down systems, ready to go investigate, when he thought about what Iron Hoof had said. Somebody needed to let Celestia know that they had been victorious at the ruins, and that more reinforcements would likely be needed in order to hold them. But he would also need some help with the ruins. If these Forerunner signatures were accurate, then he would need some help exploring them. He turned the various systems back on, and lifted off, heading in the direction of Canterlot.

Adam set the pelican down back in the castle gardens, this time not caring for stealth (it was late evening, his options were limited), and he stalked back into the castle. As he entered the doors, he was met by a guard.

“Follow me,” the guard said. “I will take you to Princess Celestia.” He began walking down the hall, in the direction of the war room that he had been taken to before. Finally, they reached the large set of doors, which opened to reveal the stark room once again. Surrounding the table were the two Princesses, and Shining Armor. Adam noted the absence of Twilight and her friends, but figured that they had either left for Ponyville, or were elsewhere in the castle. Celestia smiled as she saw Adam enter.

“Adam!” she said happily. “I would assume then that your mission was a success?”

“Yes,” Adam nodded. “The ruins are once again under pony control, but another detachment should be sent if you want to keep it that way.” Celestia nodded, then looked to Shining Armor. He saluted, and ran out of the room.

“Thank you, Adam,” said Celestia. “Were it not for you, I fear that we would have lost the ruins permanently, and would have had to give up the land to the Griffons.” Adam nodded, and looked at the map.

“Something else troubles you…” Luna said cautiously. “What is it?” Adam sighed.

“You remember what the AI said? About finding Forerunner structures?” he said. Luna nodded.

“Yes, I meant to ask you,” she replied. “What exactly is a ‘Forerunner’?” Adam thought about what the best explanation was. His knowledge was quite limited, but he knew the basics.

“In my story about the Human-Covenant War, you remember that I said they were doing all of the killing for their gods?” The two princesses nodded. “They believed that the Forerunners were their gods. In reality, they were an incredibly highly advanced alien race that died out a hundred thousand years ago. What remains of their civilization is embodied in the various ruins and structures that dot the galaxy.” Celestia’s eyes widened as what Adam was saying clicked in her mind.

“So you are saying that one of these structures is located within the ruins?” she said. Adam nodded.

“Yes, the AI aboard Lightning was the first to tell me, but I haven’t done much about it,” he began. “That was, until I was just leaving the ruins. My ship scanners picked up Forerunner signatures beneath the ruins. I believe that these are the ones that Ulysses was talking about.”

“And you are requesting our permission to explore them” Luna asked. Adam nodded, and clasped his hands behind his back. The two princesses looked at one another, then nodded.

“Very well,” Princess Celestia said. “Though I would like to send someone with you.”

“That would be welcome,” Adam said. “Forerunner ruins are quite large, I could use the help.” Celestia smiled.

“Then I shall send Twilight and her friends to assist you. I shall also send reinforcements, though they can go separate. For now, please, come with us,” Celestia and Luna exited the room, Adam in tow. They lead him throughout several corridors, until they stopped at another very large door.

“You must be very hungry,” Celestia said. “We shall eat.” Adam began to refuse, opting rather to eat in his pelican, when he thought back to his rations. All of his rations had been left on the old pelican, and he had had no time to stock up the new one with them. He had no food. Therefore, Adam conceded, and stepped inside.

The dining hall, for that is what Adam assumed it was, was massive. The walls were at least 50 feet high, at were adorned with intricate paintings while grandiose chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The table was twice as long as the walls, and had enough chairs to seat dozens of ponies. He noticed that the chairs were all much smaller, and more shaped to fit pony anatomy. All of the chairs were like this except for one, which was much larger and seemed to be made for him. It was at the end of the table, right next to a large throne. Already seated were Twilight and her five friends, as well as Doctors Gazer and Skychaser. Luna and Celestia took seats at their thrones, and Adam took a seat in the one that was intended for him.

“Hello Adam,” Twilight said. “Did you secure the ruins?” Adam nodded.

“I did,” he said. Twilight was about to press on when Celestia spoke up.

“Before the waiters arrive, I’m afraid that none of us are versed in human dietary habits,” she said. “What exactly do humans eat?”

“Pretty much anything,” he said. “We’re omnivorous. Except things that you eat like hay, we can digest just about anything edible.” Luna looked at Adam nervously.

“You’re… omnivorous?” she asked. Adam nodded in the affirmative. “So, you consume meat?” Adam was about to say yes, when he realized that he had never seen a single pony eat meat. As he thought on it, it made sense. Most animals here seemed at least to be more intelligent than their earth counterparts, and while not all could speak, they seemed to understand a bit more. Because of this, it made sense to Adam that the ponies would not eat them. But still, he decided that being honest and clearing it out of the way now was best.

“Yes, humans eat meat,” he said. “But don’t worry, we don’t eat pony, and if it is a part of your laws, I will not eat any meat while I am here.” This seemed to relieve the ponies in the room, as Adam could clearly hear several of them let out a breath. Adam thought over his promise of no meat. It wasn’t impossible for humans to survive on a vegetarian diet, but for a Spartan who needed plenty of protein and calories, it would be more difficult. Oh well, Adam thought. Maybe they have protein bars. A few minutes later, a pony with a white chef’s hat walked out of a door in the wall, which lead to what Adam assumed was the kitchen, and took everyone’s order. He decided to go with a simple salad, no hay or anything on it, and water to drink.

The food came out quickly, and they all had conversations while they ate. Adam had to, of course, take his helmet off, and while most of the ponies had already seen his face, it was new for Celestia. She spent most of their dinner taking in most of his features, getting an idea for human facial anatomy. The conversations that they had mostly devolved into simple questionnaires for Adam, so he had to answer several more questions about humans and human culture. They talked late into the night, and when a guard finally led Adam to his guest quarters, his helmet chrono read 030. He was exhausted from his long day, and he flopped down on the bed. Celestia had said that the next day he would fly himself and the Ponyville group out to the ruins to find the entrance to the Forerunner section, and then explore them. As he lay in bed, the thought back on his day. He had walked right on in to a Griffon encampment, killed their leader, and then scared the rest off. He had probably just made a new enemy today, but right now, he didn’t care. He was too tired, so he simply closed his eyes, and let sleep wash over him.

Chapter 12

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CHAPTER 12

The darkness is closing in. Everywhere, bodies line the walls. Both marines and civilians, mercilessly disemboweled by an Elite’s energy sword. The stench is overwhelming. Occasionally a beam of light from a searching phantom dropship pierces through the window shutters.

Adam lies in a corner. Wounded, his leg hit by a Jackal’s beam rifle. The biofoam finally settles, and he stands. Grunting back pain, he limps to the window. Outside are Covenant search parties. His VISR outlines them in red, watching their every move. Rain pours from the sky, flooding the streets and alleyways below. Thunder roars, and lightning hits the massive skyscrapers. It’s not safe.

Adam limps to the stairs, and makes his way down. No Covenant in sight. He limps across the street. Radio static fills his ear. Olfactory sensors overwhelmed by the stench of the dead. Lights flicker, thunder roars.

Adam enters a new building. Checks his chrono. 2348. He’s been alone for four days now. No radio signals have come through, no friendlies have been spotted. He’s hunted. They know he’s there, they just don’t know where. Search parties scour the city, looking for him. They won’t find him. Along with the rain falls ashes from the glassing. It already coats his armor.

Four days, alone. Four days, hunted. Four days, constantly on the move.

Adam awoke from the dream with a violent start, almost falling out of the bed. He was breathing heavily, and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Sweat was covering his forehead beneath his helmet. A moment later, when he had regained control of his thoughts, he began to regulate his breathing. Adam removed his helmet, and wiped the sweat away. Slowly, his pulse returned to normal, and he sat on the edge of the bed, head in his hands.

The nightmare was nothing new. For seven days, the Covenant had hunted him through New Mombasa. He watched his platoon get slaughtered that first day, and he was still reliving the memories in his sleep. It seemed to him that all Spartans had some form of demons. Nobody joined the program just because they thought it would be a fun experience, they all had some ulterior motive for enlisting. Adam heard a soft pop from the corner of the room, then felt a presence staring at him. He turned his head and, as he expected, saw Princess Luna. He turned away again, and lowered his head.

“That wasn’t a dream, was it?” asked Luna, stepping forward. “It was a memory?”

“How do you know?” Adam asked quietly. At this, Luna smirked.

“Your mind is well defended during the day, but at night, it is easy to… slip in, and watch your dreams.” If it bothered Adam, he didn’t show it. Rather, he continued staring at the ground between his legs. He remained like that for a moment, before he responded.

“Yes,” he whispered. “It’s a memory.”

“Of your war with the Covenant?” she asked curiously.

“… Yeah,” Adam replied. He didn’t know why he was sharing this with her. He had lived with the memories for four years, and they had always upset him, but he had never spoken to anyone about it. Luna walked up to Adam and took a seat next to him. They remained like that for a moment, then Luna put her large wing around his back. He tensed up at this, but made no effort to remove it. Strangely enough, talking about it was… comforting. Already he felt the bad memories begin to subside.

“Thank you,” he said. “I should go back to sleep. I have a lot to do tomorrow.” Luna furled her wing back up against her back, and stood. She nodded, smiled, then quietly teleported herself out. Adam stood at the spot where she had been standing for a moment longer, before he lay back on the bed, and fell back asleep.

Twilight woke up at the crack of dawn, as she did most days, excited for the day ahead of her. Later, Adam would be flying herself and her friends out to the newly discovered ancient ruins, where they would then be given the opportunity to explore them! She didn’t know what they’d find, but she did know that it would be a great discovery for Equestria. Quietly, so as not to wake her friends sleeping in the rooms next to hers, she trotted down the hallway, heading for the dining hall. When she entered, she saw both Princesses Celestia and Luna already eating from a large tray in the center of the table. As she entered, they both greeted her with warm smiles.

“Good morning, Twilight,” Celestia said. “Did you sleep well?”

“Very!” Twilight replied. “Thank you.” The next pony – or person – to enter was Adam, still wearing his ever-present armor.

“Good morning,” they all said to him as he took a seat in his chair next to Princess Celestia. He grunted in response, clearly tired.

“Did you sleep well, Adam?” Princess Luna asked, appearing concerned.

“Well enough…” Adam replied. “What time are we heading out?”

“Hopefully soon,” Celestia said. “After everypony has woken up and had breakfast, you will go to the ruins.” Adam nodded, and sat in his seat silently. Even with his helmet on, Twilight could tell that something was wrong.

“Is everything okay, Adam?” she asked him. He looked up at her, and took his helmet off. There were visible bags under his eyes, but he still offered a small smile.

“Everything’s fine,” he said, grabbing a muffin off of the tray. He began eating it, and didn’t offer any more words to them. Twilight grabbed a few things off of the tray and began eating as well, occasionally glancing up at the human, trying to get a read on his emotions. Her attention changed to the door when she heard it get pushed open, and Fluttershy and Rarity both entered. They both sat down, each muttering a “good morning”, and began eating breakfast. Shortly after they arrived, Applejack and Pinkie Pie made their way in, and, as everypony had expected, Rainbow Dash was the last one up. They all ate quietly as each of them was no doubt thinking of the day ahead. Twilight was still very excited, but she had also begun to grow nervous. The griffons would no doubt plan a counter attack, and things around the ruins could become very dangerous. Still, Adam had proven to be good in combat, and he would hopefully keep them safe. Finally, everypony finished their food, and the human stood up.

“Right then,” he said. “Everyone ready?” Twilight looked around, and noticed all of her friends nodding, confirming their readiness. He then looked to the princesses.

“With your leave, then.”

The two princesses nodded at Adam, and he walked out of the dining hall, his loud footsteps echoing back into the room as he moved down the hall. Twilight watched as he left, feeling somewhat concerned. He had always been a bit withdrawn, but he had just begun to show signs of warming up to the ponies. What had happened? She made a mental note to ask him about it later. For now, she stood up, as did her five friends, and they all exited the room, heading for the castle gardens.

Adam entered the cockpit of his pelican dropship, and instantly strapped himself in. Even with Princess Luna’s intervention, the effects of his nightmare had not completely worn off. So, as he had always done, he decided to lose himself in his work, and focus only on the mission at hand. Adam heard several thunks on the metal floor of the troop bay behind him. He turned around, and was pleased to see his six pony passengers strapping themselves in.

“All passengers, prepare for takeoff,” he said to them. He pressed several buttons, causing the back hatch to close, and the engines to start up. He looked back behind him and, seeing that all of the ponies were secured, took to the skies, setting a course for the ruins.

The flight to the ruins was a quiet one, as most of the ponies were still tired, and Adam wasn’t up for conversation. Once they arrived at the coordinates, he set down the pelican in the same place he had the day before, and walked out into the camp. There were far fewer ponies guarding the camp now, as most had been relocated to secure the ruins. Adam led the ponies through the forest that separated the two locations, and after a few more minutes, they came out at the site of the ruins. Twilight instantly rushed forward, and began gawking at the various structures.

“These ruins are ancient!” she said, excited. “And you say that these ‘Forerunner’ ruins are underneath them?” Adam stepped forward, and made for the ruins entrance.

“The scanners pointed to them as being directly beneath the structure,” he replied. “All we have to do is find the entrance.” With that, he stepped into the doorway, which was flanked by two guards, and began to descend into the structure. The ponies began to follow him, and, to help them see, he activated his helmet-mounted flashlights. They illuminated the dark hallway that sloped downwards into the earth, allowing them to see until they finally reached a small chamber at the end of the passage. The chamber branched off into three more passages, each one descending further into the ruins. As Adam looked down each passage, he noticed several lit torches lining the walls. He then turned to face the ponies.

“Alright,” he said. “There are three ways to go, let’s split up. But first…” Adam reached into one of his pouches and pulled out two small earpieces with small microphones branching off of them.

“We can use these to communicate,” he said, and held them out. “I’ll be going on my own. You all split up into two teams of three, and head down the other two passages.” The ponies split up into their teams, with one begin Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy, and the other being Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack. Twilight and Applejack took the earpieces, and Adam helped them secure them in their ears. Then, he cut off his external microphone, and spoke so that only the two ponies could hear him.

“Can you hear me?” he asked. Twilight and Applejack both jumped in surprise as his voice filled their ears, but he heard through his own earpiece their confirmations. He reactivated his external mic.

“Okay, let’s get a move on.” With that, Adam set off down the central passage, while the other ponies went their own separate ways. The torches provided ample light to see by, so he turned off his flashlights. The walls were made of a decaying brown stone, which reflected the torchlight and caused it to appear golden. There was almost nothing in the way of hieroglyphics or symbols on the walls, and what few there were, did not appear to be Forerunner. Either way, the ruins were massive. Several times he came to a junction that split off into more paths, but he always continued going straight down the middle.

As he walked, he periodically checked his chrono. By his estimates, he had now been walking down the seemingly endless corridors for an hour, and so far, he had seen nothing resembling Forerunner glyphs or architecture. He was about to turn back and try another path when he heard his radio crackle.

“Uh, Adam, can you hear me?” Adam recognized Twilight’s voice through the headset.

“I copy, what’s going on?” he asked.

“We found some symbols on one of the walls,” she replied. “They don’t look like they were made by ponies, or any other race on Equis.”

“You think they’re Forerunner?” Adam asked, excited.

“I think so, yes.”

“Alright,” Adam said, activating the tracking beacon in Twilight’s headset. “I’m on my way to your location now. Stay where you are.” Adam spun around and began running back the way he came. He had walked the whole way to his current destination, and it had taken an hour, so he hoped that sprinting would get him there quickly. After about fifteen minutes of running, he began to recognize that the next passage would lead him back to the entry chamber. As he ran down the corridor, he began to hear the sounds of clashing metal, and faint screams. Uh oh, Adam thought. He began sprinting faster, and as he entered the entry chamber, his worst fears were met. Lying on the ground in a pool of blood was a dead pony guard, his stomach ripped open and an arrow in his neck. In the dust that had collected on the ground, he could see the faint outline of a pair of talons, and not far behind them, a pair of large paws. And, to his dismay, they were heading straight down the passage that Twilight, Dash, and Fluttershy had taken. Adam heard the clanking of metal coming down the passage from the surface. He quickly grabbed his magnum and pointed it ahead, but lowered it when he saw it was just a pony soldier. The soldier stared at the dead guard in dismay, before turning his eyes towards Adam. He then noticed the claw marks on the ground, and nodded at the Spartan.

“Go get that griffon,” said the soldier. “We’ve almost driven them off! Hurry!” The guard then turned and ran back out the ruins, and Adam ran down the other passage, combat knife at the ready.

Twilight Sparkle sat on the ground next to a glyph-covered wall deep within the ruins, beginning to grow bored. Fifteen minutes had passed since she had contacted Adam, and he had told them to stay where they were. So she, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy had all taken seats on the dust and dirt covered floor of the ruins, and sat in silence. Finally, Dash began to stir, and she spoke up.

“Where is he?” she asked, annoyed. “I’m getting bored…” Twilight stood up once more and began to examine the symbols.

“It took us an hour to walk here, Dash,” Twilight replied. “It may take him a little while.” Dash groaned, and lay back down on the floor. As Twilight scrutinized the glyphs, she began to hear voices in the distance. She spun her ears down the other side of the hallway, in the direction that they had yet to explore, attempting to pick up the voices better. Fluttershy noticed too, and she stood up.

“What’s that?” she asked quietly.

“Voices, I think,” said Twilight. “I can’t make them out that well.” Slowly, the voices began to grow louder, an indication that they were heading in the ponies’ direction.

“Is it Adam?” Dash asked, standing up. Twilight shook her head.

“I don’t think so… There are multiple voices.” Fluttershy began to shake, afraid.

“W-w-what if… what if it’s… ghosts?” she asked, her voice barely audible.

“Fluttershy,” said Twilight, laughing. “There’s no such thing as ghosts. Relax.” The voices began to grow louder, and finally, out of the shadows stepped Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. They all perked up at the sight of Twilight and the others, and they ran towards them.

“See, Fluttershy? No ghosts,” Twilight said, walking towards the other three ponies. Fluttershy stood up, clearly feeling more comforted, and began walking towards them as well.

“Well hi everypony!” Applejack said cheerfully. “Fancy meetin’ you here.”

“I guess our two passages linked up,” Twilight pointed out. “Did you find anything on your way here?” Rarity shook her head.

“No, dear, we saw nothing,” she said. “Nothing but… dirt and dust.” She stuck out her tongue in disgust.

“Well we found something, now we’re just waiting for-,” Twilight was cut off as she began to hear a thumping, and the sound of clanking metal. It was coming from the direction that Twilight and her group had entered from. But it didn’t sound like the heavy footsteps of Adam. His armor was fairly silent, and didn’t clank together. Also, it sounded like there were four steps, as though a pony was walking, rather than a human.

“What’s that?” Dash asked, stepping forward.

“I don’t know…” Twilight said cautiously. “But it’s coming this way…” The torches in this section of the ruins were placed further apart than the torches closer to the entrance, leaving several sections of the hallways in complete darkness. Because of this, it made it very difficult to see just what was coming for them.

“Get ready, everypony,” Twilight warned, stepping back. “I don’t think this is Adam.” She was correct, and a moment later, a large griffon stepped out of the shadows, brandishing a large, bloody axe. His beak curved upwards in what passed for a smile, and he took several steps forward, towards the ponies. He raised the huge axe above his head, and began to look at the ponies, contemplating which one he was going to kill first.

Twilight gulped in fear, sweat beginning to cover her brow. She looked to her friends, and saw primarily the same reactions. Fluttershy was completely curled up on the ground, her head covered by her hooves, and she was shaking greatly. The griffon lowered his axe, and pulled a long dagger out of a sheath on his belt. He then reached down and grabbed Fluttershy with one of his claws, and picked her up, keeping her at eye level. He then raised the knife, and held it by her throat.

“HEY!” a voice yelled from behind the griffon. Confused, the griffon dropped Fluttershy, and turned his head. He was stopped, however, when a dark figure jumped on the griffon’s back, a serrated knife visible in his hands. The figure plunged the knife into the griffon’s chest once, twice, three times, then on the fourth stab he pulled the knife upwards, cutting through his throat and ripping out his lower beak. The figure then stabbed up into the griffon’s wound, lodging his knife straight into his head. The griffon fell to the ground, dead, revealing Adam, still holding his bloody knife. While Adam began cleaning his knife off, the ponies all stared in complete shock at what had happened. Rarity’s face had turned a sickly green, and Fluttershy was once again curled up on the ground. Adam finished cleaning off his knife, and he stuck it back into the sheath on his chest. He then stepped forward.

“Are you okay?” he asked the ponies. Twilight was speechless for a moment, before she finally found her voice.

“Uh… yeah…” she said, still shocked at seeing the griffon’s gruesome death.

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Adam said. “But he was going to kill Fluttershy. I had to act.” Twilight continued staring forwards, until she shook her head and pushed away the image.

“Yeah, thanks,” she replied.

“So where are those glyphs you were talking about?” Adam began looking at the wall.

“Here,” Twilight said, pointing at them. Adam followed her hoof to the part of the wall that was covered in symbols. He approached them, and began nodding his head.

“These are Forerunner all right,” he said. “Hmm…” Adam then started feeling around the wall, leaning in close to it.

“This part of the wall is hollow,” he reported, and began knocking on it. “There’s definitely some empty space back there.”

“So how are you going to-,” Twilight began to ask, before Adam stepped backwards, and kicked out with his foot, breaking right through the wall. Adam waved away the cloud of dust that was created by the destruction, and turned his lights back on. Twilight leaned in, and lit her horn. Through the now-destroyed wall was a new corridor, this one a pristine silver color, with blue lights along the floor. It lead to a triangular door, through which Twilight could see more of the same walls.

“Well done, Twilight,” Adam said, stepping through the hole in the wall. The ponies followed in behind him, until they were all standing in the new, alien hallway. Adam looked at them, and turned off his lights.

“Let’s get going.”

Chapter 13

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CHAPTER 13

>:ONI-AI-MIL WLF 8310-4
>:RUNNING SECTOR SCAN
>:CHECKING RADAR…
>:CHECKING LIDAR…
>:SCANNING FOR COMMUNICATIONS
…
…
…
>:ALERT! COMMUNICATION FOUND! BEGINNING PLAYBACK.

*static*

>:ATTEMPTING CLEANUP.
>:RESUMING PLAYBACK

“Mayday, mayday, mayday! This is UNSC FFG-818, Lightning, requesting immediate recovery and assistance. This is Adam, Spartan D-014, sole survivor of the crash. Attached to this message is a data packet with all necessary information. Please render assistance. Spartan D-014, over.”

>:MESSAGE REPEATS

>:DOWNLOADING DATA PACKET…
>:ANALYZING…

UNSC Icarus
FFG-109
CURRENT TASK: Patrol of outer Orion Arm
TIME: 1123 HOURS

CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN UNSC/ONI PROWLER ICARUS AND UNSC HIGH COMMAND

[1123] HIGHCOM: This is UNSC High Command, how can we be of service?
[1123] ICARUS: This is Captain James of the Icarus, I need to speak with Admiral Hood immediately. We have a priority one situation, here.
[1124] HIGHCOM: Icarus, stand by for patch through to Admiral Hood.
…
…
PATCH SUCCESSFUL
[1126] HOOD: Admiral Hood here, what’s wrong?
[1126] ICARUS: Sir, this is Captain James of the UNSC Icarus. While patrolling the outer Orion Arm we detected a distress call, timestamped as being sent out two days ago.
[1127] HOOD: What ship?
[1127] ICARUS: Sir… It’s Lightning.
[1127] HOOD: You found her? Well done, I’ll prepare a-
[1127] ICARUS: Sir, that’s not all. Included in the distress call was a data packet. We opened it, and it’s full of… I don’t know, sir.
[1128] HOOD: Send it to me, Captain.
[1128] ICARUS: Yes, sir.
INITIATING FILE TRANSER
FILE TRANSFER SUCCESSFUL
[1130] ICARUS: Sir?
[1130] HOOD: … Captain, launch a slipspace probe to the coordinates to confirm the information. Then return to Earth immediately.
[1130] ICARUS: Yes, sir.
[1131] HOOD: Hood, out.
CONNECTION TERMINATED

Adam walked quickly down the ancient Forerunner hallway, looking around for anything that might clue him in as to what Ulysses had been talking about. Before he completely shut down, the AI briefly mentioned that his arriving in Equestria was “no accident”, and that it had something to do with the Forerunners. With any luck, he could use whatever he found to find himself a way home. The ponies walked behind him, all of them staring in wonder at the pristine architecture. Finally, they reached the end of the hallway, and entered a large elevator. Adam stepped up to a pedestal, causing a holopanel to light up. He pressed a button on the panel, and the elevator began rapidly descending, taking them ever deeper into the ancient structure.

After about a minute, the elevator reached its destination, which seemed to be the very bottom floor, and a door opened, revealing a hallway identical to the one upstairs. The only difference was that, rather than opening up into another set of ruins, the end of this hallway branched off into two more. Adam led the ponies down the hallway, to the junction, then weighed his options.

“Which way are we going to go?” Twilight asked Adam. Adam thought to himself for a moment, before deciding on ‘left’. He turned down the left passage, and as he approached the door, the normally green lights turned red, and the door did not open for him. Adam puzzled over this, wondering why it would seal when he got near. Perhaps… perhaps there was something watching them, directing them to a specific room. Shrugging, Adam turned around, and tried the right passage. This one seemed to be the correct one, as the door remained green, and opened when Adam was about a meter from it. It opened into a large, very long chamber. The chamber went downwards into a deep chasm, the bottom of which could not be seen. A small hardlight bridge was spanning across the chasm, leading to a very large door on the other side. Lining the walls of the chamber were several tubes, which were pitch black inside. Adam looked at one and activated his VISR mode, and very briefly caught some movement as something scurried back inside of it. Adam then disabled VISR, and began cautiously walking out onto the hardlight bridge. Though it was very thin, it was also incredibly sturdy, and supported the Spartan and the six ponies with ease. They all walked slowly to the other end, and when they reached the massive door, Adam pressed a switch, opening it. Beyond the door lay yet another hallway, though this one was much taller and wider, and it was not empty.

Standing – or rather, floating – right beyond the door was a… something. Adam had never seen anything like it. It seemed to be a floating horizontal cylinder, on top of which rested a curved surface, like a helmet. Sprouting from either side was an angled appendage, each of which had a set of claws, leading Adam to believe that they served as arms. Behind it sprouted two more of the angled appendages, though they were less bent, and seemed to function as some kind of propellant. Beneath the floating device hung a tail-like shape, with a red light on the end of it. It reminded Adam of the barrel of a Covenant plasma weapon, making him a bit uncomfortable. He reached for the magnum on his thigh, never taking his eyes off of the device.

“Do not be alarmed,” it said in a strangely robotic voice. “Please follow.” The metallic flier being then spun around, and began floating to the other end of the hallway. Adam and the ponies all exchanged glances, and then cautiously began to follow behind the device. Adam continuously checked the area around them, looking for possible traps or other threats. The automaton (for that is the best description that Adam could come up with) stopped at the end of a hallway, where there lay another large door. A holographic panel appeared in front of the robot, and it began to use its appendages to type on it. Twilight took the opportunity to step forward.

“What are you?” she asked it curiously. The automaton did not stop working on the panel, but did look at Twilight.

“Installation sentinel unit,” it said, then looked back at the panel. Twilight seemed to accept this answer, as she stepped backwards and rejoined the group. The ‘sentinel’, as it had called itself, finished typing, and the holopanel faded away, followed by the massive door opening. It opened into a massive circular chamber that, much like the chasm behind them, seemed to be bottomless. A wide platform spanned the perimeter of the room, and a large hologram of the solar system was suspended in the center. The hologram, oddly enough, depicted a geocentric system, where Equis was in the center, and the moon and sun seemed to be orbiting around it. Adam found it odd, and unlikely, that Forerunners could have made that huge of a mistake. His train of thought was interrupted as a small spherical object descended from the high ceiling of the circular chamber, and floated over to Adam. Upon closer inspection, Adam noticed that it was not entirely spherical, and boasted what appeared to be a large green eye in the center. It floated past the six ponies, and finally came to a rest on Adam, where it made an oddly satisfied noise.

“Ah!” it said in a shrill, high-pitched voice. “Reclaimer! You have come!” Adam stared at the orb quizzically, wondering what it could have meant.

“What are you talking about?” he asked it, confused. The orb rotated to look at the sentinel, then nodded at it. The sentinel responded by flapping it’s appendages a few times, then it floated away into one of the small tubes that the Spartan had seen in the previous chamber. This confused Adam even further, so he looked to the object for an answer.

“You, of course!” it replied. “I summoned you here!”

“You did what?” Adam replied, growing even more confused.

“We detected a reclaimer presence passing within the confines of this solar system,” the object explained. “We then pulled you out of slipspace, in order to meet with you!”

“Wait,” Adam said, growing angry. “You mean that the deaths of all of the crew of Lightning is your fault!? You forced me to crash land here against my will!?” The sphere backed away in mock surprise.

“I did not anticipate deaths,” it said. “It would appear that reclaimer slipspace technologies are still inadequate…” It then began to circle around Adam’s head.

“I apologize that this has caused harm to you,” it began. “But your assistance is still required, Reclaimer.”

“Alright, but first, I have just one question,” Adam said.

“Please, ask, reclaimer!” the sphere said, ever excited.

“Why is the solar system an incorrect model?” he said, pointing to the hologram. This drew confused stares from all of the ponies, as though they had no idea what he was talking about. Adam stared back, equally as confused.

“What?” he asked them. “You do know that that’s not how space works, right?”

“Of course that’s how our solar system works!” Twilight yelled. “Princesses Celestia and Luna control the sun and moon, and they both orbit around Equis!” Adam instantly thought back to the night that he had been spied on by Princess Luna, when he had knocked her out. After letting her go, he had seen her do something with her horn that caused the moon to lower at a quicker pace. At the time, he had believed that his head had been hit in the crash, but now…

“That’s impossible,” Adam said. “The forces of gravity just don’t work that way!”

“But-,” Twilight began, before she was cut off by the sphere.

“You are entirely correct, reclaimer!” it said. This caused the ponies to all stare at it, confused.

“While all other recorded solar systems within this galaxy operate on a heliocentric model,” it began to explain. “This one showed strange gravitational anomalies. At the time of this station’s construction, it still was heliocentric. However, about 2000 years ago, the system collapsed, and the planet’s orbit began to decay to the point that, had it not been stopped, it would have fallen directly into the star. Fortunately, disaster was averted, as a very strange force that we have yet to understand seemed to balance everything out, and bring harmony to the system. It has remained so since then.” Twilight began to rub her chin, then perked up.

“2000 years ago?” she said. “That falls into the time when Princesses Celestia and Luna defeated Discord… I bet that, as a last ditch effort to bring the world into chaos, he decayed the orbit of Equis, forcing the Princesses to take control!”

“Interesting hypothesis,” the sphere said. “I will have to think upon it. But for now, we must get to work!”

“What kind of work?” Adam asked, stepping forwards.

“Restoring this facility, of course!” it replied, spinning. “There are many monitoring stations dotted around the planet, many of which are north of here. I lost contact with many of them years ago, and I require your assistance to get them operational again.”

“Stations in the north?” Twilight asked. “That’s Gryphonia. They’ve always been crazy about ruins, now we know why… It’s likely that they’ve tampered with the technology there, and inadvertently broke something.”

“This is likely,” the sphere chimed in. Adam sighed.

“Alright, I’ll help you,” he said. “But, if I do, will you help me get home?”

“Of course, reclaimer!” it said happily. “I would be happy to!” The sphere then began to float away, before it quickly turned back around to face Adam.

“The locations of the various monitoring stations have been uploaded to your small ship,” it said. “Also, my name is 401 Lamenting Chorus, a pleasure to meet you!” With that, it quickly spun around, and flew out of the room, leaving the ponies and Spartan standing on the platform. Adam heard a strange whirring sound, and turned around. Behind the group, several angular shapes flew upwards from below, and formed two parallel lines. In between the lines, a blue portal winked into existence.

“I guess that’s our exit,” Adam said, and he began walking towards it. He stopped at the threshold, and turned to face the ponies. They were right behind him, ready to enter. Adam turned back around, and stepped through. There was a bright flash of light, and then he was standing back in the camp, right next to the pelican. A few seconds later, the ponies appeared, one by one. They all checked to make sure everyone was okay, and then Adam entered the cockpit. As 401 Lamenting Chorus had said, there were seven new locations added into his navigation computer. The ponies all strapped themselves in, then Adam took off.

“We should check in with Princess Celestia first,” Twilight suggested. “She may want to know what’s going on.” Adam nodded in agreement, and set his destination for Canterlot. He then fired the engines, and they rocketed away to the large city.

>:EXITING SLIPSPACE

>:BEGINNING SENSOR RUN

>:ICARUS PROBE 4A-26 ONLINE, BEGINNING SCAN

>:COLLECTING DATA
…
…
…
>:DATA COLLECTED

>:INITIATING SLIPSPACE JUMP

>:ICARUS PROBE 4A-26 OFFLINE

“And there are seven more stations, you say?” said Princess Celestia, pacing back and forth in the large planning room in Canterlot palace.

“That’s affirmative, ma’am,” Adam replied coolly. “All of them are in griffon territory.” Celestia continued pacing, deep in thought. Adam watched her as she walked back and forth across the room, her golden shoes echoing loudly throughout the room. Finally, she stopped, and regarded the six ponies standing behind the Spartan.

“Please return to your quarters,” she said to them. “I will see you at our evening meal.” Twilight’s five friends turned to leave, but Twilight appeared as though she was going to protest. She was stopped, however, when Applejack grabbed her and pushed her out of the room. When the door closed, Princess Celestia let out a sigh.

“Adam-,” she began.

“Princess, this is important,” Adam interrupted. “It may be my only way of getting home.”

“You don’t know that!” Celestia retorted. “For all you know, your people could be organizing your rescue as we speak.” Though that did sound appealing to Adam, he still ignored the thought.

“I’m a Spartan, ma’am,” he replied. “I’m trained to formulate plans based on what I know as factual information, not based on what I hope is going to happen.”

“Oh?” the Princess said. “And how do you know this ‘401 Lamenting Chorus’ is telling the truth? For all we know, once you have completed the task, it will simply leave you to rot in those ruins.” Adam sighed, beginning to grow annoyed.

“It’s my only option,” he said through his gritted teeth.

“It isn’t, Adam!” Celestia said, stepping forward. “You have a place here! With us!” This surprised Adam. He had known these ponies for just about two weeks now, and yet that seemed to be enough time for them to trust him. Even so, he had a duty to fulfill. The Covenant were crippled, yes, but that was an entirely different thing from being destroyed. The UNSC, and humanity, needed him.

“I’m sorry, princess,” he said. “But I have a duty to humanity. And I don’t need your permission.” With that, he abruptly spun around, and stalked towards the door. He pushed it open, and walked out.

“Adam, wait!” Celestia called. But Adam continued walking, ignoring the calls of the guards for him to stop, and he finally pushed through the door to the gardens, where his pelican was landed. He stepped inside, sealing the hatch behind him, and entered the cockpit. Through the window he saw Princess Celestia staring back at him, flanked by two guards. He ignored them, spun up the engines, and began to lift off. He saw the princess lower her head, then turn around and slowly walked back inside. The two guards lowered their weapons, and followed. Adam angled his pelican for the closest of the seven sets of coordinates, and fired the thrusters.

Twilight had been somewhat confused when Princess Celestia had ordered her and her friends back to their bedrooms, but had complied and, with some help from Applejack, went back to their assigned quarters. Adam had seemed a fairly stressed out, more so than usual, after their encounter with the Forerunner machine. She hoped that he had not made any rash decisions. As Twilight and her friends walked down the hall, she decided that she could easily ask Princess Celestia at dinner. After a few more minutes of walking, they approached the large doors to the dining hall, and opened them. Sitting at the table already were Princesses Celestia and Luna. Luna had bags under her eyes, and it was clear that she had just woken up. She looked to the newcomers and smiled warmly. Celestia then looked up, and followed the gesture.

“Hello, everypony,” Celestia said. “The waiters were just coming to take our orders. Please, sit.” The ponies complied, and they each took their seats. Twilight noticed that Adam’s larger seat next to Princess Celestia’s was vacant. Twilight stared, confused, then looked to the Princess.

“Where is Adam?” she asked. Celestia froze, then sighed.

“He is gone,” the princess replied.

“Gone? What do you mean, gone?” Twilight asked, baffled.

“He left, to go fulfill his missions in Gryphonia,” Celestia said. She was clearly not pleased.

“You gave him permission to go?” Twilight asked.

“I did not,” Celestia replied. “In fact, he made it clear that he did not require my permission…” Twilight sighed. She had feared that Adam might overreact, and do something rash. And now he had gone to Gryphonia, all alone, to eliminate the Griffon presence in several locations to reactivate the stations. Twilight sighed once more, but also began to feel worried.

“I’m… sure… he’ll be okay,” Twilight said to Princess Celestia, attempting to be assuring. Celestia simply nodded, and closed her eyes.

Adam set the pelican dropship down a few hundred meters away from the coordinates of the griffon-occupied ruins, deep within Gryphonia. He had not expected to run into what appeared to be a blizzard, but the noise of the wind had helped to mask his approach, giving him the advantage. He stepped into the troop compartment, and opened the weapons cabinet. It was much smaller than the one he had in his old pelican, but still had several good items in it. For the sake of stealth, he had decided to go with a M6C/SOCOM pistol, and a M7S Caseless Submachine Gun. It had been awhile since he had last used the suppressed SMG, but it felt good to hold it again. As for the SOCOM, it delivered a powerful punch, and could be fairly accurate at range, so it would likely serve him well. He opened the back hatch of the pelican dropship, and stepped out into the freezing landscape beyond. His armor immediately altered the suit temperature, bringing it higher to support him in the frigid climate. He activated his VISR mode, and began to trek through the thick snow in the direction of the ruins. He was guided by a waypoint he had set on his HUD, and it said that he was a mere 150 meters away from his objective. He began to move quicker, and finally, the dim light of campfires became visible through the heavy snow that was falling. Even with the interference, his VISR began to pick up the outlines of several figures. Most were crowded around the fires, but some were further away on patrol. He chose to prioritize these targets, and snuck up to their positions. When he was just a few meters from the first sentry, he raised his SOCOM, and fired off two shots. Each penetrated the griffon’s thick skull, killing the large creature. He then went down the line of sentries, killing them each with two 12.7x40mm M228 Semi-Armor-Piercing rounds.

Finally, the sentries had all been dispatched, and all that remained were the eight griffons crowded around two fires. It would be difficult to get all eight of them without gaining some of their attention, so he decided to use the noise of the loud winds to his advantage. He got into a good position about midway between both fires, then took out two M9 HE-DP fragmentation grenades. He pulled the pins out on each of them, then threw each right into the center of the fires. They exploded on impact, killing all four griffons sitting around each of the fires. The noise of the usually loud explosions was muffled by the very loud winds, not alerting anybody left inside of the structure. Satisfied with the kills, Adam entered the ruins, and brought his SMG to bear. He found very little resistance inside, only a single griffon every few corridors. Unlike the ruins on the Equestria-Gryphonia border, these ruins were clearly Forerunner the moment he stepped inside. The outside was made of primarily the same brown stone, but once inside, the long silver corridors were all that could be seen. Finally, Adam came to a small door with a holographic button beside it. He stacked up on the side of the door, then peered through the window. Inside he could see four armed griffons, and two more who appeared to be looking at the various controls. He could clearly see where one panel had been ripped off of the wall, and the inner workings were exposed. They appeared to have been tampered with. Adam reloaded his SMG, and now with 60 rounds ready, he pressed the button, and burst into the room. The four griffon soldiers were caught off guard, and failed to raise their weapons in time. Adam easily sprayed them all down, then turned on the two remaining griffons.

They were unarmed, but both were staring at Adam challengingly. Adam jerked his head in the direction of the dislodged panel.

“What did you do over there?” he asked them. They both answered with threatening snarls. Adam fired a shot into the ceiling, causing them to flinch backwards.

“I won’t ask again,” he said as he reloaded the magazine. Finally, one of the griffons backed down.

“We moved some of the things inside,” the griffon said in a gruff voice. “The king wants to know how it works so that we can become stronger. That is why we are here.”

“Fix it,” Adam commanded. The griffon snarled again.

“No,” he replied, getting back into a challenging pose. Adam sighed, then aimed his SMG at the other griffon’s head.

“Fix it, or your friend dies,” Adam said, clearly moving his finger over the trigger. Still the griffon did not back down, so Adam squeezed the trigger, and sent ten rounds into the griffon’s head. It dropped to the ground, blood oozing from the bullet holes.

“Fine!” the griffon shouted, walking over to the panel. He bent down, and used his talons to move some of the wires back to what Adam assumed were their original positions. The lights dimmed, then came on stronger than before. Then, a voice filled the room.

“Well done, reclaimer!” it said. “I once again have access to this station!” The voice then cut off.

“Good work,” Adam said to the griffon, before firing ten more rounds off. The griffon slumped to the ground, dead, and Adam turned around, exiting the room. As he exited the ruins, he turned and set down a landmine to discourage anybody from returning here. His job done, he returned to the pelican, and set off to the second set of coordinates.

Author's Notes:

Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Things are starting to heat up even more with the griffons, and we finally get some answers regarding Adam's appearance.

Also, a lot of people were requesting that I include the Prometheans. While this would be cool from a storytelling standpoint, it also would not make sense in Halo lore. As far as we know, Prometheans were only ever kept on Requiem. If Adam had encountered them here, and somehow had gotten to inform the UNSC of them, then when Infinity crash landed on Requiem, they would not have reacted as they did. Remember that this all happens in 2556, one year before Halo 4. So, for that reason, I had to go with a sentinel.

If you noticed any spelling/grammar/lore errors, or have any suggestions, please post them down in the comments.

As usual, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

Chapter 14

View Online

CHAPTER 14

Adam exited the sixth set of ruins shown to him by 401 Lamenting Chorus, his mission there a successful one. Over the past six days, he had been performing several operations against multiple Forerunner monitoring stations. They had been taken and damaged by the griffons, thus cutting off the Forerunner monitor’s connection to them. After his first successful op, he had returned to the pelican, and began planning the second one. Once the second one went off without a hitch, he continued on, and on the next day, he hit the third. Once again, his mission had gone perfectly according to plan, but, as he expected, his luck soon ran out. Word of his assaults had begun to spread across the griffon population, as well as rumors that he was targeting the ancient ruins only. Therefore, when he arrived at the fourth set of coordinates, he was the one who was taken by surprise. Stationed at the base had been dozens of griffons, all of them watching every possible direction. Initially, Adam had simply tried attacking using brute force. But, even for a Spartan, fighting dozens of the griffons at once was not easy. Eventually he was hit hard in the chest by a large hammer, and had been knocked backwards. He had then fallen back to recuperate. Normally the hammer wouldn’t have harmed him, but the constant barrage of arrows and spears had taken his shields down. Therefore, when the hammer hit him, his armor absorbed most of the hit, but sent the shockwave right through his chest. This resulted in him bruising a few ribs, but it was nothing that the automatic biofoam injectors couldn’t take care of. After he had healed, Adam had returned to the task at hand. In order to deal with the much larger numbers, Adam had decided to use hit-and-run style tactics to weaken the griffon forces, then went in for the kill. This tactic had worked over the past few days, and had resulted in the success of clearing out ruins four, five, and six. All that remained now was number seven, which he was sure would not be easy.

Adam reentered his pelican dropship, strapped in to the cockpit, and spun up the engines. The next set of coordinates would take him five kilometers away, closer to the western Equestria border. As he saw the border on the map, his mind briefly returned to the last night that he had seen the ponies. He had defied royalty, spoken rashly, and left to go incite violence with an alien race that he knew little to nothing about. And while Princess Celestia was not his superior, which he made perfectly clear to her, Adam still respected her authority and position, and did not want to do anything to endanger his relationship with the peaceful ponies. Even so, if this was his best chance at returning to the UNSC, he was going to take it. Still, Adam decided that as soon as he was finished at the seventh set of ruins, he would return to the palace to wish them all farewell, before he would then return to 401 Lamenting Chorus.

The flight to the ruins was a short one. At normal speeds, the pelican arrived in only fifteen minutes. Once there, he set the pelican down a short distance away, and walked out into the troop bay. He grabbed his usual kit, the suppressed M7S submachine gun, and the M6C/SOCOM pistol. Adam quickly checked his ammo for each weapon. While the pistol still had quite a fair bit of ammunition left, he had used most of the rounds for the SMG. Adam briefly wished that he had his old pelican, with the extended weapons bay. The extra ammo would definitely have come in handy here. Either way, Adam was a good shot with the pistol, so he decided to save the SMG for the close-quarters nature of the ruins, and use the pistol outside. Quietly, the Spartan crept towards the ruins, and activated the zoom function on his visor. As he expected, he counted 60 griffon soldiers guarding the outside of the ruins, and there were very likely more inside. This was a larger number than the previous ruins. Even with their reinforcements, ruins four, five, and six had only had about 30 or 40 griffons each. Either way, this is was no difficult task for a Spartan. Even as an ODST he had had worse. Activating his active camouflage, Adam began crouch-walking forwards, SOCOM pistol at the ready. He decided that the same hit-and-run tactics would be useful here, and took the last of the C-12 shaped charges from his belt. The griffons mostly maintained the same defensive tactics: they stood in small delta formations of five griffons, spread out across the perimeter of the ruins, watching every direction. He had four charges left, he counted ten of these formations. Adam began looking around the area, looking for something to help amplify the damage caused by his explosions. At the back of the perimeter, he spotted it. There was a tall guard tower sitting at the back of the camp, standing about 20 feet high. Flanking it were two of the formations, standing about 7 feet away from either side. A well placed charge could take out one of the formations, and take out the legs of the guard tower. This would cause the tower to fall onto the other group, taking them out too. The rest of the charges could then be scattered around to eliminate as many griffons as possible. Nodding, Adam began to get to work. He transferred more energy from his reactor to the active camo, and began crouch-walking over to the guard tower. Undetected, he reached his location, and set the first charge between the tower and one of the formations. He then slowly crept away, and set the remaining three charges around where they could cause the most damage. He then went back to his position overlooking the camp, and pulled out the detonator. A light on it blinked green, indicating that it was ready to go. He flipped open the safety cover, then pressed down on the trigger with his thumb. He then pulled out his M6C/SOCOM, and sent five shots at one of the groups not within range of the explosives. Each shot went right through their skulls, killing each of them. Half a second after, barely enough time for the other griffons to realize what had happened, he depressed the trigger of the detonator, blowing up the four C-12 explosives. They all exploded at once, killing the groups within range. As he had expected, the charge near the guard tower sent it toppling over, killing the griffons on the other side. When the explosions had cleared, only three groups of the formations remained. Of course, there were still ten more not in groups, so he still had 25 griffons to deal with.

In the midst of the confusion, Adam jumped down from his overwatch, and began firing on the remaining griffons. Before they had regained their senses, already ten more had fallen. Finally, the remaining fifteen came back to their senses, and raised their weapons, rushing at the Spartan. Most wielded long halberds, their sharpened ends pointed directly for him. Adam’s shields deflected the blows, allowing him to take shots from his pistol into the griffon’s heads, killing the first few to rush him. Of the few remaining griffons, four were archers, and they were taking shots at him from above, attempting to whittle down his shields. While they did that, the other griffons readied their weapons, and again charged the Spartan. Adam fired off two more shots, but then found that his clip was dry, and so he lowered the pistol, and unsheathed his knife. As the first griffon approached, Adam side-stepped him, allowing him to pass right by. Adam then jammed his knife into the back of the creatures head, then brought it forward, right between the eyes of the second. The third griffon began running in random directions, attempting to throw off Adam’s perception. This ultimately failed, as Adam ran right towards the griffon and jammed the knife up beneath its beak. The fourth creature began cautiously approaching, which made him as easy target for Adam to simply throw the knife. As Adam went to retrieve his blade, he noticed that the archers were still firing on his shields. Of course, their inability to reload quickly was ultimately their undoing, as by the time they were ready for another salvo, his shields had already begun to recharge. Adam sheathed his knife, and pulled out his SMG. He climbed up to where the four archers were, and fired into the group, killing all of them, but emptying the magazine.

The fight outside left him with two mags of the SMG rounds, and two of the pistol rounds. Hopefully the interior isn’t as heavily guarded, Adam thought. The large Spartan brought his SMG to bear, and entered the depths of the ruins, not noticing that one griffon had survived the initial explosions…

To his surprise, Adam found the interior of the structure to be almost devoid of life. The tight corridors had never worked in the griffons’ favor, so it was likely that they were waiting in the main chamber to attack him, where they had more room to maneuver. Quietly, Adam crept down the last hallway, trying to see through the window in the small triangular door. The window was tinted to be harder to see through, but Adam could still catch some movement from the other side. Preparing his SMG, he approached the door, and hit the button for it to open. Waiting on the other side were eight more griffons, and one (what he assumed to be) scientist, who was in the corner. Adam sprayed at the first set of four, killing them all. As the second set rushed him, he reloaded his magazine, and then emptied it on the rest. His weapon now empty, he replaced it on his hip, and drew his M6C/SOCOM, then approached the scientist. He looked to the scientist, then to the panel that had been removed. During his last few operations, he had taken careful note of exactly what to do to repair the machinery. He had paid enough attention that he was confident in his ability to repair it without help this time. Therefore, he fired five shots into the griffons head, and walked over to the panel.

Adam set his pistol on the floor, then set to work replacing the various wires that had been tampered with. It took several minutes, but when he was done, the lights dimmed, then came back on, and, as he had gotten used to, the Forerunner monitor came on the intercom.

“Excellent work, Reclaimer!” it said. “I once again have full control over the monitoring stations. Well done!” The voice cut out, and Adam got set to stand back up, when he saw a shadow fall over him. Discreetly, Adam reached down to pick up his pistol, but found that it was no longer where he had put it. He heard five soft pops from behind him, and he felt several impacts along his back as his shield went down. There was one more pop, this one hitting right in the center of his back, the thickest part of his backplate, before he heard a clicking noise. Quickly, Adam turned his head, and came face-to-face with a furious griffon. Half of the creature’s face was burnt beyond recognition, which Adam recognized was his own doing. The griffon threw Adam’s now spent pistol away, and unsheathed a wicked knife from his belt. Before Adam could react, the creature punched Adam very hard in the helmet, which shook him fairly hard without the protection of his shields. The griffon then put his talons beneath Adam’s helmet, and began to pull. The griffon was surprisingly very strong, and ripped the helmet clean off of Adam’s head. He then drew the knife upwards, cutting from his lower right lip to the top of his right eyebrow. Adam screamed in pain, and fell backwards, just barely missing being cut again by the now-bloody knife. Desperate, Adam punched outwards with his fist, and hit the griffon right in the chest. This pushed him backwards, knocking the breath out of the creature. Adam took the opportunity to draw his own knife, then cut it across the griffon’s throat, killing it. Adam then dropped to his knees, and held his gloved hand to his face. When it came away, it was sticky with blood, and he could still see it dripping onto the floor.

He was losing blood fast, Adam knew that much. He grabbed his helmet off of the floor, and put it on before he quickly began to totter for the exit. Already vision in his right eye was beginning to disappear, and he noticed that his left eye was becoming blurry as well. He felt the metallic taste of blood on his tongue as it continued to drip down out of his new wound, and it also began to accumulate on the inside of his HUD. Finally, Adam reached the outside, where he then made a bee-line for his pelican. Before he entered, he could already see that it had been discovered. The inside had been ransacked, and many items were missing, the medical kit included. Adam decided that his only option was to look for help in Canterlot, so he ran into the cockpit, and took off without even strapping in. He could feel consciousness beginning to slip away, so he quickly set the autopilot for the castle gardens, and then slipped away into blackness.

Princess Luna exited the dining room after their evening meal, and began to walk through the castle, ready to begin her nightly duties. Princess Celestia had just retired to her chambers, and the guards were beginning to cycle their posts. Luna made her way to the highest levels of the large palace, heading for her large observation tower. She had made a point of watching the skies every night this week, hoping to catch a glimpse of some of Adam’s compatriots. That way, should he return, she would be able to give him some good news to help calm him down. As she came out onto into the cool night air on the top of her tower, she began to hear a strange whining sound coming from far off, to the north. She squinted her eyes, and began to see a dark shape moving through the nighttime clouds. She smiled as she recognized it as Adam’s ship, his “pelican” as he had called it. While she was glad that he was returning, the night princess wished that she could tell him that his friends had arrived, and he could return to them. Luna excitedly ran down the stairs of her tower, and began heading for his usual landing place in the castle gardens. As she exited the large doors and entered the enclosed gardens, she could see his ship already beginning to descend. It landed, the front of the craft facing her, and she could hear the back hatch as it lowered. Luna then heard the sound of slow, uneven footsteps against the metal floor of the craft. Out of the pelican limped Adam, slowly walking towards Princess Luna. Luna smiled in greeting as the human began to approach her.

“Adam,” Luna said warmly. “I am glad that you… Adam?” He continued walking towards her, until he collapsed about a meter from her forehooves.

“Adam!?” Luna called out nervously. “Oh my…” The princess then noticed a large pool of blood beginning to leak out of his helmet. “Guards!” she called. “Get a medical team here now!”

“What happened!?” Princess Celestia called as she quickly trotted into the palace medical wing. Princess Luna looked up at her sister, her brow furrowed with worry. Luna stood and approached Celestia.

“I saw him approaching from my observation tower,” the princess of the night began. “When I went down to greet him, he collapsed, and a pool of blood began to leak out of his helmet.” Celestia began to look around the medical ward, seeking the human.

“Where is he?” she asked. Luna directed her head towards one of the isolated medical rooms, and began to lead the way. Two guards flanked the door to the room, but opened it when the two princesses approached. They both entered the room, which was full of ponies, all of them crowded around the wounded human. Luna began to look around for the pony she was looking for, and finally her eyes came to rest on Doctor Star Gazer, the scientist who had helped Adam to restore his original ship. While his knowledge of medical science was rusty, they needed all of the help they could get. The princesses approached the light gray unicorn, and his attention directed to both of them.

“Your highnesses! I am glad you are here!” he said. He stood up straight, and began to walk over to Adam, who was lying on a bed, unconscious.

“What is his condition, Doctor Gazer?” Princess Celestia asked anxiously. Doctor Gazer sighed.

“Not good,” he said. “While the wound itself isn’t too bad, on the flight back from Gyphonia, he lost a lot of blood. Even for a human of his physical condition… He can only take so much.” Luna nodded.

“What can we do for him?” she asked.

“Right now, our best option is to cure the wound with magic,” Doctor Gazer replied. “But before we can do that, we need to alleviate some of the pain somehow. Otherwise, the process of stitching him back together could be too much.”

“Then why haven’t we given him some painkillers?” Princess Celestia asked, confused.

“I was going to order it but…” Doctor Gazer began to falter. “I don’t know if it will be safe.” The pony pointed a hoof at the human. “I mean, this is a completely different anatomy. For all we know, one of our painkillers could make things worse!” The two princesses nodded in understanding.

“For that reason, I sent your student, Twilight Sparkle, to investigate Adam’s ship,” he said. “I am hoping that something in that computer of his will contain medical information that can help us to heal him. Hopefully, she will be back-.” He was cut off as the door burst open, and Twilight Sparkle ran inside, panting heavily.

“I… I…” she struggled to speak between breaths. “I… I found… I found it!” She slowly walked over to Doctor Gazer. “The humans have a particular painkiller very similar to one of ours. It’s easy to administer, and the humans use it in small combat medical kits. If we give him it, it should do the trick!” Doctor Gazer smiled and nodded.

“Show me,” he said, leading the lavender unicorn over to the medicine cabinet. Princesses Celestia and Luna slowly walked over to the unconscious human. Half of his face was covered in bandages, the blood already seeping through them. Occasionally he would grimace in pain, and jerk around on the bed. Luna frowned, and put her hoof on his shoulder. She looked up as Twilight and Star Gazer pushed their way through the crowd of doctors surrounding the human, with Doctor Gazer holding a small potion bottle with his telekinesis. He approached the human, and Twilight opened his mouth with her magic. Doctor Gazer put the end of the bottle to his mouth, and the liquid painkiller drained down his throat. Almost instantly Adam stopped twitching, and he settled down.

“Okay,” Doctor Gazer said, turning to face the medical doctors. “We must remove the bandages. Then, we shall get to work on repairing him.” Two earth pony doctors stepped forward, and began to take off the red bandages. When they were removed, Princess Celestia and Luna were given a view of a long, gruesome scar that ran up the right side of his face. Blood still continued to ooze out of the wound, staining the bed beneath him. The earth pony doctors stepped back, and one unicorn doctor, a brown pony with a darker brown mane, stepped up. His horn began to glow a light blue color, and the area around Adam’s scar was enveloped in the same aura. The doctor closed his eyes and furrowed his brow, deep in concentration. Doctor Gazer walked to the other side of the bed, and approached the princesses.

“We should go,” he suggested to them. “This could take a while.” The two princesses nodded, and turned around to leave the room. Doctor Gazer, Twilight Sparkle, and several other doctors were right behind them. They stepped out of the room and entered the main medical wing, letting out deep breaths that they didn’t know they had been holding.

“Your highnesses,” said Doctor Gazer. “Like I said, this could take a while. I shall inform you of any progress that is made, or of any updates on his condition.” Celestia and Luna nodded in thanks, and walked out of the medical room.

Several hours later, Princesses Celestia and Luna, along with Doctor Gazer, Twilight Sparkle, and her five friends, were in an observation room, overlooking the unconscious human lying in a bed. His face had been completely mended, only leaving behind a very faint scar spanning the right half of his face. The unicorn doctor had been successful in stopping the bleeding and mending the cut flesh of Adam’s face, and they had since left him in this isolation room to keep him comfortable.

“When will he wake up?” Rainbow Dash asked Doctor Gazer worriedly.

“It’s impossible for us to tell,” the scientist replied. “He lost a great deal of blood, and with no other humans on this planet available for a transfusion, his body will have to regenerate it on its own. It could be hours, or even days. For now, we must let him rest.” Twilight frowned nervously, and put her hoof to the glass of the window overlooking the room. There were two guards on station inside of the room, along with a few doctors checking on Adam every few minutes. His armor still completely covered his body, sans the head, which made checking his pulse and breathing a difficult task. Fortunately, they had discovered that the small screen on his left arm showed his medical status, making the task of monitoring him much easier. Adam’s damaged helmet had been taken to a lab in the other half of the palace for studying, so that they could both fix it, and try to learn from some of the technology that it employed.

Twilight noticed curiously that the human was beginning to stir on the bed that they had provided. His fingers were beginning to twitch, and she could see his eyes starting to flutter.

“Or,” Doctor Gazer corrected. “He could wake up right now.” The pony doctors in the room below noticed that he was regaining consciousness, and they quickly ran to his side. Twilight, her friends, Star Gazer, and the princesses all quickly trotted out of the room, ran down a flight of stairs, and entered the isolation room beyond. Adam was already sitting up, his legs hanging off the edge of the bed. With his right hand he carefully traced the area where the large cut had once been. At the appearance of the new ponies, he looked up.

“Adam!” Princess Luna said happily. “How do you feel?”

“Fine,” Adam said, coughing. One of the doctors handed him a glass of water. “What happened?”

“As soon as you landed, you fell unconscious,” Luna explained. “We discovered your wound, and had it treated as soon as was possible.” Adam finished his drink, then felt the right side of his face again.

“Well you did a good job,” he said. “I don’t feel a scar.”

“Magic does a very thorough job at healing,” Twilight said, stepping forward. Adam nodded.

“I know a few people who would love to have some of that ‘magic’…” Adam noted. He then stood up, much to the doctors’ displeasure. One ran forward and tried pushing him back down onto the bed, but Adam ignored him and stepped forward, approaching Princess Celestia.

“Look…” he began, rubbing the back of his head. “I’m…”

“It’s okay,” Celestia said. “I understand why you left. And while I still believe that it was a rash decision, I am simply glad that you are okay.” Adam nodded, then looked around the room.

“Where’s my helmet?” he asked.

“It was damaged,” Doctor Gazer said. “We are working on fixing it in one of our laboratories.”

“Take me there,” Adam said. The gray unicorn nodded, and walked out of the room. Adam followed closely behind, as did the rest of the ponies.

Doctor Gazer led Adam and the ponies through countless corridors through the mazelike palace, finally stopping after several minutes of walking in front of a small door. He pushed the door open with his magic, and the ponies entered, with Adam having to bend down to fit. Through the door lay a large room populated by multiple tables, chalkboards, and scientists scurrying about. On a table in the center, and surrounded by scientists, was Adam’s helmet. The Spartan approached the table, and coughed loudly to get the attention of the ponies who were scrutinizing the piece of armor. They all jumped backwards at his sudden appearance, and Doctor Gazer approached to pick up the helmet.

“Have you made any progress in repairing it?” he asked them. One of the scientists nervously stepped forwards, staring at Adam the whole time.

“Yes, we… we have,” the scientist said shakily. “It looked like some of the seals had been bent out of place, so we restored them to their original positions.” Adam then grabbed the helmet from the telekinetic grasp of Doctor Gazer, and examined the bottom. He looked at the seals, and noticed that the area that the griffon had damaged had indeed been repaired. Quick learners, Adam thought. Deeming the repairs sufficient, Adam slipped the helmet on over his head, and activated the seals. Sure enough, they all locked into place, sealing Adam in his armor.

“Well done,” he said to the scientists. They smiled at the human’s pleasure, and Adam turned to face Princess Celestia.

“Thank you, Princess,” he told her. “For everything.” Princess Celestia frowned sadly.

“I assume that you will be leaving now?” she asked. At this, the other ponies in the room stared at him as well, all of them wearing expressions of sadness.

“Yes, I will be,” Adam replied. “But I’ll inform the UNSC of your existence, I promise. I won’t be the last human you see.” He smiled under his helmet, and though they could not see it, it seemed to comfort them a small bit.

“Farewell, Adam,” Princess Celestia said.

“Goodbye,” he replied. With that, he left the room, and began retracing his steps to find his pelican.

“Farewell, Adam,” Princess Celestia said sadly to the human who stood before her. Luna watched her sister’s expressions carefully, trying to get a read on her emotions. While she was definitely sad, there was something else. Something she was hiding.

“Goodbye,” Adam replied, and left the room. The ponies turned to watch him go, but they did not follow. He closed the door behind him, and the thumping of his footsteps could be heard echoing back down the hall.

“This is not the last that we will see of him, is it sister?” Luna asked.

“No,” Celestia replied. “No it is not. In fact… I fear that he will return to us much sooner than he expects.”

Adam landed his pelican back at the pony camp next to the outside of the Forerunner ruins. A few of the soldiers on duty seemed curious as to why he was there, but otherwise did not question his presence. As Adam exited the craft, he thought back to his leaving the ponies. They had shown nothing but kindness to him, and now we was just leaving at the first chance he got. But still, he owed his allegiance to humanity. They needed him, and every second that he was not there was another second that the Covenant remnant could launch an attack. Adam entered the main door of the ruins, and began running down the passages. He retraced his steps down the various corridors he had gone the first time, and after a few more minutes, he found his way to the ruins. Still lying by the busted open wall was the corpse of the griffon, who had already begun to decompose. Adam carefully stepped around it, and entered the Forerunner ruins beyond. Once again he rode down the elevator, made a right at the junction, crossed the hardlight bridge, and he was once again met by a sentinel.

“401 Lamenting Chorus has been expecting you,” it said in its flat, mechanical voice. It then spun around, and slowly began hovering down the very long hallway. Finally they reached the end, and the sentinel opened the large doors, once again revealing the massive chamber beyond. Floating around the hologram of the solar system was 401 Lamenting Chorus, who was humming a tune. When it noticed Adam entering, it stopped circling around the visual and flew over to the Spartan.

“Reclaimer!” the monitor said happily. “I have been expecting you! Well done restoring the monitoring stations to working order!”

“Uh, thanks,” Adam replied.

“The data that they have been sending has already revealed much!” it said, still cheerful. “In fact, I have identified what the strange force that restored balance to the solar system is!”

“Really?” Adam asked. “What is it?” The monitor hovered back over to the hologram in the center of the room, and it zoomed out quite a bit. Then, a field extended from each side of Equis, soon encompassing the whole system.

“Due to the presence of a yet-unidentified element in the planetary core, a strange field is being emanated outwards, surrounding the solar system,” said Chorus. “It would appear that this field is heavy with the presence of exotic particles, and it seems that the inhabitants of this world, these ‘ponies’, possess the ability to manipulate it.”

“So that’s their ‘magic’ then,” Adam noted.

“’Magic’?” the monitor asked. “Interesting…” The hologram then zoomed back in to its normal image of the sun orbiting around Equis.

“Right,” Adam said. “Now, as I recall, you said that if I helped you, you would send me home.” At this, the monitor quickly spun around to face Adam, almost looking surprised. It then flew very close to the Spartan.

“Send you home!?” Chorus yelled, surprised. “Why, you have not yet expended your usefulness! The ability of these ponies to alter the world around them is a clear threat to the Forerunners! They must be eliminated!” Adam stared at the monitor, a mix of emotions beginning to flood him: surprise, confusion… anger. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. This monitor had been stuck in these ruins, totally cut off from the outside world, for thousands of years. The truth became clear to Adam: 401 Lamenting Chorus was rampant.

“What do you mean!?” Adam asked. “The Forerunners are gone! They’re dead! All of them!” The monitor froze for a moment, before the large green photoreceptor briefly blinked red.

“Impossible!” it shouted. “The Forerunners cannot be destroyed! And it is my duty to keep it that way!” Adam looked down at his motion tracker, noticing that several yellow blips were converging on him. He looked around, and saw multiple sentinels closing in, the red lights of their beam weapons glowing brightly.

“They’re gone!” Adam repeated. “Now send me home!” The sentinels continued to move forwards, coming closer to the Spartan. He reached for his hip to equip his magnum, only to find that it was not there. He had left it cast aside after his battle with the griffon, and even if he did still have it, he did not have enough ammo to take on every sentinel in these ruins.

“Very well!” the monitor replied. “If you will not cooperate, I will find somebody else who will!” It then looked to the sentinels. “Deal with him.” The monitor was then surrounded in a bright yellow cylinder, and when it faded, it was gone. The sentinels stopped moving, and began to charge their beam weapons. Adam was intent on not letting them kill him, so he quickly sprang into action. Jumping up, he grabbed onto the underside of one of the sentinels, and began punching it with all his might. Finally, the weight was too much, and the sentinel crashed to the ground. The other sentinels began to fire at where Adam landed, but he dodged out of the way, running to the incapacitated sentinel. He spotted the beam weapon still attached to the automaton, and quickly he bent down and ripped it off, still running from the fire of the other sentinels. After a quick look at the weapon, Adam found a small switch on the top. Assuming that this was the trigger, the Spartan aimed it at the closest sentinel, and pressed it. A bright orange beam shot out and impacted on the sentinel, cutting right through the Forerunner metal and causing it to crash to the ground. While still dodging the fire of the other sentinels, Adam continued to shoot the beam, destroying several more. All the while he worked his way back to the entrance of the room, and finally when he reached it, he hit a holographic button and the door slid open. Floating beyond it were several more sentinels, who fired their beams at him. A few landed on his shields, draining them rapidly, but most shots missed and burned long lines into the ground. Adam fired at them as they got in his way, destroying several more, before he quickly made it to the other door, and opened it.

Adam continued running through the ruins, destroying any sentinels that got in his way. Finally he made it back to the exit into the other ruins, and he took off at a sprint down the long hallways. As he neared the exit he could hear the sound of sentinel beams and screaming from outside. Oh no, Adam thought. As he exited the ruins, he saw multiple sentinels flying around, slaughtering the pony soldiers who were stationed there. A few tried fighting back, but their arrows and spears were no match for the armored machines. The only effective weapon that the ponies had against them was magic, which a few unicorns were using to fire on the sentinels. However, the beams that the unicorns used were still not enough, and only slightly damaged them. Adam ran through the exterior of the ruins, continuing to fire his beam in an effort to save as many ponies as possible. However, after a few more minutes of firing, the beam stopped, only emitting smoke when he pressed the button. Adam threw the spent weapon onto the ground, and began running for where he had landed his pelican. It had fortunately remained untouched, as the sentinels seemed unconcerned with anything beyond the perimeter of the ruins. Adam quickly ran inside, along with several guards who saw him and decided that he was their best chance.

“What’s going on!?” one of them yelled as Adam strapped himself in.

“Strap in, I’ll explain on the way!” Adam replied. The several pony guards complied and strapped in, and Adam spun up the engines, then began flying for Canterlot.

Chapter 15

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CHAPTER 15

Captain Andrew Del Rio of the UNSC Infinity walked down the long, stark hallways of the UNSC High Command on Earth. Walking next to him was his second-in-command, Commander Thomas Lasky. They had both been called to the massive complex for an urgent meeting with Admiral Hood, for reasons that “they would be made aware of when they arrived”. Del Rio had never liked operating in the dark, and for that reason, he was not happy to be here. Del Rio spared a glance at his executive officer, and, as he expected, he seemed to be fairly indifferent. While Lasky would sometimes hesitate at an oddly given order, he always made sure to respect the chain of command. Finally they reached the end of the hallway, and exited into the room beyond. As was the theme with the rest of the base, it was fairly bland. The walls were a simple gray color, and occasionally a propaganda poster for the UNSC was hung on one. There were two chairs set against one of the walls, with a small table in front of them. Opposite the chairs was a large wooden door, with a marine stationed next to it. Above the door was a sign that read “ADMIRAL TERRENCE HOOD”. Del Rio and Lasky stepped up to the door, and the marine acknowledged their presence. He took a key out of his pocket, unlocked the door, and pushed it open for them. Del Rio quickly walked inside, while Lasky offered a polite nod to the marine. The door was closed behind them, sealing them into the large office room. Sitting in the middle of the room was a large desk with a computer terminal set into it. There was a large leather chair behind it, and two smaller chairs across from it. Several bookshelves lined the room, leading up to a window on the opposite side. Standing in front of this window was the well-respected Fleet Admiral, Lord Terrence Hood. He noticed the two officers enter, and turned around to regard them. Del Rio and Lasky each saluted, and stood at attention. Admiral Hood smiled and sat down at his desk, motioning at the two officers to do the same.

“At ease,” he said. “Please, sit.” Del Rio and Lasky took their seats, then looked to the Admiral.

“I’m sure you’re both wondering why you were asked here, so I’ll get right to it,” Hood began. “But first, you are to both solemnly swear that nothing you hear today will leave this room. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” the two officers answered at the same time.

“Good,” Hood continued. “Now let’s begin…” At that, Hood pulled out a small tablet, and began to type on it.

“One week ago, an ONI exploration team came across this distress signal,” the Admiral pressed a button on the tablet, and an audio recording began to play.

“I heard about the disappearance of Lightning,” Del Rio said. “But what does the reappearance have to do with us?”

“That’s not all that we got, Captain,” Admiral Hood replied. “As Spartan D-014 said, he uploaded a data packet to the signal. Take a look.” Hood passed the tablet across the desk to the two officers. On it were multiple files, so Del Rio pressed to open the very first one. It was nothing out of the ordinary, just some sensor data from Lightning before the crash. Del Rio scrolled to the next file, which was a picture of an expansive forest. Once again, nothing out of the ordinary. But the third file was where things began to get strange. It was another picture, but this one was of a small town. It was nothing special, it appeared to be similar to the middle-ages architecture of Earth. But Del Rio thought he saw the faint outlines of several horses… He scrolled to the next file, which was a short video. It appeared to be from the helmet cam of the Spartan, and he was looking into the forest from the second image at night. The Spartan then switched his HUD to VISR mode, and immediately a strange shape was outlined. It appeared to have the anatomy of a horse, but something was off… Then it clicked: the horse had wings and a horn. Del Rio, beginning to grow confused, scrolled on to the next file, and was immediately taken aback. Standing in the image were several of the horse-like creatures, all of them surrounding a crashed pelican dropship. Upon closer inspection, it looked like some of them were working on it. Del Rio, now not knowing what to think, swiped to the next file, this one being an audio recording. He pressed “play”, and a man’s voice filled the room.

“Alright,” he said. “So, is there anything you want to say to the UNSC?”

“Hi, humans!” said a loud, feminine voice. “My name is Twilight Sparkle! Delta crashed here a few days ago, and we’re helping fix his ship! We hope to meet you soon!” At this, Andrew simply looked up in shock. He was usually an emotionless man, but this had left him in utter surprise. He looked to his XO, who seemed to have the same reaction. Hood reached over the desk and took the tablet back.

“They’re called ‘ponies’,” he said. “Included in the data packet were several logs submitted by Spartan-D014. They cover him first arriving on this world, all the way to him establishing early friendships with the creatures…”

“So…” Del Rio began. “What you’re saying, is…”

“That we’ve made second contact, yes,” Hood finished.

“My god…” Lasky said quietly. He then looked up to the admiral. “What do you need of us, sir?”

“Well, Infinity is a multi-purpose vessel,” Hood explained. “Therefore, I’m sending her on a mission of diplomacy. It is critical that we make peaceful contact with these beings, and do everything in our power to establish a working alliance. Understood?” Del Rio gulped, running through the situation in his head.

“When… would we leave, sir?” he finally asked.

“Later today,” the admiral replied. “I’ve already gathered a team of our best diplomats. Also, how you inform your crew is up to your discretion. Once you arrive, you are to stay in geosynchronous orbit above the country of Equestria. You will launch one of your frigates to land on the surface, and dispatch the diplomacy party. Good luck.” Del Rio and Lasky then stood up, saluted, and spun around, heading for the exit. They opened the door, and stepped back out into the small waiting room. Immediately, Del Rio put his face into his hands, and sighed. He then looked to Lasky.

“Get to Infinity,” he commanded. “Inform the crew. I’ll be aboard shortly.”

“Aye sir,” Lasky replied, and he walked out of the room.

Adam quickly navigated the pelican around the city of Canterlot, not bothering with his usual caution of not being spotted. Time was of the essence, and he had to inform the princesses of the imminent threat. He flew the dropship over the palace gardens, and set down in his usual location. Quickly, he ripped off his harness and stalked out of the pelican. The guards that he had provided transport for were not far behind, and all of them wore expressions of worry. Adam pushed the large doors open, startling the two guards standing on the other side of them. The Spartan stopped in front of one of them, and looked down at him.

“Take me to the princesses,” he commanded. The guard gulped nervously and nodded, then turned and began walking down the hallway. Adam and the other guards followed behind, and they finally stopped at another large set of doors. The guard pushed it open, revealing a large room that appeared to serve the purpose of relaxation. Celestia, Luna, and Twilight sat on couches reading, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were hoof-wrestling, Fluttershy was entertaining some small animals in the corner, Rarity was drawing designs on a piece of parchment, and Pinkie Pie was eating a copious amount of cupcakes. They all looked up from their respective tasks as they heard the door open, and all shared the same look of surprise when they noticed Adam. Celestia and Luna stood up and walked over to the door, their brows creased in worry.

“Adam,” Celestia began. “We were not expecting you back so soon. What happened? And who are these guards with you?” Adam sighed and prepared his explanation.

“They’re… They’re soldiers from the ruins,” he explained. “They were attacked by 401 Lamenting Chorus and his sentinels.” All of the ponies’ eyes widened in shock, and Celestia looked to the guards behind the human.

“Come inside, then,” Celestia said. “Explain everything.” Adam walked forward and the door closed behind him. All of the ponies had gravitated towards the center of the room, where they sat down to listen to Adam. He sighed once more, then began.

“As you know,” Adam started. “I went back so that it could fulfill its end of the bargain. I went back to go home. But it seemed shocked at the prospect of getting rid of me. Apparently, I hadn’t yet ‘outlived my usefulness’. Listen…” At this, the ponies all leaned in.

“It’s learned how you are able to use magic. And it sees this as a threat to the Forerunners, and you all must be destroyed because of it…”

“But I thought the Forerunners went extinct a hundred thousand years ago?” Twilight said. “Doesn’t it know?”

“Apparently not,” Adam said. “I tried to tell it, but it wouldn’t listen. And I think I know the reason why.

“As you know, we have machines that we call ‘artificial intelligences’. They are incredibly smart, and show all the characteristics of being fully sentient. Unfortunately, this is ultimately their undoing. After about seven years, they begin to enter a process that we call ‘rampancy’, which is characterized by delusions of godlike abilities, and the want to destroy all mentally inferior beings. Eventually, they literally think themselves to death…” Many of the ponies seemed shocked by this, and several covered their mouths with their hooves.

“I believe that 401 Lamenting Chorus may be in one of the stages of rampancy. It is for this reason that it is not accepting the truth of his creator’s fates, and why it has decided that the only available option is to kill you off.” Luna looked to Adam, a look of worry in her blue eyes.

“What can we do, Adam?” she asked. “How much of a threat are these ‘sentinels’?”

“I’ve never fought sentinels in prolonged battle before,” Adam admitted. “The first time I ever even had a small amount of combat with them was today. But they are very powerful, and very difficult to kill. Your basic weapons, like swords and spears, do nothing against them. Magic does little, but it shows potential.” Luna nodded.

“And you?” Celestia asked.

“My weapons should be able to take them out,” he replied. Adam then sighed.

“Look… I’m sorry,” he told them. “It’s my fault you’re all in this mess right now. If I’d have just stayed here, that monitor wouldn’t be after you…” Luna stepped forward and placed a hoof on the Spartan’s shoulder.

“You could not have known,” she said, smiling. “And you are going to help us through this. For that, we are thankful.” Adam nodded, and Celestia looked around the room.

“We should go to the planning room,” the princess said. “We can talk more there.” The other ponies nodded in agreement, turned around, and walked out of the room.

UNSC Infinity
INF-101
CURRENT LOCATION: SLIPSPACE
TIME: 1341 HOURS

Commander Thomas Lasky walked down the long white hallways of the UNSC Infinity, on his way to the bridge to meet up with Captain Del Rio. They had dropped into slipspace two hours ago on their way to Equis, and with a Forerunner slipspace drive, they would arrive in only 34 more hours. Finally he reached the thick bulkhead door, and tapped his access code into the panel on the side. The door slid open, revealing the massive bridge of the cruiser. Unlike most UNSC bridges, Infinity had a massive one, holding dozens of crew members and technicians. In the center of the large command room was a holotable, with the hologram of a planet on it. Standing next to the table was Captain Del Rio, his face clearly showing his feelings about the situation. His brow was furrowed and his eyebrows were close together. His eyes were closed, indicating to Lasky that he was deep in concentration. As Lasky had predicted, the Captain was very skeptical about this mission. Even with the large amount of intel provided by Spartan D-014, it was still not a run-of-the-mill operation. They would be initiating second contact with the first race of peaceful aliens that they had found. With any luck, it would go off without a hitch.

Lasky stepped up next to the Captain at the holotable, and looked at the hologram of the planet, which he recognized as Equis. Several days prior, an ONI prowler had sent a slipspace probe to investigate, and it had captured several images, as well as collected a large amount of data on the system. Civilization was hard to locate on the planet, due to the ponies being a much more primitive race. However, it was occasionally possible to identify points of light coming from settlements. On the hologram in front of them, several points of light had been highlighted, and labelled as different cities based on the information provided by the Spartan. The capitol was one called “Canterlot”, which would be the most likely place to find the Spartan, and their leadership. Next to the capitol was a large plain, plenty large enough for one of Infinity’s Strident-Class Heavy Frigates. The Strident’s were not large vessels, and one could easily land with room to spare. From there, they would take several pelicans to the capitol, and begin diplomatic talks with the pony leadership. Lasky looked at Captain Del Rio, who was still in his trancelike state of concentration.

“Do you think we’re ready?” Lasky asked. The Captain snapped out of his reverie, and looked to the executive officer.

“Yes, I do,” Del Rio replied. “We have a fine crew here, and the best diplomats in the UNSC at our disposal. No, I think this is going to be a very simple mission…”

Adam regarded the map of Equestria that lay on the table before him, looking for tactical opportunities that could be used to their advantage. An hour after he and the ponies had migrated to the planning room, the princesses had received word that the griffons were mobilizing again, though this time on a much larger scale. They had no evidence that pointed to Adam working with Equestria, so they couldn’t be attacking them based on his assaults on their ruins. Therefore, Adam deduced that when 401 Lamenting Chorus had said he would “find somebody else to cooperate”, he had meant the griffons. And while Adam did not consider them to be much of a threat, Princess Celestia did. They had a much larger military, and were overall better warriors than her ponies. Therefore, Adam had offered to supply them with basic training that could help them fight off the large creatures.

She had graciously accepted, and he would be meeting up with the pony trainers the next day. But for now, he needed to continue helping her to plan out the defense of the nation. The few frontier settlements closest to the Gryphonia border were being evacuated, and their populations were replaced by a garrison of guards. She had also granted Adam permission to briefly leave again for Lightning, to resupply his ammunition and retrieve some more weapons. But for now, Adam continued to scrutinize the map. At one point, about a mile from the border, there was a natural formation in the rocks next to a road that would be perfect for an ambush. Adam pointed to it.

“What road is that?” he asked.

“That road was used as a trade route when we were on better terms with the griffons,” Celestia explained. “We’ve since instructed all traders not to use it.”

“Trade route… that means it’s large enough to support heavy cargo?” Adam asked. Celestia nodded. “Then it can also be used to transport war machines…” Celestia and Luna’s eyes widened at this as they made the realization.

“I’d recommend setting up an ambush by these rocks,” said the Spartan. “If the ambush is successful, the soldiers can then block off the road and slow down the progress of transporting anything else.” Celestia nodded.

“It shall be done,” she said. Adam stepped away from the map, and closed his eyes. When they reopened, Luna was standing in front of him.

“Adam, you should get some rest,” she said, concerned. “You have been very busy lately, and it could do you some good.” Adam was about to refuse, when he realized she was right. He had been awake for an entire week during his assault on the griffon-occupied ruins, and the only time he hadn’t been conscious was due to an injury. He didn’t like to admit it, but he was exhausted. So he nodded in agreement, and began to walk to the door of the planning room.

“Notify me if anything happens,” he said briefly before exiting the room.

Princess Luna watched the large human exit the room, feeling quite sorry for him. He had been promised the opportunity to return home, but it was taken from him, and replaced with just another problem. She wandered back over to the map, and looked at the various markings that Adam had made on it. There were multiple notes of good tactical opportunities, as well as several drawings of engagement or ambush plans. She picked up the map with her magic, and rolled it up, storing it on another table until they could make use of it. Luna then sat down, and stretched her wings. She heard her sister yawn, and looked over to her.

“Sister, you should rest as well,” Luna said, smiling. “I shall take charge for the night.” Celestia yawned again, but nodded.

“Very well,” she replied. “But, as Adam said, notify me if anything happens.” Luna nodded, and saw her sister to the door.

“Good night, Tia,” the night princess said. Celestia smiled, yawned once more, and then walked down the long hallway. Once she was out of sight, Luna sighed and exited the room as well, and began to head for her observation tower. Once there, she looked up at the dark expanses of the galaxy, hoping to catch a glimpse of Adam’s friends. When she did not detect anything, she sighed in sorrow, and entered the dreamscape.

Adam bolted down a long corridor, a pack of spiker-wielding brutes chasing close behind him. Occasionally, one of the deadly projectiles would whiz past his head, and impale itself into the end of the hallway. Every few moments, Adam would turn his silenced SMG around and fire behind him, hoping to hit one of the brutes. It had only worked once so far, which lessened the number of brutes chasing him from four to three. Three brutes was still more than anybody wanted chasing them, so Adam continued to fire. Finally he reached the end of the hallway, and the door slid open for him. It opened out into the burning streets of New Mombasa, which were being glassed by a newly arrived Covenant fleet. The superhot beams of plasma fired from the underbellies of the massive battlecruisers, burning permanent scars into the Earth, and turning the surrounding areas into plains of glass. Adam dodged around the burning chassis of cars, the brutes still following him in their never-ending chase.

The then-ODST was distracted from his evasion when something large whizzed past him. It was too large to be a brute spiker projectile, but too small to be one of the green drone creatures. It spun around, and Adam was surprised to see a sentinel staring right back at him. Several more came out of nowhere and formed up next to the first one, all of them converging on Adam. He turned around to look at his pursuers, and found that they were no longer brutes, but were rather crossbow-wielding griffons. Adam raised his SMG, but found that the clip was dry. He felt around his pouches for more ammo, but found none. The griffons and sentinels began converging on him, and he felt himself being picked up from behind. He was spun around, and was staring face-to-face with one of the griffons. He blinked quickly, and when his eyes reopened, the landscape had changed from the massive metropolis to the grandiose architecture of Canterlot. The one thing that had not changed, however, was the burning. That, and the smell. The smell of dead bodies permeated the air, and Adam noticed several pony corpses lying around the city. To his horror, six of them were Twilight and her friends. The griffon then threw him down, onto his back, and a sentinel flew overhead. It pointed its beam weapon down at him, before there was a bright flash of light, and very briefly Adam saw the face of Princess Luna. Then there was nothing.

Adam jolted up in his bed, sweat covering his face and dripping down his nose. He sat up, and cupped his head in his hands. And, just as he did a little over a week before, he felt another presence staring at him.

“Well that was… different… than your previous ones,” Princess Luna said from the corner. She once again stepped forward, and stood next to him at the edge of his bed. Adam paused for a moment.

“I’ve had that dream before,” he said, drawing a confused stare from Luna. “I mean the original, where the brutes catch up to me and they kill me… But this…” He then paused, choosing his words wisely.

“I couldn’t save them,” he finally said. “My fellow soldiers, the few civilians who were left in the city… I couldn’t save them.” Luna wrapped her large wing around the Spartan as best she could.

“Adam, you did what you could,” she said, smiling. “And you lived to fight another day. No matter how you feel, you still contributed to the downfall of the Covenant.” Adam smiled.

“And you shall contribute to saving Equestria as well, I know it,” she added. Luna then stood up, and walked to the edge of the room.

“I shall leave you to continue sleeping,” she said. “Good night, Adam.”

“Good night,” Adam replied before the princess teleported out. He then lay back in his bed, closed his eyes, and resumed his sleep.

Adam walked quickly down the hallway of the Canterlot palace, both princesses on either side of him. Today he was planning on leaving for the wreckage of Lightning, to restock on supplies and grab some extra gear. All in all, he expected the trip to take no longer than five hours, but that was still five hours that Equestria would be without his tactical expertise. Should the griffons choose to attack while he was away, they could take heavy losses.

“Please, Adam, you won’t feel a thing!” Luna pleaded.

“I said already, no!” Adam replied, growing annoyed. The two princesses had been trying to convince him to let them teleport him to Lightning, to make his trip much quicker. He still didn’t like the prospect of being dematerialized, and then sent hundreds of thousands of miles away before being rematerialized, so for that reason he was continuing to refuse. Finally they exited the palace and entered the gardens, and Adam boarded his pelican.

“Well then at least hurry back,” Celestia said, her annoyance showing. Adam nodded and entered the cockpit, then strapped himself in, and took off for the moon.

Commander Lasky watched a screen on the Infinity’s bridge, watching the slipspace timer continue to go down. It had just recently hit the 15 hour mark, meaning that their trip was more than halfway complete. The crew had begun to prepare a frigate, the Perseus, to escort the diplomats down to the surface. The Commander had been assured that it would be ready the second that they exited slipspace. With nothing to do at the moment, Lasky’s mind began to wander to the situation on Equis. Spartans were usually respectable, reliable soldiers. This meant that, most likely, he had initiated peaceful contact. Of course, no Spartan was without at least a few flaws. Lasky could only hope that their diplomatic mission wouldn’t turn into an evac one. He turned around and looked out of the main viewport at the strange view of slipspace in front of them. He had always found the view oddly relaxing. The way that the colors blended soothed him, and helped to take his mind off things. Unfortunately, it seemed that the view was not having its calming effect today. This mission was too important, and he had to focus.

“Commander?” said a voice from behind him. He turned, and saw a young crewman standing by the holotable.

“Yes?” Lasky replied.

“The captain needs you in his ready room, sir,” the crewman said. Lasky nodded and exited the bridge, walking back down the hallway. He stopped halfway down and turned to face the door to Del Rio’s ready room. He pressed the buzzer, and then stood back.

“Come in!” Del Rio yelled from inside. Lasky opened the door and stepped in, taking in the sights around him. On a large screen across from the captain’s desk was an image of Equis, with various bits of information scrolling by. Del Rio sat at his desk, watching intently. Lasky stepped up to the desk.

“You requested my presence, sir?” he said.

“Yes, commander,” the captain replied. “I called you here to inform you that I would like you to personally take command of Perseus, and go down to Equestria.” Lasky paused, thinking the situation over.

“If I may, sir… Why me?” Lasky asked, confused.

“Thomas,” Del Rio said, standing up. “We both know that you are better with other people than I am. I don’t want to compromise the situation, so I am entrusting the sanctity of this mission to you.” Lasky didn’t know what to say. The mission had already been overwhelming, and now he was going to lead it? He didn’t know if he could do it. But for the sake of humanity, he would try.

“Thank you, sir,” Lasky said, saluting. Del Rio nodded.

“Dismissed, Commander,” he said. Lasky turned on his heels and walked out of the room, heading back to the bridge.

Adam wandered through Lightning’s sizeable armory, stuffing several duffle bags full of ammo and weapons. So far he had four bags, three of which contained rounds for assault rifles, battle rifles, SMG’s, and magnums, with the last one holding more weapons for him to choose from. He also had grabbed a rocket launcher and picked up several extra rockets for it, just in case. Adam zipped up the last duffle bag, and put it over his shoulder. The combined weight of all of the equipment weighed him down quite a bit, but he was still able to carry it back to the pelican with no problem. He dropped them in the back compartment, then checked his chrono. The trip to Lightning had taken longer than Adam anticipated, for the IFF signal was growing weaker by the day. Whereas on the first trip he had found it after a few scans, this time he had had to fly around the moon quite a bit before he picked it up. This had set him back about two hours, so he hoped that nothing was going wrong in Equestria yet. Adam closed the back hatch of the pelican and entered the cockpit, strapping himself in. The engines spun up, and he exited the hangar, flying back towards Equis. As he flew, Celestia’s sun began to crest the horizon, shining light down upon the land below him. Equis’s current position did not show him the large supercontinent, but rather showed him the pale blue ocean that reminded him very much of Earth. Dotting the ocean were a few small islands, and Adam briefly wondered if they harbored any more kinds of life. Equis had already shown itself to hold many different types of creatures, who, until recently, had all been living in harmony together. And now, because of his intervention, a war was starting. Based on how the griffons had been behaving even before his arrival, war seemed inevitable. But because he had acted rashly, and had attacked their ruins, now 401 Lamenting Chorus was employing their help to destroy the ponies. No matter what the princesses told him, he knew it was his fault. And now it was his task – no, his duty – to help them get through it, no matter the cost…

Chapter 16

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CHAPTER 16

Adam maneuvered his pelican dropship through the thick cloud layer of Equis, thinking through his current situation. Though he could not see through the front window, his navigational computer assured him that he was aimed right for Canterlot, and would be upon it in five minutes. At least, he hoped that he would return to the Canterlot he remembered. The Spartan’s trip to Lightning had taken him a few hours longer than he had originally intended, which was plenty of time for the griffon forces to attack the city, with help from 401 Lamenting Chorus. Adam wondered briefly what he was going to do with the monitor. Assuming he received UNSC reinforcements soon, the griffons would be the least of his problems. But the Forerunner device was crafty, smart, and totally insane. If the griffons were defeated, Chorus would just find someone else to help it. This would only end with the destruction of those ruins, and the monitor along with them.

Finally, the small dropship cleared the cloud layer, and Adam was relieved to see that Canterlot was still intact. He landed in his usual spot in the palace gardens, and approached the door to the palace. The guard standing outside let him in, and a second guard inside motioned for the Spartan to follow. They stopped at the door to the planning room, and Adam walked inside. Standing around the map table were Princesses Celestia and Luna, and Twilight’s brother, Shining Armor. They all regarded the map, concentrating on one particular section. As Adam drew closer, he recognized it as the trade route he had pointed out as an ambush point. He noticed that, behind the rocks, several blue flags had been placed. Adam approached the table, and the three ponies looked up to him.

“Adam, it is nice of you to join us!” Celestia said, smiling.

“What’s the situation?” Adam asked. At this, Shining stepped forwards.

“As you suggested, we sent a group of soldiers to these rocks,” the guard captain began. “Scouts reported that they saw heavy war machinery, including siege towers and battering rams, being pulled from several miles away. It seems you were right, human.” Adam nodded.

“Have the griffons reached the ambush point yet?” he asked. Shining checked a clock on the wall.

“We got the report several hours ago,” he replied. “By now, the griffons should have gotten there and the ambush should be underway…”

“So all we can do is hope that they’re successful,” Adam finished.

“But for now,” Luna said, stepping forwards. “I believe that you offered to help give our instructors some pointers?”

“Of course,” Adam said. “Are they ready?”

“I believe so, I shall take you to them,” the princess replied. She then turned and began walked out of the room, Adam following closely behind. They walked in silence through the massive palace, and finally came out into a large courtyard. It was filled with many pieces of training equipment, from practice dummies to obstacle courses to fighting rings, with each piece being used by a recruit. Three well-equipped ponies, who Adam assumed were the trainers, stood in the center, watching everything. Luna led Adam up to the three soldiers, who saluted at her presence.

“At ease,” she said. They relaxed, then looked to the large human standing in front of them. Luna motioned towards him.

“This is Adam, the human I was telling you about,” she continued. “He shall give you advice and some training that you shall pass on to your recruits. Understood?” The three ponies nodded, and saluted again. Luna nodded, then looked to Adam.

“I shall return in a few hours. Good luck.” Luna then turned, and left the training ground. As soon as she was out of sight, the three instructors began sizing up the Spartan. Adam did the same, though his gaze was hidden behind the reflective gold visor.

“So you’re the human that’s been the buzz of the palace lately?” one of them said. This got Adam thinking. He knew that he was a common sight around the palace, but other than that, he had not gone out in public at all.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Adam said. “Just how much of Equestria is aware of my existence?”

“Very little,” the second one said. “Outside of the palace, any information about you is kept hush-hush. Princesses don’t want to cause a panic, is all.” Adam nodded in understanding.

“So, shall we begin then?” he asked.

“Of course,” the third trainer said. “Let’s get started.”

Princess Celestia sat in the planning room of her palace, anxiously awaiting the arrival of news from the ambush. Thirty minutes ago, only a few minutes after Luna had left with Adam, a Pegasus had been spotted flying from the direction of the trade route. Celestia quietly hoped to herself that the news he bore was good. After a few more long minutes of waiting, the door burst open, and an exhausted Pegasus entered, flanked by two of the palace guards. Celestia stood up, and walked quickly to meet the soldier.

“What news do you bring?” she asked nervously. The Pegasus did not answer at first, instead he stood attempting to catch his breath. Finally though, he stood straight, and spoke.

“I have… good news… and bad news…” he said, still breathing heavily. Celestia frowned curiously, but nodded for the Pegasus to continue. “The good news is… we stopped the convoy… and destroyed the war machines…” Celestia smiled at this, but braced herself for the bad news. “The bad news is… we took heavy losses… and spotted even more griffons coming across the border…”

“What course of action have our ponies taken?” Celestia asked, anxious.

“The captain ordered all unicorns to levitate rocks and block off the road…” the Pegasus continued. “But when I left… the griffons were almost there…” Celestia frowned, and nodded.

“Well done, soldier,” she said. “Go, get food and rest. You have earned it…” The Pegasus saluted, then slowly walked out of the room. The door closed behind him, and Celestia sat down, sighing. While the initial ambush had been successful, it was very likely that she had just lost many good soldiers. These were not the first lives taken by the griffons, and they very likely were not the last. The princess decided that she needed a break, so she stood up, and began walking to her lounge.

UNSC Infinity
INF-101
CURRENT LOCATION: SLIPSPACE
TIME: 1708 HOURS

Commander Thomas Lasky watched the slipspace countdown clock as it grew ever closer to zero. Currently, the timer read that only 15 minutes remained in their journey. Lasky silently thanked the Forerunner engines and slipspace drive that had been implemented into Infinity. Without them, their journey would have taken weeks, if not longer.

“Lieutenant James, how are we doing?” Lasky asked.

“Just fine, sir,” the helmsman said. “As you requested, slipspace exit has been altered to bring us out a few thousand kilometers from where Lightning exited. Although I’m not entirely sure it’s necessary, sir.”

“You can never be too careful, Lieutenant,” Lasky replied. “Good work.” James nodded in thanks, then looked back to his computer. The commander then continued looking out at the view of slipspace for several more minutes, until he heard an alarm ring out from behind him.

“Alert!” said Aine, the ship’s AI. “Slipspace exit in 10 minutes. Crew of Perseus, report to your stations. Waking all non-essential personnel from cryosleep.” The alarm cut off, and crewmembers began rushing around the bridge, making their final checks that everything was okay. Lasky took one more look out of the window, before he walked to the holotable and began making his own preparations.

“And that’s pretty much all there is to it,” Adam said to the three pony instructors, having just finished explaining basic use of cover, and movement from cover-to-cover. Like the human armies of old, the ponies relied on large ranks of soldiers and firing lines to fight their battles. Historically this had proved to be costly, and modern-day guerilla warfare seemed to work much better. The pony instructors seemed to agree, as each had retrieved a piece of parchment to write down notes on.

“Very nice…” one of the instructors said. “What shall we cover-.” The instructor was interrupted as Princess Luna quickly walked into the courtyard, and approached Adam.

“What’s the matter?” Adam asked.

“Your ship,” she replied. “It’s… talking.”

Adam quickly ran outside into the palace gardens and approached his pelican dropship. It was surrounded by several guards, all of them staring at it quizzically. As he got nearer, Adam began to hear a voice coming from within. It was distorted, however, and seemed to cut out every few seconds. Recognizing it as his radio, the Spartan ran inside and approached the console, followed closely by Luna. As he entered the cockpit, the voice became clearer.

“This is –NSC Infi---- any UN-C per—nnel please –espond, over.” The message then began to repeat. Adam pressed several buttons on the console, attempting to clear up the transmission. Finally he stood back, and let it play again.

“This is UNSC Infinity, any UNSC personnel please respond, over.” Again, the message began to repeat.

“Infinity?” Adam asked himself. “They sent her all the way out here?” Luna leaned in closely.

“What is ‘Infinity’?” Luna asked.

“One of our ships,” Adam said. “She’s massive. The largest ship in the UNSC fleet.”

“How big?” the princess asked.

“If memory serves… about six kilometers,” the Spartan replied. Luna’s eyes widened in shock at this. “I served on her for a couple of weeks last year. Why would they send her all the way out here…?” The message repeated again, and Adam pressed down the button to reply.

“This is Spartan Delta-zero-one-four, I read you, over,” he said into the microphone. There was a short pause, before the original message repeated once more. Again, Adam replied, but the message continued to repeat.

“Communications must have been damaged when Lightning crashed…” Adam said. “I can receive messages, I just can’t send them out…”

“Are you going to fly up there?” Luna asked.

“No…” Adam replied. “No, I think they’re going to be coming to me.”

Commander Lasky quickly walked onto the bridge of Perseus, which was still docked in Infinity’s ventral bay. The bridge crew were all at their stations, checking over the systems.

“Are we ready?” Lasky asked, sitting down in the captain’s chair. The helmsman turned and nodded.

“Yes sir!” he reported. Lasky nodded.

“Good,” he said, then pressed the communications button on his chair.

“Infinity, are we clear for drop, over?” he asked. There was a brief pause, then he heard the voice of Captain Del Rio.

“Perseus… you have a go,” he said. “Good luck.”

“Copy that,” Lasky said. He looked to the helmsman. “Initiate drop sequence.”

“Initiating,” the helmsman replied. He pressed several buttons on his console, then Lasky heard the sound of the massive magnetized arm disengaging from the side of the frigate. The ship dropped out of the ventral bay, and Lasky got an excellent view of Equis as it rapidly began growing larger.

“All crew, prepare for atmospheric entry,” Lasky said through the ship-wide intercom. Through the main viewport, Lasky began to see flames lick the outer hull as it heated up. This only lasted a few seconds as Perseus flew quickly through the upper atmosphere, and entered the cloud layer. When they exited, the bridge crew were all granted a view of the Equestrian countryside. About two dozen kilometers ahead of them lay a large mountain range, and though he could not see it, Lasky knew that Canterlot rested upon one of them.

“When will they be arriving?” Princess Celestia asked anxiously as she and Adam hastily walked to the palace gardens.

“It’ll be any minute now,” Adam replied, constantly checking his suit’s scanners for new IFF signals. They turned a corner and came to the door to the gardens, which was flanked by two guards. Before Adam could open it, Celestia stuck her hoof out in front of him.

“Adam, listen…” she said. “I have not yet informed the general population of your, or of humanity’s, existence. I fear that the very sudden arrival of your people may be a cause of concern.”

“I understand, ma’am,” he said. “We’ll do our best not to incite any fear, but I cannot promise you anything. You must be ready.” Celestia made to reply, but they were cut off as a dull rumbling noise began to fill their ears. Adam opened the door and they stepped out into the gardens, then quickly ran to the balcony on the far end. It overlooked the plains bordering Canterlot, and allowed a very clear view to most of eastern Equestria. Off in the distance, a light gray dot began to grow closer and closer to the city, coming in from the south. As it drew nearer, Adam was able to make out some details, and immediately he knew what it was. It was a Strident-class heavy frigate, and it was heading straight for Canterlot. Only about ten kilometers from the mountainside city, the ship began to slow, until it came into a resting position hovering about a dozen meters above the plains. Adam saw the hangar doors open, and three pelican dropships flew out. They began to angle upwards, heading for the capital city. They seemed to be able to detect Adam’s pelican, for they seemed to be heading straight for him. His suspicions were confirmed when the three pelicans came into a hovering position directly in front of the Spartan and the princess. The center pelican rotated around and backed up, lowering its ramp over the balcony railing. Out of the troop bay stepped four Spartan-IV’s, assault rifles held at the ready. They circled around Adam and Celestia, surveying the area. Once they deemed it safe, one of the Spartans nodded back to the pelican, and a fifth figure stepped out. He was shorter than Adam, with close-cut brown hair and a gray officer’s uniform. The bars on his shoulders indicated that he was a commander. Adam instinctively stood at attention and saluted. The officer seemed amused as he approached the Spartan.

“You must be Spartan Delta-oh-one-four,” he said. “At ease, Spartan.” He then held out his hand. “I’m Commander Thomas Lasky, UNSC Infinity.” Adam reached out and clasped his hand into Lasky’s, and they shook. When the broke apart, Lasky walked over to Princess Celestia, who stared back at him quizzically.

“And you must be… Princess Celestia,” he said to her, smiling. He then held out his hand to her. “Thomas Lasky, pleasure to meet you.” Celestia stared cautiously at the outstretched hand, before she extended her hoof. Celestia then smiled, and excitedly shook his hand.

“Greetings, Commander Lasky,” she said. “Please, come inside. I’m sure we have much to talk about.”

“That we do, ma’am,” Lasky said, smiling. He turned to face the three pelicans, and spun his finger around in a circle. The first pelican closed its hatch, and followed the second pelican in circles around the palace. The third pelican then opened its hatch, and two UNSC diplomats stepped out, taking in their surroundings with awestruck expressions. Once they were out, the third pelican hovered away, and joined the other two in securing the perimeter. The diplomats approached Commander Lasky, and the four humans followed the alicorn princess inside.

Adam and the new human arrivals were lead through the maze of a palace by Princess Celestia, until finally they came to a large door flanked by two unicorn guards. At the sight of the princess, the guards opened the door with their telekinesis, a sight which Commander Lasky and the diplomats found very curious. They walked into the room beyond, which was a large circular chamber with a round table in the center. Two large thrones sat at one end, while smaller chairs intended for ponies surrounded the rest of the table. Celestia walked to one of the thrones, and sat.

“I apologize about the seating,” she said. “We were not expecting you so soon.”

“It’s perfectly fine, your highness,” Commander Lasky said, sitting down in one of the chairs.

“Please, you need not call me that,” Celestia said. “Just ‘Celestia’ will do fine, or ‘princess’ if you choose.”

“Very well princess,” Lasky replied. The two diplomats took seats on one side of Lasky, and Adam took his seat on the other side.

“Well,” the commander began. “Based on how we have been treated so far, I assume that the Spartan here has been respectful?”

“Adam has been a pleasure to have, Commander Lasky,” Celestia replied. “And while our first meeting may not have been the most pleasant, our friendship has certainly grown.”

“I didn’t screw things up that badly, sir,” Adam said to the commander, bringing a laugh out of him.

“Indeed, Adam…” he said. “Well, as you no doubt have guessed, we are here on a mission of peace and friendship. Allow me to introduce Mr. Richard Collins, and Mr. Allen Daniels.” Lasky pointed to each of the diplomats as he said their names, and they each offered a polite nod to the princess.

“It is a pleasure to meet you both,” Celestia said.

“And you as well, princess,” Collins said. “We have been very excited to begin talks with you.”

“And I with you,” the princess replied. “Shall we begin?”

“Of course,” Daniels said. “Now, just give us a moment…” Daniels reached into his pocket and withdrew a small tablet, and turned it on.

“I apologize if we are interrupted at all during these proceedings,” Celestia said. “There is a… situation… developing, and I must be kept apprised.”

“Situation? What situation?” Lasky asked, his brow furrowing in worry. Celestia looked to Adam, then back at Lasky.

“We are not the only intelligent species on Equis, Commander,” she said. This seemed to surprise the three newcomers, as their eyes widened. “Recently, one species, the griffons, began mobilizing their army towards us. Adam has been helping us to prepare.”

“Understood…” Lasky replied, his tone masking his worry. “Shall we continue, then?”

“Of course,” Celestia replied. “Let us-,” They were interrupted once more as the doors to the meeting chamber opened, and Princess Luna entered.

“I apologize for my tardiness,” she said, and took a seat next to her sister.

“Welcome, sister,” Princess Celestia said. She then looked to Lasky and the diplomats. “Please allow me to introduce my sister, Princess Luna.” Luna nodded politely at the humans.

“Hello,” she said. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“And you, ma’am,” Commander Lasky replied.

“Now perhaps we can begin,” Celestia said.

“Very well,” said Mr. Collins. “We would like to begin with declaration of friendship…”

The proceedings continued over the course of the next two hours. Periodically, a pony guard would enter the room and whisper an update into Princess Celestia’s ear. After he left, the meeting would continue as though nothing had happened. Neither the humans nor the ponies wanted to let the threat of war interrupt this mission. When the two parties finally broke to take a break, they had already made much progress. They had first detailed a trade agreement; initial scans of Equis showed incredibly high deposits of titanium, a metal used heavily in UNSC starships, which had been virtually untouched. In return for permission to set up mining posts, the UNSC promised various medicines, as well as knowledge to help advance pony culture. They had then gone over a defensive pact, where the UNSC would offer protection to all races on Equis who wanted it.

As the Princesses began walking with the humans out of the meeting chamber, the door burst open, and a guard urgently ran inside, approaching the princesses. When he was a foot away, he bowed, then looked up to them.

“Your highnesses,” he began. “Several of the ancient machines that attacked our guards at the ruins have been spotted flying towards the city.” Celestia, Luna, and Adam all stared at the guard with worried expressions.

“How many?” Celestia asked anxiously.

“Only five, your highness,” the guard replied. “But they are moving quickly. They will be upon us shortly.” Celestia and Luna then ran out of the meeting room, the humans following closely behind. Adam recognized the path that they were taking as the one that lead to the gardens. They reached the large doors and flung them open, then slowed to a trot and approached the balcony. Adam, Lasky, Collins, and Daniels walked up behind them, and in the distance, five silver dots could be seen moving quickly towards the city. Only a few moments later they arrived at Canterlot, and the five sentinels floated in front of the princesses. Guards quickly moved in and pointed their spears at the machines, who seemed not to mind. The center sentinel then began floating closer to Celestia, until it was only a meter from her face. There was a long, tense pause, before finally it spoke.

“Greetings.”

Chapter 17

View Online

CHAPTER 17

Captain Andrew Del Rio looked down at the planet below him from the bridge of Infinity, hoping that everything was going well. His second officer’s scheduled check-in wasn’t for another hour, and he hadn’t called up to say something was wrong, so the captain assumed that negotiations were going just fine. His train of thought was interrupted by a beeping coming from behind him, so he spun away from the large window and approached the holotable. On it, the golden avatar of Infinity’s AI, Aine, appeared.

“Sir, we are receiving a transmission from Earth,” she said. “The signal confirms that it is Admiral Hood.” Del Rio straightened his collar and wiped away the creases on his gray uniform.

“Patch him through, Aine,” he commanded. Her hologram disappeared, and was replaced by one of Admiral Hood. Immediately, Del Rio saluted.

“At ease, Captain,” Hood said. “How is your mission going?” The captain dropped his salute.

“My second officer is on the ground, pursuing negotiations now, sir,” Del Rio replied. “His scheduled check-in is in an hour.”

“Very good, Captain,” said the admiral. “Do you believe that negotiations are going well?”

“Commander Lasky has not radioed in for assistance, and our scanners are still showing that Perseus is untouched, sir,” he said. “I believe that everything is going perfectly fine.”

“Good… I will call back in a little over an hour. I expect to have a report from your second officer, Andrew,” Hood said.

“That shouldn’t be a problem, sir,” Del Rio replied.

“Good. Hood, out.” The hologram of Admiral Hood faded away, and Del Rio let out a sigh. He turned and walked back to the large window, and looked down on Equis. It would be dark on the ground soon, and hopefully, Lasky would report in. Del Rio didn’t know why he was so nervous. The Spartan had made peaceful contact, as was clear from his logs. There was no reason that they would not be greeted as friends. The captain took a deep breath, and turned away from the viewport, and began to walk to his ready room.

“Greetings,” the sentinel said in a flat, emotionless voice, taking everybody present by surprise. Adam regarded the machine cautiously, his hand resting on the magnum on his thigh, ready to spring into action. When nobody replied to the sentinel, it floated a bit closer.

“Greetings,” it said once more. Adam looked to Princess Celestia, who was staring at the sentinel, very confused. Finally she regained her composure, and looked to her guards. She motioned for them to lower their weapons, which they reluctantly did.

“Hello?” Celestia cautiously said to the Forerunner device.

“You are Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria,” it said.

“Yes, how can I help you?” she replied, still confused.

“We seek your council,” it said, motioning to the other four sentinels behind it. Celestia looked to Adam, confused.

“Adam, what do you suggest?” she asked him. Adam already knew that he could not trust the Forerunner machines, so his response was quick. He pulled out his magnum, and aimed it at the sentinel closest to the princess.

“I suggest we destroy them before they destroy us,” he said.

“We do not intend harm,” the sentinel said. “We seek your assistance.” This confused Adam and everybody else even further. The Spartan lowered his magnum, and stared at the machine.

“Assistance? With what?” he asked it.

“401 Lamenting Chorus has entered rampancy,” it began. “While most sentinel units still follow its orders, this unit, as well as several others, have broken off.”

“Will the others not come looking for you?” Luna asked, stepping forward.

“No,” it said. “We have separated ourselves from the main server, thus cutting ourselves off from being located or controlled by 401 Lamenting Chorus.” Celestia looked to the sun in the west, which was close to setting. She then looked to Luna.

“Sister, we must attend to our duties,” she said. She then looked to Lasky and Adam.

“Is there somewhere safe you could take this machine?” she said. “Somewhere we might… talk to it?” Adam looked at the princess, surprised.

“You can’t be serious, princess,” he said. “There is no way we can trust that thing!”

“I might have said the same about you several weeks ago, Adam,” she said. “Yet I gave you a second chance. Perhaps you might choose to do the same.” With that, Celestia and Luna turned and exited the gardens. Lasky stepped up to Adam.

“We can take it to the meeting room aboard Perseus,” he said. “I need to check in soon anyway. It’ll be fine.” Adam sighed, and nodded.

“Yes, sir,” the Spartan replied. “I’ll call in the pelican.”

“There’s what down there!?” Del Rio shouted vehemently through the holotable on Perseus.

“Forerunner sentinels, sir,” Lasky repeated. “And a monitor too, it seems.” Del Rio’s brow furrowed anxiously, and the captain turned his gaze to Adam, who was standing next to Commander Lasky.

“You were aware of this, Spartan?” he said quietly.

“Yes, sir,” Adam replied.

“And you neglected to report it in your logs?” Del Rio said, beginning to grow angry.

“At the time of recording those logs, I was unaware of the presence of Forerunners on this planet,” Adam said, remaining calm and collected.

“I do not care if you just learned about them today, Spartan,” the captain said. “I want to know what you intend to do about them!”

“Sir, I will do everything in my power to defeat the Forerunner machines, and keep this planet safe,” he replied. Del Rio sighed angrily.

“I must report this to the UNSC…” he finally said. “Del Rio, out.” The hologram of the captain faded away, and Adam and Lasky both stepped away from the table.

“Well he’s not in the best mood right now,” Lasky said. “Sorry about that, Adam.”

“It’s fine,” Adam replied. “What’s the plan?”

“The five sentinels are currently in the meeting room,” the commander said. “Princesses Celestia and Luna should be here any second. We can wait for them there.” Lasky turned and exited the bridge, followed closely by Adam. The meeting room was only a few doors down from the bridge, so getting there took no more than a few seconds. The door was guarded by two ODST’s, who saluted when Commander Lasky approached.

“At ease,” he said. “Open it.” One of the ODST’s stepped in front of the door, his battle rifle held at the ready. The second soldier stacked up next to the door, then pressed the button to open it. It slid open, revealing the five sentinels floating around one side of the long table. The ODST lowered his battle rifle, and stood aside, granting Adam and Lasky passage inside. The door closed behind them, and they both took seats at opposite ends of the table.

“Where is Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria?” the center sentinel said, looking at Lasky.

“She’s on her way,” he said.

“Understood,” the sentinel replied. Only a few seconds later, the intercom came on.

“Sir, the princesses have arrived,” a voice said from it.

“Understood,” Lasky replied. “Escort them up here.” A few minutes later, Princesses Celestia and Luna entered the meeting room. The door closed once again behind them, and they each took a rather uncomfortable seat across from the sentinels. Celestia looked around the room, her gaze finally settling on Commander Lasky.

“Commander, I am very impressed by your ship,” she said. “The technology is fascinating.”

“Thank you ma’am,” the commander replied, smiling. “Shall we begin?” Celestia nodded, and took on a stern look before she looked to the sentinels.

“So,” Celestia began. “Once again, how can we help you?”

“We request your assistance,” the center sentinel said, floating forward again.

“Our assistance with what, exactly?” Luna asked curiously.

“As this unit stated earlier, 401 Lamenting Chorus has entered rampancy,” it said. “This poses a threat not only to the inhabitants of this planet, but also to our continued existence, as well as the Forerunner’s legacy.”

“How does it pose a threat to us? What is it capable of?” Celestia asked.

“It has control over all Forerunner installations on this planet, as well as multiple sentinel units who cannot be destroyed by your primitive weaponry,” it replied. “It also has enlisted the aid of the species that call themselves ‘griffons’.”

“We are aware of the griffon threat,” Luna said. “We have already engaged them.”

“Then you know that 401 Lamenting Chorus is effective at convincing people to work for it,” the sentinel said. “And you know that it should not be underestimated.”

“What do you mean?” Celestia asked. “What is it planning?”

“As you already know, it wants to eradicate your species due to your natural ability to manipulate the ‘magic’ field around this planet,” the sentinel continued. “It is doing this because it believes you pose a threat to our creators, the Forerunners. It does not recognize that they are gone.”

“And you do?” Lasky asked, leaning on the table.

“Yes. We received a signal that the Halo installations had been activated one hundred thousand years ago,” it said. “However, by this time, 401 Lamenting Chorus was already beginning to go rampant. It ignored the signal, as did many of the sentinel units. Because it believes the creators are still alive, it will dedicate all of its processes to eliminating you. It will not stop until it is successful.”

“Then we have to eliminate it first,” said Adam.

“Yes,” the sentinel said, bobbing up and down in an attempt at nodding.

“How many of you are there?” Luna asked. “I mean, of the ones who no longer serve the monitor?”

“Of the 593 sentinel units currently active, 78 have broken from the main server,” it replied.

“78 friendly sentinels, that leaves us with… 515 hostile sentinels to deal with,” Lasky said. “Shouldn’t be too much trouble, with our help.”

“As was stated previously, do not underestimate 401 Lamenting Chorus,” the sentinel said. “After Adam Spartan D-014 successfully escaped the primary installation, it began to create upgrades. The sentinel units who still serve it are now equipped with personal energy shields, as well as power boosts to their beam weapons.”

“And we also have to deal with the griffons,” Celestia added. “They have a very large military, much larger than our own.”

“The griffons will not be difficult, based on human technology level,” it said. “401 Lamenting Chorus has not provided them with any upgrades. They are simply a means to an end. It did not anticipate further human assistance.”

“Then that gives us a small advantage over them,” Luna said. “How many humans are here, Commander Lasky?”

“Well, to keep this a bit of a more low-key mission,” Lasky began. “Infinity is running with minimal crew. While she normally holds 17,000 humans, we’re only operating with 500, and most of them are the technicians who keep the ship running…”

“Can we call for more reinforcements, sir?” Adam asked.

“We can, but Infinity has an upgraded slipspace drive,” Lasky replied. “Any standard UNSC ship could take weeks to get here.” Adam nodded.

“Then we need to begin fortifying,” he said, turning to Princess Celestia. “Princess, I’d recommend evacuating as many of your civilians as possible to Infinity. She has the space, and they’d be much safer up there.”

“I agree,” Celestia replied. “Is this alright with you, Commander?”

“It should be fine, though I’ll have to run it by the Captain,” Lasky said. “The real question though, is will your ponies want to leave?” Celestia looked down in thought.

“I hope so, Commander,” Celestia said, looking back up. “I have not yet revealed your existence to them, though the presence of one of your ships right next to our capital city should help with that.” Lasky looked around to everybody in the room, and nodded.

“Right, then,” he said. “We all have work to do. Sentinel, tomorrow I want you to get your allies and bring them outside of the ship. Princesses, at the same time, you should brief your citizens and prepare your military.” Both parties nodded, and began to exit the meeting room. Before the sentinels could leave, however, Lasky stopped them.

“Wait,” he said. “Is there anything we can call you other than ‘sentinel’?” The sentinel turned around and faced Lasky.

“We have no individual names, for we are all linked into a central server,” it said. “However, this is sentinel unit 84. You may refer to it by that.” Lasky nodded.

“84… Very well,” he replied. The sentinel then turned, and floated out of the room.

“Sister, are you ready?” Princess Luna asked a very nervous Princess Celestia. She was pacing back and forth in a small room behind the main throne room of the palace, sweat creasing her brow. When she heard Luna speak, she stopped and faced her.

“Yes,” she said, sighing. “Yes, I think I’m ready.” Celestia pushed the door to the throne room open with her magic, and saw the massive collection of ponies seated in front of the two thrones. Celestia and Luna took their seats, and looked to the waiting crowd. In the front row were several dozen reporters from newspapers all over Equestria. Behind them were citizens lucky enough to make it inside before the room was filled. Celestia cleared her voice, then spoke.

“My little ponies,” she began. “You are no doubt wondering what the large construct is that is hovering just next to our city.” This was met with several nods from the audience. “While I am sure that many of you have already guessed this, Equestria has been visited by aliens.” The sound of quills on parchment filled the room as reporters began to write down her every word.

“I assure you, they mean us no harm. They are in fact here to help us. Not long ago, we received word that the griffon army was mobilizing, and preparing to attack us. Just earlier today, we received confirmation, and the first battle began. We were successful in slowing them down, but they are still coming, and they still mean to do us harm.” Celestia slammed her hoof on the ground. “I will not allow this to happen. However, there is more to it. The griffons are being commanded by an ancient machine, who has remained unknown to us for thousands of years. It’s very purpose, it seems, is to wipe us from existence.” Many gasps were heard from the audience.

“But do not fear, my little ponies. For there is a light in the darkness. These aliens who have visited us, called humans, are here to help us. Many weeks ago, one of the humans crash landed here. He has been with us for almost all of this time, developing a friendship with us. And now that his friends have arrived, we have a chance to defeat the griffons, and secure our future.” Celestia nodded to a guard standing next to a side door. He saluted, and opened the door, revealing Commander Lasky. The ponies in the audience gasped as he walked out next to the princesses. When he was standing next to Celestia, he turned and faced the crowd.

“Hello,” he began. “My name is Commander Thomas Lasky, of the UNSC. It is a pleasure to meet all of you.” Lasky stepped forward, and began walking back and forth in front of the crowd.

“You face a terrible, and powerful enemy,” he continued. “Not long ago, humanity was in this very position, where we faced an insurmountable foe who wanted nothing but to see us wiped out. But we endured, and now, we will help you do the same. So cast aside your fears, and your doubts. Stand strong, and know that Equestria will survive!” The crowd burst into cheers, and began stomping their hooves on the ground. The journalists up front continued scribbling down on their parchment, their expressions ones of excitement. Lasky smiled, and walked back to his place next to the princesses.

“We will now answer questions about the current situation,” Luna said, trying to be heard over the loud cheering. The crowd quieted down, and dozens of hooves shot up. Luna pointed to one in the front row.

“Yes, you there,” Luna said. “What is your question?”

“You want to bring them aboard here!?” Del Rio yelled through the holotable on the bridge of Perseus. Adam sighed and looked down, before looking back up at the captain.

“Sir, they’d be much safer up there,” Adam said. “Besides, we have a lot of room! I mean, sure, it’s not enough for the entire population, but we could at least keep some safe.”

“I understand that, Spartan,” the captain said behind gritted teeth. “My problem is with having an alien race that we barely know inhabiting our most advanced starship! Do you realize the trouble that could come of this?”

“Sir, I’m sure that, if we explained to them the situation, maybe set a few rules, they’d listen!” Adam countered. “It’s our best option right now, sir.” Del Rio looked down and sighed.

“Give me some time to think about it,” he finally said. “I’ll be in touch. Del Rio, out.” The hologram faded away, and Adam stepped back from the table, sighing. He heard the sound of the door opening behind him, and turned to see Commander Lasky entering the room.

“Welcome back, sir,” Adam said. “I assume that your introduction went well?”

“Indeed it did, Adam,” Lasky replied. “How did it go with the Captain?” Adam sighed.

“It went okay…” he said. “Captain said he’d think it over…”

“I’m sure he’ll see the reasoning, Adam,” the commander said. “Listen, the sentinels are going to be here soon. We should get outside and get ready to deal with them.”

“Yes, sir,” Adam said. They both turned and exited the bridge, and entered the elevator. Lasky pressed the button for the hangar deck, and Adam felt a slight bump as the elevator began to descend. They were silent for the duration of the ride, and when the door opened, they both exited into the hangar. It was bustling with activity as marines and technicians prepared vehicles and loaded pelicans with heavy ordnance. The two walked over to the main hangar door where a ramp had been set up, and walked down to the grassy plains below the ship. Adam looked around, until he spotted dozens of silver dots flying in their direction.

“Look,” he said, pointing. “They’re coming.” Only a few moments later, 78 sentinels were surrounding Adam and Commander Lasky. One of the sentinels, who Adam assumed was unit 84, floated forwards and approached the commander.

“We have returned, as requested,” it said. “What do you require of us?”

“Based on intel gathered by pony scouts, as well as scanner data collected by Perseus, it seems that the griffons are mounting several major offenses,” Adam began. “They have split up into several very large groups that seem poised to attack several Equestria towns and cities. The largest group, however, seems to be preparing for an invasion of Canterlot.”

“This makes the most sense, tactically speaking,” 84 said.

“Agreed,” Adam continued. “Therefore, we are going to be splitting our forces. The soldiers that Infinity brought along will be helping to reinforce major cities along with large pony battle groups. The main force of the Equestrian army, as well as the Spartan-IV squad aboard Infinity, will be stationed at Canterlot, along with you all.”

“Would it not make more sense to split us up into small groups at each tactical location?” the sentinel asked.

“Normally yes, but the griffon army that will be marching upon Canterlot is also reinforced by the remaining 500 sentinels,” the Spartan explained. “We’re going to need all of you there to help us out.”

“Understood,” 84 said. “This unit will share the data with allied sentinels. We will be ready when you require us.” Unit 84 then spun around and floated back to the other sentinels. Lasky and Adam turned and walked back up the ramp and into the hangar of Perseus. Immediately they were met by a crewman.

“Sir?” he said to the commander. “You have a message incoming from Captain Del Rio.” Lasky and Adam looked at one another, then back at the crewman.

“Thank you, have it ready for me on the bridge,” the commander replied. The crewman saluted, then stepped aside and began speaking into his earpiece. Lasky and Adam stepped into the elevator, and set their course for the bridge. When they exited, a hologram of the captain was waiting for them on the holotable.

“Captain,” Lasky said. “How can we help you?” At this, Del Rio straightened his back and cleared his throat.

“I was just calling to let you know,” he began. “I have cleared your idea with the UNSC High Command. They will allow as many pony refugees aboard as we can possibly fit.”

“That’s great news,” Lasky replied, smiling. “I’ll report it to the princesses right away.”

“I’m also sending down the remaining nine frigates docked in our ventral bay,” the captain said. “Including as many pelicans as we have pilots for. They’ll be landing wherever the princesses want them. Report back to me when you have their response.”

“Will do, sir,” said Lasky.

“Good luck, Commander,” Del Rio said. “It is imperative that we help these ponies to the best of our ability.”

“I understand, sir,” Lasky said.

“Good. Del Rio, out.”

The hologram faded away, and Lasky turned to Adam.

“We should go inform the princesses, and have them start preparing the civilians,” he said. Adam nodded in agreement, and they both exited the bridge.

Princess Celestia stood from her throne as the large crowd of journalists who had stayed behind after the introduction finally took their leave. No sooner had she taken a single step away from her seat than Commander Lasky and Adam both entered, and quickly approached her.

“Princess!” Lasky said. “I have good news!”

“Oh?” Celestia asked. “What is it?”

“I was just in contact with Captain Del Rio aboard the Infinity,” he replied. “He’s agreed to take in as many refugees as possible.”

“That’s wonderful!” Celestia said, smiling. “How many can your ship fit?”

“She’s fit for 17,000, but with the smaller stature of most ponies, we should be able to squeeze in a few more thousand,” Lasky said. “He’s preparing ships to land wherever you need them, to transport ponies aboard.”

“Excellent,” the princess said. “How many ships do you possess?”

“There are nine more frigates like the one outside,” the commander replied. “Plus dozens of pelican dropships to carry smaller groups of ponies.”

“Good… Come with me,” Celestia said, turning around. She walked to the back of the throne room and exited through a small door. Adam and Lasky followed her inside, where they found a table with a map of Equestria. Already standing by the table was Princess Luna, who was holding a quill in her magical grip. She looked up at the newcomers, and smiled.

“Welcome back,” she said. “I trust you have good news?”

“I do,” Lasky replied. “We can take aboard as many refugees as possible, but we need to know where you want us to land our transport ships.”

“I figured that you would want this,” Luna said. “So I’ve taken the liberty of creating a map showing priority locations.” She passed the map over to Lasky, who began scrutinizing every detail.

“Next to Canterlot, the Crystal Empire and Manehattan are our two largest cities,” she continued. “Therefore, more transports will need to be sent there. As for Ponyville, one of your larger ships should suffice, and the same goes for Fillydelphia and Las Pegasus. Smaller towns like Appleloosa and Dodge Junction should be fine with several of the smaller ships, like what Adam has.” Lasky nodded as he looked at each location, then rolled up the map.

“I’ll have this scanned and transmitted to the captain right away, princesses,” he said.

“Thank you, Commander,” Celestia said. “You are doing us a great service, and we are truly grateful for it.”

“We were in your position not long ago,” Lasky said. “It’s the right thing to do.” Lasky then turned and started to exit the room. He stopped right before the door, and turned his head back at the princesses.

“Adam will help coordinate your military to fortify key positions in Canterlot, and we’ll have more of our officers sent down to help with the other cities,” he said. “I’ll be back shortly.” He then turned back around and exited the room, closing the door behind him. Adam turned, and approached Princess Celestia.

“Have your trainers begun passing on my advice to your soldiers, ma’am?” he asked her.

“Yes, they began as soon as you finished,” she replied. “Already many soldiers are being cleared for duty, and unicorn soldiers are practicing using more powerful magical charges to defeat the sentinels.”

“Good,” Adam said. “Let’s hope that they can hold their own…”

“Are you not staying?” Luna asked curiously.

“They’re going to be attacking many of your key cities,” he began to explain. “If they are allowed to be taken, they will simply act as forward operating bases for the griffons. The closer they get, the more power they’ll exercise in that theater. I’ll be moving from city to city, helping out the soldiers that we have stationed there.”

“Very well, Adam,” Celestia said. “The closest city to the Gryphonia border is the Crystal city, closely followed by Manehattan and Fillydelphia. The griffons will be upon them any day now.”

“Good luck, Adam,” Princess Luna said, wrapping a wing around the large Spartan. “And please, return to us.” Adam nodded, then turned and exited into the grandiose throne room beyond. As he walked down the large hall, he examined the ornate marble columns and intricate stained glass windows that lined the walls. As he neared the large door on the far end, the two guards standing by it opened it with their magic, allowing him into the hallway beyond. From there, Adam walked down the memorized route to the castle gardens, where his pelican was still landed. He exited into the large courtyard and entered the cockpit of his ship, where he then strapped into the pilots seat, and activated all of the systems. Before he took off, he pressed the button on the comms panel.

“D-014 to Perseus, do you read, over?” Adam said into his helmet mic.

“This is Lasky. What can I do for you, Adam?” Commander Lasky asked through the speakers.

“I’ll be heading to the Crystal Empire to help bolster their defenses as best I can before the griffons arrive,” the Spartan explained.

“Understood,” Lasky replied. “I’ll let the commanders of Kraken and Aspen know to expect you. Lasky, out.” The line cut out, and Adam lifted off in his pelican. He then input the coordinates of the Crystal Empire into the flight computer, and shot off in the direction of the city.

Chapter 18

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CHAPTER 18

Adam set his pelican down in a large clearing in front of the Crystal Palace. As soon as the city came in sight, the Spartan was intrigued by the architecture. He had assumed that the name “Crystal Empire” was just to make it sound interesting. He had not expected to find that it was made almost entirely of actual crystal. Adam exited his pelican, and was instantly met by two ponies, one of whom he recognized as Shining Armor. The pony next to him was a tall, pink mare with both wings and a horn. Upon her head sat a small golden crown.

“Hello, Adam,” Shining Armor said, grinning. “It is good to have you here… The Crystal Empire’s guards are well trained, but are few in numbers. Your help is much appreciated.”

“Think nothing of it, Captain,” Adam replied. He then directed his gaze to the mare. Shining noticed, and looked to her as well.

“This is my wife, Princess Cadance,” he explained.

“Hello, Adam,” she said. “It is good to finally meet you. I have heard very much!”

“You as well, ma’am,” Adam replied. “Are your citizens ready for evacuation?” Cadance looked down, sighing, before looking back up at the large human.

“The ones who actually listened are, yes,” she said.

“What do you mean?” Adam asked.

“There has been some dissent among the civilians,” Shining Armor explained. “Not everypony trusts you, and some would rather stay here in safehouses than go aboard your ship where they’d be safe.”

“Well, it’s understandable,” Adam said. “They did just become aware of our existence, after all.” Shining grunted, and looked to the sky.

“When will your ships arrive?” he asked.

“Kraken and Aspen should be here any minute,” the Spartan replied. “They’ll be landing in the snow plains just outside of the city. Have the civilians who are actually coming meet up there.”

“I shall organize them,” Cadance said. She then spread her wings, and flew off into the city.

“What about defense?” Shining asked. “Are your ships bringing reinforcements?”

“As many as we can spare,” Adam replied. “Infinity is operating on a skeleton crew. They didn’t expect to have to fight.”

“Understood…” the captain replied, his brow furrowing in worry. “Are you sure it’ll be enough?”

“Don’t worry, captain,” he replied. “We’re sending down ODST’s, very well trained soldiers. Your city is in good hands.”

“Very well,” Shining said. “In that case, I’m going to go prepare my soldiers. You should probably help Cadance with getting everypony aboard your ships. Meet me back here when you’re finished.”

“Will do,” Adam replied. The two began walking in opposite directions, with Shining heading for the palace, and Adam going to where he saw Cadance heading. After a bit of wandering through the city, he found a large square filled with ponies. Standing in the center was Princess Cadance, who was speaking to them all.

“As I said before, you can trust these humans!” Cadance shouted to the crowd. “Be brave. For when you return, this city shall be safe once more! Now, head for the plains.” Cadance stepped out of the center and began walking towards Adam. The ponies (who also seemed to be crystalline) all began rushing out of the square, heading for the plains. When Cadance reached Adam, she sighed.

“Less than half of the population of the city…” she said. “How are we supposed to defend all of these ponies if they won’t simply trust us?!”

“It’s not you they don’t trust, princess,” Adam said. “It’s us. But don’t worry. We’ll do our best to keep them safe, in space or down here.”

“Thank you, Adam,” Cadance said. They were interrupted as a loud rumbling filled the air, and they both looked up to the sky. Through the thick clouds descended two Strident-class heavy frigates, the Kraken and the Aspen. They both touched down in the plains, kicking up a fair bit of snow.

“Come with me, princess,” Adam said. “We need to make sure that you’re people get on safely.” Cadance nodded, and they both took off at a run down the streets. When they exited the city, they saw that the ponies had already formed two orderly lines by the hangars of each ship. Walking around each line were several ODST’s, who were keeping the ponies calm and in order. As Adam approached, one of the ODST’s noticed and ran to him.

“Sir!” he said, saluting. “We’ve begun loading up the ponies. It’s going to be a cramped ride for them to Infinity, but Captain Del Rio is clearing out as much space as possible for them.”

“Understood,” Adam said. “Keep working. We get these ponies out of here, no matter what.”

“Yes, sir!” the ODST then ran back to his position at the front of one of the lines.

“It seems that your soldiers have this well under control,” Cadance noted.

“They’re trained to help civilians,” Adam said. “They know what they’re doing.”

“Thank you very much for this, Adam,” she said. “I do not know how we can properly thank-.” She was cut off as the sound of a horn pierced the air, travelling across the landscape.

“What is that?” Adam asked.

“That is a griffon war horn…” Cadance said, her brow furrowing. She looked to Adam, her face stricken with fear. Adam looked back at her, then at the two frigates.

“Get aboard one of the frigates,” he said.

“What?” Cadance replied. “Why would I do that? I belong down here!”

“Ma’am, your people need you!” he continued. “If you are up there, you can help keep their morale up, and make them feel safer. Plus, if this goes sideways, we’ll need someone in your position in a safe place…” Cadance looked as though she was about to protest, when the horn rang out once more. Far in the distance, Adam began to make out small shapes moving across the ground. As they got closer, he recognized them as griffons.

“Go!” Adam shouted at her. She began cautiously walking backwards, before she quickly ran to help the ponies get aboard.

“Marines!” Adam yelled. “Positions!” The ODST’s who were helping the ponies get aboard abandoned their posts, and ran out to meet the griffons. Snipers lay down in prone positions, and began to set up their kits. The rest of the marines formed staggered lines, some of them using the frigate as cover. They all readied their weapons, and waited for the griffons to get in range. Adam used the zoom function on his HUD and attempted to count the griffon numbers, and was surprised to find that there were very few. There were eight squads, each with five griffon soldiers. Only forty soldiers? Adam thought. That can’t be enough… Adam then realized that this was only a small portion of the attack group intended for the Crystal Empire. The rest were likely attacking from another direction.

“Sir!” shouted a sniper. “They’re in range!” Adam sighed, then brought his battle rifle to bear.

“Fire at will!” he shouted back. The snipers all fired at once, and several targets fell. They each fired three more times, each shot taking down another target. The squads broke up, and they all began running in random directions. The ODST snipers continued firing, felling many of the targets. Some managed to dodge, but were soon cut down by the rest of the marines wielding battle rifles. The griffons who managed to actually make it within fifty meters of the UNSC soldiers began firing crossbows at the marines, most of them missing the targets. Some of the bolts hit the marines square in the chest, but glanced off of the hardened battle armor. They were soon taken out by marines with assault rifles and shotguns.

Adam lowered his weapon and reloaded, then checked his chrono. All in all, the engagement had lasted only a minute. He turned around and saw that the ponies were almost done boarding the frigates. Princess Cadance was standing in the center of the two lines, directing the civilians and keeping them calm. The Spartan jogged over to her, holstering his rifle on his back.

“The first wave is down,” he reported. “How are your ponies doing?”

“They’re a bit shaken up, but fine,” Cadance said, glancing between the two lines. “You should go meet Shining Armor back in the city. The griffons are bound to attack there any minute now.

“Right,” Adam said. “When the ponies finish boarding, send the marines into the city as well, and then get aboard yourself. Don’t worry, we’ll keep the city safe.”

“Thank you, Adam,” the princess said. Adam nodded, and turned around, then ran back into the city. When he came up to the palace, he saw that Shining Armor was already preparing multiple squads of pony soldiers for battle. As the Spartan approached, he began to hear Shining barking orders at them. When he finished, they all saluted and ran off to their assigned positions. At the sound of his footfalls, the captain turned around and faced Adam.

“Adam, good to have you back,” he said. “What’s the situation out there?”

“Your people are almost done boarding,” Adam replied. “Several griffon squads engaged us, but we took care of them easily enough.”

“Good…” Shining Armor said. “What about Cadance? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. We’re sending her up there too, to help keep ponies calm.”

“Understood…” The sound of griffon war horns permeated the air, alerting the two soldiers.

“We need to get out there!” Shining yelled. “It sounds like they’re trying to break through the western gate!” Adam nodded, and the two began running through the streets until they reached a massive gate, which, like almost everything in the city, was made of crystal. It was buckling back and forth as the griffons hit it with a battering ram from the other side. Dozens of pony soldiers stood beyond the gate, holding their bows and spears at the ready. Behind them, more pony soldiers ran into position, waiting for the gate to be breached.

“When are your soldiers arriving?” the captain asked, hefting a spear in his telekinesis.

“As soon as the frigates take off, they’ll be here,” Adam replied. As if on cue, the sound of a deep rumbling filled the air, stopping even the battering ram for a few moments. Everybody in the area looked to the sky, where the two large frigates were beginning to take off. They each angled upwards, then the two massive engines on the back of each ship flared to life, and they rocketed out of sight. Adam’s radio crackled in his ear, followed by the sound of a voice.

“Sir!” it shouted. “This is Major Evans! The two frigates just took off with all pony passengers safely onboard. We’re heading to you now, over!”

“Copy that, Evans,” Adam said. “Make it quick.” The radio cut out, and Adam redirected his attention to the large crystal gate. The Spartan hefted his battle rifle, checking the ammo counter to make sure it was full. Satisfied that he was ready, he aimed his weapon down range, and waited. It was eerily quiet. Nobody spoke, the only sound that could be heard was that of the battering ram on the gate. Slowly, cracks began to form in the crystal structure. They branched out until they intersected, forming new cracks that continued to spread out. They kept on spreading until most of the gate was covered in them, and then one last BANG was heard as the battering ram made its final hit.

The large gate shattered to pieces, and through the crystal rain charged dozens of griffon warriors, each carrying a multitude of weapons. The ponies began to open fire with their arrows, spears, and magic, and Adam helped out by releasing a spray of bullets whenever he got the chance. The griffons were attacking en masse, however, and soon began to overrun the ponies in the front lines. They swung maces and flails, and threw spears, impaling them into the pony guards. Adam continued firing, now at an increased rate, attempting to bring down as many as possible. He heard several clicks as his magazine ran dry, and dropped it out to place another one. As soon as it clicked into place, he began spraying again, taking down griffons with every burst. But they continued pushing forward, not caring that they were sacrificing dozens of their own soldiers, only wanting to enter the city and raze it to the ground.

“Fall back!” Shining Armor yelled through the din of battle. “Regroup!” The ponies complied and began running backwards, sacrificing precious ground in an effort to regroup and face the griffon tide once more. Finally they reached the end of the street, then turned to face the threat again. The pony soldiers loosed dozens of arrows and magical bolts into the horde, taking down multiple griffons. They ignored the dead, and continued advancing, until they were just a few meters from the pony front line. Their advance was suddenly interrupted as several explosions went off in their ranks, and Adam looked up to the roofs to see ODSTs equipped with jetpacks, raining rockets and grenades down onto the griffons below. The griffon forces turned their attention to this new threat, and began throwing spears and loosing arrows at the marines. A few struck the UNSC soldiers, but they mostly shrugged the blows off and continued their counterattack. This gave the ponies the opportunity to prepare their weapons, and they began to open fire with arrows and magic alike once again. Adam continued firing his battle rifle until it clicked empty once more. He reached for a new mag, but found that he was all out. Sighing, he discarded the spent weapon and took out the SMG on his thigh. He sprayed into the crowd, felling many of the griffons before his clip became empty.

Realizing that they were trapped, the griffons decided that their only course of action was to push through the pony forces, and ignore the losses from the human attack. They turned their attention back to the ponies, and began rushing them once again, weapons at the ready. They slammed into the front lines, tearing the soldiers there apart, and spread through the ranks like a virus, killing everypony they came across. Once again Shining Armor made the call to fall back, and once again the ponies were pushed further into the city. Adam began working his way over to the captain, dodging both arrows and spears fired by the griffons. Finally he reached the pony, and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Captain!” he yelled. Shining turned, his eyes wild.

“What’s the plan!?” Adam asked.

“We need to keep them held back from the safe houses!” Shining yelled back. “It’s where the rest of our civilians are!”

“Understood!”

Adam directed his attention back to the griffons, and continued firing his SMG into their forces. For every griffon he killed, another seemed to take its place, as though they had an infinite number of soldiers. Arrows began to pierce his shields, weakening them, but not entirely taking them down. When his SMG ran dry, he took out his last weapon, the M6H Magnum pistol. He picked his targets, aimed for their heads, and let off several shots, each one killing the griffon intended for it. The ODSTs continued suppressing from the rooftops, but they were under heavy fire from the seemingly infinite griffon soldiers as well. As such, Adam noticed that they were slowly but steadily being pushed back even further. He spared a glance behind him, and noticed that they were very close to the courtyard in front of the palace, which was also very close to the pony safe houses. He turned back around, and narrowly avoided a spear to the visor. He fired his magnum at the griffon who threw it, killing him. He then pointed the magnum at another target, only to find that the weapon had run dry as well. Sighing angrily, Adam threw the magnum down and unsheathed his knife. He knew he was fairly well matched in a hand-to-hand fight with a griffon (the creatures were incredibly strong), but he also had very advanced training. Taking a deep breath, the Spartan ran into the center of the combat, swinging his combat knife at griffons as he passed by them. He noticed his shields beginning to flare as closer-range weapons like the maces and flails he had seen earlier impacted them, and soon an alarm began to ring in his ear as the shield strength went lower than 10%. The bar continued going lower and lower until the golden aura around him popped, and the weapons began to impact on his armor. The suit impacted most of the blows, but a few managed to hit him in weaker areas. Dodging blows and swinging his knife, Adam began walked backwards, attempting a tactical withdraw. When he exited, he found that they were in the middle of the courtyard, and griffon soldiers were beginning to break off to find the safe houses.

“ODSTs!” he shouted into his mic. “Focus on the griffons leaving the main battle! Take them down! We can’t have them finding the civilians!” Multiple green acknowledgment lights went off in his HUD as the ODSTs turned and began firing on the smaller squads, dropping them before they could get too far. Adam looked around at the battlefield, and his eyes settled upon his pelican resting at the far end of the courtyard. Specifically, the nose-mounted machine gun and two large rocket pods piqued his interest. Sheathing his knife, Adam began running for the dropship, ignoring the few arrows that hit his now-restored shields. He ran into the cockpit and strapped in, then took off and prepared the weapon systems. Normally pelican dropships were equipped with autotargetting systems that would automatically seek out and eliminate anything that was specified as a hostile. However, they had not been set up yet for the griffons, so Adam had to manually control the machine gun. He hovered over the battle, turning the eyes of many of the ponies and griffons alike. He then pressed down on the trigger, unleashing scores of 70mm rounds onto the creatures below. They ripped through the front lines of the griffons, killing dozens of them before the others even knew what was happening. When they realized that the flying metal contraption was not allied, they began throwing everything they had at it. Adam laughed quietly to himself as the spears and arrows glanced off of the thick hull of the dropship.

Finally, after eliminating well over a hundred griffon soldiers, Adam exhausted the machine gun’s ammo. There was enough space between the two opposing armies now that he didn’t have to worry about splash damage, so the Spartan opened the missile doors on the Anvil-II Air-to-Surface Missile launchers, and began to fire. Each ASM pod held six missiles, so Adam had to pick and choose priority targets. He fired in areas where the griffons were more heavily grouped up, causing much more damage to their ranks. The explosions rocked the foundations of the crystal buildings, sending some of them down onto the griffon forces below. The ODSTs realized this, and jetpacked to safety before their locations were destroyed. Adam fired the last of the twelve missiles into the center of the griffon invasion force, sending the ones in the blast radius flying into the air, and vaporizing anybody standing too close. When the smoke from the explosions and rubble cleared, the griffon forces had been diminished down to a mere fraction of their original numbers. While Adam assumed that they had attacked with an assault force of about 1,000 soldiers, he now estimated them to be at 150. The ponies now outnumbered them, and they began rushing the griffons, weapons held at the ready. The ODSTs joined in, and sprayed their assault rifles into the griffon forces. The large creatures, recognizing the inevitability of their failure, turned and began running back to the gate, occasionally firing arrows back behind them. It was a futile effort, however, and soon the ponies and humans overtook them, and surrounded them.

“Throw down your weapons!” Captain Armor yelled, holding his spear at the ready. “And you shall not be harmed!” The griffons seemed apprehensive, and looked around at the ponies and humans, not moving.

“Relinquish your weapons immediately!” Shining repeated. “Or we will finish you off!” For several tense moments, the griffons continued not to move. Then, they finally threw their weapons down in front of them, and lay down with their front talons over their heads. Shining Armor grinned, and the ponies lowered their weapons, then proceeded to apprehend the surrendered foes. Adam navigated his pelican back into the courtyard and landed it, then exited and was met by Shining Armor.

“Adam!” he shouted happily. “Excellent work, soldier!”

“Thank you, captain,” Adam replied.

“We couldn’t have done that without your help, human,” the captain said. “But this isn’t the worst of it, not even close…”

“What do you mean?” Adam asked.

“The Crystal Empire is out of the way, fairly isolated from the rest of Equestria,” Shining began to explain. “The fact that they sent 1,000 soldiers actually surprises me… It’s more than I thought.”

“You’re expecting more to be at the other cities…” the Spartan said.

“Right,” the pony confirmed. “Especially somewhere like Manehattan, where there are over a million ponies living there. They’ll send many more soldiers there.”

“Understood,” Adam said. “The pelican seemed to be effective. I’ll get some of them stationed over every city and town in Equestria.”

“That would be very helpful, Adam,” Shining replied. “I think we’ve got it from here, if you wanted to move on to the next city.”

“I think I’ll do that,” Adam said, watching as the ponies pushed the griffon prisoners towards the castle. “And don’t worry, the ODSTs will stay here to defend against any other attacks.”

“Thank you, Adam,” Shining Armor said, extending a hoof. “And good luck.” Adam looked at the hoof, then grasped it with his hand. They shook, then walked in opposite directions; Shining went towards the palace, and Adam into his pelican. He activated the systems, spun up the engines, and took off into the air. He inputted the coordinates for Manehattan, then accelerated as fast as possible towards the large metropolis.

Princess Cadance stepped out of the now-vertical frigate onto the walkway beyond, pausing to adjust to the sudden change in gravity. When her head cleared, she looked at her surroundings, and found herself in a massive metal chamber filled with more of the large frigates. She turned around and saw more ponies walking out behind her, holding their heads as the gravity altered. Satisfied that all of her ponies were okay, she continued walking down the walkway, with two human soldiers in front of her. As they were walking, a loud alarm buzzed once, and Cadance heard three loud metallic clanks. The frigate next to her suddenly dropped away, followed by two more behind it, all of them no doubt heading to Manehattan. She looked below her at the pale blue orb, trying to wrap her head around the fact that everypony she knew and loved was down there. One of the soldiers coughed, putting her attention back on moving down the walkway. Finally they approached a large metal door, and one of the guards pressed several buttons on the side. It slid open, revealing two more guards, and one human wearing a gray uniform, his hands clasped behind his back. The human stepped forward, and offered a smile.

“You must be Princess Cadance,” he said. She nodded in reply. “I am Captain Andrew Del Rio of the UNSC Infinity. Welcome aboard.” He then stepped aside and motioned one of his hands down the hallway. Cadance stepped inside, and began walking, this ‘Captain Del Rio’ right beside her.

“I know that you are very likely worried,” Captain Del Rio said. “But know that we will do everything in our power to help see you through this.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Cadance said quietly, forcing a smile. “We live in dark times, but it is good to know that we have friends out there.” The captain nodded, and they walked the rest of the way down the hall in silence. When they reached the end, the door before them opened by itself, revealing a small square room that extended upwards quite a ways.

“Unfortunately, this is our only way out of this deck of the ship,” he said. “We’re going to have to take your ponies up to their assigned floors in trips. For you, I have prepared a luxury guest suite.”

“What about my ponies?” Cadance asked, worried.

“Do not worry,” the captain said. “We are trying to split up refugee groups by the city that they came from, so they will all be kept as close together as possible. You, of course, will be given unlimited access to see them.”

“And them? Will they be able to move around?” the princess asked.

“We will allow them to move around small parts of the decks that they are assigned,” Del Rio began. “But, for safety reasons, we would like to for them not to wander too much.” Cadance nodded in understanding. This ship was made of technology that was hundreds, if not thousands, of years ahead of ponies. She did not want to be responsible for breaking it. The two stepped inside of the small room, and the door closed behind them. Del Rio pressed a button on the side, and Cadance suddenly felt herself moving upwards very quickly. After a couple of minutes, the door opened again, revealing a different hallway. Del Rio lead the princess down it for a ways, stopping at a door labelled ‘GUEST SUITE’. He opened the door, revealing a large but sparsely decorated room beyond.

“If you ever need me, the AI is always listening,” he said. “Just ask her, and I’ll come on down.” Cadance nodded, though she did not fully understand. The captain smiled, then closed the door. She listened to the sound of his footsteps as he walked back down the hall, until she heard the sound of a door opening and closing once more. Cadance sighed, and began to take a look at her new room. It had a large bed in one corner, and a desk across from it. Upon this desk rested a strange ‘L’ shaped device that had a spinning blue eagle on it. In the corner next to the bed was a small room, which Cadance assumed was the bathroom. By far the most appealing part of the room was the very large window that looked out into space. Due to the angle, she could not see Equis, but she was still granted an unblocked view of the stars. She wandered over to the window, and put her hoof to the glass.

Cadance stayed like that for several minutes, simply observing the cosmos, until a shrill alarm chirped, and a mare’s voice filled the room.

“Princess Cadance?” it said. “Would you like to know the status of your civilians?” Cadance jumped backwards in surprise, then looked around the room.

“Who said that!?” she yelled anxiously. “Show yourself!” Beside the door to the bedroom, a golden human female appeared on a small black pedestal suspended to the wall.

“Apologies, princess,” she said. “I am Aine, the Infinity’s AI. Would you like to know the status of your civilians?” Cadance did not know what an AI was, but it seemed not to be a threat. She closed her eyes and let out a breath, then looked back at the golden human.

“Yes, please,” Cadance replied.

“The families have all been grouped up, and are being assigned quarters to share two decks below you,” Aine reported. “They appear to be nervous, but are cooperating and doing as they are told. When they are all settled in, I would recommend going to visit them.” Cadance nodded.

“I will do that,” she said. “Thank you, Aine.” The AI nodded, then disappeared from the pedestal. For now though, she decided that some rest was in order. She removed her golden horseshoes, placed her crown and chest plate on the nightstand, and then crawled into the bed. Surprisingly it was fairly comfortable, and she soon was able to find sleep.

“What’s the situation, Commander?” Captain Del Rio said to a hologram of Commander Lasky on the bridge of Infinity.

“Not good, sir,” the commander replied. “Large strike forces, much larger than the group that attacked the Crystal Empire, are moving forward to attack Manehattan and Fillydelphia. I know you’ve already sent Phalanx, Coyote, and Phantom to Manehattan, but Fillydelphia can’t wait. I’d recommend launching Dexippus as soon as possible.”

“Noted,” Del Rio said. “I also have taken into consideration your recommendation to send pelican dropships down to secure air superiority. I’m allocating pilots as we speak, they’ll be down shortly.”

“Understood, sir,” Lasky said. “I’ll report back in in a few hours. Lasky, out.” The hologram of the commander faded away, and Del Rio sighed quietly. He turned and stared out of the large window at Equis, assessing the situation. More UNSC ships would be arriving in three weeks to help take in more refugees, and supply troops to fight on the ground. Del Rio hoped to himself that the war would be over by then, and they could continue on with their peace talks.

Adam set his pelican dropship down in a clearing just outside of the large city of Manehattan, right next to three Strident-class frigates, the Phalanx, Coyote, and Phantom. He noticed before he landed that ponies were already beginning to board the three ships. Even so, it would still not be enough. A single Strident-class could hold a complement of about fifteen-hundred people. That was a total of 4,500 ponies that could be rescued, but compared to Manehattan’s population of 4.3 million, it was a tiny fraction. Adam stepped out of his pelican, and observed the long lines of ponies boarding the three frigates. As was the case in the Crystal Empire, human marines paced alongside the lines, directing ponies and keeping them calm. He approached the closest marine, who turned towards the Spartan at his presence.

“Marine,” Adam began. “Who’s the pony in charge here?”

“Princess Celestia sent somebody she said you had prior dealings with,” the marine responded. “He’s over there, by Coyote.” The marine pointed next to the hangar of the frigate, where he spotted a golden helmet amongst the heads of dozens of other ponies. Prior dealings with? Adam thought. Who could that be? The only military pony that he was acquainted with was Captain Shining Armor, and he was still stationed up in the Crystal Empire. Curious, Adam walked over to the pony he had been directed to. At the sound of his footsteps, the pony turned and looked at the Spartan.

“Are you in charge here?” Adam asked. The pony looked him up and down, then smiled.

“That I am, Adam,” he said. “You probably don’t remember me, but… My name is Night Flyer. I was assigned to the group of guards who were guarding your ship in the Everfree. I was wounded by a manticore, and you healed me.” Suddenly, the memories came rushing back to Adam. He had fixed any internal damage, dressed the wounds, and brought him back into the land of the living with his defibrillator. Adam grinned, and looked back at the pony.

“Of course I remember you!” Adam said. “How are you doing ever since the forest?”

“Better,” Night Flyer said, rubbing his chest. “Around the time that I was set free from the hospital was when the griffons were beginning to attack, so I was among the first group trained in your tactics by our trainers. I picked them up pretty well, so the princesses promoted me and assigned me to here, where I could help you out. Listen… I never got the chance to properly thank you, so…”

“Think nothing of it,” the Spartan replied. “Congratulations on the promotion.”

“Thanks,” the guard replied. He then looked to the crowds of ponies boarding the three ships. “The refugees should be finished boarding in about an hour. For now, we should head into the city. I can show you the defenses we set up.” Adam nodded, and followed the pony as he began walking through the streets of Manehattan.

“Good work in the Crystal Empire, by the way,” Flyer said. “You saved a lot of lives up there.”

“Well, we got lucky,” Adam said. “The griffons had a pretty bad tactic. Rushing through a single, crowded street made it very easy for our ODSTs to use explosives. And it did not work in their favor at all when I used my pelican. They won’t use the same tactic again…”

“We didn’t think they would either,” replied the pony as they entered a large square. “Which is why we’ve been preparing.” Adam began walking around the square, looking at the various pieces of defensive weapons that had been set up. There were multiple ballista launchers set up and aiming in every direction, as well as several massive deployable barricades.

“Our plan is to force them into an engagement like in the Crystal Empire,” Flyer continued. “The deployable barricades have been built specifically to fit across whole streets, thus effectively blocking them off. If we can block off enough streets, we can force them all to use the same route, where we can then blow them up with your weapons.”

“Not a bad plan,” the Spartan said, nodding. “But one thing… My pelican is out of ammunition. I have no more rockets or bullets for the machine gun.”

“Not to worry, Adam,” Night Flyer said. “We received word that your big ship up there was sending down as many of the ‘pelicans’ as possible. They should be here shortly.”

“Well in that case,” Adam said. “I think we’ve got a good plan here.” Night Flyer smiled, then turned to address a second guard who was running up to them.

“Commander!” he shouted, panting. “Commander! Scouts have just reported in… The griffon army is approaching from the north, five thousand strong.”

“Five thousand…” Night Flyer said to himself. “You’re sure?”

“Yes!” the guard continued. “They’ve begun splitting up into groups. They look like they’ll be storming the city from multiple entry points this time!”

“Just like we thought… Inform the guards to begin moving barricades into position. Make sure that they all route to the same central road.”

“Yes, sir!” the guard said, saluting. No sooner had he run off to relay the orders than Adam began to hear the sound of griffon war horns in the distance. Night Flyer heard too, as his ears began to swivel around.

“I need to go get some ammo for my pelican,” Adam said. “Hopefully one of the frigates brought some.”

“I’ll be here,” Night Flyer said. “Hurry!” Adam quickly spun around and ran back the way he came, reentering the field beyond that served as the frigate’s landing site. The line of ponies had grown considerably shorter in the short amount of time he had been in the city, which made him hopeful that they would be gone by the time the griffons arrive. He approached one of the frigates, the Phalanx, and walked up to a marine standing in the hangar bay.

“Marine!” he shouted.

“Yes, sir?” the marine asked.

“My pelican is landed over there, do you have ammunition for it?”

“Yes, sir!” he replied. “I’ll get it rearmed immediately.” The marine turned and ran into the hangar, getting the attention of two techs working on a warthog. The three then began running to the opposite end of the hangar. Adam turned and walked to where he had landed his pelican. A few minutes later, the marine and two techs walked up, wheeling three carts with boxes of ammunition on them. They then began loading missiles into their tubes, and the marine opened a hatch on the bottom and entered a new box of ammunition for the machine gun. Once they were done, they ran back to the frigate that they were stationed at. Adam entered the cockpit of the pelican, activated the engines, and took off, heading for the square that Night Flyer was in. Once he was hovering over it, he touched down, and turned the systems off. As soon as he exited the pelican, he began to hear griffon war horns as they grew closer, this time from several different locations.

“Adam!” Night Flyer said, running up to the Spartan. “Scouting parties are being forced to fall back. They’re reporting that griffons are nearing the outer gates. What’s the status of the refugees?”

“They appeared to be nearly finished,” Adam said. “No worries; if the griffons move in to attack, our ODSTs will keep them safe. I promise.”

“Understood…” Flyer responded, sighing. “We should get into position. I’m splitting my guards up into two groups: one to attack the griffons, one to defend the safe houses. I’d suggest doing the same with your soldiers.” Adam nodded.

“Will do. Where’s our position?”

“Back here,” the guard said. “Sorry, I know you prefer to fight, but… Your tactical expertise could come in handy, so we need you to stay here with me, coordinating the fight. Some of your soldiers already gave me these devices called ‘radios’ to distribute amongst my lieutenants. They’re already in position.”

“Very well,” Adam said. “What channel are they on?”

“We’re all on omega right now,” Flyer said. “My guards have all been instructed to listen to whatever you say.” Adam scrolled through the menu on his HUD until he settled on ‘Omega’, then switched to the channel. Immediately he began to hear pony voices as they reported that they were in position.

“Sir!” one of the lieutenants shouted through the radio. “One of our scouts reported that griffons are minutes away from the gates! How should we proceed?”

“Hold position,” Night Flyer commanded. “And get ready for battle…” The griffon war horns sounded once more, this time very close to the edges of the city. Adam looked around as the remaining ponies in the square rushed to their positions, preparing for war.

Chapter 19

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CHAPTER 19

The city was quiet. Guards stood in long ranks behind the gates, holding their weapons at the ready. ODSTs stood behind them, some on the roofs, checking their rifles. Phalanx, Phantom, and Coyote had left minutes before the griffons began their attack. The only sound that could be heard was the rhythmic thump, thump of the battering rams on the massive doors. And then everything changed.

One moment was quiet, the next was pure chaos. The gates leading into several sections of the city burst open, and squads of griffons charged in, their heavy weapons at the ready. As soon as they drew near, pony archers let loose waves of arrows, eliminating the front rows and slowing their offensive. ODSTs helped by firing off several shots, taking out the griffons that the archers missed. A few of the lighter-armored mythological creatures spread their large wings and leapt into the air, attempting to dive down upon unsuspecting ponies, but they were soon taken out of the picture by snipers who were situated further back. The din of battle echoed from multiple parts of the city as the ponies defended against the griffon onslaught.

Adam stood back from the battle in the center of the city, with Night Flyer standing next to him. They both constantly monitored the radio channel, where ponies in the midst of the combat were rapidly spewing out battle reports. Distant explosions went off as ODSTs lobbed grenades into the midst of the griffons, killing several of them at once. And steadily, the pony army moved back, luring the griffons further into the city where they would become trapped in a bottleneck, and made easy targets for the bombers and pelicans that Infinity had sent down. Adam had also considered asking for MAC support, but wanted to limit collateral damage to the city buildings as much as was possible. The Spartan used the zoom function on his HUD to survey what he could of the battlefield from his high perch, and make sure that everything was going according to plan. Most of the streets were blocked from his view by other buildings, but some, including the center one that was set as their trap, were perfectly visible. He watched as the ponies purposely gave up ground, whilst still firing arrows and bolts of magic into the midst. After several more minutes of waiting, the groups of ponies began to turn and lead the griffon battle groups from their initial entry gates into the main street. Adam quickly changed his radio channel to foxtrot to speak with the bomber and pelican pilots.

“Bomber squadrons, do you read?” he asked.

“This is bomber one, we read you sir,” one of the pilots replied.

“The griffons should be in position in just a few minutes, get ready to commence the assault,” the Spartan commander. Green indicators flashed on his HUD, and Adam switched back to channel omega, only to hear one of the lieutenants yelling into his mic.

“Several of the groups are breaking off!” he shouted. “I repeat, several groups are breaking off! They’re carrying something to one of the barricades!”

“Snipers,” Adam said. “Do you see them?”

“Barely, sir!” one of the ODST snipers replied. “But there’s too many griffons and ponies in the way! We can’t get a direct shot!”

“Copy that,” the Spartan responded. “Keep your sights on them, and the second you get a chance, take the shot.”

“Understood, sir,” the sniper said. Adam looked in the direction of where the lieutenant who had called in was, but found that the view of that particular street was blocked by buildings. All was quiet for several more minutes, and Adam finally saw the ponies beginning to back up into the main street. He grinned as their plan was working, but this small victory was interrupted as a loud explosion rang out, and several pieces of debris from one of the massive barricades flew throughout the city.

“One of the barricades is down!” the lieutenant shouted through his mic. “A squad of griffons just ran through! They’re headed for the safe houses!” Adam and Night Flyer both looked at each other anxiously.

“Copy that, lieutenant,” Night Flyer said. “Continue with the original plan. We’ll deal with this.” Adam removed his SMG from his thigh and held it out to the unicorn.

“You know how to use one of these?” he asked.

“I think so…” the guard replied, taking it with his magic. They both leapt off of their observation tower and landed in the square below, then began sprinting down the streets in an effort to intercept the griffons before they reached the safe houses. As they ran, Adam began thinking through the situation in his head. He had been trained with dealing with civilians in a warzone, and knew what to do to keep them safe. Of course, that training would not come in handy for hostage situations. A pony civilian in the claws of a griffon was not good, and Adam doubted there was anything he could do to negotiate. Therefore, their only chance was to get there first. They were just about to round the corner that would lead to the street with the safe house when they both heard a high-pitched scream. They rounded the corner and saw that the door had been taken down, and the outside had two griffons guarding it. Adam brought his magnum to bear and fired off two rounds, killing each of them. Night Flyer then ran ahead of the Spartan and sprinted into the safe house, but stopped as soon as he entered. Adam was not far behind him, and when he entered, he found a pony mare being held in front of a griffon, a knife on her throat. Several more ponies stood behind him, with multiple other griffons aiming their spears at them.

“Mommy!” a shrill voice screamed from somewhere in the crowd. Quickly, a small colt shoved his way through the group of ponies to the front, where he saw his mother being held by the griffon. The griffon looked at the colt and smiled sadistically, then moved the knife closer to the mare’s throat.

“Relinquish your weapons!” the griffon yelled at Adam and Night Flyer. “Or I shall cut open her throat…” This prompted the young colt to begin crying, as he continued shouting for his mother.

“Shut it!” the griffon yelled, looking back at the crowd. He then looked back at the Spartan and guard, and glared. “Put your weapons down, and nopony will get hurt…” Adam continued aiming his magnum at the griffon’s head, and Night Flyer aimed his SMG at the other griffons, alternating targets every few seconds. The griffon began moving his knife ever closer, and right when it connected with the mare’s coat, Adam sighed.

“Lower your weapon, Flyer…” he said. The guard looked at him, bewildered, but did as he said. They both lowered their weapons onto the floor, never taking their eyes off of the griffon. When they let go of the guns, they slowly stood back up. A griffon walked over and gathered the two weapons, then returned to his post.

“Good…” the griffon said, his beak curving into what passed for a smile. “Now, make any sudden moves, and I will kill every one of these ponies…” The griffon then looked at his compatriots. He nodded, and one of the griffons lowered his weapon, then walked outside. Adam heard the sound of a griffon war horn, and realized that the small squad was calling for reinforcements. He deactivated his external mic, and switched his radio channel to foxtrot to contact the bombers.

“Bombers, this is Spartan D-014,” he said quietly. “Do you read?” There was a brief pause, before the radio crackled in his ear.

“We read you, sir,” a pilot replied. “What’s your status?”

“Not good, we need a diversion,” Adam responded, looking around the room. “There’s a small building next to the one I’m in. Launch a missile at it, blow out the wall adjacent to this one. Hopefully the dust cloud will provide a good enough distraction for us to take out these griffons.”

“Copy that sir, I’m en route now. ETA 15 seconds.” Adam looked around, trying to look inconspicuous as the griffon awaited his reinforcements. A few seconds later, he began to hear the sound of longsword engines at the massive bomber flew overhead.

“What is-,” the griffon began. Suddenly there was a loud explosion as the building next to them exploded, and the wall of their building flew inwards. Reacting quickly, Night Flyer lit up his horn and stopped the larger chunks of debris from hitting the ponies, but did nothing to stop the pieces that flew at the griffon. Instinctively, the griffon dropped his pony hostage, and the knife along with her. Adam quickly leapt for the blade, and gripped it in his hand. As the griffon leader began to stand back up, Adam jammed the knife straight through the top of his head, killing the creature instantly. The pony hostage shakily stood up, dust coating her fur. She looked up to Adam, her tears full of eyes.

“Thank…” she struggled. “Thank you…” She then leapt at Adam and embraced him in a hug. He patted her on the back, then checked to make sure the refugees were okay. Eyes wide, the young colt he had seen earlier was hiding behind the legs of a stallion in the front of the group, watching her mother. Adam released the mare, and as soon as she stepped back, the young pony ran up and hugged his mother, tears staining his coat. The Spartan watched this reunion happily, but was interrupted by the sound of Night Flyer shouting.

“We’re not out of the woods yet!” he said. “Griffon reinforcements are showing up!” Adam nodded, and released the mare. He then retrieved his magnum from the dead claws of a griffon who had been impaled in the temple by a piece of debris. He also grabbed the SMG, and passed it over to Night Flyer. They both stepped out of the building to survey the damage. The building next door had been almost entirely obliterated, crushing the griffon who had gone outside to blow the horn. Far down the street were several large squads of griffons, each of them lightly armored enough to allow use of their wings. Most held compact bows, but some had flails that they were swinging threateningly. Several leapt into the air, spreading their massive wings, only for Adam to take them down with precision shots from his magnum. Arrows began flying at them, most of them missing due to the range. But as they drew closer, the shots became closer and closer, some beginning to glance off of the Spartan’s shields. Night Flyer jumped around, carefully avoiding being hit, though some scraped against his armor. Finally the griffons became very close, and the pony began spraying his SMG into the crowd, felling them as they came close. Adam aimed for the griffons at the back, taking precision shots at their heads while the guardspony dealt with the front lines. They would sacrifice a small bit of ground to reload, but never let the griffons get close to the safe house. Adam noticed worriedly that more and more griffons were running around the corner at the end of the street, heading straight for the two lone soldiers. No matter how many of the large creatures they felled, more were there to take their place.

“Pilot!” Adam shouted through his radio. “You still with us!?”

“Affirmative, sir,” the pilot responded. “What can I do for you?”

“We’ve got hundreds of griffons converging on our position near the safe house! We need immediate air support!”

“Copy that sir, on my way now.” It seemed that the bomber pilot had not gone far, as a few seconds later, the sounds of the longsword’s engines screaming overhead filled the air, followed by a faint whistling as it dropped multiple high-explosive bombs on the griffons below.

“Not too many left, sir,” the pilot reported after the explosions cleared. “I’ll come around for one more… wait… what is that?”

“Pilot, what do you see?” Adam asked, never taking his eyes off of the griffons before him.

“OH SH-…” the pilot said, before the radio filled with static. Adam heard a loud explosion, which drew the attention to everyone on the battlefield. In the sky, several dozen meters away from their position, a massive fireball filled the air as their longsword support was taken down. The wreckage was still on course for its original destination, however, and the burning debris of the bomber rocketed toward the street.

“GET DOWN!” Adam shouted at Night Flyer, pushing the pony to the ground. Half a second later, Adam dropped to his stomach, and the wreckage of the ship flew just inches above his head, slamming in to the griffons behind him. This created an even larger explosion, which spread out, preparing to engulf the Spartan and the pony guard. Quickly, Night Flyer projected a small shield over himself, and Adam put all power he could spare into his own generators. The flames finally covered the two soldiers, licking their shields and spreading out. Adam’s held for several seconds before they dropped with a pop, and he began to feel the temperature inside his armor rise. Sweat began to form on his brow, and the already dark gray coloration of his armor was stained even blacker. Only a few seconds after his failed, Night Flyer dropped his shield, and the tail end of the flames engulfed his coat. Screaming, the pony began rolling around on the ground, desperately trying to put the fire out. After a few more seconds, the flames were gone, but many patches of fur were missing, revealing incredibly bad burns on his flesh. The pony struggled to push himself up into a standing position, but was overcome by exhaustion, and he fell unconscious onto the street. Adam soon began to feel his own consciousness fading, and the last thing he saw before he passed out was the satisfied smirk of a griffon soldier.

“Right this way,” a human soldier said.

“Keep moving,” said a second.

Twilight Sparkle looked around her as the ponies she had come to know and love over the past few years were herded onto a human warship, where they would be taken to safety from the griffon threat. In front of her were Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and behind her were Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy. While the six ponies had come to trust humans, they were still nervous about being put under their protection. Fluttershy in particular was terrified at the thought of being sent into outer space. But Twilight had urged them to stay strong, so that they could return when the threat was gone.

This human ship, the UNSC Lexington, had landed nearly an hour ago to transport them to Infinity, which was waiting in orbit above them. They had gotten into line fairly early, but it was still taking a while for them to get aboard. Finally their turn came, and their names were taken down before they were let into the large hangar bay. Most of the ponies chose to stay in there, but some went further into the ship, where the UNSC had prepared several rooms for them to rest in until they arrived. Twilight lead her friends through the ship, following the directions of several crewman, until they came to a large observation room. Several other ponies had chosen to use this room as well, including three instantly recognizable fillies, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom. They all were using their forehooves to prop themselves up, allowing them to see out the window. Outside, they were given a good view of Ponyville, and of the dwindling line of ponies who were still waiting to board. Scootaloo heard the new ponies enter, and turned to see who they were. When she saw her idol, Rainbow Dash, her eyes and smile both widened.

“Rainbow Dash!” she yelled happily, and ran over to the Pegasus.

“Hey, Scoots,” Dash replied, ruffling the filly’s hair. “You ready to see outer space?”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo replied. “It’s gonna be awesome!” The two pegasi continued this conversation for several more minutes. Meanwhile, Twilight and the other four ponies wandered over to the window to join Sweetie Belle and Applebloom.

“AJ, are you sure these humans are friendly?” Applebloom asked her older sister. “Ah heard one of these ‘humans’ call this thing a warship!”

“Of course they’re friendly, Applebloom,” Applejack replied. “You just gotta give ‘em a chance…” The young filly accepted this as a response, and turned to look back out of the window. Twilight noticed the last few ponies finally getting aboard, and then she heard the sound of the massive hangar doors closing. A ding went out through the ship, followed by a human male’s voice.

“Welcome aboard the UNSC Lexington,” he said. “I am Lieutenant Sam Williams, and I’m in command of this ship. In just a few minutes, we’ll be taking off and heading into outer space. Don’t worry, you won’t feel a thing. However, for the purpose of safety, and organization, we ask that you please remain in the room you are currently in. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to let a member of the crew know. Thank you for your cooperation. Lieutenant Williams, out.” All around them, the ship began to shake. It was not noticeable at first, but slowly it began to build up until the ponies could all feel it reverberating throughout them. Finally, the feeling began to subside, and Twilight noticed that they were slowly beginning to raise upwards. Shortly after, they angled upwards, and with one quick jolt, Ponyville disappeared beneath them. Only seconds after the jolt, the only view from out of the window was clouds. This, too, lasted only for a few seconds, before they were finally met with the amazing view of space. All of the ponies stared in awe out of the window, looking down at Equis below them. Their eyes were only taken off of the view of the planet when Rainbow Dash remarked loudly.

“Look at the size of that thing!” They all looked in the direction her hoof was pointing, and soon they saw a massive starship. As they drew closer to it, Twilight began to make out small details, and she soon realized that they were windows from within the ship. There were thousands of them. Twilight stood, amazed at the incredible feat of engineering. Princess Luna had told her that the ship was six kilometers in length, but it was so much bigger in person. Unfortunately, the view of the ship was soon lost as they flew underneath it. The ship then came into view again as Twilight noticed that they had gone vertical in respect to Infinity. A massive door opened in the bottom of the ship, and soon they began advancing forward once again. Slowly, the much smaller frigate pulled into the massive hangar bay of Infinity, until the whole ship was inside. The door closed behind them, and Twilight heard a mechanical clank as the ship was secured inside.

“We have now docked,” the lieutenant reported, seemingly from the ceiling. “Please make your way to the docking port at the top of the ship. Crewman have been placed throughout the ship to help you.” Twilight looked at all of her friends, then turned and lead them all outside. As had been promised, a few crewman lined the halls, and Twilight approached the nearest one. He pointed down the hall, towards a set of stairs. The ponies continued following the directions of the conveniently placed crewman for another minute or so, until they came to a wide corridor marked ‘DOCKING PORT’. A single marine stood guard, and smiled when he saw the ponies.

“Congratulations,” he said. “You’re the first ones up. Go on through, you’ll be directed to your assigned quarters shortly.” The six mares and three fillies all exited through the large door, and entered into a massive chamber with eight other frigates like the one they had just exited. A small walkway ran through the middle of the chamber, and ended at a small door guarded by two marines. The nine ponies approached the two marines, who opened the door for them. By now, other ponies had found their way out of the frigate, and were approaching behind them.

“Aine will show you to your quarters,” one marine said. The ponies all stepped into the hallway beyond, but found nobody waiting for them.

“Hello,” said a female voice, seemingly from nowhere. This startled all of the ponies, and they all looked around for the source of the voice.

“I am Aine, the UNSC Infinity’s artificial intelligence,” the voice continued. Twilight calmed down as she recognized the words ‘artificial intelligence’. This was a similar device to the one aboard Lightning that Adam had showed to herself and Rainbow Dash, but this one seemed fully functional.

“Please follow my instructions, as I will direct you to your assigned quarters. We have been informed by Princess Celestia that, due to your positions, you are all to be given separate quarters. Therefore, we have arranged for six guest quarters to be prepared. You may be pleased to know that Princess Cadance will be in the same area as you.”

“Cadance is here!?” Twilight said happily.

“Yes,” Aine replied. “She arrived, along with several thousand refugees from the Crystal Empire, early this morning. She has been asleep in her quarters since she arrived.”

“May we see her?” Twilight asked.

“After you have been shown to your quarters. Please continue down the hallway into the elevator…”

Princess Cadance awoke to the sound of somepony knocking on the door to her quarters aboard the massive human ship. Slowly, she stood up and made her way to the door. Seeing no door handle, she pressed the most obvious thing she could see, which was a green button. The door immediately slid open, revealing a smiling Twilight Sparkle.

“Twilight!” Cadance said happily. “It is so good to see you! What are you doing here?”

“The humans sent a ship down to help evacuate Ponyville,” Twilight replied. “We just arrived about ten minutes ago.”

“Please, come in!” Cadance said, stepping aside. Twilight walked in, surveying the room. The door closed behind her, and Cadance walked ahead.

“How have you been, Cadance?” Twilight asked, concerned. Cadance turned and faced her good friend.

“I’ll be honest with you Twilight,” she said, sighing. “I’ve not been well… I’m very anxious. The golden woman says that they’re trying to find personnel to go and gather news on the Crystal Empire, but they’re very lightly staffed… I just hope that Shining Armor is okay…”

“Don’t worry, Cadance,” Twilight said, putting a hoof on the princess’s shoulder. “I know my brother. He’s very strong, and he’ll never settle for a defeat!” Cadance forced a smile, but inside she still felt very upset. She knew that the griffons were a more powerful force, and even with human assistance, she knew that they may not be able to win. Cadance banished such thoughts from her mind, and looked once again at the purple unicorn.

“How have you been, Twilight?” she asked. “It has been a very long time since we’ve been able to get together.”

“All things considered? I’ve been okay,” Twilight replied. “These last few weeks have been very… interesting, to say the least.”

“Indeed!” the crystal princess said. “Now tell me of this ‘Adam’ human… I met him briefly before I left the Crystal Empire, but I couldn’t seem to get a very good read on him…”

Adam’s eyes slowly fluttered open, his vision very foggy. As his vision cleared, he began to make out his surroundings. The Spartan noticed with relief that he was still in Manehattan. If the ponies and ODSTs were still fighting in the main street, then the bombing would be minutes, if not seconds, away. It then occurred to him that he was moving. As he began to regain his hearing, he heard the sound of his metallic armor scraping against the cobblestone streets, as though something was dragging him. Diverting his eyes downward, he saw two huge griffons, each one holding one of his legs, dragging him down the street. Behind him were two more griffons, their spears aimed directly at his head. Suddenly, the events prior to his going unconscious hit him, and he began looking around, no longer trying to hide his movement, looking for Night Flyer. On his left, the badly burnt pony was also being dragged by two griffons, with another two holding spears at his head as well. Figuring that four griffons armed with spears were no match for him, he began shaking violently, trying to loosen their hold on his legs. Immediately, the two griffons behind him ran and grabbed hold of his arms, pinning him down.

“Stop that!” one of them yelled.

“You can’t hurt me…” Adam said menacingly.

“Not badly, but we can hurt your friend!” the griffon responded. Adam looked over at Night Flyer, and saw that the two spear-wielding griffons were holding their weapons very close to his friend’s head. There was no way he could take down the four griffons keeping him down before the others could kill Night Flyer. Not unless he had a distraction… The Spartan quickly switched his radio channel to foxtrot, then disabled his external mic.

“Can anybody hear this?” he said. “This is Spartan D-014, requesting immediate assist, over. Anybody out there?” The only response that he got was that of static. Either all of the pilots were on a different channel, or they had all been taken out. Adam then switched to channel omega, which the ponies were using for communication. Once again, there was nothing but static. Was it possible for them to all have been wiped out? Either way, now he had no way of contacting anyone without alerting more attention to himself.

“… Fine,” he said, and the griffon smiled. They then released his arms, and the two holding his legs continued dragging him down the street. As they dragged him, it occurred to the Spartan that the sounds of battle that were constantly present before were completely gone. The city was very large, it was possible that they had been dragged to one of the remote corners. Still, there was a fair bit of evidence pointing to the defeat of the pony soldiers who had been guarding the city. After several more minutes of being dragged, the griffons stopped at a place that confirmed Adam’s fears: the square in the center of the city where he and Night Flyer had been not long ago. It was filled with griffon soldiers, and Adam could see even more patrolling down some of the streets. On several sides of the square were large groups of ponies, their hooves (and wings, if they had them) tied up to restrict movement. He noted sadly that there were no ODSTs among the prisoners. Either they had all been somehow killed by the griffon’s inferior weaponry, or they were hiding in the city. It was at this point that Adam and Night Flyer were split up. The pony was dragged to a tent that had been set up that appeared to be a medical pavilion. The Spartan was dragged into a very large tent in the center of the square, which was surrounded by griffon soldiers. The griffons dragged him inside, where a huge griffon clad in very thick armor was sitting at a table. On it rested a map of Equestria, each major city highlighted. At the arrival of the human, the huge, black feathered griffon stood up, and approached the Spartan. The two griffons who were holding his legs dropped them, and Adam quickly stood up. While he stood taller than the average griffon, Adam had to look up to be able to see this one’s eyes. He was easy seven and a half feet tall, and the armor he wore looked like it could stop a bullet.

“So you are the ‘human’ who has been leading these offensives against my soldiers?” the griffon stated. Rather than reply, Adam began to look around the tent at the ample defenses. Aside from the massive griffon looming in front of him, the only other hostiles inside were the four who brought him here. If he could take them down, he could try to make his escape. But there was also the issue of the few thousand griffon soldiers outside who would not make it easy to get away… So for now, Adam decided to humor the griffon.

“Yeah, what of it?” the Spartan said, glaring beneath his visor. The griffon chuckled, a deep noise that permeated the room.

“Allow me to introduce myself…” he said. “I am General Daggerwing, commander of the griffon military, and leader of this crusade…”

“That’s what you’re calling it? A crusade?” Adam asked, genuinely surprised. “This is nothing short of genocide!”

“Genocide is senseless; mindless, even,” Daggerwing replied. “We are doing this for the good of all griffons, and now dragons as well.” Dragons? Adam thought. His mind then flashed back to his conversation with the longsword pilot just before he was taken down. There was a massive fireball in the air, exactly what one would expect to come from a dragon.

“The ancient Oracle has told us many things,” the general continued. “Including that the ponies are not only a threat to us, but to everyone living in this realm! They must be eliminated, for the sake of all who exist!”

“You’re insane…” Adam said. The griffon glared, and drew a curved knife from his belt. That’s right, Adam thought. Get angry… Daggerwing stepped forward, and held his knife to Adam’s throat. He was surprised when the shields did nothing to prevent the blade from coming close to him. He then realized that, according to his HUD, the shields were not online. With a series of blinks, Adam brought up a diagnostic screen, and found that all of the emitters had been burned out, likely by the explosion from the longsword crash. That would make escape infinitely more difficult.

“Insane?” Daggerwing said, applying pressure to the dagger. “Am I now? Am I insane for wanting what is best for this planet, this galaxy, even? No, no, no, my dear human… I do what I do, not out of blind faith, but because it is my destiny, and the ponies are getting in the way of that. The Oracle has made this perfectly clear; their destruction is the will of the gods! And I… I am their INSTRUMENT!” At that moment, the general swiped the knife across Adam’s neck, or rather, where his neck had been half a second before. The Spartan lunged backwards, taking the two griffons behind him down along with him. In one fluid motion, he rolled back into a standing position, put as much power as he could into the active camouflage unit, and broke into a sprint out of the tent. He had barely made it ten meters before an incredibly loud scream filled the air, and General Daggerwing burst out of the tent.

“FIND HIM!” he shouted to all soldiers in the vicinity. “FIND HIM NOW!” Running into the least-populated street, Adam brought up a large map of the city, and began running scans for friendly IFFs. And finally, just under 300 meters away, he saw a group of them in the room of a large building, reporting full vital signs. Seems that not all of the ODSTs were taken out after all, Adam thought as he began running in their direction. Realizing that his active camo was at half power, he began to pick up the pace to meet up with the elite soldiers, where they could then begin to plan their counterattack…

Chapter 20

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CHAPTER 20

Commander Thomas Lasky wandered through the pristine hallways of Canterlot Palace, on his way to meet with the two princesses. The grandiose architecture reminded him of something out of a fairytale, but considering that the two beings he was going to meet were straight out of mythology, that did not seem like a far off conclusion. Lasky approached a large set of doors flanked by two guards. As soon as he got near, the armor-clad unicorns pushed the doors open with their telekinesis, revealing a lushly decorated room beyond. In the center of the room was a small table surrounded by several chairs. Along the walls were comfortable looking couches and bookshelves adorned with various trinkets. On one wall was a large fireplace, within which was a roaring fire, and sitting in front of it were Princesses Celestia and Luna. At the sound of the door opening, the diarchs turned to greet the visitor. Celestia smiled when she saw Lasky, and stood up to meet him.

“Commander Lasky,” she said happily. “It is good that you are here. We have much to discuss.”

“That we do, Princess,” the commander replied. Celestia turned to the table in the center of the room and walked over to it, taking a seat in one of the pony-designed chairs. Lasky was pleased to notice that one chair appeared to be intended for human anatomy, and he took a seat in that one. Luna took a seat by her sister, stifling a yawn.

“So Commander,” Celestia began, suddenly taking on a more serious tone. “What is the news of the Crystal Empire?”

“Reports are still coming in,” Lasky said, retrieving a small tablet from his pocket. On it, he pulled up several images and reports of the Crystal Empire theater. “But the main word is that all griffon forces have been eliminated. The first assault was stopped fairly effectively by Adam and Captain Armor, and ever since our Spartan left for Manehattan, they’ve done a good job at defending the city from smaller strike forces.”

“That is good,” Luna said, smiling. “And what of Manehattan? Our scouts have not been able to get close.” Lasky sighed, and averted his gaze.

“That news isn’t quite as good…” he began. The two princesses frowned, and prepared themselves for the news.

“We’ve lost contact with all UNSC forces in the area. Either their long-range comms are down, or they’ve all been wiped out. Additionally, we have lost contact with all air forces that were deployed to the region, which has discouraged Captain Del Rio from sending anyone else. Infinity is trying to get detailed images of the city from space, but it’s not looking good…” The sisters exchanged glances, then looked at Lasky sadly.

“Is there anything that we can do?” Celestia asked.

“Princess, until we know more about the situation up there, I wouldn’t recommend sending anyone anywhere close to Manehattan,” Lasky replied. “But don’t give up hope yet. Adam is a Spartan, and Spartan’s are the best of the best.”

“Thank you, Commander Lasky,” Luna said, her blue eyes shimmering with sadness. “We will plan accordingly…” Lasky nodded, pocketed his tablet, and stood up to leave. He stepped out of the door and back into the massive cathedral-like hallways, then began to head back to Perseus.

Adam crept silently through the abandoned buildings of Manehattan, attempting to make his way to where three ODST soldiers were in hiding. They, of course, knew nothing of him or his plans, but with their help, the Spartan hoped to take the city back. As he meandered through the hastily-evacuated rooms, he began to take in the state of the city. Every room he had gone through looked like the pony inhabitants had simply disappeared. Plates with food still on them rested on kitchen tables, books lay haphazardly on couches, and the rooms themselves were very messy. It was clear that, once the griffons had been spotted nearby, the previous inhabitants had simply taken what they could and left, not caring what happened to their homes. And it was his fault. Nobody else mentioned it, but Adam knew it was true. While war may have been inevitable, it would not have occurred for a long while. But because he was too hasty, and didn’t think the situation through, he had forced the hand of the Forerunner monitor and now the peaceful ponies were paying the price.

Adam shook the negative thoughts from his mind. It was no way to be acting on the battlefield. If his hastily strewn-together plan was to be successful, he would need to be completely focused. Checking the area map, Adam noticed that the three ODSTs were only a few meters ahead. In fact, he could see the bolted-shut wooden door in front of him. To any griffon searchers, it would just appear as a bathroom or closet, nowhere that a human or pony soldier would hide. Adam began to reach out to rip the door open, but then decided against it. His shield emitters were still totally burned out, and if he startled the marines enough that they opened fire, their combined shots could kill him before they realized he has friendly. Cycling through the various channels, he began to repeat a message.

“ODST soldiers, come in,” he repeated over and over. Beginning to think it was no use, Adam nearly gave up. But finally, on channel zulu, he received a response.

“This is Corporal Dunley, who is this, over?” said a deep male voice.

“This is Spartan D-014, what’s your status?”

“Crap… we thought you were dead, sir,” Dunley replied. “We’re all okay, but where are you?”

“I’m right outside,” Adam said, knocking on the door. “Could you let me in?” There was the sound of a bolt being moved out of place, then the door swept inwards, revealing an ODST with sniper variant armor.

“Corporal Dunley?” the Spartan asked.

“That’s right, sir,” the corporal responded, stepping aside. “Please, come in.” Adam stepped in to the small closet, and took in his surroundings. Standing at the other end were two other ODSTs, one of whom had biofoam coating the right side of his abdomen. He offered a weak salute, and then sat down.

“Sir, these are Privates Grant and Ward,” Dunley then said, pointing to each of the soldiers. Grant was wearing a close quarter’s variant, and was standing in the corner. The wounded soldier was Ward, who wore the default variant, and simply hosted an assault rifle. Adam nodded to each soldier, then turned back to the corporal.

“What happened?” he asked. The corporal sighed, then sat down. He motioned for Adam to do the same.

“I don’t really know, sir…” the ODST began. “One minute, everything was going fine. We had begun to lure the griffons into the main street, and were about to call in for bomber support. Then we heard an explosion. We all looked up, and saw one of our longswords get taken out by… something. Then, something big appeared. It was so big it blotted out the sun. We heard a loud roar, then suddenly everything just burst into flame. Buildings, ponies, marines, everything. We lost a lot of our soldiers in the first strike, before we even realized what we were dealing with. After that, the griffons called for surrender, and two huge dragons landed next to them. The ponies did, as did a few ODSTs. But some of us tried our luck with running… As far as I know, we’re the only ones who made it.” Adam nodded, then weighed his options. With just the three of them, there was no way that they could liberate Manehattan. They would need as many reinforcements as possible. But to get those, they would need to escape, and currently their only escape was in the form of a pelican dropship heavily guarded by griffon forces in the middle of the city.

“I might have an idea,” Adam reported. The three ODSTs all perked up at this, and nodded at him to continue. “We need help, and I don’t just mean more marines. I mean big help…”

“Infinity?” asked Grant. Adam shook his head.

“No, I was thinking something else…” the Spartan continued. “Obviously a MAC is too big. We’d kill pony prisoners and level much of the city. Point-defense turrets are too small, I doubt that they’d actually be able to hit too many griffons before they ran for cover… Archer missiles, however… They might just work.”

“Agreed,” Ward commented. “But where are we going to get an archer missile from?”

“Canterlot isn’t too far from Manehattan, only a few hours by pelican,” Adam began. “Perseus is right next to Canterlot, and she’s got a full complement of them. If I can get into contact with them, I can get them to send one our way.”

“But how will we contact Perseus?” Dunley asked. “Our radios don’t have a high enough range.”

“You just leave that to me…”

Adam silently crouch-walked through the debris-ridden streets of Manehattan, keeping a careful eye out for the many griffon patrols who were searching for him. The Spartan had decided not to use his active camo yet, as he would need to save as much suit energy as possible to use it later. After all, the main part of his plan did involve him sneaking back into the griffon-inhabited square. Checking his radar, he saw three yellow blips following close behind him. Turning around for visual confirmation, Adam saw the three ODSTs not far behind him, holding their weapons at the ready. He nodded back at them, then continued the slow-going process of crouch-walking. His legs were already beginning to burn, but he ignored it. This was too important.

“Sir…” one of the marines whispered through his mic. “I’ve got movement on the street perpendicular to ours…” Turning to look at where the marine was indicating, he saw three griffon scouts beginning to round the corner. The human soldiers could easily eliminate the winged creatures, but Adam did not want to risk them getting out a warning. If their positions were compromised, they would not have another chance at escaping.

“Get down,” Adam ordered as he lowered himself behind a stack of crates holding various pieces of fruit. The ODSTs each took similar positions out of sight of the griffons, then waited for them to move along. The three griffons looked around at the intersection, then began to turn in the direction of Adam and the ODSTs. Stopping in the middle of the street, the griffon in the center of the pack began to sniff at the air, his large eagle eyes scanning the perimeter. Over the next few tense seconds, Adam began to worry that their position had been compromised. Readying the assault rifle that had been kindly donated to him by one of the marines, he got ready to spring out and open fire on the trio. But only half a second before he did this, the griffon huffed loudly, and continued walking down the street. Adam watched the griffons as they rounded the corner at the opposite end of the street, then let out a sigh of relief.

“Let’s keep moving”, he said, then stood up from his hiding place. The three ODSTs complied and stood up, then began crouch-walking behind the Spartan. Recalling his knowledge of the layout of the city, Adam began to visualize where they were. He had not had to go too far to find the ODSTs, but now they were taking a different route that would bring them a bit closer to the pelican. If he remembered correctly, then the next street would lead directly to the large square. Peeking his head around the corner, he found that he was correct. At the end of the street was a hastily-constructed checkpoint surrounded by griffons. On the roofs above them were more griffons, these ones wielding crossbows. All of the creatures vigilantly watched the streets, looking for any kind of movement. Adam began to back up, and the turned to address the ODSTs.

“There’s too many for us to just sneak past, we need a different route,” he reported.

“What about one of the buildings?” Ward asked. “We could sneak through them to the other side. I mean, sure, they’ll probably be guarded, but much less than out here.” Adam nodded in agreement, then began looking around at his choice of buildings. He wouldn’t be able to cross the street, lest the griffons spot them. That narrowed his choice down to the buildings currently on his side of the street. Weighing his options, he finally settled on one that had less windows to offer them more cover from being spotted from outside. He motioned for the marines to follow him, then began crouch-walking to the door. Quietly, he turned the knob and pushed it open, eliciting a quiet creak from the hinges. Adam stopped to make sure nobody heard, then, once he was satisfied that no one did, he continued inside, assault rifle at the ready. Suddenly, at the end of the hallway there appeared a shadow. The shape of it clearly indicated it was a griffon, and it was getting ready to round the corner. Realizing that his assault rifle would easily be heard in here, Adam lowered it then reached his hand back behind him.

“Anyone got a SOCOM?” he asked. There was no answer, but the Spartan felt the shape of a gun press into his hand, and he closed his fingers around the grip. Bringing the silent pistol to bear, he waited and waited for the shadow to round the corner. When it did, before it could even realize what was happening, three bullets were sent down range, each one impacting into the creature’s head, splattering crimson blood against the pale walls. Adam waited for another griffon to come rounding the corner, checking to see what had killed his partner. He waited for a scream to ring out and alert all of the griffons in the city. But neither of the two events came, and Adam silently began to creep forwards once more, still holding the pistol at the ready. The four soldiers continued moving quietly through the building, keeping an eye out for enemies who might give away their position. Finally, they reached the next door, which would lead them into the square, where they could then escape into the dropship. Adam quietly cracked the door open, and fed a small fiber optic probe through the gap to check the surroundings. He linked the feed to his HUD, and slowly began turning the probe to get a view. As he expected, the place was full of griffons. Right as he was about to bring the probe back in, he caught sight of something that had not been there when he escaped the first time. Turning the probe ever so slightly, Adam got his first view of yet another one of Equis’s mythological creatures, the dragon.

“Sister, we cannot wait any longer,” Princess Luna pleaded to Celestia. “We must send a backup force to Manehattan!” Celestia briefly paused her anxious pacing to regard the princess of the night.

“Luna, you must understand,” she began. “We lost contact with the soldiers up there for a reason! It is not safe, and we must trust the humans to find out why!”

“Our ponies could be getting slaughtered, Tia!” Luna reasoned. “If we do not act now, even more shall die, and it could all be in vain!”

“Luna, please,” Celestia continued, trying to calm down her sister. “Shouting and making rash decisions such as those will not get us anywhere! We must be prepared for the battle here, and let the humans figure out Manehattan!”

“But-.” A knock at the door stopped Luna from continuing her sentence, and she turned to regard the newcomer. Celestia pulled the door open with her telekinesis, revealing Commander Lasky, a grim expression on his face.

“Princesses,” Lasky started. “I’m sorry, I wish I was here with better news. May I come in?” Celestia stepped aside and granted the human entry. He sauntered into the room, then looked at each princess.

“Infinity just finished gathering orbital images of Manehattan,” he said, pulling a small tablet out from his pocket. He passed it over to Celestia, who began to examine the image. It was from high orbit, so there was not much detail, but there were three very obvious fires raging in different parts of the city.

“Those fires are from the three bombers that we diverted to assist,” the commander continued. “They’ve all been destroyed, along with most of the pony and ODST force that was there.”

“What does this mean?” Celestia asked, sadness beginning to well up inside her.

“I’m sorry, princess,” Lasky said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Manehattan has been lost.”

Quickly pulling the probe back into the building, Adam turned to face the ODSTs, an expression of worry behind his golden faceplate.

“What’s the situation, sir?” Dunley asked. “We making a run for the pelican?” Adam began to think over the situation, trying to see if it would still work. But no matter what he thought up, Adam saw no possible scenario in which they would successfully escape before the massive dragon took them out of the sky.

“Change of plans,” Adam finally answered. “We’re still going to need that archer missile, we’re just going to need to point it at a different target…”

“What do you mean?” the ODST asked, confused.

“Do you have a laser designator, soldier?”

“Well, yes, but-,”

“Good, hand it over.” Dunley complied, and took a small laser designator out of his pouch, then passed it over to the Spartan.

“Now stand back,” he ordered. The ODSTs did as they were told, and took several steps back from the door. Quietly pulling the door open, Adam activated his camouflage unit and stepped through into the square. All around were griffon soldiers, patrolling every possible entrance except the one that he had come through. Setting his sights on the pelican, Adam began to jog over to it, then stopped at the back hatch. Fortunately it was unguarded, but inside, Adam could hear a griffon rummaging through his storage. Quietly, Adam jumped inside, then dispatched the griffon with a bullet to the head from his borrowed SOCOM pistol. He then stepped into the cockpit, sat down in the chair, and deactivated his cloak. Alright, let’s see… he thought. The pelican communications had been damaged in the crash of Lightning, and it could not send out any messages, only receive. However, with a bit of tinkering, Adam believed that it would be possible for him to patch his own radio into the pelican’s, thus boosting its effective range. Adam leaned down and took off the maintenance panel beneath the main console, then pulled a cord out of the tactical pad on his left forearm. Finding the appropriate slot, he plugged the cord in, then checked his communication diagnostics. As he had expected, the integration had boosted the range of his personal radio, allowing him to communicate with anybody on the planet.

“Perseus, this is Spartan D-014, please come in, over,” he said. He waited for a moment, and when there was no reply, he repeated the message. Once again, there was no answer. Finally, on the fifth repeat, the radio crackled to life, and a voice filled his helmet speakers.

“This is Perseus, Adam, is that you?” said the voice of Commander Lasky.

“Commander Lasky?” Adam asked. “Yeah, it’s me.”

“It’s good to hear from you! We feared the worst!”

“Yeah, so did I…” the Spartan continued. “But listen, I need some help here.”

“I’d love to send reinforcements, Adam, I really would,” Lasky interjected. “But Captain Del Rio has prohibited the sending of all forces to Manehattan. I’m sorry.”

“Not that kind of help, sir,” Adam said. “Listen, there’s a dragon in this city. Well, actually, there are two, but there’s one in the immediate area, and it’s preventing me from taking off.” As he said this, Adam looked out of the front window at the massive creature. Upon closer inspection, he was not surprised that it had been able to take out a longsword. Longswords, being atmosphere-capable air vehicles, were already made of a lighter metal than most other vehicles, but it still usually took quite a bit to take one down. However, this dragon had massive, razor-sharp claws on the front of its wings that looked like they could cut through titanium-A. Not to mention the scales coating most of its body were incredibly thick, and no doubt could survive incredible temperatures.

“A dragon, you say?” Lasky asked, bewildered. “When did they get involved with this?”

“I don’t know, sir, but they did,” Adam replied. “And now we need help. I have a laser designator, if you can fire off a single archer missile, it should be able to take the thing down, and allow me to escape.” There was a brief pause, then Lasky replied.

“Copy that, Adam. Archer missile is underway, ETA 30 seconds. Get that designator ready.” Quickly standing up from his seat in the cockpit, Adam activated his camo and rushed out of the pelican, then positioned himself where he had a good view of the dragon, but still plenty of cover from the explosion. He pressed a button on the back of the designator, and a green laser began to shine out of it, aimed right at the dragon’s chest. A few seconds later, Adam began to hear a whining sound coming from the distance. He craned his neck to see over the dragon, and finally began to see an orange fireball heading straight for them. Griffon soldiers began noticing too, and they all stopped their patrols to look at the bright light. The dragon too became aware of the missile, and squinted its eyes to get a better look. And mere seconds before the M58 ship-to-ship missile impacted, the creature let out a roar, and spun around to protect its exposed belly, only revealing to the weapon the hardened scales on its back. There was a bright flash of light, and an incredibly loud explosion, and all of the griffons in the area were lifted off of their talons and into the air, before falling back down. When the light cleared, all that remained of where the dragon had been was a dense black cloud of smoke. The griffons slowly picked themselves up off of the ground, then began to walk cautiously towards the cloud. Adam smiled with satisfaction that the creature had been killed, and was about to contact the ODSTs to run to the pelican when he heard a noise from the smoke. A loud groan, then an annoyed growl were heard as the cloud of smoke dissipated, revealing the dragon to still be alive. Angrily, it stood up to its full height, revealing that the once crimson scales had been stained a dark black by the explosion. It spread out its wings, then leapt into the air and began hovering, then looked around at the square. As the massive eyes scanned over the pelican, Adam ducked behind it and hid, even though his active camouflage still protected him.

“WHAT WAS THAT!?” yelled an angry voice that Adam recognized belonged to General Daggerwing. The voice that responded was much deeper, and seemed to make the ground vibrate with every syllable. Adam turned his head and noticed that it was the dragon who was replying.

“I do not know, General,” it said, the calmness of its voice not betraying its anger. “But it was not of pony make.”

“The humans did that?” Daggerwing asked. “Where did it come from?”

“Again, I know not, general,” the dragon replied. “It seemed to come from the sky, however… mmm…”

“What is it?”

“The humans have one of their devices, a ‘ship’, by Canterlot, do they not?” asked the dragon.

“Yes, they do,” the general said. Angrily, the dragon grunted, then stared at the general.

“Then the first strike for the battle of Canterlot has been made,” the dragon said, growling.

“That thing came from their ship?” Daggerwing asked, surprised. The dragon did not answer. Instead, it let out an ear-splitting roar as it rose higher into the air. This roar was answered by four more, and Adam watched with horror as four of the massive creatures rose from various positions in the city. The dragon in the center then began flapping its wings at an increased pace, and shot off for Canterlot. The four new dragons followed behind it, and soon disappeared from sight.

“Gather the equipment!” General Daggerwing shouted. “Follow them! We will meet up with the Canterlot assault group at Ponyville! Go, go, go!” The griffons then began running around, gathering their weapons and supplies, then began funneling down a street to exit the city. As soon as the last griffon had left, Adam stepped into his pelican, and reopened the communications channel.

“Adam, what happened?” Lasky asked. “Did it work?” Adam paused, choosing his words carefully.

“… No,” he finally said. “Get ready. They’re coming.”

Author's Notes:

You may have realized that this chapter took quite a while to come out. Well, ever since I released the last chapter, I've been a complete dead zone of ideas. But I finally was able to finish this and I liked how it turned out, so I figure it's about time I release it.

You also may have noticed a drop in quality over the past few chapters. This is chiefly due to my writer's block, but also because I've been neglecting to plan properly. Part of the reason that I believe the first ten or so chapters were so successful was because I had planned several weeks in advance, and knew exactly what I was doing. Recently, that has dwindled to only planning a day or two in advance. Because of this, I'm going to be implementing a new planning technique into the writing of each chapter. Initially this may lead to longer wait times between each chapter, but you should see an improvement in quality.

As usual, thanks for reading! If you noticed any spelling/grammar/lore errors, or have any suggestions, please do not hesitate to let me know!

Chapter 21

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CHAPTER 21

Stepping out of his pelican and back into the now-empty square, Adam surveyed what had been left behind when the griffons abandoned the city. Many of the pony prisoners had been executed, but some were still alive, and were sitting, tied up, on the ground. He moved to go untie them, when he heard footsteps behind him.

“Sir, what happened?” asked the voice of Corporal Dunley. Adam turned to address the ODST, and found that Grant and Ward had followed him out.

“We have a problem,” Adam reported. “There was a dragon in the square. I called for the archer missile to try and take it out, but it survived.”

“A dragon survived an archer missile!?” Ward asked, surprised.

“That’s impossible, an archer missile can disable most UNSC warships!” Grant interjected, equally as shocked.

“I’m aware of that, private, but it did survive,” the Spartan said. “And now they’re heading for Canterlot. So we need to get there, and warn everyone.” He then turned to face the prisoners. “But first, we need to untie these prisoners.”

“Sir, with all due respect,” Dunley said. “We really should go now. If the griffons are moving on Canterlot, we have no time to spare.”

“We have time,” Adam said. “The general said something about meeting up with the other groups in Ponyville. That should give us at least another day.” The ODST nodded, then motioned for the other two to help him untie the prisoners. While they went about doing this task, Adam set his eyes on the medical pavilion that he had seen Night Flyer be taken into. Cautiously, he approached the tent, assault rifle at the ready. He activated his thermal vision, and it only showed a single entity inside. Pushing the flaps aside, Adam stepped in and approached the crippled body of Night Flyer. Despite the amount of trauma his body had endured, the Spartan could still see the steady rise and fall of the pony’s chest, and an occasionally twitch of his face. Careful not to touch any particularly badly burned areas, Adam gently picked up the pony, and removed him from the tent. As he exited, he noticed that the three ODSTs had already almost finished untying the surviving prisoners, who then retrieved their weapons and set about securing the perimeter. When the ODSTs were finished, they ran to Adam, who was just about to enter the pelican.

“We’re finished, sir,” Grant said. “What’s next?”

“Good,” Adam replied as he laid the injured pony across three of the seats in the troop bay. “Get some of the pony soldiers to come with us. Have the rest check all of the safe houses and make sure they haven’t all been compromised. Then, we head for Canterlot.” The three marines saluted, then ran off to carry out the Spartan’s orders. Adam himself secured Night Flyer in the troop bay, then entered the cockpit and began starting up the dropship’s various systems. A few moments later, he heard the sound of multiple boots and hooves entering the troop bay, followed by the clicking of seat harnesses.

“Everyone ready?” Adam asked, turning his head. The ponies and marines all nodded, and Adam closed the back hatch, then began to hover upwards. Once he was a respectable height above the ground, he throttled up the main engines, and shot off towards Canterlot.

The flight to Canterlot did not take long. At top speeds, Adam and his passengers reached the mountain city in just over two hours. As the Spartan navigated over the pristine white towers, he looked down, and was impressed by the amount of preparation that had been done since he had left. Overall, the time he had spent in the Crystal Empire and Manehattan totaled two days, and already Canterlot looked ready to take on a massive invasion force. The city seemed to have been mostly evacuated, no doubt to Infinity, and where hordes of ponies once roamed, there now were only machines of war. Machine gun turret emplacements had been set up at most of the streets, and the Spartan could see vacant scorpion tanks blocking off routes. By far the most well protected area, however, was the castle gates. Gauss cannon emplacements had been set up on almost all of the guard towers. Behind the walls were several mortar stations, and in front of them were more warthogs and scorpions, all of them pointing their weapons down the street. As Adam flew over the castle, he noticed that the large training grounds had been almost completely refit as a base of operations. Multiple pelican dropships, and even a few broadswords, had landed in the field, and Adam saw what looked like marines passing out firearms to unicorns. The training grounds then passed from his view, and all that was left were the castle gardens, at the back of the palace. He set his pelican down in the usual spot, and was pleased to notice that Princesses Celestia and Luna, as well as Commander Lasky, were already waiting for him. Opening the back hatch, Adam ran outside, followed by the ODSTs and pony soldiers. He approached the commander and princesses, and saluted.

“At ease, Adam,” Lasky said. The commander was about to continue, but Adam interrupted.

“We need to talk,” he said. “It’s important.” The two diarchs looked at one another, then nodded, and turned to reenter the palace. Lasky and Adam followed behind, taking note of the extra guards running throughout the halls.

“When was the city evacuated?” Adam asked as they strode through the palace behind the two princesses.

“Last night,” the Commander replied. “Infinity sent down Athens and Red Dawn to carry the refugees. The griffons were far enough away that they were able to make several trips, a luxury that the other cities have not been able to have…”

“We’ll save as many as we can, sir,” stated the Spartan assuredly. Lasky was about to reply when the two pony sisters stopped in their tracks at a small door, which Adam recognized as leading to the planning room. Celestia pushed it open and walked inside, followed by her sister and the two humans. As he entered, Adam noticed that the map table now sported a highly detailed plan of Canterlot, which several areas highlighted for troop deployments and ambush zones. Everyone took up a position around the table, and then all eyes were set on Adam.

“So Adam, what news do you bring of Manehattan?” Princess Luna asked, an air of worry in her voice. Adam sighed, then prepared to recount his tale.

“Everything was going fine,” he began. “We were luring the bulk of the griffon army into an ambush, which, had it worked, would have led to our victory without a doubt. But something that we didn’t expect happened…” The ponies and human watched the Spartan, urging him to continue.

“Princess… you have mentioned in the past that dragons inhabit this world as well?” Celestia nodded, smiling. This smile was replaced with an expression of dread when she figured out what Adam was implying.

“They have sided with the griffons?” she asked quietly, her pupils tiny dots in her large magenta eyes. Adam nodded solemnly, and let his news sink in. After a few moments had passed, he continued.

“They ambushed us, and took out our air support fairly quickly. Once they were down, the dragons started burning our soldiers, then called for a surrender. As you can probably guess… they listened.”

“Where were you during this?” Lasky asked, confused.

“I had been… incapacitated… by one of the longsword crashes,” Adam replied. “The crash took out my shields then knocked me unconscious, making it fairly easy for the griffons to capture me and take me to the one in charge.”

“The one in charge?” Luna asked. “Who is leading their assault?”

“A huge griffon called General Daggerwing,” said Adam. “He’s practically been indoctrinated by Chorus, as have all of his soldiers…

“Anyway, once I broke free, I met up with some ODST’s who had managed to escape and go into hiding. We made a plan to get to my pelican and escape, but we had to abandon it once we saw a dragon standing right across from it.”

“And that is when you radioed in for the archer missile?” Lasky asked, beginning to put the pieces together. Adam nodded in response.

“Yes, but it somehow managed to survive.” Celestia nodded, then stared at Adam.

“This dragon…” she said. “Would you please describe him to me?”

“He was massive,” Adam began. “Easily two and a half times larger than my pelican, and about twice the wingspan. The scales were a very dark red, though the archer missile did stain some of them black…” Celestia looked troubled.

“Two and a half times taller… That is large, even for a dragon,” she started. “I believe that you have just described to me a dragon lord.”

“Dragon lord?” Lasky asked. “What is that?” At this, Luna stepped forward.

“They are an incredibly rare breed of dragon,” the princess said. “Only a few are known to exist. In comparison to most dragons, they are much larger. They also have minor control over magic, allowing them to do things such as form shields around themselves, and greatly strengthen their scales. It is likely that this is how the dragon survived your missile attack.”

“It is also quite odd that one has decided to assist the griffons,” Celestia added. “Dragon lords almost always keep to themselves. That it has decided to work with another species is very troubling, to say the least…”

“That’s not all, princess…,” Adam continued. “The dragon ‘lord’ figured out that the missile came from near Canterlot. It, along with four smaller ones, began flying here. The griffons followed suit, and totally abandoned Manehattan.”

“They are on their way here now!?” Luna yelled, her eyes going wide.

“No, princess,” Adam said, attempting to comfort the night princess. “The general said that they would regroup in Ponyville, which, if I’m correct, would delay them by about a day. We don’t have much time.” Luna looked to Celestia.

“Then we need to prepare,” she said.

“Agreed,” Adam began. “I’ll-.”

“Hold on, Spartan,” Lasky interjected, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Not yet. I need you onboard Infinity.”

“But sir-,”

“Adam, listen,” Lasky commanded. The Spartan did as he was told, and closed his mouth. “Your armor is damaged. Go to Infinity, get it repaired. Additionally, the Spartan-IV team we brought along is there, waiting for the word. Go up there, get them ready. We can hold the fort down here until you get back.” Once it seemed as though Lasky was done speaking, Adam spoke back up.

“Sir, I don’t work very well with teams,” he noted, flashbacks of his days as an ODST briefly returning.

“I know, Adam, I know,” the commander began. “And I’m not ordering you to work with them. I just need you to brief them, and get them ready for combat down here.” There was a brief moment of silence. Adam still did not want to leave; the griffons could attack at any moment. Of course, the UNSC had been bolstering the capital city and it was now an impressive show of force. Finally, he sighed, then stepped back and saluted.

“Yes, sir,” was all he said before turning around and exiting the room.

Twilight navigated through the massive crowds of pony refugees who had been sent to Infinity for protection. Last night, two frigates had been sent to Canterlot to take on as many ponies as possible. When all of their trips had been completed, they had managed to rescue 8,000, putting the ship only a few hundred away from its maximum capacity. The humans had begun to run out of room in barracks and cargo bays, so only one room remained open: the Spartan deck. It was the largest part of the ship, and was host to hundreds of the cylindrical devices that had relieved Adam of his armor aboard Lightning. It easily fit over a thousand of the refugees, who were conversing among themselves about the situation on Equis. As Twilight walked, she gauged the general opinion about the humans as apprehensive at best. The humans had shown nothing but kindness to them thus far, but entrusting one’s life to an alien race who had only recently been introduced to the world was not an everyday situation. She understood their doubts, and even shared some of them. But the purple unicorn was determined not to let it interfere with future relations, or with the griffon situation. If she was going to help Princess Cadance keep these ponies calm, she would have to at least appear so herself.

As she walked through the thick crowds, Twilight spotted the reason she had come down to this deck: Princess Cadance. Several hours ago, the two had decided that, if they could not help in Equestria, they could at least help up here. Knowing that the largest concentration of ponies was on the Spartan deck, they had decided that the easiest way for them to calm the civilians down would be to speak to them in large numbers, and show that they were not worried. Twilight began trotting towards the pink mare, who noticed the unicorn approaching and grinned at her. Once Twilight was standing right next to the princess, she sat down, then scanned the crowd.

“There’s a lot of ponies in here,” she noted. “How are we going to get everypony’s attention?”

“I am a princess, Twilight,” Cadance replied, a soft laugh escaping her lips. “I’m used to this kind of thing. She then turned her attention to the crowd before them, and coughed loudly, amplifying it with her magic. The din of chatter among the ponies slowly died down, until there was perfect silence. Everypony’s eyes were on Cadance.

“My little ponies,” she began. “I know that you are worried. I know that you do not entirely trust these humans. To be honest, I’m worried too. Worried for the ponies who were not given the luxury of coming up here for safety.” Cadance then began pacing back and forth in front of the crowd. Their eyes never left the princess.

“Recognize that being up here is a great gift,” Cadance continued. “Do you realize how lucky we are? To be sitting up here, perfectly comfortable and in complete safety while the ponies below us are suffering through the griffon scourge? While we are up here, in this enchanting starship, ponies like you and me and being forced to sit in constant fear of being discovered. They are forced to stand up and see firsthoof what the griffons are leaving in their wake. We are very lucky.” The ponies stared at the princess, their expressions a mix of confusion and sadness. Was the princess trying to make them feel guilty, or safe?

“Which is why we must be strong! For while we sit up here, the world that we know and love is changing. When we go back, it will not be the same as you remember it. But you must put it upon yourselves to draw strength from this event! Homes can be rebuilt, flags re-sewn. We are being given the opportunity to do that by the humans. For without them… we would already have lost. The humans are our friends. They are here to help, and more importantly, they are here to be there for us for years to come! Cast aside your doubts and your fears! For when the humans drive the griffons from our homes, it will be up to us to restore them to how we remember!”

As her message began to be absorbed by the masses, smiles began to replace the expressions of fear and doubt. Hooves began to stomp against the light metallic floor of the deck, and the crowd began cheering. Twilight smiled at the reaction, and looked to Cadance. She, too, was smiling, and looking out upon the ponies. Twilight then looked back out over the crowd. Her attention was moved away from the ponies, however, when she saw a small door at the opposite end of the room open. Out of it walked a tall figure, with a golden face. The mare smiled as she recognized it as Adam. This smile was soon replaced with a frown as she began to wonder. What could he be doing up here? Adam then stepped into one of the cylindrical devices, and the process of removing his armor began. A few seconds later, it was over, and the human walked out the same way he entered, the door sliding shut behind him.

Adam navigated through the tall hallways of Infinity, attempting to find his way to the Spartan barracks. The fireteam that had been assigned to the ship on its trip to Equestria was known as Fireteam Vector. As with most teams, it was comprised of five Spartan-IV’s, with a gunnery sergeant in command. Adam had been briefed about Vector, and knew that the Spartan in charge was Kevin D-121, a graduate of the same class as him. They had performed training operations together, though, because of his difficulty with working with others, Adam typically did not do well. The other four names he did not recognize, as they had been part of the group trained after the Deltas.

Finally he came to the door he was looking for, the barracks reserved for Fireteam Vector. Adam pressed the ‘open’ button, and it slid apart, revealing a sizeable barracks with five beds, several computers, and a metal table in the center. Standing around this table were the five Spartans, all talking amongst one another quietly, no doubt about the pony situation. Adam cleared his throat to make them aware of his presence. All of their eyes immediately shot up and, upon seeing him, four of the Spartans saluted. The only one who did not salute was standing in the middle of the pack, Kevin D-121. Instead, he navigated around the table, hands clasped behind his back, and approached Adam. They each stared each other down for a moment, before Kevin smiled and held out his hand.

“Adam,” he said amicably. “It’s been a long time.”

“It sure has, Kevin,” Adam replied coolly, accepting the handshake. Most S-IV’s in the Delta group had made an effort to get to know one another, to make future cooperation easier. This was not the case with Adam, as he usually had distanced himself from the others. The other Spartans had recognized this, and typically would leave him alone. Even when they did try to have contact with him, Adam would frequently ignore them or force them away. This lead to some Spartans disliking him, though they would always put that at the back of their mind during practice missions or exercises. Adam guessed that the only reason Kevin was treating him in a friendly manner was for this same reason, to make cooperation in this mission easier. They let go of each other’s hands, and Kevin began to motion to the other four Spartans.

“Adam, these are Spartans E-411, E-232, E-059, and E-101,” he said, moving his hand past each of the soldiers as he said their numbers. Each one held their rigid postures and maintained their salutes, staring off at the wall behind Adam. He stepped forward, then addressed them.

“At ease, Spartans,” Adam began. “As you have no doubt been told, I am here to brief you on the situation down on Equis.” The Spartans dropped their salutes, then all turned to look at him, nodding.

“Well, let’s begin by saying that the situation is not good. Two griffon armies are going to be meeting up in a small town called Ponyville. The first group is the one that attacked Manehattan, and is currently 4,500 strong. The second is exclusively meant to attack Canterlot, and is 10,000 strong.” The four Echo Spartans visibly winced at this number, but kept their attention on Adam.

“But that’s not all. According to intelligence provided by a few defectors, five hundred and fifteen Forerunner sentinels will be joining in the attack. In large numbers, the griffons can be a very lethal foe. However, compared to them, the sentinels are much worse. Their weapons can easily pierce our armor, and they’ve all been given personal energy shields. Now, our defectors are going to be focusing on them, but they’ll need some help. So as soon as those hostile sentinels arrive, I want you to focus all of your attention on wiping them out. Understood?”

There was a resounding, “Yes, sir!” from the four Spartans. Adam nodded, then continued.

“We have already begun to reinforce Canterlot. Vehicles from Infinity have been sent down and placed in strategic locations throughout the city and at the castle. The castle is our main defensive point. It is where most of the refugees who could not make it aboard the frigates are being kept, and also where the princesses are. If we lose them, we lose Equestria. So no matter what, defend that castle with your lives. Any questions?” Nobody spoke, so Adam nodded.

“Good,” he said. “Let’s move out.” Adam turned and exited the room, followed closely by Kevin. Behind him walked the four Echo Spartans, and they began to walk back to the Spartan deck.

Twilight once again maneuvered through the crowds of ponies on the Spartan deck, trying to gauge the reaction of Cadance’s speech. Overall, it seemed to have the desired effect. Every time a human soldier, a ‘marine’ as she had heard them be called, entered the room to see how everypony was doing, he was no longer met with a tense, fearful silence. Instead, ponies began greeting the soldiers and treating them normally. There were still a few ponies who were not entirely convinced, but they kept to themselves and did nothing to upset the wave of calmness that had swept over the refugees. Deciding that her job was done, Twilight turned to find the exit. Setting her eyes upon the small door, she began walking over to it, navigating through the maze of ponies to get there. As soon as she approached the door, however, it slid open, and Adam walked back through, followed by five other humans clad in the same tight black suit as he. The six humans walked past her, each one approaching one of the cylinders. Twilight spun around and ran behind Adam, stopping as he stepped into one.

“Adam!” she said happily. “What are you doing back?”

“Getting ready for battle,” he replied as the cylindrical device began spinning around him.

“Right,” Twilight said. “How is everything going down there?” Adam looked the mare right in the eye, seeming to be thinking about what to say. What did he have to hide? Were they losing? No, that’s impossible, Twilight thought. The humans were far more advanced than the griffons, there was no way that they could not be winning.

“Don’t worry, Twilight,” Adam finally said. “You’ll be able to return home soon.” As he finished the sentence, dozens of robotic arms began spinning around him, attaching pieces of armor to him and soon completely covering his body in the dark gray suit. Twilight then noticed that they had attracted a crowd of onlookers, as many ponies were behind her, watching the machinery at work. The purple unicorn began to watch the other humans, who seemed also to be Spartans, as each of them received their armor. Each suit seemed to look different from the last, likely to suit each one’s combat style. Finally the armor procedure finished, and the six soldiers stepped out of the cylinders, which then receded back into the walls. The humans then all exited the room through the same door in a straight line, the door sliding shut behind them.

Adam walked down the reinforced streets of Canterlot, admiring the work that had been done to stop the griffons from reaching the palace. An air of tension had settled over the mountain city, and it was visible everywhere the Spartan looked. UNSC soldiers monotonously loaded machine guns with ammunition belts and tanks with shells, while unicorn guards used their magic to levitate barricades and fortify positions. Through it all, nobody spoke. Rather, the soldiers completed their tasks with troubled expressions, trying to mentally prepare themselves for the coming battle. Only minutes after Adam and Fireteam Vector had landed, they had received word that the two griffon forces had met up at Ponyville. That had been only a couple of hours ago, and so far they had made no other moves. What were they waiting for? Scouts had confirmed that all hostiles had arrived, why were they not yet attacking? Adam puzzled over this as he continued walking down the street, until he reached his destination: the palace.

As soon as he stepped through the massive steel gates, he was met with the sight of dozens of soldiers, both pony and human, preparing in the courtyard. Mortars had been set up with small computers used to calculate trajectory and show where the projectile would land, and several weapon depots were established along the back wall, where ODSTs were showing unicorns how to operate assault rifles. Adam walked through the ranks of soldiers, then pushed open the ornate wooden door that lead into the castle beyond. Much like the rest of the city, the main entry hallway was not lacking in defenses. More machine gun turrets had been set up behind tall columns to provide cover, and several barricades had been pushed to the sides of the hall in a convenient enough spot that they could be pushed back into place should the need arise. More human and pony soldiers lined the hall, all of them preparing various weapons such as M319 grenade launchers and ARC-920 railguns. Adam continued walking through the hall, and began to traverse the well-rehearsed path to the war planning room. Everywhere he went were guards preparing the inside of the castle for battle. They were sparing no expense to keep the refugees and princesses safe. Finally he came to the wooden door and pushed it open, then stepped into the familiar room. Just like when he had last been here, there were three individuals standing around the center table: Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Commander Lasky. They all turned to look at the newcomer, and smiled when they saw him.

“Adam,” Princess Luna was the first to speak. “Welcome back. I trust that you are ready?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he nodded. “There’s no way that we’ll let this city go down.” Luna smiled once more, then looked back at the map. Adam walked forward and joined them.

“As I’m sure you’ve noticed,” Lasky began. “We’ve been greatly reinforcing the city. Most streets are completely blocked off, and we’ve set up defensive positions everywhere that isn’t. Additionally, all UNSC soldiers who were sent to defend other cities are being recalled. They’ll be here soon.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask, how are the other cities doing?” Adam asked.

“Compared to Manehattan? Fine,” the commander answered. “I’m not sure why, but, in comparison to the force that was sent to attack Manehattan, the ones attacking Fillydelphia and elsewhere have been fairly weak… And no dragons, either. It seems that they were a Manehattan exclusive as well.”

“The dragons are few in numbers, and dragon lords even fewer,” Celestia explained. “And they are very divided. I can understand four lower dragons joining in to help the griffons, and maybe a lord, but no more.” Lasky nodded, and rubbed his chin.

“Well, based on the result of the last time we attacked a dragon,” he said. “I think that we’ve got five too many. Aside from the sentinels, they’re going to be the hardest hostiles to eliminate.” Adam nodded in agreement.

“What can we do?”

“I made a call to Captain Del Rio about an hour ago,” the commander continued. “And he’s agreed to send down two frigates, in addition to letting us keep Perseus, to provide air support.” Adam’s eyes widened in shock at this news.

“However, they won’t be able to use MACs. Even if they were firing into the fields below, the shockwave could destabilize the city supports, and send it off of the mountain. Archer missiles will have to be used sparingly for the same reason.” Adam nodded in understanding, then began to regard the map on the table.

“There are only three entrances to the city, correct?” he asked.

“That is correct, Adam,” Celestia answered. “One is the entrance at the train station, and the other two are doors leading from the mountain passages. Commander Lasky said that these would make good ‘bottlenecks’.”

“Mm, I agree, but they won’t hold forever,” Adam said. “The griffons seem to completely disregard their dead. They’ll sacrifice a thousand soldiers just to get through the gates.” Celestia nodded, and sighed.

“Alas, it is all we have,” she said somberly. “There is only one way this ends. The griffons are throwing everything they have at Canterlot. If we stop them here and now, that is it. The war will be over.”

“I don’t know about that, ma’am…” Adam said. “401 Lamenting Chorus is rampant. If this doesn’t work, it’ll just try something else. Maybe not immediately, maybe not for another hundred years. But eventually, it will try again, and again, and again, until it is successful. This does not end with the destruction of the griffons, but with the destruction of that monitor.” The princesses both nodded grimly, then turned and exited the room.

Adam stood on the balcony joined to his room, looking out on the expansive Equestrian landscape. Helmet in hand, he let the late nighttime breeze blow through his short hair. The Spartan knew that this would be the last chance he got to relax for a while, as the griffons were not likely to let up on their assault at least until they were completely pushed back. Adam, sighed, and let a yawn escape him. He had not slept for the past several days, and it was finally starting to take a toll on him. He rubbed his eyes in an effort to keep awake, and focused on surveying the countryside. It was very different from a UNSC colony. Most of the inner colonies (before they were glassed, of course) were fairly similar to Earth, in that they had massive cities and most land was repurposed for production of goods to ship to the other colonies. To see this much land going totally unused was very different to Adam.

His train of thought was interrupted as he heard the flutter of wings, followed by a soft thump on the balcony behind him. He felt a presence approaching, and then Princess Luna entered the periphery of his vision. A brief moment of silence passed between the two of them, before the alicorn finally spoke.

“It is beautiful, isn’t it?” she said quietly. All Adam did was nod in response. “Back before my… banishment… I used to spend hours on the balconies, just watching the land. I think that… of all of the hobbies I used to have… I missed that one the most.” The Spartan remembered the brief history lesson he had been given aboard the pelican during the first trip to Lightning, and how Luna had been banished for 1,000 years. It was difficult for him to wrap his head around, that she had been in one place for a millennia, unable to do anything about it but sit and be with her own thoughts… It would have driven him mad. There was another silence, before Adam finally spoke.

“I was born in the city of New Alexandria,” he said. “We had an apartment in one of the tall buildings… It was so tall, we went above the clouds. It gave me a perfect view of everything. I used to spend nights up there, watching the cars on the streets down below. Then to see it all get destroyed…” Luna turned her head and gave the Spartan a look of sympathy, her blue eyes shining in the night. She extended her wing across his back as best as she could, then looked back out over the landscape.

They each stood in a peaceful silence, simply watching the countryside below them. From their high vantage point, Adam could see much. He saw the edges of the Everfree forest, where he had first landed. On the other side of that, though he could not see it, was Ponyville, where he had turned himself in. It all seemed so simple back then. But because of his rash actions, the peaceful ponies were now forced into a war for their own survival.

“I’m sorry,” he said. Luna looked at him with a confused stare.

“What for, Adam?” she asked, genuinely confused.

“All of this,” he answered. “It’s all my fault. Princess Celestia was right. If I had just waited, if I had never helped that monitor… You all would be fine, I’d be back with the UNSC, and everything would be peaceful. But I ruined it all.” Luna withdrew her wing, and turned to fully face the Spartan.

“Adam,” she began. “We do not blame you for any of this. The griffons would have attacked us eventually, it was inevitable. And, as much as I do not want to admit it, without help from you and your kind, we would likely have already lost. We do not blame you, Adam. We thank you.” Adam turned his head and looked at the pony, offering a weak smile.

“Plus, for what it’s worth… we have all greatly enjoyed your company.” Adam chuckled softly at this, then turned back and continued examining the Equestrian countryside. Luna stayed with him for a few more moments, before she stepped away and spread her wings.

“I must return to my duties, Adam,” she said, and slowly began to hover into the air. He turned and watched as the alicorn rose higher and higher.

“I should probably get some sleep anyway, Princess,” he replied. “Don’t want to be tired when the griffons show up.” Luna smiled and nodded, then with a mighty flap she soared off into the sky, flying to another part of Canterlot. Adam turned and reentered his room, closing the door behind him. He placed the helmet on the bedside table, then lay down on the bed, and closed his eyes. He did not know what exactly what he was going to wake up to, but whatever happened… he knew that it had all been worth it.

Chapter 22

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CHAPTER 22

Princess Luna walked side-by-side with her sister down a section of the palace that had not been accessed for centuries. The neglect was showing in the form of cobwebs surrounding the large columns, and dust-laden floors that kicked up the particles whenever one of the princesses took a step. Of course, there was a good reason that nopony had been down here in hundreds of years. Equestria going to war was incredibly rare, and it was even rarer that it was on such grand a scale that the princesses had to become involved. As such, this section was hardly visited. After all, it seemed a waste of resources to maintain just a single hallway and room.

At the end of the corridor was a small wooden door. Because of all of the neglect, the wood had begun to rot and decay, creating several small holes that, had there been any light, would have given a preview into the chamber beyond. The two princesses reached the door, and it swung open in the golden aura of Celestia’s magic. They both stepped inside the cold, musty room, and looked around. With a spark of her horn, Celestia reignited the flames on the wall mounted cantles, bathing the room in a soft orange glow. The room was sparsely decorated. Along the walls were empty weapons racks, all covered in a thick layer of dust. Next to them were unused tables, one of which had collapsed down onto the floor. Everything in the room was host to cobwebs, with the spiders who made them sitting right in the center. Everything, that is, except for two covered shapes at the end of the room.

Upon initial investigation, a pony who had no idea what truly lay beneath the sheets may have guessed that they were simple ponyquins. But to the princesses, they knew that what slept beneath the covers were ancient relics of a time past. A time of turmoil and war, before the two sisters had firmly established their rule over Equestria. Princesses Celestia and Luna each gripped one of the sheets with their magic, and dramatically swept them off of what they were hiding. When the two large cloths finally settled upon the dust-ridden stone floors, the contents of them were truly revealed. On two silver ponyquins rested sets of extraordinary armor. One was a pure golden color, with magenta gems adorning the chest plate, and a seal of the sun over the thigh plates. The other was deep black, with sapphires embedded along the edges, and a seal of the moon complimenting the thigh plates.

Each princess stepped forward, ready to welcome their old sets of armor. They stepped out of their shining horseshoes, and set their chest plates on the unused tables. They then each carefully removed their crowns, and set them upon the tables too. They then began the process of equipping the ancient sets of armor. As Luna placed the familiar pieces of armor upon her body, she found herself wishing for one of the devices Adam used aboard Lightning. That had him fully unequipped in under a minute, and all he had to do was stand still. Even in the days of old, Luna remembered that she and her sister had a pony to do this for them. However, her sister had insisted that they do it themselves. Their subjects had enough to do to prepare for the coming battle, this was a task that they were capable of doing on their own.

Finally each princess finished the task of equipping their armor, and instantly their appearances changed from the caring, loving rulers that Equis knew, to that of a leader ready to defend their country. Their task complete, the two princesses turned and quickly exited the ancient, dusty chamber, and walked down the hallway, ready to rally the troops.

Adam awoke to the sound of multiple bells tolling across Canterlot, their ringing reverberating across the countryside. The Spartan rose to a sitting position, and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his gloved hands. He then stood up and retrieved his helmet from the bedside table, then sealed it to his neck clamps with a hiss. He slowly walked over to the door, then opened it, and was immediately swept away by a torrent of human and pony soldiers all heading in the same direction. As he was ushered down the hall by the soldiers behind him, he took a moment to examine his surroundings. Most of the guards were only half armored, and the human marines seemed to have just woken up as well. At every corner were two pony guards, directing the flow of soldiers to a single location. As they navigated the twists and turns of the palace, Adam recognized the route they were taking as leading them to the throne room, the largest room in the palace. It would not fit every soldier they had, only a few hundred, but it would have to be enough.

Adam, along with dozens of others, filtered into the large throne room, which right now had no signs of either of the princesses being present. The soldiers all spoke amongst one another, the sounds all merging with one another and making the chances of anyone actually hearing anything slim to none. Over the din, the sound of a door at the back of the throne room opening was heard, and very suddenly the conversation stopped completely. Out of the door was a sight that shocked even Adam, for it was the last thing they were expecting. They were, of course, expecting the princesses, but not like this… Out of the door stepped princesses Celestia and Luna, each clad in intricate sets of shining armor, their once cool expressions replaced by furrowed brows and straightened lips. They each walked with purpose to the front of the throne room, and then stood in front of their large chairs. Then, they spoke.

“My little ponies,” Celestia began. “The time of battle is upon us. Only a short time ago, we were notified that the griffon army was moving out of Ponyville, accompanied by five dragons and several hundred sentinels. At their current rate, they will arrive in just under six hours.”

“We must begin to prepare,” Luna said. “Please report to your designated locations, and remain vigilant. And no matter what happens, my little ponies… may luck be with you.” All of the pony guards, and even some ODSTs, saluted to the princesses, then turned and filed out of the room. Adam was among them, when he heard a voice call his name. He turned around and saw Celestia trotting behind him, her expression grim.

“Adam!” she called out again.

“Yes, princess?” Adam said, stopping.

“Before you get to your position, please, come with me.” Celestia then turned around and began trotting back towards her sister, who was still waiting by the thrones. Adam jogged after the alicorn, and followed them both out of the back door to the throne room, which then lead them to another door opening back out into the hallways. The trio walked with haste down the corridors, and Adam recognized the route as the one that would take them to the war room. He found himself correct when they came to the familiar door, which opened into the large room with the map table in the center. Standing around the table were three individuals: Commander Lasky, Shining Armor, and sentinel unit 84. Adam noticed that the hovering Forerunner machine had been painted with red stripes along its wings to differentiate it from the hostile sentinels who would be joining in the battle. They all perked up at the arrival of the three newcomers, then parted to make room for them around the table.

“Adam,” Lasky said. “Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be, sir,” the Spartan replied, sighing. The commander nodded in understanding, then turned to address the princesses.

“Your highnesses,” he said. “What do we need to discuss?”

“My sister and I have some questions about the support that your ships will be providing,” Luna answered. “But first, I believe that Unit 84 had something to tell us?”

“That is correct,” the sentinel said in its flat, robotic voice. “We have collected more information on the hostile sentinels.”

“What kind of information?” Shining Armor asked, troubled.

“Several allied sentinel units managed to bypass the firewalls around the main server, and gather more information on the upgrades granted to hostile sentinels by 401 Lamenting Chorus,” it answered. “As this unit stated previously, they have been given personal energy shields, as well as upgrades to the beam weapons. Based on scans completed by this unit, the shields used by hostile sentinels are 2.5 times more effective than those currently in use by Spartan D-014.”

“And the beam weapons?” Celestia asked, her brow furrowing.

“Damage of beam weapons has been improved by a factor of four times,” Unit 84 continued. “We recommend caution. They can easily drain the shields used by Spartan D-014, and even penetrate the hull of your starships.”

“Strident-class frigates have shields,” Lasky said. “We just keep them off most of the time, as they’re quite the power hog.”

“This unit recommends that you enable them,” the sentinel said. Lasky nodded.

“Alright,” he said. “Anything else?”

“That is all.” Everyone in the room nodded, then Lasky and Adam both turned to face the princesses.

“You said you had questions about the frigates?” Lasky asked. Celestia nodded, then turned to her sister.

“First, when would they be arriving?” she asked.

“Likely at the last second,” the commander answered. “They can detach from Infinity in only a couple of seconds, and be down here in less than a minute. We don’t want to give the griffons time to plan to be attacked by ships, so we’ll send them down as late as possible to give us the element of surprise.” Luna nodded.

“And what kind of support will they be able to offer?” the night princess asked.

“We can use our archer missiles, albeit sparingly,” Adam explained. “Their explosive yield is high, once they get into the tighter areas of Canterlot, we won’t be able to use them at all if you want any buildings left standing. As for the main cannons, using them would send shockwaves that could be felt all the way in Ponyville. In this close proximity to the city, they’d be too dangerous to use. Point-defense turrets, however, should be fairly effective in closer range. Their accuracy falls off after a few hundred meters, though.” Both princesses regarded one another, then nodded, and stepped back.

“In that case,” Luna said. “We must help our ponies prepare. Adam, do what you will for now, but be ready when the griffons arrive.”

“Yes ma’am,” the Spartan said, offering a polite salute. Both princesses smiled grimly, then turned around and exited the room. After their hoofsteps could no longer be heard as the armored princesses marched down the hallway, Adam took his leave of the war room, and began to make his way to the castle gardens.

The Spartan’s walk to the castle gardens was a quiet one. Rather than take the route he knew would get him there the quickest, Adam opted to use a longer way, giving him time to reflect.

This was it. If they defeated the griffons in this battle, then they would be weakened enough that the united armies of both the UNSC and Equestria would be able to successfully march on the Forerunner ruins, and face down the rampant monitor. It felt almost surreal, to be this close to the end, yet know that it could all fall apart at a moment’s notice. There would be no room for mistakes. Adam had to remain focused if he had a chance at victory. If he slipped up, if something happened, then it could result in the destruction of Equestria. He had brought this war upon the ponies, he at least owed them their peace.

Almost without even realizing it, Adam reached the door to the castle gardens and pushed it open, stepping out into the brisk morning air beyond. In the middle of the gardens sat his pelican, which stood at the ready to take off and bring the fight to the griffons. Adam then noticed a small bit of movement behind the pelican, and he stepped forward to investigate. Behind the back hatch of the small ship was a pony soldier, who walked with a limp and seemed to take a deep breath with every step he took. Noticing that someone was behind him, the guard turned around, revealing the tired face of Night Flyer.

“Night Flyer!” Adam yelled, surprised. “You’re okay!”

“Hey, Adam,” the pony said, struggling to salute. “As okay as I can be…”

“What happened to you after we returned to Canterlot?” the Spartan asked, stepping closer to the pony.

“Well, from what I’m told,” Night Flyer began. “Some medic ponies came to get me after you all had gone inside. I was taken to the medical ward, and given some good treatment. Princesses gave me the best doctors in the palace, they said it was the least I deserved...” The pony sighed. “Even so, I’ll never quite be the same. Burn wounds were pretty bad, weakened a lot of my muscles and are making it a bit harder to move around. But despite it all, I can still fight. In fact, the princesses assigned me to their personal guard!”

“Congratulations,” Adam said, putting his hand on the pony’s shoulder. “Though I am going to miss fighting alongside you.” Night Flyer laughed, then looked up at the Spartan.

“It was worth it, Adam,” he said, smiling. “It was worth it.” The two soldiers then walked side-by-side to the edge of the gardens, and looked over onto the Equestrian landscape. Far off in the distance was a large black square, which Adam soon realized was the army of griffons making their approach. Still, they were six hours away, which meant that Adam had six hours to prepare himself. But for now, he would take the advice of Princess Luna, and do what he wanted.

“Hey…” Adam said, preparing to ask a question he had been thinking about since the flight back from Manehattan. “If your name is Night Flyer… Why are you a unicorn?”

Princess Luna stood next to her sister on one of the highest balconies of Canterlot palace. It had been several hours since they had informed their guards that the griffons were coming, and now they were only an hour away. On parchment, 14,500 sounded like a lot, but it was an entirely different thing to see it. Stretching all the way across the plains back in the direction of Ponyville were massive columns of the griffon soldiers, all steadily marching toward the mountain city. Slowly circling in the skies above them were five dragons, and if one looked closely enough, small silver dots were visible flying among the massive winged beasts. Luna gulped down her fears, then directed her attention to the city below her. Despite its rather precarious perch, the city was incredibly large, and served as a bastion for thousands of pony soldiers. Even more had come from cities who had managed to slow down their griffon assaults, and the 400 human soldiers that had come from Infinity were among them as well. Even with the extra help, the ponies were still outmatched. The griffons greatly outnumbered them, and support from a dragon lord and over 500 sentinels would not make their jobs any easier.

Luna stretched out her wings, which were beginning to grow sore from the rather uncomfortable armor around their base. She flexed them out in several directions, eliciting several satisfying pops from the joints. Celestia grimaced at the noise, to which Luna grinned. Her smile disappeared, however, when she noticed that, in only the last couple of minutes, the griffon front lines had grown even closer to the city. Not too long from now they would likely split up into three massive groups to assault each entrance to the city, and, despite all of their preparations, she knew that the defenses would not hold. This battle was going to be a close one, for either side.

“Sister,” Celestia said, breaking the eerie silence that had fallen over the city. “Whatever happens… I am sorry. I…” Luna put a hoof to her sister’s mouth, effectively silencing the mare.

“I know, ‘Tia,” Luna said. “I know.” Celestia had tried on many occasions to apologize to her little sister for banishing her for the moon, but Luna understood. She knew that it had to be done. And while she regretted missing a thousand years of her subject’s history, she understood.

The two sisters continued watching out over the plains as the griffon army continued marching forward, ready to face the enemy, and end the war.

Adam stood among the ranks of pony and human soldiers at one of the entrances to the city, assault rifle held at the ready. Above them on the rooftops were ODSTs and unicorns wielding grenade and rocket launchers, ready to fire them into the hordes of griffons that would soon be bursting through the gate. Further back lay more ODSTs with sniper rifles, who would pick off the lighter-armored griffons who still had use of their wings. The soldiers fighting alongside Adam were equipped with close-range weapons, the humans and unicorns using firearms, and the rest of the ponies wielding swords and pikes.

For all of their planning, they still had no idea just how the griffons would attack. They obviously would be using the dragons and sentinels as much as possible, but how was still a difficult question. Still, the hostiles had no idea that Canterlot would be receiving the support of three frigates. Perseus had been sent back up to Infinity so that it could join the attack alongside the other two, rather than leaving it parked in the plains where it would be an obvious target. Once the griffons actually started the attack, the frigates would all come down and begin to assist to the best of their ability. Along with the ships would be even more fighters and bombers, despite the knowledge that a dragon lord could easily tear through them. They needed all the help they could get.

As all of the soldiers stood in front of the gate, weapons at the ready, they all maintained a hushed silence. Nobody spoke, they all just listened. Listened and waited for the arrival of the enemy. It was not long before the sound of talons scraping against the cobblestone pathway beyond the gate was heard. Adam looked around, and noticed all of the soldiers holding their weapons to bear, getting ready for the enemy to break through. A moment later, there was a loud thump, and the heavy gate shook at the abuse. The thump of the battering ram fell into a rhythmic beat at is continually smashed against the thick gates, threatening to break through the barrier and allow the flood of griffons to enter. Adam figured now was as good a time as any, so he put his hand up to his ear, and activated his radio.

“Commander Lasky, this is Adam, over,” he said quietly into the mic. There was a brief pause, then the earpiece crackled.

“This is Lasky, go ahead, over,” the commander said through the radio.

“Griffons are right outside, sir,” Adam continued. “And the gates aren’t going to hold for much longer. I’d recommend calling down our frigates now, sir.” There was a pause before Lasky replied.

“Acknowledged, Spartan,” Lasky said. “We’re getting reports from the other two entrances that griffons are outside as well. I’ll make the call, over.” The radio cut out, and Adam lowered his hand, then brought his assault rifle up into the crook of his shoulder. It wouldn’t be long, now…

But suddenly, the sound of the battering ram stopped. The ponies and humans all stared at the gate, confused, until Adam’s enhanced hearing began to hear a hissing noise. Adam began running through his mind of what it could be, when it suddenly hit him.

“EVERYBODY GET BACK, NOW!” he shouted as loudly as he could, then turned and began to run away. Only a second later, there was a deafening explosion as the gate was torn to pieces, sending the doors flying inwards at the ponies, and large chunks of debris from the wall flew in all directions. The buildings immediately beside the gate were also taken out, crushing the ponies on top who were wielding their explosives. The shockwave from the explosion shook the ground around them, causing Adam and many of the ponies to fall over onto the ground. Quickly, Adam turned onto his back and sprung up to his feet, readying his assault rifle. As soon as he felt the familiar presence of the weapon’s stock in his shoulder, he began firing waves of 7.62x51mm rounds down range. They impacted on the griffons, cutting through their thick armor and settling within the creatures themselves, killing them instantly. The griffons not wearing much armor leapt into the air and spread their large wings, and fired crossbow bolts from their higher up positions, killing many ponies below. They were soon dropped by ODST snipers positioned further back in the city, sending them careening down into the crowds of griffons below. By now, most of the ponies had regained control of their senses, and were joining in the fight. Thanks to the firearms provided by the UNSC, the unicorns were able to drop multiple griffons before they were taken out. However, the stream of griffons pouring through the gate seemed endless.

The ponies were being pushed back, and quickly. Where are those frigates? Adam thought. As if they had heard his thoughts, there was suddenly a loud rumbling, and through the clouds descended three Strident-class frigates, with Perseus up front. Even though they were positioned hundreds of meters above the city, Adam saw small hatches open on the side as the archer missile pods prepared to rain fire onto the griffons. Several missiles streamed out of each frigate, all of them heading in different directions. The projectiles fell down past the city and into the plains below, were they hit large groups of griffons who had yet to begin climbing the mountain. Out of the hangars launched several pelican dropships and longsword interceptors, who began to fire their smaller air-to-surface missiles at the griffons still in the streets. With the new help that they were receiving, the ponies began to push forward, firing their weapons into the crowds of griffons, dropping dozens of them. It was not long before the griffons received reinforcements as well, and soon the air was filled with a buzzing sound. The source of the sound made itself known as hundreds of silver sentinels, the sun glinting off of their armor plating, flew at incredibly speeds over the city, and prepared to engage the UNSC ships. As Adam watched the battle unfold above them, he noticed almost a hundred more sentinels joining the fight, these ones each painted with red strips along their wing-like flaps.

Several hostile sentinels broke off to counter the new threat, while the frigates opened fire with their point-defense turrets onto the ones who stayed. Despite the fact that the turrets used 50mm high explosive rounds, the sentinel’s advanced shielding seemed to be protecting them from the blasts, and they continued zipping around the ships, firing on their shields. On the ground, the advantage that the ponies had briefly held was beginning to disappear as more and more griffons poured through the remains of the gates and into the city streets beyond. And while the ponies were taking down many griffons each thanks to their loaned firearms, the griffons were simply too many, and the ponies were beginning to be pushed back. Adam stayed in the front lines, spraying his assault rifle into the horde of winged beasts, but slowly stepping backwards with every shot. As he paused his fire to reload, he spared a glance behind him to see where they were. Already they had been pushed back far from the gate, and Adam could see what looked like a large plaza a few dozen meters away. Good, the Spartan thought. The UNSC had placed warthogs (both gauss and machine gun) and scorpion tanks in every plaza, so once the griffons pushed them back far enough, they would be in for quite the surprise.

His reload complete, Adam continued firing into the advancing army of griffons, felling dozens before his mag ran dry again. Fortunately he had strapped assault rifle magazines practically all over his body armor, so he had no shortage of ammunition. When he did run out, however, there were conveniently placed supply caches stationed throughout the city at locations where the ponies could hunker down for a little while and stall the griffon advance. His process thus far was fairly simply: fire on griffons, reload, check position, fire on griffons, reload, check position, and so on. Occasionally he would have a lapse in his gunfire as a griffon projectile, such as a spear or arrow, bounced off of his shields and clattered to the street ahead of him. His shields were holding, but to the griffons, he was a high-value target. Their archers were relentlessly firing on him, whittling the energy shields down to almost nothing. However, every time they got close to taking the barrier down, Adam would hear a satisfying whir as the bar refilled. Again Adam fired into the crowd, again he reloaded, and again he turned around to check his position. On this particular reload, he found that the pony and human allies were right about to enter the plaza. With any luck, there would already be marines manning the vehicles, prepared to open fire into the griffons. It seemed that luck was indeed on their side, as once the group of humans and ponies were far enough into the plaza, Adam heard the familiar sound of a tank shell flying through the air, which delivered a satisfying explosion to the griffons, taking out a large group of them. Adam also heard the sound of the incredibly high-density projectiles fired by warthog-mounted gauss cannons, which ripped through individual griffons and continued on to kill several more. The griffons, having had their advance stalled, stopped at the threshold to the plaza, and fired arrows at the ponies. They seemed to be waiting for something, but Adam knew not what for.

Then he heard it. From the crowd right in front of him, a loud horn sounded, and echoed out through the city. All was silent for a moment after, and then there was an ear-splitting roar, and the sound of beating wings. From over the side of the city ascended a large green dragon, his mouth open and an orange glow beginning to build up in it.

“Get down!” someone yelled from somewhere else in the plaza. Adam wasted no time in flattening himself onto the ground. He had seen firsthand what a dragon lord was capable of, and though this was just a normal dragon, he was still apprehensive about seeing the damage it could create. Some ponies were not quick enough to drop to the floor, and when the dragon let loose his jet of flame, they were instantly vaporized, leaving nothing but steaming, blackened corpses left frozen in place. The dragon then soared into the air and dive-bombed the scorpion tank, grasping it with his powerful claws, and began to squeeze. Adam heard the sound of bending metal and sparking electronics, then the scorpion erupted into a fiery explosion as it was destroyed. The dragon dropped the now-ruined vehicle back onto the streets, and flew to another section of the city.

While the dragon was busy assaulting the humans and ponies, the griffons were preparing their attack. As soon as the beast flew off, they all rushed into the plaza, killing many ponies before they could even stand back up. Adam jumped up and prepared his assault rifle, then continued firing into the griffon army. The rest of the surviving ponies managed to get up and do the same, but they were being forced back at a greatly increased rate now. They were on the lower levels of the city, the castle entrance was on the top level. To get there, there were a series of ramps that lead up to each subsequent tier. If the griffons pushed them back far enough, all they would have to do is get up the ramp and that would take them directly to the castle.

Adam once again turned around to check their progress, and noticed with horror that the ramps were only around the next corner. They had already taken heavy losses, and he had no idea what the status was of the groups defending the other two entrances. If they were pushed up to the castle gates this early… They might not win the battle. But then he got an idea. If they were forced back to the castle because of extremely heavy losses, then that would be it. But if they made their way back to the castle now, doing everything that they could to slow the griffons down, that could give them a few extra minutes to prepare. Acting quickly, Adam put his hand to his ear.

“Perseus, you read me?” he shouted into the mic, struggling to hear his own voice over the sound of battle.

“We read you, Spartan,” a voice answered through his earpiece. “What’s your status?”

“Not good!” Adam replied. “But I have a plan! I need you to get a message out to the fireteam leaders commanding the other defense groups! Let them know that they need to run as fast as they can back to the castle gates, right now!”

“Understood, Spartan,” the voice replied. “Message away. Anything else?”

“Yeah,” Adam said. “They’re going to need some help. Do whatever you can to slow the griffon advance down.”

“We’re taking heavy fire up here, Spartan,” the voice said. “These sentinels are not going down easy. If we stop firing on them for even a few seconds, they could deal some serious damage.”

“A few seconds is all we need, Perseus,” Adam answered. There was no response, but a few seconds later, he noticed that the sound of gunfire from the frigates had stopped. A second later, streams of hundreds of the 50mm high explosive rounds impacted on the streets, shredding through the griffons and cutting down their numbers significantly. Adam didn’t stay to watch; instead he turned around, called for everyone to follow him, and then sprinted down the street, making his way to the palace.

Adam and what was left of the group he was fighting alongside at the gates sprinted into the castle courtyard, stopping once they were inside to catch their breath. Once they were all inside, the massive gates closed shut, and locked with a clank. Adam was pleased to see that the other two groups had already arrived, and were in the process of rearming themselves. Among them was Fireteam Vector, who were busy reloading their weapons. Adam jogged over to them, and drew their attention with a cough. They all turned to face Adam, and four of the Spartans saluted.

“At ease, Spartans,” Adam said, panting heavily from his run. “Kevin, what’s the status of the other two entrances?”

“Not good, Adam,” Kevin replied. “The griffons used some kind of bomb to get through our gate. Initial losses were heavy, and they were made even worse when that dragon showed up…” Adam nodded.

“Seems that they used the same tactic with you as they did with us, then,” Adam noted.

“So why were we all called back to the castle?” Kevin asked, confused.

“The castle is the most well defended position in this city,” Adam explained. “If we had come here only after our numbers had been exhausted by fighting in the streets, once they breached the gates it’d have been a massacre. But since we’re prepared, and we have plenty of soldiers, we stand a chance.” Kevin nodded in understanding, then hefted his battle rifle.

“Then let’s get ready. They’ll be here soon.” The fireteam leader was proven right when a loud bang reverberated through the metal gate, drawing all eyes toward it.

“I guess they’re out of bombs…” one of the Vector Spartans said.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Adam said. “They used this tactic earlier: act as though you’re doing one thing, then surprise the enemy by doing something else.” But they waited, and waited, and still there were no explosions. But the walls were high, even taller than the dragon lord that Adam had seen in Manehattan. Anything could have been back there, and they wouldn’t know. The banging of the battering ram continued for several more minutes, before it suddenly stopped. Every soldier, human and pony, in the courtyard stopped what they were doing and turned to face the door, expecting it to blow open any moment. Instead, they were greeted with a voice.

“Ponies of Equestria!” it said. It was a booming voice, and seemed to fill the entire city.

“I am General Daggerwing, leader of the griffon army!” it continued. Adam sighed when he heard the introduction, remembering his last encounter with the insane general. “You and your human allies have fought well… admirably, even. But you cannot possibly hope to win. For with the ancient machines on our side, as well as the dragons, there is nothing that you can do… For that reason, I am willing to accept a surrender!” This drew surprised glances from everyone in the courtyard. There was silence for a moment, until Kevin quietly whispered to Adam.

“I don’t buy it…” he said. “The griffons are trying to wipe out the ponies… why would they ask for surrender?”

“Probably just so they can kill us all easier,” Adam whispered back. “There’s no way he’s telling the truth. And even if he was, the princesses would never accept it.”

“Please send this message to your princesses!” Daggerwing continued. “And have her answer for me in ten minutes. If you do not answer, or if you answer incorrectly… You shall be wiped out.” There was silence in the courtyard for several moments, before Adam stood and walked to the center.

“Someone go get Celestia,” he said. “We all know what she’s going to say, but she should still be made aware…” One of the pony guards saluted, then ran into the castle, disappearing behind the heavy doors. A few minutes later, the guard reappeared, the radiantly armored Princess Celestia walking with haste behind him. She angrily stalked into the center of the courtyard, then her horn flared with a golden aura. When she spoke, her voice was greatly amplified.

“General Daggerwing!” she said, her voice echoing throughout the city. “You are a coward, and a liar! We both know that you would never accept our surrender, and that you have even tried to trick us with such promises greatly disappoints me! No, we will not surrender… However, we would be happy to accept yours.” The last part surprised Adam. There was no way that the general would give up, not now, not after everything he had already done. As Adam expected, the response was a bout of laughter from the griffon.

“You really expect us to surrender, Celestia?” the griffon finally replied after he had calmed down. “No… You are completely at our mercy! It is a shame that you did not surrender… it would have made your destruction much easier. Ah, well, Celestia… Goodbye, then.” There was a brief silence, and then it was broken by a loud roar. The wall exploded inwards, and through the new gap flew a dark blue dragon, who was spouting flames of the same color. Celestia quickly jumped out of the way of the torrent of fire, and fired a beam of magic from her horn, which impacted the dragon on his shoulder. The dragon screamed in pain as the beam cut through the scales and began to burn his flesh. Wasting no time, the ponies and humans began to help Celestia eliminate the gargantuan creature. Unicorn guards fired magic bolts, and the ODSTs fired rockets and railgun rounds. They all impacted on the creature, yet despite the immense amount of pain it had to be feeling, it kept on fighting. It fired jets of blue flame from its mouth, setting alight anything in its path, be it living or not.

Finally, after what felt like hours (but what was really only two minutes, according to Adam’s chrono), a well-placed railgun round penetrated the dragon’s head, cutting right through and flying out the back, accompanied by chunks of flesh and brain matter. With a scream, it collapsed to the ground, dead. There was no time for celebration, as griffons began pouring in through the breach when they realized that their plan had not worked. Rockets, bullets, railgun rounds, magic bolts, arrows, and everything in-between began to fly for the breach, catching any griffons who entered. Unfortunately, there were lapses in the gunfire as the soldiers had to stop to reload, which allowed griffons in. As soon as they had an opportunity, they fired their more primitive weapons at the ponies, killing many. Human losses still seemed to be limited to the damage that had been done by the dragons, but they were still being targeted by the griffons. As Adam fired into the horde of griffons, his radio suddenly crackled to life.

“-epeat, this is Lieutenant Monroe of the UNSC Aspen, does anybody read!?” a voice frantically yelled through the earpiece. “We’re taking heavy fire! Sentinels are beginning to bypass the shields! We have hull breaches on all decks! We need-.” Adam looked up to where the three frigates were hovering above the city, locked in their battle with the sentinels. The tactic of the small machines had changed, however, as they were now all swarming a single frigate, like flies around a piece of rotting meat. They zipped around the frigate, which Adam assumed was Aspen, firing their greatly enhanced beam weapons at the ship, most of which were caught on the shield. After a few moments, however, the shield began to flicker until it collapsed completely, and every shot from the sentinel beam hit the hull, shredding right through it. The combined power of five hundred sentinel beams hitting the ship at once was too much, and there was a blinding flash of light that filled the sky. When it faded, the once-powerful warship was plummeting to the ground, on a trajectory to land in the plains just below Canterlot. It hit the ground with a dull boom, sending an intense shockwave throughout the land. The city began to shake as it travelled up the mountain, sending many soldiers, griffon and pony alike, toppling over. As they struggled to regain their footing (or hoofing, in this case), Adam looked up and noticed a small black dot flying in the sky. It was too large to be a pony, and too dark to be a sentinel. Adam activated the zoom function on his visor to get a closer look, and was surprised to see General Daggerwing, massive wings spread, flying through the sky. Adam looked ahead of the general to see where he was going to land, and found it to be one of the highest towers of Canterlot castle. This was not just any tower, however. That tower was one of the most well-structured towers in the palace, and for that reason, it had been chosen as a safe place.

A safe place for the princesses.

General Daggerwing impacted the window of the tower, sending tiny fragments of glass raining down onto the ponies and griffons below. After Daggerwing entered, two sentinels flew in after him.

Their purpose was clear.

They were going after Princess Luna.

Chapter 23

View Online

CHAPTER 23

Adam frantically looked around the courtyard, trying in vain to locate Princess Celestia. Finally, through the constant movement of battle, he spotted her all the way at the other end of the courtyard, relentlessly firing blasts of magic from her horn into the invading crowd of griffons. Already the bodies of the winged beasts were beginning to pile up, and, despite everything, the battle in the courtyard was seemingly going in favor of the ponies. Adam hastily began pushing through the crowd of ponies, trying to make his way to the princess. If her sister was in danger, she needed to know it. As he pushed closer to the solar diarch, Adam began to notice just how much damage she was taking. Her once beautifully crafted suit of armor was now riddled with dents and holes from crossbow bolts, and her once-determined expression was now replaced by one of exhaustion. In-between the fight with the dragon, and the endless waves of griffons sacrificing themselves just to make a dent, she had been using her magic non-stop. Even for a powerful alicorn such as herself, that had to be taking a toll. Adam was just about to reach Celestia when suddenly, a stray crossbow bolt fired from a griffon somewhere in the crowd of invaders spun right toward the princess, impacting her in the shoulder. She took a step backwards, grunting in pain. Adam broke into a sprint, now pushing violently through the ponies, in order to get to the princess. Another two bolts suddenly came into existence, landing themselves below the first one, and in her chest. Her pupils shrunk, and she let out a gasp of air as she collapsed to the ground in pain. Adam finally reached her and deflected the next few bolts with his shields.

“Princess!” he yelled, struggling to get her attention. “Princess!” But she did not answer. Rather, she stared endlessly at the cobblestone floor of the courtyard, her breathing shallow.

“Princess, answer me!” Adam demanded, shaking Celestia by her uninjured shoulder. Finally she snapped out of her shocked state, and looked up to Adam.

“Adam?” she asked, her voice quiet.

“Princess…” he said. Adam then stood and began looking around the crowd. “Medic! Medic!” He frantically waved to a combat medic at the back of the crowd, who was treating a wounded pony. When the medic noticed that it was the princess who was injured, she lit up her horn, and an instant later she was teleported right next to the Spartan. She then leaned over the princess, and looked her right in the eyes. She examined her pupils and breathing then, satisfied that they were not too bad, set to work on dulling the pain.

“Princess, can you hear me?” she asked, not taking her eyes off of the crossbow bolts embedded in the diarch. Celestia did not speak, but she nodded and blinked several times.

“Alright, can you use your magic?” Celestia closed her eyes and seemed to focus. A few moments later, her horn sparked, but nothing happened. She then quickly opened her eyes and began gasping for air.

“Alright, that’s not good…” the combat medic commented. She then turned to Adam. “Can you carry her inside?” He nodded, put his assault rifle down, and gently lifted the princess, then, turning so that only his shielded back was facing the griffons, he began to maneuver through the ponies (who now kindly moved out of the way, seeing that their princess was injured) and towards the castle door. When they arrived, the combat medic opened it just enough for the three of them to enter, then slammed it shut behind her. Adam carefully placed the princess on the carpeted floor, then stood back up. The medic pushed between the Spartan and the alicorn, and set to work. Adam moved to the side of the medic, and leaned in close.

“Princess, listen…” he said. “I saw General Daggerwing and two sentinels fly into the main tower…” At this, Celestia’s eyes grew wide with fear, and she stared Adam right in the eye.

“Go get her,” was all she said, before she fell back, unconscious.

“Go, I’ll work on her here,” the medic said. Adam stood up, then quickly broke into a sprint down the halls, running past the fortified positions, making his way to the stairwell that lead to the main tower. Finally he located it, and ran up the long set of spiral stairs, becoming very aware that time was of the essence. It wasn’t until Adam was almost to the top of the stairs that he realized he had left his assault rifle outside when he had picked up Celestia. All he had was a magnum with only two clips; not nearly enough to take down the shields of two sentinels, let alone destroy them. But he was not about to run all the way back down to go get another weapon, lest he risk the life of Princess Luna. Instead he equipped the handgun and continued up the stairs, reaching the top in only a couple of minutes. When he reached the top, he pushed the reinforced door open, tearing it off of its hinges. In front of him was a short hallway, with two doors on either side, and a window at the end. He noticed with horror that the window had been shattered, and there were the corpses of two guards outside one of the doors. Activating his camo unit, Adam crouched up to the door and stacked up on it, leaning in a bit to get a better view. What he saw was not good. Standing on one end of the room was Princess Luna, who was backed up against a wall. Across from her were Daggerwing and the two sentinels, with Daggerwing holding… a magnum? Where did he get that? Adam thought. Magnum or not, it didn’t matter. The General was threatening Luna’s life, and he had to stop him. He spun into the doorway, deactivating his cloak, and pointed the weapon right at Daggerwing. The general noticed the newcomer and, with incredible speed and reflexes, he soared towards the princess and grabbed her, holding her in front of him with the magnum to the side of her unarmored head. The two sentinels turned to face Adam, and began to light up their beam weapons.

“Let her go!” Adam yelled, aiming down the sights of his magnum. The griffon general simply responded by pushing the magnum closer to Luna’s head. She discreetly tried lighting up her horn to teleport herself to safety, but Daggerwing noticed and wrapped his free claw around it, causing the princess to scream in pain.

“I said let her go!” Adam repeated, still holding his magnum at the ready, his eyes constantly switching between the three hostiles in the room.

“This has to be done…” the griffon hissed in response. “For the future of Equis… the ponies must be destroyed…”

“Do you really believe that?” Adam asked, never moving the magnum away from the griffon. “Just because some machine tells you, it’s true?”

“It is not just a machine!” Daggerwing yelled angrily, spit flying from his mouth. “It is a remnant of a time past! From a race of beings more powerful than any of us can possibly imagine!”

“And where do you think they are now?” Adam asked, trying to distract the general.

“They are waiting,” Daggerwing said, smiling sadistically. “They know it is not safe here. And when we cleanse the world of the pony threat, they will visit us, and they will empower us. Equis will belong to the griffons…”

“Really…” Adam deadpanned. “What if I told you that they were dead? Long gone, destroyed, thousands of years ago…” At this, the griffon laughed loudly, and Adam noticed happily that he was beginning to let his guard down. Already the magnum was no longer pressed against Luna’s head.

“You must be joking…” the general replied, still chuckling to himself. “They cannot be destroyed… The ponies, however…” The griffon now was beginning to put some distance between himself and Luna, distracted by the Spartan’s questioning. Adam sighted in on his heart, waiting for his chance…

“Are you so sure about that?” he asked, preparing to take the shot. “If they were powerful enough to build these machines and all those ruins you love so much… Are the ponies really a threat to them?” The griffon gulped, trying to think of something to say.

“It is as… the oracle said…” Daggerwing finally said, his magnum now pointed almost completely at the ground.

“Face it, General,” Adam said, beginning to apply some pressure on the trigger. “You’re fighting for nothing more than scrap metal. They’re gone.”

“NO. THEY’RE. N-“

BANG.

A single shot rang out, and General Daggerwing looked down at the new, bleeding hole in his chest.

BANG. BANG.

Two more holes appeared, not far from the first, and more blood began to pour out of them. The griffon stared endlessly at the wall behind Adam for a second longer, before he slumped to the floor, dead. But Adam did not allow himself a victory, not yet. He still had to deal with the sentinels. Quickly, he sprinted towards the closest one and grabbed the front of its wings. The shields were only tuned for fast-moving projectiles, so he had no trouble gripping the machine with his hands. He then spun it as hard as he could and threw it against the wall, causing the marble bricks to shatter, and the machine to sputter to the floor. The second one was preparing to fire on Adam, so he jumped out of the way and centered his magnum on the machine, firing off the rest of the magazine. When the clip was empty, and the shields were still up, the Spartan realized that this plan was not going to work. He began looking around for something blunt, which he found in the form of a small bust of a pony on a shelf, then grabbed the bust and threw it at the sentinel. It connected with the machine, damaging it greatly and causing it to lose stability. In its confusion, Adam reloaded his magnum and fired off the remainder of the second clip into it, finally destroying to machine. He was about to turn to assist Luna when suddenly, he heard her scream behind him…

Princess Luna watched the scene unfold before her as if it was in slow motion. One moment the claw of a griffon was around her horn, the next there were three bright flashes of light from Adam’s weapon and General Daggerwing fell to the floor, dead. Luna stared down at the body of the general, her expression a mix of horror and relief. As the beast stared up at the ceiling, lifeless, Luna began to feel pity towards him, which honestly surprised her. Here she was, staring at the corpse of the individual responsible for so much death and destruction of her subjects, and she was feeling pity… It was likely that the general had been indoctrinated by 401 Lamenting Chorus, and was not even aware of his actions. All of these griffons were under the command of an insane machine, not the general…

Suddenly, her attention was taken off of the body when she heard a buzzing noise in front of her. Slowly, a sentinel that was lying against a shattered wall (which no doubt was of Adam’s doing) began to regain control of itself, and slowly started to hover back into the air. When it was stable again, it began hovering over to the princess, the beam weapon on its underside beginning to glow a dull red. Only a moment before it fired, she managed to put up a force field with her magic, but it was too late. The field wasn’t at full strength when the beam connected, and it soon shattered the magical shield and connected with her chest, cutting straight through the ancient armor and burning into her chest. The beam began navigating around, drawing the beam across her to maximize damage. Suddenly there was a dark gray blur, and a large, heavy object connected with the sentinel, instantly cutting off the beam and sending it to the floor. The object, which in her blurry vision appeared to be Adam, then began swinging punches onto the object until it erupted in an explosion of blue plasma. The princess then slumped on the floor, the edges of her vision beginning to grow black.

Over the ringing that was in her ears, she thought she heard someone frantically calling her name. The last thing she saw before falling completely unconscious was a reflective gold faceplate, granting her once last look at herself before falling into blackness…

As soon as Adam heard the scream, he spun around and saw the sentinel he had previously incapacitated firing its beam weapon at Princess Luna. The dull red beam cut straight through her armor and impacted her chest, burning across it horizontally. Acting as quickly as possible, Adam deployed the two jet engines hidden in the back of his armor, and fired them forward, sending him rocketing towards the Forerunner machine and slamming him into it, which instantly took down the devices shields. With the sentinel now on the ground, Adam began relentlessly punching it, until it finally exploded in a brilliant blue light, which drained his shields almost fully. With the sentinel eliminated, he stood up and ran over to the princess, looking her straight in the eyes. She was still conscious, but did not seem responsive.

“Princess!” Adam yelled, trying to get her attention. “Princess!” She briefly seemed aware of the Spartan standing over her, before her eyes rolled back and her dark blue eyelids closed shut, signaling that she had just fallen unconscious. Adam quietly cursed under his breath, then looked around. He stepped out of the room, and walked to the end of the hall, where he took a look out of the shattered window. He craned his neck to try and see the courtyard from this high perch, but it was mostly hidden by other towers. However, he could still see the front of the courtyard, where it appeared as though griffons were pouring in through the breach in even greater numbers. Adam quickly lifted a hand to his ear, and activated his radio.

“Kevin, this is Adam, do you read me?” he said urgently. There was a pause, before finally the fireteam leader responded.

“I read you, Adam!” Kevin shouted back, gunfire going off in the background. “The griffons are coming in even quicker now, where are you?”

“I’m at the top of the main tower, Princess Luna has been critically injured,” Adam responded. “I need to get her help. Is Princess Celestia conscious yet?”

“That’s a negative, Adam,” Kevin said after another brief pause. “Listen, we can try to hold them off. Get the princess to Infinity. Go!” Adam withdrew his hand, then looked down. Directly below this window were the castle gardens, and still landed inside of them was his pelican. Quickly, Adam ran back into the room and, as carefully as possible, he picked up Princess Luna. He then slowly walked back into the hall and, trying not to touch her wounds, approached the window. Adam took a deep breath, then leapt out, and quickly he spun himself around so that his back was facing the ground, and Luna was held above him. He called up an altimeter onto his HUD, and tensely watched the number as it became lower and lower. Finally, halfway down to the ground, he fired his jetpack and slowed them down just before they reached terminal velocity. Every few seconds, just as they were beginning to gain speed again, he would fire a quick burst from his jetpack, until he was just a foot off of the ground. At that point he deactivated the pack and they folded back up into the backplate of his armor. They fell the remaining distance and Adam landed with a thud onto the ground, then made a run for the pelican. Carefully he strapped Princess Luna across several of the seats, careful not to wrap any harnesses around her injured chest. With that task done, he ran into the cockpit, closed the back hatch, activated the engines, and took off into the sky. Only a few moments later, his radio activated.

“Adam, this is Commander Lasky aboard Perseus,” Lasky reported. “We’re detecting your pelican taking off from the castle. What’s happening?”

“Princess Luna was critically wounded by a sentinel who attacked the main tower with General Daggerwing,” Adam answered, keeping an eye on the altimeter.

“Daggerwing!?” Lasky shouted. “He was able to get to the princess?”

“Yes, sir,” Adam said. “But don’t worry… he’s dead.” There was a brief pause, then Lasky spoke again.

“Understood, Adam,” he said. “That is good news. I’ll let our troops on the ground know, but listen… you need to get back quickly. We need your-.” Lasky was cut off as something suddenly struck the pelican, sending it spinning to the right. When Adam finally got the pelican back upright, a fair amount of smoke was filling the cockpit, being emitted from several consoles that were sparking and flickering on and off. The smoke was filling the cabin quickly, so Adam closed the cockpit door to isolate it to him only, then activated his life support. The GEN2 Mjolnir Mark VI armor didn’t have as large an oxygen capacity as the original Mark VI reserved for Spartan-II’s, and it could only keep him alive in toxic environments for half an hour. He would have to make this-

Adam’s train of thought was cut off again as the ship rocketed to the side again as something hit it. Realizing that he was under attack (though knowing not by what), he began to perform evasive maneuvers, which, considering his injured passenger, was not easy. In-between barrel rolls and other moves to throw off his attacker, Adam would take peeks out of the front window, trying to pinpoint just what was assaulting the dropship. And when he finally saw it, his heart immediately skipped a beat. Flying only a few hundred meters from the right side of the pelican dropship was the dragon lord who had attacked them at Manehattan.

Adam immediately banked left, trying to lose the dragon in the cloud layer. He still was several minutes from escaping the atmosphere, which was plenty of time for the leviathan to obliterate his small craft. It gave pursuit and let out a roar which, even through the thick titanium plating of the pelican, Adam could hear perfectly. Sensors then showed that his hull temperature was rising dramatically, nearing the levels that it reached when exiting the atmosphere. Adam assumed that the dragon was making use of its fire breath, which, considering just what his pelican was capable of, seemed ineffective. That still didn’t mean the razor-sharp claws were; he had seen firsthand what they were capable off. The dragon seemed to realize that his attack was ineffective, as only a few seconds later, the sensors indicated that hull temperature was dropping again. Adam quickly checked the altimeter, and saw that he was now less than a minute from breaching the atmosphere, where the dragon lord would definitely not be able to follow him.

Just before the time came for him to activate the main thrusters and escape the atmosphere, Adam jolted forward in his seat, his helmeted head hitting the display, as the small craft shook violently to the right. Quickly bringing up a diagnostics screen, Adam checked to see what the damage was, and found that the left engine pod was flashing red, a sign that it had been critically damaged. Suddenly there was another, though less violent, jolt and the lights in the pelican began flickering. The display cut on and off, and Adam could hear the sound of the engines coughing as they struggling to stay on. The ship finally made its decision, and all power went out as the dropship began to plummet back to the surface.

“Come on, come one…” Adam said quietly to himself as he flipped switches, trying desperately to restore power. As he fell through the upper cloud layer, green, rolling hills became visible below him as he plummeted ever closer to the ground. Out the window, the dragon lord dove down below the pelican, only to swoop back up and grab the dropship in his large, powerful claws. He then threw it to the ground, sending it hurtling at much faster speeds and it tumbled to the plains below. Struggling to stay conscious against the overwhelming g-forces, Adam hit several more buttons, and suddenly full power was restored. Adam immediately fired the balancing thrusters, trying to get the ship stable once more. Once they were done firing, he angled himself back up, and ignited the main engines, firing back up into the sky. Adam could clearly hear the dragon lord as he roared in anger, and no doubt once again began pursuit of the small pelican.

Adam knew he couldn’t keep this up forever. One archer missile had managed to injure the creature, what hurt could twelve pelican rockets do? Activating the rear camera, Adam targeted the dragon lord which was getting closer ever moment, then flipped the safety switch on the weapon systems. He did not hesitate to press the button, and the pelican vibrated as twelve of the lock-on missiles shot ahead of the pelican, then spun around to go behind it. Adam once again activated the rear camera to watch his damage. The twelve missiles impacted, one after the other, one the dragon lord, creating a massive cloud of smoke and fire in the sky. There was a pained roar as the powerful explosives impacted both upon the hardened scales and fleshy stomach of the dragon, and, to Adam’s content, a fair amount of blood fell from where the missiles had hit.

It wasn’t enough, however, and a few seconds later, the dragon lord burst from the smoke cloud, now boasting several new injures. The scales which had maintained their red color after the archer missile attack were now blackened like the rest, and there were multiple flesh wounds along the softer stomach which were dripping blood. Adam sighed in annoyance as his plan had failed. As he flew back up to the upper atmosphere, he began to weigh his options. He had just expended the pelican’s entire complement of missiles, and if they weren’t sufficient, then the 70mm nose-mounted autocannon definitely wouldn’t be. There was only one thing that he was absolutely sure could eliminate the creature…

Deciding to try communications again, Adam put a hand to his ear.

“Infinity, this is Adam D-014, do you read, over?” he said. There was no response. “I repeat, Infinity, this is Adam D-014, do you read, over!?” Once again, no response.

He was about to simply try and make a run for it (though that would likely end in his, and Princess Luna’s, destruction), when suddenly the radio crackled.

“This is Captain Del Rio aboard Infinity, we read you, Spartan,” came the voice of the captain through the earpiece. “How can we be of service?”

“I’m under attack by a dragon lord!” Adam shouted through the mic as he wove the pelican back and forth, dodging the dragon’s blows. “I need immediate assistance!”

“I can try to get some fighters down there,” Del Rio replied. “But it won’t be for-.”

“Negative, sir…” Adam said. “I’m sending you coordinates. Prepare orbital cannon on my mark…”

“Spartan, you can’t seriously be considering…”

“I’m far enough away from Canterlot, sir,” he interjected. “There are no cities or towns within 7 miles of my location. It’ll be fine.” There was a brief pause, and then the captain spoke again.

“… Coordinates received, Adam,” he said. “Waiting on your mark.” Adam watched his altimeter carefully, waiting for just the right moment. Finally, just seconds before reaching the outer atmosphere, he shouted into the mic.

“NOW!”

Adam pushed all the way down on the throttle, activating the main thrusters and allowing the pelican to reach speeds to escape the atmosphere. At the same time, there was an ear-shattering roar as a 9 meter long tungsten round was fired at 30,000 meters per second from Infinity’s MAC cannon, and sliced right through the dragon lord. The kinetic energy ripped through the dragon and effectively pulverized it, spitting the remains of scales, bones, and innards out into the air. The slug round continued down and impacted onto the ground, sending out a shockwave over the next several miles and creating a massive crater in the ground where the ferrous round impacted.

Adam sat back in the pilot’s seat, letting out a sigh of relief as the pelican exited the atmosphere of Equis. Only a few hundred kilometers ahead was Infinity, so Adam set the pelican on an automated docking path, then opened the cockpit door and pushed himself out into the troop bay to check on Luna. Miraculously, she seemed not to have moved all that much. However, without medical tools, there was no way he would be able to tell the kind of trauma she had endured. That would be for the medics on Infinity to find out.

“We’ve barely got a pulse, here!”

“Breathing is shallow!”

“Get new dressings on those burn wounds!”

Adam followed behind several medics as they carted Princess Luna away on a large gurney, constantly checking on her vitals. So far, they did not look good. There was a chance that his journey to Infinity had taken too long, and it was too late to save her. And without Princess Celestia to use her magic to heal her, the medics told him there was a good chance that she wouldn’t make it. As soon as he had boarded, Adam had requested that Twilight Sparkle and Princess Cadance be made aware of the situation, to see if there was anything they could do. And only seconds after entering the large surgical suite, the two ponies ran inside, a look of worry plastering their faces.

“Adam!” Twilight yelled, worried. “What happened!? Is she going to be okay!?”

“She was hit by a sentinel beam,” Adam explained. “And I don’t know… I was hoping that you two might be able to help.” Twilight and Cadance both looked at each other, disappointed, then back to Adam.

“I’m sorry, Adam,” Princess Cadance said quietly. “Neither of us are adept in medical magic… That’s a difficult field to master, even for an alicorn…” Adam sighed, then walked over to the medics, who were working on placing Princess Luna on the surgical table.

“That’s a no on the magic…” he said quietly to the chief medical officer. The older man turned around and frowned at Adam.

“Understood,” he said. “We’ll do what we can. In the meantime, we need some space. You can stay in the observation room if you like.” He pointed up to a window that looked into an elevated room, which would allow anybody inside to look down upon the surgical suite, and oversee the procedure. Adam nodded, then motioned for Twilight and Cadance to follow him outside. Once outside, they entered into another door which lead to a small stairwell, leading up into observation. The two ponies and human watched as the medics stripped Luna of the rest of her armor, and tried their best to lay her totally flat on her back, revealing the burn wounds on her chest to several robotic arms on the roof.

As soon as they completed the task, one medic pressed a series of buttons on a wall-mounted computer, and the robotic arms on the ceiling came to life, articulating downwards and scanning the area around Luna’s chest. The door to the observation deck suddenly opened, and the chief medical officer stepped through, approaching the three observers.

“Mrs. Cadance?” he said. “I’m Doctor Evan Hallman.” He extended his hand to shake. The young princess took it with her hoof, and shook. She then looked at the doctor nervously.

“What is her condition?” she asked.

“Not good…” Hallman replied, sighing. “While the most prevalent wound is the large burn created by the sentinel beam, the intense heat that melted her armor also embedded several shards of it within her chest cavity. From what our scans tell, they’ve already started to cause internal bleeding. We have to extract them as soon as possible, before she bleeds out.” Cadance nodded in agreement, gulping nervously.

“I… I understand,” she said, sounding as though she were on the verge of tears. “Do… do it.” Hallman nodded, then exited the room. A moment later, he reentered the surgical suite and pressed several buttons on the computer, and the robotic arms got to work. The first arm to descend was holding an electric razor, which began trimming down the thin blue coat on her chest in a square around the wounded area. Once only her pale flesh was exposed, an arm equipped with a small spray bottle sprayed a clear substance onto Luna’s chest. Another syringe-wielding arm injected the princess with an anesthetic. The first task done, the three arms receded back to the ceiling, and the others took over. One arm illuminated her chest with a green square, upon which was a grid. An arm with a scalpel descended and cut a long line across her chest, careful not to directly cut any of the burn areas. Twilight’s legs became a bit wobbly at this, which Adam noticed when the lavender unicorn almost fell over. But she kept standing, only to see an arm with spreaders descend and open the incision up wide, revealing the affected area of the princesses chest cavity. At this, she promptly fainted onto the floor. Cadance carefully picked her up with her telekinesis, and laid her on a couch at the back of the room, then continued watching. The scalpel and spreaders moved out of the way for a team of the medics with flashlights on their glasses to step forward and look into the wound. Several arms then descended from the ceiling, each holding a tray with various surgical tools. The medics grabbed the tools they needed, then set about the painstaking task of identifying and carefully removing the armor shards.

“You know, this could take hours…” Adam said. “There’s no telling how much shrapnel is in there…”

“You should get back down to Equestria,” Cadance replied. “They need you down there. I’ll stay here and keep Twilight company, then be here when Luna is okay.” Adam nodded, then swiftly turned and exited the observation room, and began to head back to the hangar.

Adam navigated his pelican down through the cloud layer, knowing that when he came out he would be right over a warzone. At his request, the hangar crew had completely rearmed his pelican, so that he could be of some use to the humans and ponies on the ground. A shrill alarm sounded in the cockpit, signaling that he was about to come out of the cloud layer. Adam shut it off, then braced himself for whatever was on the other side.

As soon as his small craft dropped through the white blanket, he was forced to make evasive maneuvers to avoid hitting several sentinels firing upon one of the frigates. In his absence, the small machines seemed to have taken many losses, which Adam attributed to the fact that several broadsword fighters had entered the battle. They fired their expansive complements of missiles at the automatons, which seemed to be effective at first neutralizing their shields, then the machines themselves. As his pelican neared the castle courtyard, Adam craned his neck to check on the situation. As soon as he gained a view of the area, his heart sank. Where once the hundreds of ponies had stood strong in holding off the attack, the courtyard seemed to have been completely lost. The heavy reinforced door leading into the castle had also been ripped open at some point, and streams of griffons were pouring in. However, Adam occasionally caught sight of an explosion in not far down the corridor, a sign that the ponies and humans were keeping them from getting further into the castle.

Deciding that he should lend a hand, Adam opened the safety covers on the missiles tubes, and prepped all twelve of the high explosive rockets to fire. He selected several highly-populated locations in the griffon horde, then pressed down on the trigger on his throttle, firing all twelve of the ASM’s at the mythological creatures. They exploded on impact, creating large explosions that wiped out large groups of griffons at once, clearing out much of the area in the courtyard. Adam then spun up the chin-mounted rotary cannon, and fired into the advancing griffon lines, shredding them to bits and, if only temporarily, stalling their approach. The griffons who wielded crossbows or some other form of ranged weapon began to fire at the pelican, the crude bolts doing nothing to stop the dropship. They seemed to notice this, as they stopped not long after, and a familiar horn sounded. Adam recognized it as the horn that had been used earlier to summon a dragon. Firing his engines, Adam stopped pressing down on the trigger and soared away from the front lines. It was not long before he heard a loud roar from somewhere behind him, and another jet of flame engulfed the pelican, though it did nothing more than stain the heat shields. Adam suddenly put all power into the forward thrusters, coming to a complete stop and sending the confused dragon soaring ahead of him. Immediately after, the Spartan put power back into main engines and gave chase, spinning up the rotary cannon once more. Adam pressed down on the trigger, and the salvo of 70mm rounds soared towards the dragon, only some actually managing to hit. Those that did, however, had little trouble puncturing the less-thick scales of the average dragon, causing it to roar in pain. This caused a momentary lapse in the creature’s dodging, so Adam continued firing, dozens of the bullets embedding themselves into the back of the dragon, until it finally took the long plunge down to the ground, dead.

Unfortunately, Adam’s engagement with the dragon had used up the last of his ammunition, so he decided that it was time for him to land. The gardens still seemed untouched, so the Spartan set down in his usual spot, grabbed an assault rifle from the restocked weapons rack, and ran into the palace, ready to rejoin the fight. He ran through the familiar hallways, working his way to the front entrance. It was not hard to find; all he had to do was follow the sound of gunfire. As soon as he rounded the final corner and came into the entry hall, he was swept up in the chaos. While his diversion had allowed the friendly soldiers to rearm and regroup, the griffons were now continuing their costly attacks against the castle. Spartan Fireteam Vector was, as Adam expected, in the front lines, firing an endless barrage of bullets into the advancing griffons. Adam pushed his way up to them, then kneeled down beside Kevin, and began to fire.

“Kevin!” Adam shouted over the noise. “What’s the situation!?”

“Not good!” Kevin replied, pausing to quickly reload his assault rifle. “I estimate that, through it all, we’ve only taken down a third of their forces! We can’t hold them off for much longer!” Adam nodded in agreement, and kept firing into the griffons. There was no way they could win this conventionally. Even the powerful Spartans would eventually lose in a war of attrition. They needed another plan… Suddenly, a thought popped into his head.

“Where’s Princess Celestia!?” Adam asked, still having to shout.

“Back in one of the safe rooms, being guarded by Night Flyer and a squad of ponies!” Kevin shouted back. “Why!?”

“How much longer can you hold them off!?”

“How long do you need!?” Adam smiled, patted Kevin on the shoulder, then stood up and ran back down the hall, working his way down the route to the safe rooms. They had been placed in the lower levels of the palace, which had been built directly into the side of the mountain. That way they could only be accessed through the main doors, and could not be breached from outside.

Only minutes later, he found himself at the hallway that lead to all of the safe rooms. Each room had a large amount of pony civilians in it, but the one at the end was reserved for the princesses. They had initially denied staying in there, so as not to appear weak to their ponies. Of course, in Celestia’s weakened state, they had been able to bring her here anyway. Adam opened the door, which was flanked by two pony guards, and entered into the small room. On one end was a bed, upon which rested Princess Celestia. She seemed to be fully conscious now, though the bags under her eyes betrayed just how exhausted she still was. Standing next to her and checking her pulse was the same medic from before, and standing on the other side was Night Flyer.

“Adam?” the pony guard asked, confused. “What are you doing here, shouldn’t you be outside?”

“I’ll explain in a minute, Night,” Adam replied, approaching the princess. She slowly turned her head up to regard the Spartan.

“Adam…” she said weakly. “How is my sister?”

“You… you don’t worry about her right now, Princess,” Adam said. “She’s in good hands. Right now, Canterlot needs you…” Celestia stared at Adam, confused.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“How much magic can you use?”

Adam ran back through the hallways, working his way back to the main entrance. Fifteen minutes was all he needed. Fifteen minutes before his plan could be put into action. The two frigates were ready, and Princess Celestia was preparing herself. But first they needed to hold the griffons off for fifteen more minutes. What was normally regarded as a small amount of time sounded to Adam like a century. Against the seemingly endless griffon hordes, fifteen minutes might as well have been one. But it was their only option. It was either this, or fail.

Finally reaching the entry hall, Adam worked his way back to the front lines, and once again knelt down by Kevin. He began firing into the griffons, then leaned over and shouted to the fireteam leader.

“We need to hold them off for fifteen minutes!” he reported.

“Why!?” Kevin shouted back. “What are you planning!?”

“You’ll see!?”

Kevin turned his head to Adam as if to show his discontent with not being kept in the loop. The humans and unicorns continued firing into the griffon soldiers, who were simply replaced with more the second they fell. Curiously enough, Adam noticed that the griffon lines seemed to be thinning… It was almost as if they were making way for something…

A loud roar proved him right as a dragon, the fourth of five, landed in the courtyard outside and stuck his scaled head in through the door.

“GET DOWN!” Adam yelled before dropping himself to the floor. Not a second later a long jet of flame flew from the mouth of the dragon, and began to cook the air inside the entry hall. Wooden barricades were set alight, and, to Adam’s horror, a cache of explosives, including rockets and grenades, were directly in the path of the flames.

“EVERYONE MOVE!” he shouted, and began crawling as quickly as he could away from the cache. Everyone else in the hall seemed to notice the danger as well, and began working their way away from the entry hall. Just as Adam thought they were all going to make it, there was a deafening boom and the explosives cache detonated. Adam was flung further into the palace, where he impacted a wall and fell to the ground, dazed. As he shakily stood up, he realized that no one else had fared much better than him. The survivors were slowly standing up and preparing their weapons, ready for the inevitable horde of griffons that were about to come pouring through.

“Michaels!? Michaels!?” the voice of Kevin shouted desperately. Adam shakily walked over to the Spartan, then put a hand on his shoulder. Kevin whirled around quickly, but settled down once he saw who it was.

“Adam, we can’t keep this up!” he said. “I just lost a man, and who knows how many others we just lost!”

“I know, Kevin,” Adam said. “But we only have to hold out for ten more minutes, so let’s do this…” Kevin sighed, then grabbed his assault rifle off of the ground and joined the newly-formed front lines. The smoke from the explosion cleared, and revealed that, ironically, the explosion from the weapons cache had spread outwards into the courtyard as well, and completely engulfed the dragon, killing it. That meant there was only one left…

There was no time to contemplate on that, though, as the griffons who were also affected by the explosion began running back into the hall, now making it much further without the barricades or ponies getting in the way. The ponies were still unprepared for the attack, and even though the Spartans were able to hold some off, many lighter-armored griffons jumped into the air and flew forwards, flying behind the super soldiers and engaging the ponies in combat. In close-range, the griffons had an inherent advantage due to their size and strength. Adam and Kevin both turned around and began firing at the griffons, though they were much more careful with their aim, so as not to hit any ponies. The dead griffons were only replaced by more as they ran en masse through the corridor and pushed further in, now pushing the ponies back much further. It seemed that they were able to figure out where the princess was being kept, as Adam recognized that the route they were being pushed back through was leading them right to the safe rooms.

“Do not let them get to the princess!” Adam shouted of the din of battle. “Our victory hinges completely on her!” This seemed to give the ponies more drive, as they stopped backing up and began to push forward, moving closer up to the griffons and slaying them with their human-provided weapons. Many of them were able to take down several griffons before they themselves were slain, but it did nothing to push back the griffon advance. Rather, it simply stopped it as they were both caught in a stalemate in the middle of the hallway. Adam once again checked his chrono, checking to see how much longer they had to do this. It read that only five minutes remained. Hopefully the princess would be ready…

Adam’s train of thought was interrupted as a sharp blade impacted his visor, the force of the blow taking his shields down to half strength. Adam spun around to face his assailant, and came face-to-face with a particularly large griffon. It reacted quickly and hit the Spartan one more time, taking down his shields and knocking the human back several feet. Adam brought his assault rifle to bear and made ready to fire, only to be met with a clicking sound, indicating that the magazine was empty. He threw down the spent weapon and unsheathed his knife, then rushed at the large creature. It swung at the unshielded Spartan and managed to catch him on the inside of his unarmored elbow, slicing through the black bodysuit, and managing to draw blood. Adam winced in pain, but managed to dodge the next attack, and embedded his knife deep into the griffon’s left side. It screamed in pain, and Adam ripped the knife out, then brought it up to slice the griffon’s neck. It met the attack midway and deflected it with his own blade, then punched outward with a talon. The blow was surprisingly strong, and pushed him back once more, knocking the breath out of him. Desperately, Adam looked around for Kevin, and found that he was engaged with a similarly sized griffon. Adam then felt another blow to his sparsely-armored stomach, followed by an incredibly sharp pain as the griffon drove his blade into the Spartan’s gut, then twisted it. Adam screamed as the pain threatened to overtake him, but he managed to get one more look up at his chrono.

5… 4… 3... 2…

“EVERYBODY DOWN!” he shouted as loudly as he could. Very briefly, the fighting stopped, and every human and pony fighting in the hall dropped to the floor. The griffons stared at one another, confused, when suddenly hundreds of explosions rocked the city as the two frigates hovering above fired their complement of archer missiles into the streets. As the griffons all fell over one another from the force of the explosions, Adam closed his eyes, and sank into unconsciousness…

Chapter 24

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CHAPTER 24

Adam’s eyes slowly fluttered open, letting in a large amount of light. He squinted to block it out, half expecting his suit’s visor to automatically adjust. When it did not, Adam became aware that he was no longer clad in his Mjolnir armor. Instead of the comfortable form-fitting gel layer that he was accustomed to, he wore a simple set of UNSC medical fatigues. It was then that the Spartan became aware of his surroundings: the infirmary on a Strident-class frigate, very likely Perseus. In the corner of the room stood two figures. After Adam’s eyes adjusted to the light, he recognized them as Kevin D-121 and Commander Lasky. They seemed to be speaking, but all Adam could hear was a dull ringing. He shook his head to clear it out, which seemed to attract the attention of the two humans. The jogged over to his bed and took up positions on either side.

“What happened…?” Adam coughed, his throat dry. Kevin picked up a glass of water on a bedside table and passed it to Adam, who gulped it down greedily.

“You did it, Adam,” Commander Lasky said, patting the Spartan on his shoulder. “Your plan worked.”

“Well done,” Kevin said. “Though, next time, I really would like to know before you launch over a hundred archer missiles at a mountain-side city. Before I found out Princess Celestia was strengthening the supports with her magic, I thought we were all going for a little tumble…” Adam laughed weakly, and smiled.

“Sorry, there wasn’t much time to explain…” he said. Kevin nodded, and patted Adam on his shoulder. “How long have I been out?”

“A little over two hours,” Lasky said. “Once the surviving griffons surrendered, it didn’t take too long to get you here and have the medics fix you up.”

“Two hours… What have I missed?” Adam asked.

“Not much,” Kevin said. “After the griffons who were not in the palace were decimated by the missiles, the survivors just threw down their weapons and surrendered. Not very griffon-like, according to Night Flyer, but I’m glad we didn’t have to keep fighting after that…”

“How about Princess Luna?” he asked next, taking another sip of the water.

“Last I heard, she’s still in surgery,” Lasky answered. “The doctors think it could take the better part of twelve hours to get her completely fixed up.” Adam nodded.

“And Celestia?”

“She’s fine,” Kevin said. “Just really worn out… After all, she had to pretty much keep a city from falling off of a mountain, so…” Adam weakly laughed again, then tried sitting up. He winced in pain as the wounded area was forced to move, and Lasky softly pushed him back down onto the bed.

“I don’t think so, Spartan,” he said. “You’ve been through a lot today. You need rest.”

“But sir,” Adam said. “We don’t know what the griffons are planning. For all we know, a counterattack could already be underway. We need to get to those Forerunner ruins, and take out that monitor!”

“Adam, I understand your haste,” Lasky explained. “But you have to accept your limitations. Even a super soldier needs rest…” Adam sighed. “Besides, Infinity is getting images of Gryphonia as we speak. We’ll know if they’re planning anything.” Adam lay back in the bed, resigned.

“Yes, sir,” he said. Lasky grinned, then left the room. Kevin lingered for a moment longer before following him.

Twilight Sparkle sat quietly in her quarters aboard Infinity, silently scrolling through various pages of information on her provided computer. With some help from the AI, Aine, she had begun to master the basic controls of the device, and now she was quite proficient in it, a fact which the AI made clear.

“Your ability to adapt to new concepts is astounding, Twilight Sparkle,” the golden woman said from her pedestal by the door.

“Thank you, Aine,” Twilight replied, still finding it odd that she was speaking with a computer.

“Is there any specific piece of information you require assistance in locating?”

“No thank you, Aine, I think I-,” Twilight was cut off as she heard a sharp knock on her door. The avatar of Aine flickered off of the pedestal, and Twilight stood to greet her visitor. She pressed the small button on the side of the door and it slid open, revealing a single marine.

“Ma’am, Captain Del Rio would like to speak with you on the bridge,” he reported. He then spun around, and began walking down the corridor. Twilight quickly jogged out of her room to keep up with the marine. As they walked down the hall, she got to wondering. What does the captain want with me? This would be the first time she had met the captain of the starship, as, from what she had heard, he was somewhat of a recluse. He had only made himself known to one pony onboard, and that was Princess Cadance. If he was requesting her presence… Maybe he had information on Equestria! Twilight’s lavender ears drooped as she realized that such information could be either good or bad. From what she had heard, the griffon invasion force was massive, and even with human reinforcements, they would be massively outnumbered. Anxiety began to build up in the unicorn as she and the marine each stepped into an elevator, and it began climbing down to a few decks to where the bridge was situated, closer to the middle.

The doors slid open with a hiss and revealed another hallway, almost identical to the one where her quarters were. The only difference was that, at the end of the hallway, rather than branch off into two more, it ended in a thick door guarded by two marines. The marine led Twilight forward and towards the large door. When they reached it, one of the two marines guarding it pressed a series of buttons on a keypad, and it slid upwards, revealing the bridge to Infinity.

The first thing Twilight took notice of was how large the room was. It hosted several dozen human crewman, each one sitting at a station doing Celestia knows what. In the center was a long table with a floating apparition of Equis hovering over it, and beyond that was a massive window looking down over the planet itself. Standing in front of the window was who Twilight guessed was Captain Del Rio. Standing next to him was a familiar pink alicorn. Twilight trotted past her marine escort and towards the two individuals, who took notice of her moments before she stopped in front of them.

“You must be Twilight Sparkle,” Captain Del Rio said coolly. “I’m Captain Del Rio.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Captain,” Twilight said politely. The captain merely grunted in response, then straightened his back.

“I’m sure you’re both wondering why I summoned you each here, so I shall get right to it,” he began. “Only two hours ago, the battle for Canterlot ended. And, as I am sure you are wishing to here, we were victorious. The griffon forces have been eliminated, and the city is completely under pony control once more. Twilight smiled widely, her excitement barely being contained.

“Does this mean we can finally return home!?” she shouted gleefully.

“Soon, Ms. Sparkle…” Del Rio replied. “We are still coordinating everything to get everyone home as quickly as possible. However, there is much destruction. Many will not be returning home for some time.” At this, both Twilight and Cadance’s faces fell.

“What is the extent of the destruction?” Cadance asked sadly.

“Canterlot received the most,” the captain explained. “In order to eliminate the griffons, hundreds of missiles were fired from our ships. While the castle is perfectly fine, a large amount of buildings near where griffons were stationed have been destroyed.” Cadance nodded in understanding.

“I shall have more information for each of you soon,” Del Rio continued. “But please, would you mind spreading the news to the rest of the ponies onboard?” Twilight and Cadance each nodded, and the captain wore a satisfied grin. “Very well. Dismissed.” With that, he turned back to the large window and began looking out over Equis. Twilight and Cadance each awkwardly stepped back and exited the bridge, then began running down the hall, eager to spread the word. They were going home.

Adam once again tried lifting himself from the uncomfortable cot in the infirmary of Perseus, and once again he unsuccessfully fell back down onto the mattress. It had now been six hours since his plan had gone successfully, and still he could not manage to raise himself up. Much of the pain had subsided over the last few hours, and the doctor aboard the frigate, a younger man named George Warren, believed it was time that he tried standing up. But after several unsuccessful tries, the doctor began to express his worries that the blade had gone deeper than they initially believed, and it had hit his spinal cord.

“Yeah, this is not good…” Warren said after another unsuccessful attempt. “You should definitely be able to stand by now…”

“What do you suggest, doc?” Adam said, grunting back the pain that had begun to manifest in his stomach.

“Well, I do have one idea…” he said, and then walked to the door of the room. It slid open, and he called into the hallway. “Come on in!” A moment later, in walked Princess Celestia herself. Despite the fact that she had just kept a city secured to a mountain during a barrage of missiles, she looked well restored. The bags that had once been present under her eyes had all but disappeared, and she once again wore a calm expression.

“Princess,” Adam greeted, nodding in her direction. “Good to see you up and about.”

“Yes, but I hear you are having some troubles standing?” she asked. Adam simply nodded in response. “I may be able to help with that…” At that, Adam jerked his head up, confused.

“Now, I know you have some… uncertainties… about the use of magic, but-,”

“Wait, wait, wait…” Adam interrupted. “You want to use magic on me?” Celestia nodded, forcing a smile. But before Adam could blurt outright ‘no’, he decided to actually think it over. If he denied her assistance, then he could never walk again. If he couldn’t walk, he wouldn’t be able to take down 401 Lamenting Chorus, and if he couldn’t do that… then Equestria was right back where it started.

“… Do it,” he said. Celestia nodded, somewhat surprised at his answer. She stepped forward, and her horn began to glow a soft golden color. Adam suddenly felt a strange sensation permeate his stomach. It tingled all across his flesh and muscles and tissues, creating a numb feeling. And just as soon as it started, it was gone. The pain that he once felt was completely gone, and he once again felt strength in his legs. Curious, Adam lifted himself up, and, to his surprise, he found himself once again perfectly capable of standing.

“Well done!” Doctor Warren said, impressed.

“Agreed…” Adam said quietly. “Thank you, princess.”

“For all you have done for us, it is the least I could do,” Celestia replied. Adam slowly walked over to the door to the infirmary, and approached Doctor Warren.

“Please have Commander Lasky meet me in the armor fitting room,” he said. He then turned and exited the room to retrieve his armor.

The various robotic arms spun around Adam’s body as they placed the Mjolnir Mark VI armor on his now-repaired black undersuit. The actual armor itself had also undergone some repairs, and was now looking as good as new. Just as the armor process completed, the door to the small room slid open, and Commander Lasky hurried inside, stopping when he saw the now fully-armored Spartan.

“Adam, are you sure you’re ready?” Lasky asked, concerned. “You haven’t gotten much rest, and this is an important mission… If something goes wrong…”

“It won’t, sir,” Adam replied. “I’m ready for this. The question is, is everybody else?” Lasky nodded.

“Princess Celestia is currently working on gathering up the pony military,” the commander replied. “As for our ODSTs, they’re ready to roll. Infinity scanners show that there are around three thousand griffon soldiers, and two dragons, guarding the ruins. Also, the few sentinels who managed to escape have been sighted flying around the area, though most of them are probably inside.” Adam nodded and stepped out of the cylindrical device.

“Then let’s get to it.”

Only a few hours later, the Strident-class frigate Perseus was flying along the Equestrian landscape, keeping itself just a few hundred meters off of the ground. The plains that decorated much of Equestria had fallen away to forest, and it was evident that they were nearing the north, as snow was beginning to fall on the glass of the bridge window. Commander Lasky stood in front of the window, watching as their target came ever closer. Deciding that it was time, he pulled himself away from the view and walked quickly to the communications panel. He then pressed several buttons, and activated the shipwide intercom.

“All human and pony soldiers,” he began. “We are nearing the Forerunner ruins, and will be there in minutes. Please report to your designated deployment area. Good luck.” A steady alarm began to blare throughout the ship was the crew was ordered to general quarters. Lasky then pressed another few buttons, and opened a channel to the pelican dropship that was keeping up with the frigate just a few hundred meters off of their starboard side.

“Adam, we’re almost there,” he said. “Are you and Fireteam Vector ready?”

“We’re ready sir,” Adam replied through his suit radio, still having not fixed the pelican communications. “We’ll see you at the touchdown site.”

“Understood, Spartan,” the commander said. “Good luck…” Adam paused for a moment.

“… You too, sir,” he finally said, then cut off the channel. As they neared the area where Perseus would be touching down, near the old pony base, Adam began to reflect.

This was it. His actions over the next few hours would dictate the future of Equestria, and even Equis as a whole. Adam smiled to himself as he thought back to his first day in Equestria. Mere minutes after arriving, he had taken down a mythological creature, then proceeded to heal another one. If only he had known what he was in for…

A shrill alarm filled the cockpit of the pelican as he began to near the coordinates of the deployment zone. Quickly, he fired the dorsal thrusters and began to hover down to the ground. Just meters above the landing zone, he deployed the landing gear and softly touched down, then began to shut down systems. He then unstrapped himself from the pilots’ seat, opened the small door to the troop bay, and walked in, where he saw Fireteam Vector getting ready. The now four-man team was busy loading their weapons and preparing the pieces of equipment that they would be making use of.

“Are you all ready?” Adam asked as he grabbed an assault rifle and several spare clips from the weapons box. They all stopped what they were doing, and nodded.

“We’re ready, Adam,” Kevin said. Adam nodded, then, before leaving, grabbed a Spartan laser from the weapons box, clipping it to his back. If what the mission reports had said were true… he was going to need it. He then opened the back hatch, and the five Spartans stepped out, surveying the area. Just a few dozen meters away, Perseus had touched down and a ramp had deployed from one of the hangars. Human and pony soldiers were all quickly filing out, breaking off into their designated teams. The ship was fully staffed with 1,400 soldiers. It was almost half of what the griffons had, and that wasn’t counting the two dragons or several dozen surviving sentinels, but compared to the winged creatures, they had the clear technological advantage. Among those filing out of the hangar floated seven sentinels with red-painted wings. One had “84” painted on the side as well. This one floated over to Adam.

“Spartan D-014,” it said in its usual monotonous tone. “Are you prepared to eliminate 401 Lamenting Chorus?”

“I am,” Adam replied, somewhat surprised to see the sentinel. He was under the impression that they had all been destroyed while fighting against the hostile sentinels in the skies above Canterlot. Either way, the support of seven extra sentinels would definitely come in handy. The sentinel seemed satisfied by the Spartans answer, and it floated away to rejoin the other six. As the stream of ponies and humans came to an end, the ramp deployed back into the side of the frigate. Before the large doors closed, however, two G79-TC/MA pelican gunships flew out, their extra weapons clearly visible beneath the wings, and extra ammo stores where the troop bay would usually be. They both hovered over the large mass of human and pony soldiers, and there was a loud rumbling as the frigate took back off into the skies, and hovered over the area, preparing the large autocannons for combat. The frigate glowed golden for a moment as her shields activated.

“Adam, this is Lasky, do you read?” the voice of the commander filled the Spartans ear.

“Yes, sir, I read you,” Adam replied, holding a hand up. “We’re all ready down here…”

“Understood,” Lasky said. “We’ll provide as much support as we can, but we don’t want to use archers. We could destroy the outer ruins if we do…”

“Copy that, sir,” Adam said. “We’ll do what we can.”

“Good luck, Adam,” the commander said. “Lasky, out.” The channel cut out, and Adam lowered his hand. He then turned to address all of the soldiers in the area.

“This is it everyone!” he shouted. “The next few hours decide the fate of Equestria! There is no room for mistakes and no second chances! Let’s go!” The Spartan then turned and sprinted into the thick forest, through which were the griffon-controlled ruins. The sounds of hooves and boots thumping against the ground filled the air and shook the forest floor as the Equestrian army sprinted behind him, ready to give their lives for their country. Only seconds later they burst through the other side and entered the ruins, and immediately came under fire. Elevated griffons fired their crossbow bolts at the advancing allied army, felling several of them. The humans and ponies wasted no time in bringing their own weapons to bear, and soon the air was filled with the sound of gunfire as 7.62x51mm rounds were spewed from the rifles at 610 rounds per minute and connected with the heads and bodies of the griffon soldiers. One of the two dragons took off from somewhere at the back of the ruins, and immediately several rockets from one of the pelican gunships impacted the hardened scales. It was not nearly as powerful as the dragon lord, and actually took some damage, but not enough to discourage it from charging at the aircraft. It sped by the small ship, sharp claws outstretched, and scratched the side of the pelican, leaving a nasty mark. The pilot swerved away, trying to get a line of sight on the creature once again.

Meanwhile, Adam charged right into the fray of griffon soldiers who were advancing toward the invaders. He sprayed his assault rifle into their front lines, dropping at least a dozen before his magazine clicked empty and he was forced to fall back and reload. All the while, the ponies behind him refused to stop their advance or give up any ground, and instead continued to advance forward, determined to take the ruins. Once Adam was finished with his first reload, he jumped back in front of the griffons and continued to fire, trying to get a line of sight on the ruin entrance. It would no doubt be well guarded, but once he got inside, Adam believed it would be fairly easy to reach the monitor. Only a few dozen of the hostile sentinels had survived, and even now he could see a large number of them engaging the seven surviving deserter sentinels in the air.

Adam’s train of thought was interrupted as a storm of arrows rained down upon him and caused his shields to flare, taking them down to half strength. He quickly looked around for the source of the attack, and spotted eight griffons on a small elevated platform. A quick burst from his assault rifle cut through the wooden supports and caused it to collapse, eliminating the archers. This was a short victory, however, as almost immediately after he felt a thump against his back, and his shields dropped down to a fourth. The Spartan quickly spun around and came face-to-face with a hammer-wielding griffon. It was mid-swing when Adam fired another burst into its chest, killing it instantly. After this, there was a brief pause in the advance of the griffon soldiers, which just barely gave the Spartan time to get eyes on the entrance to the ruins. As he expected, they were guarded by two griffons, who seemed to be wielding sentinel beams. Adam started pushing forward again, trying to make a run for the entrance, when suddenly another large group of griffons ran right in the way and began running for the Spartan, some of the lighter-armored ones taking to the air to fire on him from above. He quickly dispatched the flyers, then aimed his assault rifle ahead at the land-locked griffons who were almost upon him. He squeezed the trigger, but was only met with the unsatisfying click of an empty magazine. Just before the first griffon was able to swing its weapon, Adam rolled out of the way and behind a fallen column, then dropped out his empty mag. Before he could slap in a fresh one, two of the charging griffons broke off of the main group and lunged at him, swinging their heavy weapons. One weapon, a mace, hit Adam directly in the head with enough force to knock him over, and to take his shields down to a fourth. Before the second weapon could hit him, however, he rolled once more, this time into a standing position. He swung the butt of his rifle at the nearest griffon and caught it right under the beak, sending it falling backwards and stunning the creature. Adam took the short opportunity to put in a full magazine and then aimed the assault rifle right for the griffon, killing it with two shots to the head. The second one met a similar fate as it tried to finish off the Spartan’s shields, and it slumped to the ground, dead. Adam then quietly crouch-walked forward, trying to once again get eyes-on the entrance to the ruins. As with before, it was guarded by two griffons, but no one else was in sight. However, the sound of battle filled the air, a clear indication that the griffons were busy fighting off the invaders elsewhere. Adam put a hand to his ear, and activated communications.

“Kevin, this is Adam, do you read?” he asked. There was a brief pause.

“I read you, Adam,” Kevin finally answered. “What do you need?”

“I have a clear shot at the entrance to the ruins,” Adam explained. “If I go for it… Can you finish off the griffons?” There was a pause again.

“The way I see it, Adam,” he began. “If you don’t take out that monitor, it won’t matter who finishes off the griffons, that thing is just going to try again anyway. Go. We’ll be fine.”

“Copy that,” Adam said. “… Good luck.”

“… You too, Adam,” Kevin said. “You too.”

Adam broke from cover and sprinted for the doorway, almost immediately drawing the attention of the two guards posted outside. They aimed their sentinel beams at him, and fired. Adam nimbly dodged the red glowing beams of energy, and connected his fist to the first griffon guard. However, just centimeters away from its face, a blue aura surrounded the griffon as an energy shield stopped the blow. Surprised, Adam instead brought his assault rifle up and began to fire at the griffon, each shot being deflected by the Forerunner personal shield. They seemed to be having no effect, as the shields were keyed for high-speed projectiles. He would have to do this the old fashioned way… The two griffons each fired their sentinel beams again, but once again the Spartan jumped out of the way, and approached the nearest griffon. He swung his fist again, this time much slower, and, as he expected, it passed through the barrier, and connected with the griffon’s side. It recoiled backwards at the blow, and dropped the sentinel beam on the ground. Adam then leapt on top of the griffon and assaulted it with a flurry of punches until the beasts face was hardly recognizable. He was interrupted from his attack when he felt his back begin to heat up, and the shield bar at the top of his HUD began to drop quickly. Adam spun off of the incapacitated griffon before the sentinel beam could drop his shields, and turned to face the second griffon. He kicked outward with his leg, but the griffon caught the attack in the middle of the air and pushed, sending the Spartan back and onto the ground. It then fired another quick burst from the sentinel beam, which was just enough to drop his shield and create a long burn line across his chest plate. Adam quickly rolled out of the way and found himself lying right next to the sentinel beam that had been dropped by the first griffon. He grabbed it, brought it forward, and began to fire a continuous stream at the griffon. As he expected, the shields dropped after only a few seconds, and the beam began to burn through the feathers, then flesh, then muscle of the creature until it cut all the way through, bursting out of the back of the creature. It fell to the ground, dead, with a smoking hole in its chest.

Adam turned away from the dead creature and cautiously entered the ruins, deciding to keep the sentinel beam with him. It had proven itself to be very useful, and if there were sentinels inside, he was going to need it. Adam turned down the hallway that led to the breach in the wall, which connected the ancient, decaying ruins to the advanced Forerunner ones. Running at his top speed, it did not take him long to reach the hole in the wall, and he jumped through it, then ran down it to the elevator. As soon as he stepped onto the platform, it began descending to the bottom floor, as if it was expecting the Spartan. When it reached its destination, Adam stepped out and walked down the next hallway. At the end, he took a right and entered into the familiar trench with the hardlight bridge. Everything was eerily quiet. There was an utter lack of noise of any kind. The only thing Adam could hear was the rhythmic sound of his breathing, and his heart thumping in his chest. He cautiously began to cross the bridge, half-expecting it to cut out beneath him and send him tumbling into the pit below. But it did not, and when Adam reached the other side, the massive door opened and revealed the wide hallway where he had first come into contact with a sentinel. Adam walked down the hall, the sound of his footsteps echoing off of the walls and filling the chamber. The door at the end of the hallway opened when Adam neared it, and once again revealed the massive circular chamber with the hologram of Equis in the center. Floating in the middle of the bridge that extended out over the circular pit below was the rampant AI behind all of this, 401 Lamenting Chorus.

The floating orb menacingly spun around to face the Spartan, the usual green eye replaced by a deep red one.

“Reclaimer,” it said. “I am disappointed that you have gone to such lengths to destroy me… The fact that you even believe I can be destroyed truly shows your current mental state! That, along with your belief that the Forerunners are gone… I am surprised, to say the least…” The monitor then began flying around the room, seeming to take note of every detail along the walls.

“But alas, it will all have been worth it,” it continued. “For when these ponies have been eliminated, the Forerunners will deem this world safe once more, and they will return. And you will not be here to see it.” Chorus then slowly floated towards the Spartan, energy seeming to collect in its ‘eye’.

“Your kind was to inherit the Mantle of Responsibility,” the monitor continued. “But clearly, there was a fault in judgment… You are too flawed, and you cannot see that which is right in front of you. These ponies are dangerous creatures… They must be destroyed… As must you be.” Immediately after, it fired a burst of a bright red energy beam from its eye, which impacted with the Spartan directly on his chest. His energy shields dropped, but before Chorus could fire again, Adam leapt out of the way to another part of the platform. He fired a long, continuous beam from the sentinel beam he had acquired, which seemed to do little against the advanced shielding of the monitor. After a few seconds, the weapon stopped firing, and a burst of steam was emitted from the firing chamber, and indicator that it was out of power. He threw it away and equipped the Spartan laser from his back, checking the charge. It was at full, which gave him a good five uses before it was totally out of power. If that wasn’t enough…

No. It has to be. Adam thought. For the sake of Equestria, if he didn’t finish it right here and right now, no one else would. Adam sighted on the monitor and began charging up the laser, a blinking red beam showing where the shot would hit: directly on the monitor’s eye. Just a few seconds later, the heavy shoulder-mounted weapon recoiled backwards and a red beam shot out, connecting right where it was supposed to. The monitor sputtered for a moment and blue plasma began leaking out of several breaches that formed in its side.

“You cannot defeat me!” it shouted despite the damage that had clearly been caused by the beam. It then fired another long burst which connected with Adam’s stomach, once again dropping his shields. It fired again and Adam leapt out of the way, but not before it hit him on his shoulder. The beam melted right through the Mjolnir armor and through his black multilayer undersuit, scorching the skin beneath and sending torrents of pain throughout his body. He screamed in agony as the wound cauterized itself, and fell to the ground, landing on his uninjured shoulder. In his blurry vision he clearly saw the Forerunner monitor about to take another shot. Quickly, he aimed the Spartan laser, sighted in on the monitor’s eye once more, and seconds later fired the burst. This time, several cracks began to form in the metallic hull of the monitor, and even more plasma leaked out of them. The red eye began to flicker, and the monitor tried to say something, but it was completely garbled. Just as his shields regained their full strength, the monitor fired off another beam at Adam, this time hitting him in the leg and only taking the shields down to a fifth. Adam brought up his Spartan laser and fired another shot, but the monitor’s anti-gravitational abilities seemed to fail for a moment and it fell a few feet, causing the beam to pass right over it. It then fired another shot, this one hitting Adam in the leg. It dropped his shields the rest of the way and once again cut through his armor, though not as much. It did, however, cause Adam to lose his balance briefly, causing his next shot to go way off target, instead hitting the wall and leaving a burn mark on it.

Adam checked the charge of the device. Only one shot remained. One shot, and Equestria would be safe. As he sighted in on the center of the monitor, Chorus was doing the same, and it fired off its beam right at Adam’s stomach. Even though it wasn’t as powerful as the monitor’s initial shots, it still cut right through the Mjolnir armor and burned into his flesh. Adam doubled over as the pain spread throughout his body, and the corners of his vision began to dim. In his very blurry vision, Adam saw the monitor lower itself down to be even with the Spartan. As the waves of energy began to collect in its eye, Adam aimed the Spartan laser at it, and, just half a second before 401 Lamenting Chorus was ready to fire, the laser burst hit it directly in the eye. Immediately, the collection of energy stopped, and the monitor’s red eye faded back to green. As the plasma leaks grew more intense and the cracks in its hull spread out, it managed to speak one more word…

“Reclaimer…”

There was a bright flash of light and a deafening explosion as the rampant Forerunner monitor exploded in a flurry of blue plasma. Slowly, to avoid injuring himself further, Adam used the Spartan laser to lift himself up off of the ground, and come to a standing position. Very briefly he felt light-headed, and almost fell over, but it passed and soon Adam was once again seeing clearly. He stared at the few remains of the monitor that had fallen to the floor of the glass bridge, and suddenly Adam was fraught with many different emotions. Relief. Happiness. Success. He turned back to the massive door leading into the cylindrical chamber, and simply stared at it. For several minutes he stood, unmoving, staring at the door. Then, slowly, he lifted his hand up to his ear.

“Perseus, I-“

And then everything changed.

Chapter 25

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CHAPTER 25

The change was so sudden that Adam did not notice it occurring until a large metal support beam crashed down onto the bridge before him, having been set loose by a sudden shaking throughout the structure. It cracked the glass, which began to spread outwards as more and more of the structure began to weaken. Another support beam from the ceiling crashed down behind him, causing more cracks to propagate beneath his feet. Quickly, Adam sprang into action and ran forward, heading for the large door ahead of him. He mashed the door control and the passage began to open slowly. As soon as the gap was large enough for him to fit through, Adam sprinted through and ran down the large hallway. Explosions of blue plasma erupted from conduits on the wall that were overloading, which caused the lights in the facility to begin flickering on and off. Activating his VISR so he could see consistently throughout the ordeal, Adam continued running down the hall, only stopping to press the next button at the end. The next massive door split open, revealing the chasm room beyond. The normally stable hardlight bridge was flickering on and off, in a pattern following that of the lights. Taking a deep breath, Adam gauged the length of the chasm, and looked at the incredibly thin landing at the other end of the bridge, where the next door was. Adam backed up a few meters, then began sprinting for the edge of the chasm. He leapt into the air, and right as he began to lose altitude he activated the jetpack stored in the back of his armor, which rocketed him into the detailed, gray Forerunner wall. He fell onto the landing below and, to his horror, began to slide off of it. Just before he plummeted into the dark, bottomless chasm below, his hands finally found purchase on the landing. Adam gripped the edge, and started to regulate his breathing. Channeling all of the strength in his augmented body into his arms, he began to pull himself up, ignoring the immense buildup of pain where the monitor had hit his shoulder with its beam weapon. Finally he had his torso up above the landing, and he brought his legs up after. As soon as he was safely on the landing, Adam collapsed into an exhausted heap.

But he knew he could not stop now. That would mean his death. Slowly, so as not to damage his injuries even more, Adam picked himself up, and pressed the door control. The door slowly began to slide open, then became jammed halfway through as the mechanism failed, sparks flying through the edges of the door frame. He pushed the doors open the rest of the way, then stepped through into the thin corridor beyond. Adam then began limping down as the lights continued to flicker, occasionally bathing the hallway in nothing but darkness, barely illuminated by his VISR mode. Right as he rounded the corner of the hallway, there was a bright blue explosion of plasma from the wall. It totally engulfed Adam, and depleted his shields. Before they had a chance to recharge again, there was another explosion, which once again engulfed the armor. It replaced the dark gray color with a charred black one as the outer layers of the titanium allow armor was burned off. The smell of smoke filled his olfactory sensors and threatened to suffocate the Spartan inside his own suit. Adam quickly flushed out everything in the helmet, then activated the personal oxygen unit, restricting it to the helmet only. It would be no good to the rest of the suit, which had been breached in his battle with the monitor. There was a satisfying hiss as fresh oxygen filled the helmet, though there was only 30 minutes worth of it. Ignoring the pain that had come with the two explosions of plasma, Adam continued pushing forth, determined to get to the elevator. Just as his shields were beginning to recharge, there was another explosion, which once again totally engulfed the suit. Adam screamed as the unarmored areas of his nanocomposite bodysuit began to burn away, revealing the weaker reactive metal liquid crystal layer. This layer was responsible for assisting him with increasing strength and speed, so having it damaged was giving quite the blow to Adam. But through the pain that was threatening to overwhelm him, Adam pushed on, and finally he found himself at the elevator. He slumped against the wall, pressed the button to open the door, and then walked through onto the small platform.

The elevator shaft was faring no better than the rest of the facility. Parts of the walls were exploding in brilliant blue balls of light, and support beams from the ceiling were falling down. Adam took no notice of them, his mind set only on escape. He pressed the button to send it back up to the top floor, then collapsed onto the platform as it began its steady rise. He ignored the rain of plasma being caused by explosions on the ceiling as it fell onto his back, burning the titanium armor plating and beginning to cut off power to the suit; he ignored the support beams that crashed onto the platform, occasionally stalling it in its steady climb; he ignored everything except for his desire to escape. Finally, the elevator came to a stop at the very top floor. As Adam slowly began to pick himself up off of the platform, he began to hear a gentle creaking noise. Suddenly, the left side of the elevator tilted down several feet as the rail system it was attached to failed, and the platform began to lose stability. Adam leapt forward and launched himself through the barely-open doorway, just as the right-side railing failed too and the elevator plunged back into the depths of the facility, landing with a deafening crash on the bottom floor.

Through his foggy vision, Adam was finally able to see the exit back into the other set of ruins. Whereas the walk originally seemed very short, Adam now found that it was taking him quite a while to move the distance. The damage to his leg (and his entire body, really) was likely the reason for that, but he knew he had to keep moving. Though his hearing mostly consisted of a dull ringing, he could still make out the sound of explosions behind him. Not wanting to get engulfed by one again, Adam trudged on, ignoring the burning pain in his legs as untold damage was being dealt to them. His breathing was becoming more and more ragged, there was no doubt damage to his lungs as well. His vision was becoming more and more foggy, and his awareness of the world was beginning to slip away. As he walked, barely even aware of himself at this point, there began a dull shaking beneath his feet. Cracks appeared in the ceiling above, and dirt began to pour through, collecting on the floor and staining the once-untainted hallway with its presence. The shaking gradually grew more and more intense, until Adam suddenly felt himself being propelled into the air by a massive explosion, and he was launched the rest of the distance and through the hole in the wall, slamming against the stone walls of the ancient ruins. The explosion followed him out, totally covering the Spartan and destroying what was left of the functioning electronics in his suit. The visor began to crack from the intense heat and pressure, until it burst open, shattering onto the floor and allowing the extreme heat free reign of his face. Adam closed his eyes to protect them both from the light and the explosive force, but it did little against the heat which thrived across his flesh and burned through it. His face began to grow numb as the nerves running throughout it were utterly destroyed, and the flesh was burned beyond recognition. Finally the explosion receded back into the Forerunner hall, which was now filled with nothing but rubble that had fallen through when the ceiling collapsed.

Miraculously, Adam managed to stay conscious through it all. He simply lay motionless for several minutes, before finally he began to come out of shock and the reality of his injuries struck him. He screamed violently as his body was wracked with pain, and looked down to address his injuries. Many of the unarmored sections of his suit were totally destroyed, revealing the mutilated flesh beneath, which had been burned to the point that Adam almost didn’t recognize it. Panic beginning to set in, Adam struggled to lift himself up, but found that he was unable to. The suit was totally out of power, and the hydraulics that normally assisted him with moving in the 1000 pound suit were offline. In his incredibly injured state, trying to lift himself manually only damaged his beaten body more, causing him to crash back to the ground, gasping for air. Summoning all the strength left in his body, Adam flipped himself over so that he was facing upward. He stared peacefully up at the ceiling as the last ounces of energy left his body. The last thoughts that crossed his mind were ones of peace, happiness, and success. He had saved Equestria. He had saved the ponies. He had fixed his mistake, and delivered them a life free from the fear of genocide… A smile formed on Adam’s face as his eyes closed shut, and he embraced the darkness.

Darkness. Movement. Lights. Plasma. Gunfire. Death. Surrounded. Engines. More gunfire. Reinforcements. Help.

But then, suddenly, his map showed several dots as they began to appear. Each dot was green, indicative of an ally. To the ODST’s surprise, they were right in front of him. He dropped the map, and standing right before him were eight ponies. Suddenly, a torrent of memories flooded his subconscious. Crashing in a forest. Being stranded, alone. Fighting a manticore, saving a pony. Killing a pony, turning himself in. Fixing the pelican, returning to Lightning, calling for help, fighting the griffons… winning.

Suddenly the city was gone. The smell of ash and rotting corpses, the burning landscape… gone. All that remained was white. It flashed brilliantly, obscuring the ponies from view and threatening to blind the ODST. And then he remembered nothing.

Adam heaved upward as feeling returned to his body. As his nerves began to come back online, he began to feel everything. Surprisingly, he did not feel the hard, stone floor of the ruins against his back. He did not feel the comfortable gel layer of his armor, either. Instead, he simply felt a soft, comfortable mattress, and a thick blanket overtop him. Also seemingly missing was the feeling of intense pain that he had been experiencing right before he lapsed into unconsciousness. While it was still there, specifically in his left shoulder and right thigh, he mostly just felt numb. Finally he was able to gain control of his eyelids, and he slowly split them open, allowing in a copious amount of light.

Adam recoiled from it, and closed his eyes again, opting instead to open them much slower. As he did this, his ears, which were mostly filled with a dull ringing, began to pick up noise.

“Adam!?” shouted a female voice. “Adam, can you hear me!?” He finally finished opening his eyes all the way, and while his vision was very blurry, he began to pick out the shape of a purple head. The ringing in his ears died down, and he began to hear more clearly.

“Adam, are you there?” Twilight Sparkle said, concerned. Adam opened his mouth to reply, but only managed to cough. His throat was incredibly dry, and it hurt to try speaking. Suddenly he felt the feeling of a glass of water being pushed up against his lips, and he greedily accepted the gift. The cool water flowed down his throat and renewed the muscles, taking the pain away with it. Twilight lifted the glass back up when it was empty, and Adam heard the sound of it being placed on a table.

“Adam?” she asked once more.

“I…” Adam began, but was interrupted as he coughed again. “I hear you…”

“Oh, thank Celestia!” Twilight said, relieved. She then backed up and Adam pushed himself up into a sitting position. Twilight grabbed his pillow in her telekinesis and rested it against the backboard of the bed for him to lay back. As he did this, Adam took in his surroundings. He was in a rather large room, the architecture of which clearly indicated that he was in Canterlot. From outside, the sound of construction was faintly coming through the open window, a sign that repairs to the city were well underway. Twilight reentered his vision, still looking concerned.

“How do you feel?” she asked quietly.

“Numb…” Adam replied. “A little pain, but bearable…”

“That’s good,” Twilight noted, nodding. “What’s the last thing you remember?” Adam’s brow furrowed as he struggled to recall the fuzzy memories.

“I...” he slowly began. “I defeated the monitor… Then I was trying to escape, there was an explosion, and… nothing. That’s all…” Twilight nodded once more, confirming everything for him.

“Whatever control that monitor had over the griffons seemed to break only a couple of hours after you destroyed it,” she explained. “After they fell back, scouts sent in reports that griffon soldiers seemed confused as to what had happened… We have some ambassadors up there now, talking with them. As for you… Fireteam Vector and a team of ponies went into the ruins to see if you needed help right after the griffons fell back. Much of the interior had collapsed, so the unicorns moved the rubble, and that’s where they found you. Your armor was apparently unrecognizable, damaged so badly it didn’t even resemble the original suit. You were in no better shape; the left half of your face suffered third-degree burns, as did several other areas of your body. You had pulled muscles all over the place, broken bones, internal bleeding… It’s a miracle that they got you back to Infinity in time…”

“How long have I been out?” Adam asked curiously. If ponies were already having peace talks with griffons…

“Two weeks,” Twilight said. “A whole day of that was dedicated to healing you back up. For a while after that, you were in a coma. You only came out of that two days ago, and you were brought here to be more comfortable…” Adam nodded as he let everything sink in. He closed his eyes, and sighed.

“Then it worked?” he asked, eyes still closed. “Is there peace?” There was a pause. Adam opened his eyes again to see Twilight smiling.

“Yes,” she said. “There’s peace.” Adam grinned and lay back against the comfortable pillow, stretching out his arms. After two weeks of not using any of his limbs, he was feeling very stiff.

“Are you up for a walk?” the unicorn asked. “Uh… Commander Lasky has something he needs to let you know…” This last part she said much more somberly. Whatever he had to tell him, it wasn’t good. Adam simply nodded, then pivoted around so his legs were hanging off of the side of the bed. He then paused for a moment, before standing up and putting all of his weight on the two limbs. For a brief second, his balance failed, and he gripped the bedpost for stability. After a few moments, Adam decided to try again, this time much slower. As he tested his weight, the pain in his right thigh grew exponentially, but it was still bearable. After all, he was a Spartan. The things he was sure to face in the future… this was going to be nothing compared to that. Slowly, Adam began hobbled forward, his right leg barely capable of bending at the hip. Twilight noticed his struggle, and levitated a metal crutch over to him. Adam grabbed it out of the air with his right hand, then continued walking. As much as he hated to use it, the crutch made it much easier to move, and in no time at all he was at the door. Twilight pushed it open for him, then motioned for him to follow her down the hall. He did so, and only a few doors down she knocked on an identical door to his. A moment later it opened, revealing Commander Lasky.

“Adam!” he said, surprised. “It’s good to see you up! We were beginning to get worried.” He grinned, then stepped aside, his face becoming more serious. “Come on in, we need to talk…” Adam slowly walked inside, and Twilight closed the door behind him, leaving the two humans alone with each other. Adam walked into the middle of the room, then turned to face Lasky.

“What is it, sir?” Adam asked, beginning to grow nervous.

“I… I notice you’re making use of the crutch…” Lasky noted, his face falling. Adam nodded. “I’m… I’m sorry, but… due to the degree of your injuries… and the side-effects of them that will persist… the UNSC sees fit to… honorably discharge you from the Spartan program…” At this, Adam froze. He was trained to anticipate anything, but he had never expected the day where he would be discharged.

For a moment, there was nothing he could say. All he could do was stare in disbelief. Finally, he worked up the ability to speak.

“Sir, I-,” Adam began, before he was cut off.

“Adam,” Lasky interrupted. “Listen… the extent of your injuries was much greater than any of us had originally thought. We all knew it was bad the moment we laid eyes on you, but… with everything that was done to heal you… you’re never going to be at the same peak physical level you were at…”

“Yes, sir…” Adam finally said. Even though he did not agree with the decision, a single thought persisted within Adam’s mind. What now? All he had known was war. He had been born during the Human-Covenant War, he had been an ODST for the last years of it, and then he had joined to Spartan-IV Program to keep the peace. Throughout his entire life, Adam had never realized that he had never truly experienced peace.

“There is a silver lining, though,” Lasky said. “The Princesses have given the UNSC their consent to establish an embassy here, and we’re going to need someone in charge of it… I know it’s not what you’d be used to, but-.”

“I’ll do it,” Adam interrupted. If he could contribute to the UNSC, even in a small way like running an embassy, it was worth it to him. Lasky nodded.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll let Captain Del Rio know. The UNSC reinforcement fleet that we requested a few weeks ago is expected to show up tomorrow. They’ll build the embassy, then probably stick around for a while. Infinity has been stationed here for the next year to make sure everything goes smoothly, and, if the Covenant remnant or Insurrectionists catch word of Equestria, to defend the ponies.” Adam nodded.

“Also,” he continued. “The princesses wanted to throw a party for you… Nothing too big, but just as a bit of a ‘thank you for saving our lives’ gift.”

“Sounds good,” Adam said, smiling. “When will it be?”

“Probably later tonight,” Lasky replied.

“Understood,” Adam said. “I’ll see you then, I guess…” Lasky nodded, and Adam turned around, then exited the room. As soon as he closed the door, he felt a pair of hooves wrap around his waist. He looked down, and Twilight Sparkle was looking back up at him, her expression one of sadness.

“I’m so sorry, Adam,” she said. “I wish it could have turned out better for you…” Adam paused for a moment before replying.

“Yeah, I do too…” he finally said. “But hey, on the bright side, at least I get a party tonight.” This lightened the mood a bit, and Twilight released the human.

“You’ll be in for quite a treat,” she said, smiling. “Pinkie Pie is putting it together, and trust me, she does the best parties in all of Equestria!” Adam smiled, then nodded his farewell. He turned down the hall, and began slowly hobbling down, still using the metal crutch for support. He walked right past the door to his room, instead choosing to go for a walk. After two weeks of sleeping, he felt like he needed the exercise.

Adam began down the well-rehearsed path to the castle gardens. While it has primarily functioned as his landing area throughout his stay in Equestria, Adam realized that there was more to it than that. It was a serene, peaceful place. As he stepped out into the fresh air and morning sun, Adam let the light breeze carry his problems away, if only for a little while. He walked to the edge and stood by the balcony wall, staring out over the green landscape of Equestria. Even now, it was still showing signs of battle. The most obvious was the wrecked hulk of the Strident-class frigate Aspen, which had been destroyed by a swarm of sentinels during the Battle of Canterlot.

Suddenly, Adam felt a presence behind him. He turned and saw Night Flyer standing behind him, looking somber.

“Hey,” he said, stepping forward and taking his place next to Adam. “I heard what happened, about, you know… And… I’m sorry.” Adam frowned.

“Yeah…” he said quietly.

“I wish it could have turned out better,” the pony continued. “But you know you’re being praised as a hero throughout Equestria?” Adam stared at the pony, disbelieving.

“Really?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Flyer said. “The government of Manehattan is working on building a golden statue of you to put up in the central square!” Adam let a laugh escape him as he envisioned a giant golden statue of himself.

“They know I’m not the only human around here, right?” he joked. Night Flyer laughed.

“Yeah, but you’re a special case,” he said. “You were the first.” Adam grinned, then turned and looked back out over the plains. And for the moment, he let nothing bother him. He had won the war. The griffons were defeated, 401 Lamenting Chorus was destroyed, and Equestria had peace. There was nothing for Adam to worry about. He was at peace.

Adam hobbled through the winding corridors of Canterlot Palace, trying to find his way back to his bedroom from the ballroom. Pinkie Pie’s party had continued late into the night; according to Adam’s watch, it was 1:30am. As he had been promised by Twilight Sparkle, it was certainly something to remember. What Commander Lasky had described as ‘nothing too big’ seemed to include half of Canterlot, including several of the pony guards who he had fought beside throughout the war.

It had started off fairly formal, with the UNSC awarding him the Colonial Cross medal, and Princesses Celestia and Luna (who had now been fully recovered for several days) the Solar Mark for his actions in leading the war. Immediately after the ceremony the entire atmosphere changed, and suddenly everyone was in a party attitude. Pinkie Pie had prepared hundreds of baked goods, which Adam had helped himself to, and Applejack had provided some cider, which Adam may have had a bit too much of. Normally he would have been much more conscious of his drinking, but in the moment, he didn’t care. It was a party for him, and he was going to enjoy it.

Ponies and humans had started to filter out around midnight, with only Adam, the princesses, Commander Lasky, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends staying until 1:30. They had reminisced on the first few days of Adam’s arrival in Equestria, and how everything was so simple back then. Even though it had been only a little over a month ago, it felt like years. The ponies who he had come to know and respect as friends were certainly growing on him, making his worries about living in Equestria almost completely disappear.

Finally, Adam found the door to his room, and he stepped inside, completely exhausted. He discarded the crutch, and hobbled on his own strength the rest of the way to the bed, which he then promptly flopped down onto. As his eyes began to close, and sleep began to overtake him, Adam smiled and thought to himself that, through everything, it had all been worth it.

ONE YEAR LATER

PONYVILLE, EQUESTRIA

Adam happily walked down the main street of Ponyville, and though a slight limp delayed him, he still moved at a respectable pace towards his destination. Whereas the sight of a human walking down through Ponyville initially worried the residents of the small town, he was now an everyday thing, something that the peaceful ponies expected to see as they went about their business. They met the human with kind smiles as he passed by them, and Adam did the same in response.

The transition had gone fairly smoothly, and now it was commonplace to see human technology as it slowly was assimilated into pony life. It was decided upon that Ponyville should be the site of the UNSC embassy, due to its centralized location and large trade-based economy, which meant that it saw ponies from all around Equestria. Adam had moved in not long after the embassy was completed, and along with his position he was given a modestly-sized home, and a fair pay to support himself. His personal transition to civilian life had not gone quite as smoothly as he would have liked it to go. Simply having his own personal money to spend on whatever he chose was an almost foreign concept to Adam, as it was not something he had experienced since childhood. But now he was used to it all, and though some aspects of military life stayed with him (such as waking up at the crack of dawn and running several miles each day), he had begun to meld into civilian culture. Adam still worked for the UNSC by running the embassy, though officially he was a civilian, as he was no longer an enlisted military officer. But still, being able to contribute in any way was what made Adam happy, and being able to meet ponies from all over Equestria was certainly an interesting job.

Infinity was still in orbit; her stay was extended after there were rumors that the Covenant remnant had learned of Equestria’s location, and that they were planning an attack. So far this had proven not to be true, as even though they knew of Equestria’s existence (after all, all of humanity knew by now, it was only a matter of time before the word got out), they still had no idea where in the galaxy it was located. Still, the UNSC was nothing if not cautious. Infinity was scheduled to stay for another six months before she would head back to Earth for reassignment.

Finally Adam reached his destination: the UNSC embassy. The glass doors slid apart at his presence, and he nodded politely to the two marines on duty in the lobby. They saluted back, before reassuming their watch. Behind the front desk were several UNSC receptionists, all of whom were monitoring communications both throughout the planet and throughout UNSC-controlled space. If anything came up, Adam was to be alerted so he could make a decision on what to do, but so far, nothing had. Adam walked past the front desk and through a side door, which led into a long hallway lined with doors. He walked all the way down the hall, then opened the final door, the door to his office. Adam had never had an office before. The first time he had walked in, he half-expected to see a UNSC senior office sitting in the chair, ready to give him orders. But now that was Adam’s responsibility, and so far, he had done a fairly good job. Adam sat down in the leather chair, opened the laptop, and went to check for any new messages. As he scrolled through the various messages that had come to him through the night, his communicator activated.

“Sir, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie are here to see you,” a voice said.

“Send them in,” Adam replied. A few moments later, the door opened, and the three ponies stepped through, with Pinkie balancing a plate of cookies on her back.

“Hello, Adam!” Twilight greeted. Adam stood up and walked to the ponies.

“Hey, everyone,” Adam said, eyeing the cookies curiously. Ever since he moved to the small town, he had grown quite fond of Pinkie’s cooking, especially her cookies. “What brings you here?”

“Just thought we’d check in, see what was going on,” Rainbow Dash replied, examining herself in a mirror mounted on the wall. She then rotated and faced Adam. “So what’s up?”

“Nothing much…” the human replied. “Just going over some more trade agreements between the UNSC and Equestria. As expected, there’s another high demand for Applejack’s apples.”

“Well, duh!” Pinkie said, placing the plate of cookies on Adam’s desk. “AJ grows the best apples in Equestria- no! In the galaxy.” Adam nodded in agreement.

“There’s another thing, Adam,” Twilight said, this time a bit more seriously. “It occurred to us… we never got a chance to really properly thank you this past year… For all you did for us, it seemed the least we could do.”

“You want to thank me?” Adam asked, only half-joking. “I should be the one thanking you. I mean, if it weren’t for you all I’d probably be dead right now.”

“Yes, but you saved our entire country!” Twilight countered.

“And you accepted me as a friend even after I killed one of your guards, you helped me get back to my ship and call for help, you fed me and housed me, and didn’t treat me like I was some strange space alien who was going to eat you all,” Adam listed. Twilight laughed quietly.

“We’ll call it even, then?” she said, still laughing. Adam smiled.

“We’ll call it even,” he replied. The three ponies all smiled, then turned and began to head for the door.

“Well you’re probably pretty busy,” Twilight said. “And we need to get on with our days, too, so I guess we should get going. Bye, Adam!”

“See you later,” Adam replied, waving. The three ponies exited out of the door, closing it shut behind him. Adam stood alone in his office for a moment, before he turned and returned to his chair. For several minutes, he just thought. He ignored the notifications that he was receiving new messages, he simply thought. Equestria had been good to him. And even though sometimes it was rough… the manticore encounters, the whole griffon war… it had been worth it. This was more than where Adam had simply crash-landed just over a year ago…

To him, this was home.

EPILOGUE

Adam sat in the living area of his home, reading a book on pony history, when suddenly a burst of static came from his radio. The UNSC had seen fit to supply him with a radio, in case they needed to reach him quickly, which, so far, they had not. Following the static was a voice.

“Adam, come in,” the voice said. Adam recognized it as Commander Lasky. “Adam, I repeat, come in.” Adam quickly closed his book and walked over to the radio, picking it up and toggling the ‘talk’ button.

“This is Adam, go ahead,” he spoke into it.

“Adam, this is Lasky,” the commander continued. “Listen, Infinity is leaving.”

“What?” Adam asked, confused. “But you’re still stationed here for another six months.”

“I know, but this is urgent,” Lasky said. “I wish I could tell you, but the Captain has already completely classified it to the ship and UNSC brass… It’s big, Adam.”

“Understood,” Adam said. “When will you be back?”

“I don’t know, Adam,” he replied. “But you’ll probably know the reason we had to go soon enough… Anyways, I can’t wait any longer. We have to leave, now. The rest of the fleet will stay here. Lasky, out.” The radio cut off, and Adam placed it back down on the table, wondering what Commander Lasky had meant. But he figured there was nothing he could do about it now, so Adam simply walked back over to his chair, sat down, picked up the book, and continued reading…

UNSC INFINITY INF-101
IN ORBIT AROUND EQUESTRIA

“Play it again, please…” Commander Lasky instructed. The crewman he was speaking too complied, and pressed a button on his console.

“Mayday, mayday,” a distorted voice filtered through. “This is UNSC FFG-201 Forward Unto Dawn, requesting immediate evac. Survivors aboard. Prioritization code Victor-Zero-Five-Dash-Three-Dash-Sierra-Zero-One-One-Seven.”

“Shall I play it again sir?” the crewman asked. The commander did not reply. “Sir? … Commander Lasky?” A moment later, the commander broke from his memory.

“No… That won’t be necessary,” he finally said. “Get us into slipspace. We have a job to do.”

From the view out of the window, Equestria fell from view as the massive ship rotated to face a new heading. As the blue vortex of slipspace ripped open in front of them, Lasky turned and exited the bridge, heading for the cryo chamber.

Author's Notes:

And so concludes my first ever fan-fiction! I want to thank everybody who has stuck with me through it all, and everyone for all of the positive feedback I have gotten! Even though this is my first story, I feel like I have learned so much, and I want to thank every single person who has read this.

Please leave your feedback! After all, I'm going to need it for future stories :)

Speaking of, I do have plans for a second fic. While most of the details have been ironed out, I'm still working on a little bit, but I feel like I have enough to reveal what it is, so...

"A Thousand Voices"
A Mass Effect/MLP Crossover

Following the destruction of the Collector Base, the crew of the Normandy SR-2 go their separate ways, returning to their respective homeworlds and preparing for the inevitable Reaper invasion. For one squadmate, an AI 'Geth' named Legion, it is sent by the Consensus to gather intelligence on a possible Quarian attack. However, when the Geth is discovered and is forced to make a blind relay jump, it ends up in the most unlikely of places... Equestria.

I'll be getting started on it shortly, and the first few chapters should (hopefully) be posted in the next several weeks! I hope that you return to check it out, and continue to support my writing endeavors!

Once again, thank you all for sticking with me through this and reading my first ever fan fiction!

Until next time,
SpartanD014

Second Contact

by SpartanD014

Chapter 01

Chapter 02

Chapter 03

Chapter 04

Chapter 05

Chapter 06

Chapter 07

Chapter 08

Chapter 09

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25