An ODST squad is sent to Equestria and has a change of plans when they find a second Human race.
ONI Section III has issued a specialized Orbital Drop-Shock Trooper unit, Fire-team Nightmare, to investigate a possible Forerunner lab in the farther reaches of known space. The seven specialists will find that the world is inhabited by Humans that are not only far less capable than their own race, but are nothing more than slaves to another species: Ponies. Maelstrom, the leader of Fire-team Nightmare, will delve into the alien populace and work undercover to learn as much about "Project Aurora" as he can.
As Maelstrom does this, the rest of Fire-team Nightmare will act as a Black Ops team for the Equestrian military, underneath Princess Luna herself. With her aid, the Troopers will take down key officials of Equestria's slave traders in order to bring freedom to the undermined race.
Takes place shortly after the series premiere, just as Luna learns about the existence of the slave race known as "Humans".
Halo is owned by 343 Industries and Microsoft.
Your Human and You universe belongs to MadMaxtheBlack.
UNSC Lost in the Stars Date: January 17, 2557 Location: [UNKNOWN]
"Arriving in 10 mikes, sir," the Specialist spoke.
"Are these readings accurate, Lisa?" The Commander asked aloud.
Behind the Commander, a holotable lit up and out came a holographic projection of an Artificial Intelligence. The A.I.'s form resembled a skull that had been bloodily ripped out of some poor bastard, and emitted flames. When it spoke, a calm, female voice came out from its flapping jaws, as if it were some kind of twisted joke.
"Affirmative, sir," she spoke with a soft tone. "Analysis determines that there is a high chance of active Forerunner technology within this sector."
The crew of the Prowler had been given a set of coordinates by Section III of the Office of Naval Intelligence, and were preparing for their latest mission. Since the commission of Lost in the Stars, the stealth ship had been focused on acquiring Forerunner artifacts in bordering star systems outside of both UNSC and Covenant space. Once they find any scraps of technology, the ship would obliterate whatever entrance the ground teams may find, and bring everything they can to a random location, where a second Prowler would carry their findings back to Earth for research.
The coordinates they were given this time, however, did not come from the Section III headquarters in Sydney, Australia, on Earth, but rather from the Ivanoff Research Station by Installation 03. These coordinates, along with several others, were being investigated, either by examination by a distance, or being looked into more carefully by specialists. Rumor had it that one of the locations was going to be investigated by the Infinity itself. Whether that was true or not was entirely up to what ONI wanted everyone to know, however.
As the majority of the bridge crew prepped for insertion back into normal space, the Commander of the Prowler pressed a command into the panel to his right and spoke aloud.
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"Attention Fire-team Nightmare," an old, stern voice called from the walls, "we are approaching the target destination in approximately 6 minutes. Prepare for ground-side operations ASAP. Any and all requisitions for equipment not provided by your pods is to be brought to my attention before you are allowed to proceed. Let's get this done, people. Matthias out."
Maelstrom stood up fully and snapped his M6C-SOCOM Magnum to its magnetic harness on the side of his right leg. He looked out to the other six ODSTs and spoke.
"You heard the man," he called out to them, "get your dancing shoes on, bitches!"
The other six troopers in the pod bay broke off from their activities and began to move for their armor and weapons. On the right side, three troopers began to assemble their armor, colored to their labels. Melt, the foreign weapons specialist, Black Eye, the CQC specialist, and Cowbell, the explosives specialist. They began to bring up their armor pieces as the opposite side readied weapons. Blind, the team sniper, prepared his trademark Sniper Rifle with its Grunt skull on the end of the stock. As he did, Sputnik, the pilot, readied an M7S, while Icepick, the team's hacker, prepared her mobile hacking kit.
Within minutes, each member was armored and ready to deploy via SOEIV. Maelstrom waited as they stepped together in line, and when they were still, he spoke again.
"We are, once again, going in to an uncharted zone with no backup, no way out, and only each other to accompany into Hell. Therefore, we are, once again, obligated to show these ONI stalkers that we don't need what!?"
"WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' SPARTAN, SIR!!!" they chorused.
"Damn right! Get your pods ready, and get set for insertion!"
"OOH-RAH!" they responded.
\\\\\\//////
Twilight sighed as she looked up to the stars and moon above the field. Only a few hours ago did she arrive in the small town of Ponyville, having been sent by her teacher, Princess Celestia. She wanted to go back into the Library and research everything she could about Nightmare Moon before it was too late, but the crazy ponies from this town had insisted on having a party right where she needed to be. Now, all she could do was look up at the moon, and think about what the book had said.
"'The stars shall aid in her escape,' but what does that mean?" she asked nopony in particular.
She looked down into the open area amidst the small town, and watched as several bipedal figures were filed down the roads to houses by an accompanying pony of varying kinds.
"Ugh. Even the Humans don't have to put up with this stupid party," she groaned before planting her face between her hooves, just as the night sky began to shimmer slightly.
\\\\\\//////
Nightmare Moon looked down upon the planet with content, waiting until she could feel a peak in the magical energies of the land of Equestria.
"This doesn't make any sense," she said to herself. "There should be some kind of magical surge that I could ride back to Equestria. Why can't I feel anything?"
The Mare in the Moon had waited exactly 1,000 years for this moment, and was shocked to find that she was just as weak as she was in the last three centuries. Since the anomaly all those years ago, she had not felt any change in the magic that sealed her in this cold prison.
"Why? The stars should aid in my return! Why can't I break free!?"
As if some entity had heard her, a massive burst of force burst above her, and sent shock waves that kicked up clouds of dust. Nightmare Moon had to shield her eyes from the waves of rock particles as lightning began to concentrate above her. She looked up in awe to watch as the fabric of time and space itself began to rip apart above her. A spiraling shape began to form as what looked like a spear began to pierce through the veil of the tear. As it continued to move, the shape became more elaborate, lighting up and displaying some kind of cannons to her. When the portal reached its limit, she could feel the shield that had kept her in place weaken immensely. With a surge of her magic, the remains of her prison broke like dried hay, and she could feel the energy swirling around the massive metallic space-beast. She gave a triumphant laugh before flying towards the creature, concentrating her magic into her approach.
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"Unknown object approaching from starboard, emitting some kind of energy!" Lisa shouted over the comms. "All hands, brace for-"
The A.I.'s words were cut off as the lights above the ODSTs flickered out while they were thrown across the SOEIV bay. Maelstrom felt his left side impact on the metallic surface of the inner bay with tremendous force, while the others scattered and tried to cling onto anything they could grip.
"GET IN THE PODS!" Maelstrom called out to them before reaching out towards the wall.
Luna looked through the darkness of Nightmare Moon to watch as the behemoth of metal and magic ripped apart their prison, and continued to watch as Nightmare Moon jumped towards the beast and used their magic to peer inside of it. When they did, Luna gasped when she saw several creatures within a metallic room. They were all bipedal in nature, like Minotaurs, but had no fur on their bodies, and had their legs bend towards their front. All of them wore black suits with white outlines, and were all strapped into seats that were mostly facing flashing walls with small texts and images.
'They're so... amazing,' Luna thought.
'Indeed, they are,' Nightmare Moon replied, sinisterly. 'Let's see if they fall as hard as Celestia will!'
Luna's pleading was muted as Nightmare Moon pierced their ship, and allowed her to speak to the aliens.
\\\\\\//////
The crew of Lost in the Stars watched in stunned silence as their view of normal space was obscured by purple mist, and the presence of an alien staring right at them. It had a quadrupedal stance that it used to balance on the ship's exterior, light blue armor that barely covered a third of its body, a black as empty space body, and behind its head was a wavering blue fog with white dots among it. When it came up on the main screen, its eyes widened as it spoke.
"So, this isn't a creature, but a vessel!" it spoke in a menacing female voice.
"The Hell is that!?" the Comms specialist shouted.
Whatever it was had heard him, and made an amused sound.
"So, you can speak Equish as well! Perhaps the ponies below will understand your cries of terror, as we all take to the ground!"
When it finished speaking, the lights in the bridge went dark for a few seconds as the crew members were thrashed about in their reinforced seats.
"We're entering the planet's orbit!" Lisa shouted over the speakers. "Whatever that thing is, it's using some kind of gravitational grip that's too strong for our thrusters to break!"
"What about Fire-team Nightmare!? Are they alive!?" Commander Matthias shouted at the A.I.
"They're all in their pods!"
"Launch them!"
"Sir, that's a ridiculous-"
"DO IT NOW! GET THEM OFF OF HERE!"
Lisa went silent for a few seconds before responding.
"Aye aye, Commander."
\\\\\\//////
Maelstrom held onto the interior of the SOEIV as the ship rocked yet again, this time the lights going dim as the force made the ODST press against the side of the pod. The soldier heard several familiar hissing sounds around him as Lisa spoke in the radio.
"ODSTs, Matthias has ordered that you all be dropped now to avoid losing you in the crash. If the ship doesn't make it, find whatever you can to contact UNSC command immediately and signal for help. If we do survive, then we'll try to contact you. Stay safe, and good luck."
The ODST could feel the rumbling of the air-locks releasing beneath the pod as his view was changing from the interior of the Prowler to a planet that was seemingly growing beneath him. The screens to his sides all lit up to show that the rest of the squad had indeed made it inside of their respective pods, and were also witnessing the approaching surface of the planet. An all too familiar beeping sound rung in the small pod as Maelstrom spoke to his fellow troopers.
[3]
"Get ready to drop, troopers! Where are we going!?"
Granny Smith looked out towards the sky with an eerie feeling in her joints. She had grown up next to the Everfree Forest for a longer time than Ponyville had been standing, and as an Earth Pony, she had grown accustomed to feeling the world through the nearby woods. As she felt through its roots, however, she could feel screams of panic amongst the animals, as they began to herd away from the area closest to the farm. A foreign presence made itself known within the forest, and from a singular point, she could feel the weight of thousands of centuries being pushed aside like leaves in a ferocious storm.
"What in tarnation?" she asked nopony in particular.
The sheer magnitude of the force being distributed was frightening on its own, but she moved her attention to the sky as a screeching colossus, wrapped in flames, began to descend towards the farther end of the forest.
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'Stop this at once, foul beast!' Luna screamed inside her own head.
"I will do no such thing!" Nightmare Moon replied. "You asked for this power, now you bear my presence!"
'They have nothing to do with us! Leave the aliens out of this!'
"They're afraid, I can feel it! And when they bear down on any settlement of my choosing, Equestria will fear what Nightmare Moon can do to even an advanced race such as this!"
Luna shifted around her own form, trapped by the darkness of Nightmare Moon, trying to find a way to help the aliens escape their untimely demise. As she watched, however, seven tooth-like shapes exited from underneath the vessel and plummeted towards the surface of the planet. From it, she could feel several bodies present, all kept together by rage, insanity, loyalty... and fear. When they all began to distance themselves, Luna could feel Nightmare Moon's hold on her weaken enough to make a difference.
'I said,' Luna began to break the magic's focus on the alien vessel, 'leave them out of this!'
Their combined magic began to rupture around the metallic surface of the structural behemoth, and within seconds, Nightmare Moon was forced to break off to bring a shield around them.
"Damn you!" she shouted. "Bah, who needs it. The thought that the vessel was struck by myself, alone, is enough to cause the little ponies to fear me!"
With that, Luna watched as several lights began to blink across the alien vessel before her consciousness faded into the blackness once more.
\\\\\\//////
"Whatever that was, it broke off!" Lisa shouted over the rumbling bridge. "Stabilizing descent! Hold on!"
The crew could feel the momentum shift as the stabilizers kicked in at maximum power, trying to halt the falling of Lost in the Stars.
"I can't stop! Running calculations to crash as safely as we can somewhere else!"
A few seconds passed before the ship began to lurch to the right and accelerate.
"Found a barren desert, approximately 78 kilometers away from any sings of civilization! Activating stealth plating to try and hide our descent!"
The ship began to rumble again, as lights began to darken once more, before the thrusters roared to life, and the crew began to pray silently.
\\\\\\//////
Maelstrom held on to the interior of the SOEIV as the entire thing screeched in protest to the high point of entry that they were being dropped from. Across his vision, he could see the six other pods that his team occupied as the lot of them entered orbit. The lower sections of the SOEIV pods burst into flame as the collective ride became shakier and more violent.
"Troopers, ready chutes!"
"Yes, sir!"
The trooper punched a button on the interior of the pod as the entire thing jumped upwards. Alongside him, the other six pulled back on their descent as the fires around them faded away. Above the pods, the Drag Chutes broke off as the trajectory of the pods changed slightly. Maelstrom checked a screen to see how far their drop had gone, and spoke to his squad.
"Get ready! Touchdown in ten!"
The ground approached the ODSTs quickly as the Sergeant tightened his grip on the handles of the pod. All around, the scenery changed from a dark sky to grassy meadows and large numbers of trees as the pod made contact upon alien soil.
Maelstrom felt a surge of pressure as the pod door burst open, releasing the trooper into the unknown world. Around him, six other pods hissed open as well, revealing the entirety of Fire-team Nightmare.
"Everyone good?" he called out.
"I think my bags are still bouncing," Icepick commented, the sarcasm almost palpable from her voice, "but I'm alright."
"No broken bones, I'm good," Black Eye shouted.
"If anyone needs their fun-bags checked, I'm sort of qualified," joked Cowbell.
"Think I hit my jaw when the chutes opened," commented Blind, "but other than that, nothing major."
"Sputnik, you alright?" they heard Melt speak by the collapsed trooper. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
Sputnik responded by raising a middle finger to Melt.
"Shit-head's alright, sir."
The ODSTs laughed at the response before Maelstrom began to remove his weapons from the side of the SOEIV. As he did, he heard several other pods being emptied as well. Maelstrom pulled out the M7S and checked the magazine before reaching to his side to find the M6C/SOCOM secured in its holster.
"Everyone got their gear?" he asked while turning back to them.
The rest of the squad, save for Sputnik and Melt, were also removing their weapons from their respective SOEIV pods. Black Eye pulled out an M45D Shotgun from his pod and pumped a fresh round into the chamber with a satisfying sound before nodding to Maelstrom. Blind slung his Sniper Rifle over his right shoulder while Icepick and Cowbell were still pulling equipment from theirs. Melt, however, was kneeling over a large metallic case as he spoke to the group.
"Anyone want some Covie weapons?" he offered while reaching in.
The group remained somewhat silent as he pulled out a Covenant Carbine, the handle coated with dry dark-blue blood.
"No? Alright then, I'll save 'em for later."
Cowbell grunted as he pulled out an M41 SSR MAV/AW and a large bag that, without a doubt, held rockets for the massive weapon.
"Really?" Maelstrom asked as he watched Cowbell place the weapon on the ground.
"Sir, we only had a few seconds to prepare for an emergency drop. I had to take what I could get... sir."
Maelstrom shook his head slowly as the ODST placed the rocket ammo on his back. As he did, Icepick pulled out an M395 Designated Marksman Rifle from her pod, as well as a large bag with a red H on the center of it, identifying it as a Med-Kit.
Before anyone else could say anything, a human-like scream was heard from somewhere close. The ODSTs raised their weapons and began to comb the area before Blind lowered his rifle and pointed towards a downhill slope.
"That way!" he called out.
"Troopers, ready to move!" Maelstrom ordered before they all ran for the source of the screams.
\\\\\\//////
Meadow cringed as the human was struck again by a large, burly unicorn with a dark red coat and a black mane and tail.
"Come on," he spoke in a gravely voice, "GET UP!"
Brick kicked the small human male again, sending him sailing through the air for a few seconds before a dark orange glow surrounded him, slamming the human into the dirt. The large unicorn charged at the limp form before turning around and bucking him straight into the side of a train car. Several humans backed away from where he impacted, and remained silent as he shook on the cold, hard dirt.
"You see this!?" Brick shouted at the humans in the train. "This is what happens when you go fucking what isn't yours!"
Meadow felt hot tears run down the side of her face as Brick went back to slamming the human into the ground with his magic. She could feel the ground shake slightly upon every impact, along with the light trickle of blood from the poor human.
'Please, dear Celestia, send somepony to help,' Meadow prayed silently, unaware of the seven pairs of eyes now aiming at the unicorn.
\\\\\\//////
"Ho-ly shit," Blind commented.
"What the fuck is this!?" Cowbell hissed.
"Why the Hell are there aliens harboring civies down there!?" Sputnik almost shouted.
"Quiet!" Maelstrom ordered. "We're not gonna get any answers by just sitting here, and watching while that... thing, is killing a defenseless civilian! Blind, take out the red one. Black Eye, Icepick and Melt, on me. We're capturing the white one while everyone else checks the rest of whatever that transport is."
The ODSTs all tapped their helmets in response, lighting up Maelstrom's Heads-Up Display with six green indicators on his roster.
"Let's move!"
Maelstrom, Black Eye, Icepick and Melt all clambered over the edge of the hill and slid down the dirt slope as Blind laid on his stomach, lining up the scope with the red creature.
\\\\\\//////
Meadow jumped back as Brick threw the limp form of the human at her hooves, trembling in pain as his arms stuck out at an odd angle.
"Oh, you're not going anywhere, you tail-lifter!" Brick shouted. "I put on this muscle just for you, and you just slink away towards the nearest human you can find!? Oh, no, no, no, no, no! I'm going to show you just what you missed out on, one broken bone at a time!"
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As soon as it stood still, seemingly speaking to the other creature, the Helljumper pulled the trigger, cracking the silence of the night with thunder as the weapon sent out a personalized invitation to Hell.
"Seize her!" the old mare shouted, pointing a hoof at Nightmare Moon. "Only she knows where the Princess is!"
On command, three golden armored pegasi charged at the massive, black mare.
'No!' Luna shouted in the prison that was Nightmare Moon. 'Don't try to attack her!'
"Stand back, you foals!" Nightmare Moon shouted.
The massive cloud that erupted from Nightmare Moon's mane shot forth several lightning bolts that struck the Guards. They all screamed in agony as the electricity danced through their armor, and seared their coats and flesh underneath. After the strike, the bolts sent the pegasi across the space within the building. When they landed on the ground, limp and smoking, Nightmare Moon wrapped her own smokey mane around her body, and dispersed into the air as a cloud.
'Why torture those that you seek to rule!? What do you have to gain from their suffering!?' Luna shouted at Nightmare Moon.
"Simple," Nightmare Moon began to reply, "you wanted them to realize how much they were hurting you. How much they were hurting us. I'm simply doing what you wanted all those centuries ago. Besides, you've seen first-hoof how powerful Fear magic is, what with that foalish unicorn and his crystals. Once we attain the fears of all ponies in Equestria, nothing will stop us!"
'No! I never asked for any of this! I just wanted them to know that I still existed as well, not for them to all fear me! Besides, the Elements of Harmony are still out there! You will be stopped!'
"Perhaps in your little fantasy, but I-"
Nightmare Moon and Luna halted their argument when they passed by a building and saw a familiar creature inside. One they had seen only moments ago, only in massively different circumstances.
"It... it can't be," Nightmare Moon spoke with disbelief.
The mist that was Nightmare Moon shifted through a set of closed doors and materialized into her physical form when both she and Luna gazed upon what lay before them. It was almost exactly like one of the many creatures that they had seen aboard the metallic vessel above the Moon, but was significantly different. This one was noticeably skinnier, almost to the point of exposing alien bones and organs, and was considerably shorter, almost by a full foot or so. Its mane was cropped short, and was coated in dirt, while its face displayed a look of terror as it crawled away on its alien limbs, backing into a wall. As it did, the cloth it wore became apparent, as the scraping of the brown burlap covers began to drag on the wooden floor.
Nightmare Moon dropped her threatening demeanor almost instantly as she approached the creature, her tone curious above all else.
"What are you?" she asked, standing before it and examining its body. "I thought your kind would send a retaliation, but how long have you been here? Are you stranded? Were those other ones I saw here to rescue you or more of your kind?"
Before the barrage of questions could be dragged on, a clattering sound could be heard from her left. Nightmare Moon turned to see that a few more skinny, short aliens were standing together in a corner, behind it which she could see a pony staring through a crack in the door. The alicorn huffed at the sight of the pony, but remained still as she went back into her mist form.
'What... what's going on?' Luna asked. 'Why are the aliens here? And why do they look so... terrible?'
"I... I'm, just as lost as you are," Nightmare Moon responded before absentmindedly taking off towards the Castle of the Two Sisters.
Maelstrom ran through the fields as he heard the Sniper Rifle sound off, and watched as the body of the unknown hit the ground. Seconds later, he and the other ODSTs were closing in on the tram as the second one began to scream.
"Bring it in alive!" Maelstrom ordered.
Icepick and Black Eye broke off from the charge and ran towards the second alien, while Maelstrom and Melt ran for the other sections of the transport.
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The mare screamed when Brick's head exploded in a shower of blood and grey-matter. She could hear the Humans do the same as the unicorn's body fell down to the dirt, a blank expression on his dead face.
"Bring it in alive!" she heard a voice yell.
Meadow tried to flee in terror as the black forms approached her quickly. She found that her hooves were frozen in fear, however, and simply watched as the larger one approached. All she saw was a black creature that resembled a Human before her world went dark.
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Black Eye grabbed the unconscious alien before raising his M7S to scan the area.
"Icepick!" he called.
"Clear all!" she responded.
The ODST lifted the alien onto the tram as several civies began to back away. When he looked up, Black Eye was shocked to see that all of them were naked, and could see a majority of their bones beneath their skin.
"What the fuck..."
"We've got an injured civilian!" Icepick called.
Ice Pick hefted the injured man onto her shoulders and examined the damage. The man had bruising over most of his torso, a few cuts that were bleeding down his sides, and saw that his left arm was twisted unnaturally at the elbow.
"Shit, do we have any medical personnel here!?" she shouted to the civilians.
The group began to back away further into the transport, fear dominant on their features.
"The Hell..."
Black Eye jumped into the transport and kicked the limp form of the alien inside before speaking.
"Everyone relax, we're ODSTs. You're safe now."
Instead of cheers or thanks, however, the ODSTs were still met with silence and fear. Ice Pick gently laid the beaten man onto the floor of the transport before turning towards the section behind it, DMR raised as she spoke over the comms.
"Icepick to Maelstrom, I'm checking the rest of the transport for hostiles, over."
"Copy that," Maelstrom responded, "Melt and I are checking the forward half. See anything, Blind?"
"Negative, we're all clear," Blind reported.
Icepick found a handle to another section of the transport and crouched beside it. She put her hand on the door before counting to three and throwing the door aside before swiftly sweeping her DMR through the darkness. One VISR scan later confirmed that the section was empty.
"Car's empty, moving forward," she spoke over the comms.
\\\\\\//////
Maelstrom slammed the but of his M7S into the back of the alien's head before watching it fall limply to the ground.
"Tie the fucker up," he ordered.
Melt grabbed the body before taking its scarf off violently and wrapping it around its four legs. As he did, Maelstrom examined the control panel of the transport. Across the board were ancient instruments like needles, heat measurement instruments (judging by the pictures of fire), and massive levers with wooden handles. Above him was a string that was attached to the ceiling and another piece of wood that dangled in the air by his waist.
"This is some ancient tech, huh?" Maelstrom asked.
"Sure... is!" Melt grunted as he tossed the unconscious alien into a compartment before slamming it shut.
Maelstrom raised a hand to the side of his helmet before speaking.
"Cowbell, Blind, Sputnik, get whatever gear you can and set the pods to detonate, we're taking this transport."
"Wait, what!?" Cowbell responded.
"Sir, what's the plan?" Sputnik asked.
"We take this transport, find someplace secluded to hide the civilians, get word out to the UNSC, and bunker down somewhere far away from here. If anything saw our pods crash near here, and news gets out about this, they'll search the area for anything Human and likely kill us all before we can find out where Lost in the Stars is."
"Copy that, sir, we'll clear out the pods now."
Maelstrom examined the control panel for a bit before speaking into the comms again.
"Black Eye, how are the civilians?"
"They're all naked, starved, and terrified. We've also got one heavily wounded, but nothing fatal yet," he responded.
"We'll get medical attention for them once we get this thing moving. Keep them safe."
"Yes, sir."
"Ice Pick here, all cars clear. Repeat, all cars clear. We are good to go, sir."
"Good job. We're waiting for the others to empty the pods before we leave."
"Understood. I'm going back to see if Black Eye needs any help."
Several thunderous booms rang out as the ancient tram sped along the wood and iron tracks as the ODSTs watched their SOEIV pods burn down the hills they landed in. As fire rained down onto the woodlands they had exited, the Troopers watched the passage of land and tracks as they communicated their long-term plans for their situation.
"So," Cowbell started, "anyone know how we're gonna get outta this shit stack?"
"First thing's first," Maelstrom started, "we need to figure out where the Hell this thing's going. Black Eye?"
"Reading loud and clear, sir. Need something?" came the response.
"Start questioning the civies. Try and find out anything about locations and forces on the planet."
"Got it."
\\\\\\//////
Black Eye shut off his radio and looked around the large number of cages, where fellow Humans watched him and Icepick as she worked over the wounded civilian. Every now and again, he would move away from her motions, and at one point, tried to get up and run. Thankfully, Icepick managed to keep him in place before he could hurt himself. The ODST walked over to one of the cage doors and brought back his M7S before slamming the stock against the primitive lock, shattering it in one swing. As it fell to pieces, the door drifted open, causing the civilians to all scramble backwards into the cage.
"Come on, people," Black Eye said slowly, "it's alright. We're here to help. I just need someone who knows the local maps, or any kind of nearby landmarks."
Silence and fearful stares met the trooper before he sighed and placed his SMG on a magnetic holster.
"Alright, give me a sec," he started before undoing the straps to his helmet.
In a few seconds, the stares of the civilians went from fearful to outright shock as Black Eye removed his helmet. While he was neither drop-dead gorgeous, the trooper knew that he wasn't anywhere near as ugly enough to make a room full of people freeze.
"Come on," he groaned, "doesn't anybody know a thing about local maps or-"
"I, may know something," a trembling voice spoke.
Black Eye turned around to see a thin, short, semi-bald man with skin that looked almost bleached approaching him.
"What's your name?"
"G-Geo..."
"Well come with me, the Sergeant wants some directions."
\\\\\\//////
Meadow groaned as she began to stir, her senses coming back in a fog of pain and nauseousness. Her eyes fluttered open as she tried to move a hoof to rub her face. When she tried to move, however, she felt her foreleg bound to her barrel. Confused and afraid, the pegasus continued to pull at her bindings before rolling over and trying to spread her wings, only to find them bound as well. She began to sound out her struggle, and unknowingly garnered the attention of unfamiliar voices.
"Well, well, well," a feminine voice spoke. "Looks like this thing's waking up."
The pegasus craned her neck to view the source of the voice and gasped when she saw it. Whatever it was, it looked like a tall Human in some kind of armor, except it didn't have a face and showed no skin. In its hands was a strange club, pointed in an odd way at her. At once, the memory of Brick being killed came to the forefront of her thoughts, and she recalled seeing a similar thing to what was in front of her.
"Sergeant," the figure spoke, "we've got a live prisoner here, waking up. Orders?"
A small voice came from inside the figure's head.
"Damn. Alright, lock it up in something, and see if it understands how fucked it is, and try to get some intel out of it."
"Yes, sir."
The figure grabbed Meadow roughly and hauled her up, keeping the club pointed at her head as it carried her.
"Damn, these things are lighter than they look," it remarked.
Before Meadow could try and wriggle her way out, she looked over to see Geo standing next to one without its helmet, and gasped.
"You're Humans," she breathed out.
The Human female, she realized, that was carrying her, had stopped short of an empty cage and spoke to her.
"So you talk, too. That should make this a whole lot easier, then."
Meadow was then thrown into the cage forcefully, landing on her bound wings as she cried in pain. When she looked back up, the armored Human on the other side of the metal bars, she couldn't help but think how fitting this would seem to her superiors. Being locked up by those that they themselves had caged so casually. It would have been slightly amusing, were it not for the fact that she was being stared down by her own reflection instead of an actual face.
"Let's get started with something simple," the female armored Human spoke while holding up a smaller instrument, pointing an end with a hole at her. "Where are we headed?"
As Meadow struggled to find the strength to answer, the train was slightly lit up by an aurora of dancing power from far within the forest beyond their path.
\\\\\\//////
Luna struggled to keep up with her older, and now much larger, sister. Only a few minutes ago had she been broken from her prison, saved from the horror that was her own jealousy, anger, and malevolence. Here she was, the Princess of the Night, walking amongst her kind, once again. And yet, she couldn't focus on the celebration that went on in the town before her. She couldn't bring herself to hear the cheers of those that were joyed by the return of their Princesses. The only thing she could focus on were the bipedal aliens that roamed about the town, stripped of their alien attire, and much weaker than what she remembered.
"Luna?" she heard Celestia's voice cut into her thoughts.
She tore her gaze away from the frail aliens as her sister smiled at her weakened form.
"I see you're fascinated with the Humans," she stated.
"Yes," Luna replied before shifting her gaze over to a group of them. "We remember viewing something... interesting, while Nightmare Moon held possession of our form."
"Don't worry, sister," Celestia replied while nuzzling Luna's cheek, "it's over now."
"We wish to know everything thou knows about these... Humans."
"Well, I'll be sure to let you know when we finish catching up," Celestia said while tears of joy continued to mat her fur.
The blue alicorn held her thanks to her sister for being so welcoming and forgiving, but she still held great concern for the safety of Equestria as she thought about the repercussions for destroying the Human space-vessel.
\\\\\\//////
Little Strongheart pushed her way through the crowd of buffalo as the murmurs ceased while her father kept them all quiet with a raised hoof. When the small buffalo made her way out of the crowd, she found herself stunned by what she saw. A massive metal structure lay within a burning trench of glass and stone. The architecture alone was beyond anything she had ever read about or heard rumors of, especially since she saw it fly only a few moments ago. Across the structure, lights shone and flickered, illuminating the grey surface with white letters.
However, it wasn't the letters or the structure the buffalo tribe was worrying about, but rather the large number of ponies that were swarming it the same way insects would swarm a corpse. Tents and spells were set up all around the site, trying to hide it from view, as a new flag rose upon the desert that day. A flag with the Equestrian symbol on it, and an ancient symbol of the Creators.
As light began to steadily flood into the view of the ODSTs, the compartment that Maelstrom had thrown the brown alien into had began to give off some noise for a few seconds before silence returned. Maelstrom held up his Magnum to the door as he reached towards the handle, Melt leveling his SMG at it. With a single motion, the door swung open to reveal the creature sleeping on the ground again, snoring lightly this time. As he breathed a sigh of relief, Maelstrom closed the door on the alien and holstered his Magnum.
Before another word could be spoken, two consecutive knocks rang against the door to the tram car, and Black Eye opened it to reveal the volunteer from the refugees.
"Good to see you, Private," Maelstrom spoke as he grasped the trooper's hand.
They collided their shoulder plates before Black Eye moved on to repeat the gesture with Melt. The volunteer cautiously approached the ODSTs, fearfully gazing between their visors. Maelstrom held out his hand to the civilian.
"Sergeant Maelstrom of the ONI Prowler Lost in the Stars, leading operative of ODST fire-team Nightmare," he greeted.
The civilian looked between the hand and the Sergeant's helmet, craning his head up slightly due to the height difference. Slowly, with a visible tremble, the civilian's hand met Maelstrom's, and the trooper lightly moved it with a soft grip.
"G-Geo," he barely spoke.
"Thanks for volunteering, Geo. What experience do you have reading maps?" Maelstrom asked while motioning for Geo to follow.
"Um... I-I helped look over the map, before we got on here," Geo started, walking behind the trooper. "A few others know where to run to, but I don't..."
The ODSTs looked between each other before Black Eye motioned between his helmet at his side and his face before pointing to Maelstrom. Maelstrom nodded as he reached up to remove the helmet before turning back to Geo. As he revealed his face to the civilian, he spoke calmly and slowly.
"You're safe. We're all Humans here. Nothing's going to hurt you. We just want some answers."
"L-like?"
"Like, what did you mean by 'where to run to,'? Or maybe, why are all those civilians stuffed in cages?"
"Ugh... well... T-the ponies, the ones on this train... they, gathered us up to try and help us escape. They... they said, that, when we get to a certain landmark, we'd need to run for Minos, the Minotaur homeland. They said that we'd never have to worry about being mistreated again."
"Minos?"
"Escape?"
"Help?"
The ODSTs had the universally same reaction, unable to believe the circumstances.
"If these things want to help so bad, then why are all of you in cages, and being beaten to near-death?" Melt asked.
Geo shied away from the question, as if it would physically hurt him.
"Brick... wasn't the kindest to us."
"That's a fucking understatement," Black Eye commented.
"But, Meadow told us that we needed to be in cages, so when we pass by Ponyville station, we wouldn't draw attention."
"So their plan involves locking up a large number of alien civilians and bringing them on a barely guarded tram with no real direction besides 'that way'? Real fucking smart. Nobel Prize worthy, if you ask me," Melt stated.
Geo seemed to be shocked by the statement.
"A-a-a-a-aliens?"
The ODSTs looked between each other again, exchanging an ever-growing sense of 'What the Shit is going on' for yet another round of questions.
"Yeah, aliens. We're not exactly native to this planet. You know that, right?" Melt asked.
"B-b-b-b-but, w-w-we're all Humans, aren't you?"
The troopers all nodded.
"Right, we're Humans," Maelstrom added. "So what's the confusion?"
"Humans are native to Equestria, aren't we?"
Once again, glares met glares as the ODSTs felt several alarms go off in their heads.
"Tell us everything you know about 'our' history," Maelstrom said.
\\\\\\//////
"Holy shit, I didn't think it'd be this easy to get answers from you," Icepick commented while swinging the keys in her grasp, tossing the ring between fingers and hands while the civilians all watched, freed from their cages.
The alien didn't even put up so much as a flimsy piece of a rusted fence in terms of resistance to the questions, simply answering them as they came along.
"But, just because you answered them, doesn't mean you're off the hook."
With that, the ODST flicked at her right arm's guard before a large, flat piece clicked out of the armor. She spun the piece of metal around, flipping out a long, serrated blade as she made the weapon dance. In a single flick, the knife slammed down into the floor of the alien's cage, cutting clean through the metal as a ring of keys jangled around it.
"We're almost done, though, so let's try and keep this going as smoothly as we have, alright?" she offered.
The alien looked between the knife and the trooper fearfully before nodding vigorously.
"Good. Next question, what was that you mentioned about one last stop?"
"We were going to exchange some bits for a large number of slaves from a Griffon hunting ring, halfway to Minos. About an hour after we pass through Ponyville, there's going to be a caravan with a red tent off about 50 meters north of the three-way intersection after a river. The bits are-"
"How well armed is the slaver caravan?" Icepick interrupted.
"Um... I-I wouldn't know. Probably around thirty or so altogether, but otherwise-"
"What about weapons and armor?"
"They're hunters, so they're probably wearing leather and iron, put together from-"
"That's enough. Congratulations, you've officially earned the privilege of being our prisoner. And that's really something, considering the UNSC hasn't taken prisoners in almost 30 years."
Icepick withdrew her kukri from the ground and spun it closed before locking it back into her arm. Before she could make her way back to the Sergeant, however, a group of civilians were helping the wounded one up onto his feet as he began to speak.
"Please... let... let her, go," he wheezed out.
"Absolutely not. That thing is-"
"She's... innocent. She just... wants to help us. Why are... you treating her like... that?"
"Alright. Give me one reason why I should let her go, then."
"She knows... more about this plan... than you do."
"All I have to do is ask, and she'll spill every detail."
"Please... she's not like... Brick... she cares about us... I... I love her."
Icepick nearly shouted in surprise, but managed to keep her cool.
"The fuck!? What... how does," she tried to speak, glancing between the injured civilian and the prisoner.
"If not... just let me... stay by her," he panted out.
Icepick had absolutely no idea how to respond to that, so she ended up calling Maelstrom over the comms.
"Sergeant, some kind of crazy is going on here," she spoke into the comms.
"I think I noticed," Maelstrom responded. "Did you know these civilians were all born on this planet? Or that apparently we've been on this planet for around 600 years?"
"Alright, what's Cowbell been inhaling this time?"
"Permission to speak freely, sir?" Cowbell responded.
"Sure."
"Fuck you, Ice queen."
"So... he hasn't been on the comms this whole time... which means... oh, for fuck's sake."
\\\\\\//////
Commander Matthias groaned as he slowly felt feeling return to his aging form. First came pain, then the relief of knowing he wasn't dead yet. He could hear several others join his pained joy of not being killed upon impact with the planet, before he spoke to the A.I.
"Lisa, status report."
"We've crashed into a large, open portion of this continent's desert," she began while appearing across the many screens of the bridge, "but we didn't have as subtle a landing as I'd have liked. There are at least seventy eight life forms outside the Prowler's crash site, covering up everything they can while setting up some kind of camp around us. Interestingly enough, their flag has a Forerunner symbol etched into the center, yet they don't have a single firearm or piece of electronic equipment. It's all wood and iron."
The Commander unfastened himself from his seat and shakily stood upright. He corrected his stance before he could fall, and approached the main view-port while raising a hand above his eyes, trying to keep out the intense rays of the planet's Sun. All across his vision, he could see yellow and purple tents being set up by unknown creatures, while a large flag waved above their site. Before he could ask Lisa about them, a brilliant light shone from the center of the camp, and rocketed upwards. When it reached the apex of its ascent, the ball of light burst, and almost like Forerunner tech, a massive bubble shield extended from the blast, darkening the sky while extending beyond the ship's crash site.
"What was that?"
"It appears to be some kind of cloaking method, if my drones are functioning right. We've just disappeared off the face of the planet, along with them."
"And what are they?"
The holo-table lit up to show a white four-legged creature with massive eyes, purple armor, blue hair, and a horn in an almost cartoonish detail next to a holograph of an ODST.
"I can't believe it myself, and I'm watching it all happen, but it appears that we're being hidden by unicorns."
\\\\\\//////
"So, let me get this straight," Icepick sighed. "You want me to just let this thing come up to the front?"
"I said escort it here, Icepick," Maelstrom corrected, "that's an order."
"But what about the civilians?"
"Melt and Black Eye are on their way back there now. Just get that thing up here, quick."
"Yes, sir."
Icepick brought out the keyring and picked out a specific one before using it to unlock the cage that she kept the alien in, and made a motion with her hand as she drew her Magnum.
"Come on, boss wants to see you for whatever reason."
The alien stood up and walked alongside her on the way to the front of the tram. Before they got too far, however, the alien looked over to the injured civilian and made a gesture with its wings, causing the civilian to smile lightly before he laid down and slept.
\\\\\\//////
Maelstrom looked back at the door to the car as Icepick and the alien prisoner came walking in. Icepick gave a firm push to the alien and almost sent it sprawling to the ground. It corrected itself before it crashed, however, and slowly approached the Sergeant.
"What do we have here?" he asked.
"Um... h-hello," the alien spoke.
"Do you have a name?" was all he asked.
"M-meadow," it answered.
"Would you mind answering a question?"
"Um, n-no."
Maelstrom turned around and scanned the horizon before singling out a specific pattern and pointing towards it.
"What is that, out there?"
Meadow leaned onto the controls to view whatever it was that he was pointing at before gasping.
"That's Ponyville. We're so close."
"Close to what?"
"Freeing your people."
"Bullshit."
Meadow looked up to him in shock.
"W-what?"
"My people are already free. We fought for the last three decades to make sure of that. You, however, seem to not know the order of things in this galaxy."
"Galaxy?"
"What did your kind do to these survivors?" Maelstrom asked with malice.
"Survivors?"
"I don't care what you told them, we have not been here for six hundred years. It hasn't even been half that time since we started colonizing other planets."
Meadow was beyond lost.
"So let's get something straightened out, right now. You work for us, now."
Icepick and Meadow were equally stunned at that.
"If what I heard is true, then we're not getting past that town without someone managing the controls, and seeing heavily armed ODSTs holding several hostages isn't going to be the sneakiest move of all time. So let's make a deal. You get us past this checkpoint, get us close to that prison camp, or caravan thing, and drive this thing down to whatever that border is, then you get to live."
Maelstrom offered his hand to Meadow.
"Deal?"
Meadow felt conflicted, considering she wanted to help the Humans in the first place, but now she felt as though they were angry at her for trying to intervene. Regardless of her opinion, she needed to help them, and wanted to live. She raised her right foreleg to the ODST.
"D-deal."
With that, Maelstrom gripped the appendage and shook once, firmly, before letting go and placing his helmet back on.
"Attention fire-team," he spoke through the comms, "we're about to hit a check-point for the tram. Hide in the shadows and don't engage unless absolutely necessary. We're trying to keep the element of surprise here, and the last thing we need is a bounty on our heads by local law enforcement."
Green lights of acknowledgement flashed across the VISR and the ODSTs blended themselves with the darkness again.
\\\\\\//////
Princess Luna was beyond ecstatic, finally freed of Nightmare Moon's influence and having been welcomed back by the small town, as well as the Royal Guard. Her sister sat by her side, holding onto her as though they would lose each other while waiting for the train. She didn't mind, though. A thousand years of being apart from each other made the embrace far more comforting than that of their subjects, and she did not care how that came across. As they waited for the Royal Train to arrive, however, another one pulled into the station, with a pegasus as the front. When a few Guards began to close in on the transport, Luna swiveled her ears in the direction of the conductor as the Guards began to check through the cars.
"Any specific cargo, ma'am?"
"Um, y-yes. I have documents here for the Humans being brought out to Barnyard Bargains Mine Co. by the Minos border."
Luna didn't hear the next few words as she watched the Guards opened the car across from her to reveal several cages of Humans as they shied away from the light. Fear and shock gripped her heart when she saw the poor condition the Humans were being treated in. Their cages were cramped, and one looked to be severely injured. More cars opened to reveal more cages, all empty, but likely waiting for the prisoners.
"And the empty cages?" the station guard asked.
"Well, they told me to pick up another few dozen from a caravan a few miles ahead, and I've got the paperwork and bits if you need to see them."
"It's fine, ma'am."
As the Guards began to give orders to pack it up, Luna saw something shift in the darkness of the Human-filled car. She focused on her night-oriented spells and looked into the darkness. What she saw made her force herself to hold back a gasp.
Hidden in the dark corners of the car were armored Humans, covered head-to-hoof (or whatever they have) in black armor, save for their helmets, which sported silver plates of glass. They had crossbow-like weapons trained on the Guards as they moved about the station, while lights from their helmets began to shift in almost unnoticeable ways. Small red lines of light followed the Guards as they moved to close up the car, and when it did, her vision of the Humans was cut off for a brief period of time.
Luna cast a hollow-vision spell on herself to gaze through the wood of the train car, and found that several more were hiding in the cars of the train. One in the back held a small, slanted weapon while a massive one with two pipes rested on its back, and another opposite it was holding a weapon longer than her own wingspan, that hung a miniature skull by the back.
Before she could get a glimpse at the rest, however, the train sounded off and began down the tracks again. Luna felt a nudge at her side, causing her to drop the spell and look back at her sister.
"I understand you're confused about the Humans, sister, but I'll explain when we get to Canterlot."
Luna turned to watch the train leave the station, carrying warriors from beyond the stars away from her gaze.
"Thou best, dear sister."
\\\\\\//////
Hours later, upon their arrival to the city of Canterlot, Luna had to be introduced to many changes.
First of all, their old castle had been lost to the ages, only seen as a relic, or a horror story. Luna already knew that, seeing as how she was in it when she had been freed. Secondly, there had been many adjustments to the system of Royalty, as well as new members being introduced. At first, Luna was convinced that Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was actually her sister's daughter. It was only after half an hour of arguing that she agreed to identify her as an adoptive niece, rather than a blood-related family member. After meeting with some rather unpleasant nobles, one in particular that she despised, she finally had a chance to simply talk with her sister.
They were in the Royal Archives, simply strolling through as Celestia picked out several history books to fill in Luna over what had happened in the past thousand years.
"I'm so sorry to force this on you, again, sister," Celestia apologized for the seven thousandth time (Luna kept count mentally).
"Honestly, sister, we can't forgive thee any more times, lest we lose our own tongue keeping up."
Celestia giggled as she looked through more history texts.
Deciding to push the subject she had been mulling over since her return, Luna spoke up again.
"Sister, we wish to speak with thee about the Humans."
Her sister's smile almost entirely vanished before sighing lightly.
"When you start mentioning them, I keep forgetting that they've been around for only six hundred years. It must be confusing to see an entirely new species in Equestria."
"Especially these. Dost thou know how we, the Nightmare and I, escaped our prison?"
"I don't see what that has to do with Humans, Luna."
"Everything, sister," Luna said in a far more serious tone. "The Nightmare waited for the barrier to weaken, but yet it never came. We suspected that we would never return, trapped in a spell that ceased to weaken any further. That was, until something broke us free. Do you remember when these Humans first arrived? What was it like?"
"Well, when they did first arrive, they were scared and confused. So were our little ponies. They were beyond frightened by their arrival, seemingly out of nowhere. But when we approached, we saw that they had no idea or concept of magic."
That shocked Luna.
"Truly? How could they have arrived without magic?"
"I don't know. At first, I thought they were agents of Discord, or perhaps something from Tartarus itself, but I found no trace of either Chaos or Dark magic within them."
"What of their ship?"
Celestia paused and looked back at Luna.
"Their... what?"
"A vessel? Made out of metals? Did it perhaps fly over the land like a cloud, or did it roar like the mighty Dragon Skyholds? Or-"
Luna's questioning was interrupted by the sound of laughter from her dear sister. Miffed by the sudden change in mood, Luna pressed.
"What dost thou laugh at, sister? We are trying to understand the arrival of the first Humans."
"I-I'm sorry, but the way you said it," Celestia chuckled.
"Sister, this is no laughing matter. I believe the Humans are trying to send reinforcements."
Celestia responded by laughing again.
"Lulu, I love you, but the Human's aren't cut out for violence, or making any kind of magical ships like that."
"We know what we hast seen!" Luna proclaimed. "A Human vessel broke through the barrier that kept Nightmare and I at bay, and the demon dragged it down from the heavens. When we looked inside, we saw Humans in uniforms working several controls. Even when we were at the station, waiting for the Royal Train, we saw several armored Humans hiding in the darkness, with weapons we have never seen before."
"Luna, I assure you, the Humans are not from outside this planet," Celestia assured. "They can barely understand basic mathematics and reading. How could they achieve flying metal fortresses or become soldiers?"
"We know what we hath seen, sister!" Luna half-yelled. "Nightmare was just as shocked as I when the Humans arrived."
"Sister, please don't be upset," Celestia stated as she hugged her sister, "but I just think that maybe the demon tried to misguide you, again. It might have known it would be beaten, and thought about how to mess with your mind from beyond the grave. Don't let it get to you."
Luna contemplated her sister's words as she looked through the window, waiting for her time to come to set the moon for the first time in a millennia.
\\\\\\//////
Night fell upon the land before the still train, the soldiers inside waiting for the opportunity brought on by the darkness.
Maelstrom stepped off the transport and motioned for others to follow suit as the ODSTs began to scan the land for their objective. Behind the Sergeant, Meadow stepped down and hefted a large bag that jingled with each step.
"Um, excuse me, but, I have the bits for exchange here," Meadow stated while offering the ODST the bag.
"Is it some kind of currency?"
"Well, yes, but-"
"We don't negotiate or trade with terrorists," he stated before walking away from her.
"Wait, how do you plan on getting those other Humans from the caravan, then?" she called out.
"We're ODSTs. We'll find a way."
With that, the group of soldiers walked off into the darkness, eyes locked on a distant red tent.
Maelstrom adjusted his line of sight through the Magnum's Smart-Link scope as he laid down atop a small hill. On either side, his fellow Helljumpers were aiming down at the camp while Blind continued to scan the area before them.
"I've got visual on a vehicle, sir," the sniper reported. "Looks like some kind of aircraft. Propellers, big engine, and one massive balloon in the middle."
"Good to know. How many on guard?" Maelstrom responded.
"None. It's just out in the open."
"Easy pickings, Troopers," Maelstrom spoke proudly. "What about the camp itself? Civies? Hostiles?"
"Counting at least twenty civilians from this angle, can't get a read on any hostiles, though. Just- wait, contact spotted!"
"Give us a visual, Blind."
Maelstrom's VISR lit up to display the image being shared from Blind's secondary camera, giving the squad a visual of the slavers. The three figures stepped out of the cover of the red tent to reveal their forms under the light of the moon. They all were walking on four legs, but these creatures were vastly different. Each of them had a set of wings, and resembled a large cat mixed with a bird. Instead of angled faces, they had beaks, while their front legs had claws at the ends instead of a flat surface. All of them wore some kind of heavy cloth, and were carrying long, flat swords on their backs.
"The fuck are those?" Cowbell questioned.
"Enemies of the UNSC for harboring civilians as slaves," Maelstrom answered, "that's what they are."
The ODSTs continued to watch as the three figures moved towards the caged civies while holding buckets. As they passed by each cage, they threw the contents of the buckets into the confined spaces, sending pale-brown mush flying into the civilians. After the three left, the Troopers were boiling over with rage at seeing their own kind being treated like animals.
"Blind, switch to thermal," Maelstrom ordered.
Upon receiving the order, Blind switched the rifle's scope to thermal imaging, revealing around thirty of the alien figures all bundled together near the center of the tent. A large number of Human figures were lined up closer to the opposite end of the tent, almost 70 or so meters.
"Alright, here's the plan," Maelstrom began, mentally preparing for the second rescue operation within a day.
\\\\\\//////
"Alright teams," Shining Armor spoke to the crowd of Nighthawks and Dawnguards, "we've finished securing the site and have swayed the interest of the locals to something far enough away to buy us time to start making noise. As of now, this is a recovery operation. We are to find a way inside the structure, secure any and all technologies we can find, and if whatever flew it is still alive, attempt contact. If they open fire, but don't manage to hurt anypony, the Princess can salvage the situation. Any questions?"
A hoof in gold armor shot up.
"Yes?"
"What if we find some kind of weapon?"
"Then you are to handle it with extreme care, as if it were your own newborn foal. Anything else?"
Another hoof, this time clad in dark blue armor, shot up.
"Yes?"
"Why do we need to secure anything from in there? Shouldn't we wait to see if anything's still alive in there and try to contact them if they come out?"
"We have no idea whether or not this is a failed invasion attempt, since Science says it came down with Nightmare Moon. For all we know, there could be demons in there. Now, any more questions?"
Silence reigned through the camp before Shining nodded to the group of armored professionals.
"Good. Remember, this is for the safety of Equestria, and known only to the Crown. Everything you see, hear, feel, or even think about here is classified under the highest priority. Any leak, no matter what size, even if it's what you had for dinner, or what time you used the can, will be considered treason of the highest degree. Until we find something game changing, we are not here, never were, and never will be. Now let's get to work!"
\\\\\\//////
"Commander, the Unicorns are trying to invade," Lisa spoke over the comms. "There's a sentence that's guaranteed to get me deactivated."
"Where?"
"Fire-team Nightmare's launch deck, through one of the exits for the SOEIV pods."
"Progress?"
"Their equipment, from what I've seen, is barely comparable to what we had over 600 years ago, so it'll take endless weeks of torching to try to cut through the hat- hold on," Lisa paused, "they're using some kind of unknown energy. It's already broken through the first layer of the hatch! I suggest we-"
The Commander didn't give the A.I. time to finish her suggestion, as he spoke into the comms with the idea already in mind.
"Attention, all available hands! We have unknown contacts attempting to get in through Nightmare's prep bay! We don't have much time as is, let's get a move on!"
Without waiting to hear out Lisa's concerns, Matthias got up from his seat and began to jog towards the elevator.
\\\\\\//////
"I love this plan," Cowbell stated as he hefted up his twin-tubed rocket launcher.
"Remember, one shot," Blind reminded him.
"Let me have the moment."
"Fine. Wind moving North-East, 2.13 mph, elevation at 4.3 meters from target's position, approximately 81.39 meters from our current position."
"Copy, adjusting," Cowbell responded as he gently moved his arms and lined up the lower tube with his mental imaging of numbers and formulas.
"Got it?"
"I'm so fucking ready for this."
Cowbell licked his dry lips as he stared at the aircraft, already seeing the fire dance in his vision.
\\\\\\//////
Maelstrom peeked his head out of the tall grass before the lines of cages, holding back a large number of civilians. Several green lights of acknowledgement lit up on his VISR, signalling the team's readiness for the operation.
"Permission to speak freely, sir," Black Eye spoke over the comms.
"Granted."
"We need a name for this operation. Anyone got ideas?"
Maelstrom knew immediately where this was going to go, and smirked.
"Go for it."
\\\\\\//////
Light Feather sighed as he continued to stare at his reflection in the flat surface of his longsword, bored out of his mind. With barely a thing to do besides watch over the Balloon, which literally wasn't going anywhere without him. He slid the sword into its scabbard and shifted in his hammock, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. When he finally felt halfway relaxed, Feather closed his eyes and was ready to sleep.
"Screw the schedule, it's not like-"
Before he could even finish his crude remark about the staff management, a voice shouted in the distance.
"OPERATION: 'CRAKATOWA'!"
Just then, a flash of light ignited from a field in the distance, and flew straight into the gas storage. Everything was engulfed in a wave of heat and light before a piece of metal flew out and smacked the Griffon straight in the face, turning his world to black.
Maelstrom watched as several figures began to swarm for the fire that was once their transport, shouting at each other in some unknown language that consisted of chirps and clicks.
"Move!" he ordered to his team.
At once, all five ODSTs bolted upward from their respective positions in the grass and began to run straight for the unguarded cages.
\\\\\\//////
"Son of a shit!" Cowbell cursed. "What kind of statistics were those, Blind!?"
"Hand to God, those readings were right!"
"That rocket was almost ten degrees off course! We could've blown the whole operation!"
"You think I don't know that!? Just keep your sights trained on those winged fuckers and try to keep low, now move!"
The two stayed silent as they began to sprint close to the ground to keep their cover, unaware of the lessened burden they should have felt.
\\\\\\//////
Black Eye slammed the but of his M45-D into the lock before him, shattering the weak metal and sending the cage door flying inwards. The civilians jumped back from the swinging object as the ODST motioned for them to leave.
"We're here to help! Move out, towards the tracks! Find the tram and get on board!" he and the four other ODSTs repeated to each cage they busted open.
With each one they opened, more and more civilians began to run across the hills, a few stumbling on their way to the tram in the distance. Sputnik kept his M7S trained on the skies in case the winged creatures decided to check on their catch, while Icepick kept her sights trained on the empty sleeping area.
"Last group!" Maelstrom shouted as he slammed the handle of his Magnum against the rusted contraption.
The ODST Sergeant pulled the door open for the civilians and motioned for them to move. Immediately, the group ran out of the confined space as the ODSTs swept the area one last time.
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
With all cages cleared out of civilians, the ODSTs began to book it in the direction of the tram. Maelstrom flashed a green light over the VISR to Blind and Cowbell before receiving two confirmations.
"Alright everyone," he spoke into the comms, "eyes on the skies. Anything up there following us, bring it down."
Green lights flashed over his VISR once more as he turned around to scan the air with his Magnum, a group of nearly 80 people running for their lives.
\\\\\\//////
Midnight Sweep grunted as he felt the weight of the unknown metal land on his Lunar Guard armor. With a few steps, he was able to deposit the slab of metal onto a pile they had started moments ago as they cut into a weaker part of the alien structure.
"Whoa," he heard Shear mutter in surprise.
"Ugh, wha... whoa," Midnight spoke as he looked into the hole they had finally cut through.
Inside was a massive chamber with bits and pieces of items strewn about, likely from the crash, and several pieces of furniture bolted down. To either side, they could see similar chambers to the one their heads were poking through, and to the right, they could see what looked like a futuristic barracks. All the beds were in metal stands that were bolted to the walls, and looked fluffier than anything either Guard had seen all through basic. There was also a couch set up facing a wall, where a large piece of cracked glass hung loosely. Lockers also decorated the area near the beds, pulling together the military look.
"We found a way in!" Shear called out with a panicked voice.
Several other Guards began to swarm the area, pushing Midnight and Shear into the ship as they heard others beginning to climb in. One of the first few was their group's Sergeant, Hammer, and one of the scientist following him, Glyph. Both looked around with mixed emotions, though the scientist was wearing a broad smile.
"Amazing! Look at all of this! Alien architecture!" he shouted while spinning around, trying to take in everything at once.
"This looks like a barracks, but it's too small," Hammer said skeptically. "They either came here with a small scouting party, or some kind of super soldiers."
"And who's to say they came here for war?" Glyph responded. "Maybe they came here to study us, or to offer peace! Maybe they came here by accident, who knows!? I know we won't unless we try to find some recollection of their actions."
"We're sitting in a giant crater, smart-flank."
"I mean an actual record of their data! Maybe just a sample of a computer, or... try looking around."
The Sergeant gave a huff before turning to see three more Guards behind him, two Lunar and one Dawn. He motioned for them to search before they saluted and took off. As they did, Hammer and Glyph moved to examine the large metal racks that were lined up next to the empty shafts. Below the racks, they saw empty shelves that had a few scuff marks.
"These are recent," Glyph observed, "like whatever was in here was taken out right before we could get in."
"Stars at night!" a guard shouted as something metallic hit the floor.
All the ponies nearby looked over to see a large crate toppled over onto one of the Solar Guards, crushing his wing.
"AAAAGGHHH! Get it off me!" he shouted.
At once, several other armored ponies began to push the box away, struggling to get the thing to move. When they managed to roll it off, however, everypony fell to the deck as the sound of armors clanging rang through the small room. Nopony could get up against the unknown magic they were feeling, pinning the lot of them to the ground.
"Wha... what's... going on?" Hammer managed to grunt out.
"G-gravity... intensified," Glyph grunted. "Likely... the alien's... average g-force."
Before Hammer could press further, however, the pressure from the extra gravity seemed to vanish. Around him, several other Guards were getting up and were trying to move the injured pegasus. While they started, however, the large hanging plane of glass flickered to life and broadcast a horrifying image before them all. In the front was a large Human skull, covered in flames. Behind it was a large metallic container, and a banner that ran underneath both objects, with a single, alien word broadcast in the Equestrian alphabet.
Shining Armor watched as the technicians began to heft out the large crate that had collapsed moments ago onto an unsuspecting pegasus Guard. While his wing would take long to heal, he'd be able to fly again one day. For now, however, he was being sent off under an oath of secrecy to recover in a small town, where the rest of his family resided. The stallion couldn't blame the Guard's personal decision, considering he had others to think of as well. Now, however, he could only focus on the mission at hoof. He had to find out what was inside that box.
\\\\\\//////
"What the Hell was in that crate, Lisa?" Commander Matthias asked.
"Four emergency survival kits and a datapad, currently logged on by Corporal Sputnik."
"Last known search?"
"Classical music, around the 1800s. At its current power, however, it won't last for 37 seconds."
The Commander stayed silent as he watched the unicorns pry the crate open on the bridge's main screen.
\\\\\\//////
Shining Armor eyed the large bags cautiously as the hazard teams prepared special containers of their own. One unicorn in a hazard-prep suit opened the bag to examine the contents, one at a time. The first thing he pulled out was a small plate of clear glass, held together by a small frame of metal. Next came a green box with writing on it in Equish, just like the reports had said when the investigation had been halted, due to the gravitational anomaly. On it read, "UNSC Survival Kit," and had an eagle with its wings spread over it. After that was placed into the container, out came a box with a familiar theme. It was white with a single red cross, much like their own medical emergency kits. It too was put into the container before something strange was pulled out. It was in the shape of the handle of a Minotaur crossbow, but simply ended with a wide, stout barrel. The object was barely big enough to avoid being hidden in somepony's muzzle.
After that, the bag had been folded and placed into the container, along with three more just like it.
"Just some kind of dang survival kit, by the looks of it," Hammer observed.
"But what about the orange thing?" Glyph questioned. "Maybe it was some kind of weapon, or a signal flare, like our magical ones?"
"We'll know when Canterlot Science figures it out," Shining stated. "Get this on the next train out of Apploosa, along with Private Glance."
The hazard teams had begun to relocate the crate as well as their own container, ready to enchant the items for immediate transport.
\\\\\\//////
Princess Luna watched over the seemingly endless expanse of Equestria, trying to find a calm in the raging hurricane of confusion she was in. She had red through several dozen tomes of historical knowledge, trying to learn what she hadn't been around for. Several things had made her cringe, such as the "Children of Nightmare" cult waging war against the Equestrian government, as well as the "Cult Solar" rising against them, if only to paint her sister in the same light of false godhood. Everything she had read on had been another twinge of pain to her mind and soul, tearing her apart from the inside, struggling to keep track of everything that she should know.
Just as a sigh was escaping her lips, a small burst of light drew her attention.
The alicorn called upon her ancient magic to enhance her view of the events in the distance, curious since the fireworks had ceased long ago.
She was now looking upon the progress of the armored Humans from the train, as they began to escort a large number of other Humans to the same vehicle.
Her mind ceased to think of anything else, instead focusing on the aliens that were running from the burst of flames and light that were already fading into nothingness. All seven of them were now rushing for the metallic transport, and began to pile in other Humans. In minutes, they too were on board the train, save for one. Luna focused her mind on that one, and began to feel into the mysterious soldier.
\\\\\\//////
Maelstrom lifted himself into the operator's car of the tram and slammed a fist into the side twice.
"Punch it," he spoke to Meadow, "get us out of here!"
The alien captive didn't speak back as she pushed a lever forward to start the motions of the wheels beneath them. A single push later, the tram was already in motion down the tracks. Behind the alien, Sputnik sighed as he leaned against a wall, holding out a hand for the Sergeant to grasp and slam their chests into each other.
"We did it, sir," he spoke happily.
"Of course we did. And why's that?" he asked over the comms.
"Because we're Helljumpers!" came the chorus of replies.
Just as Maelstrom was about to praise the team for getting the right answer, images of his past suddenly flashed before his eyes. Images of Arcadia, training, Earth, the Ark, and the Battle of Hat Yai. Voices and screams began to sound through his ears as he felt his body give out underneath him.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHRRRREEEEEEUUUUUGGGGHHH!!!!!!" Maelstrom struggled to shout as he began to convulse on the ground, his limbs lashing out against his command.
"Shit!" Sputnik screamed as he dropped his weapon and tried to steady Maelstrom. "Icepick, we need medical attention, now! Maelstrom's having an attack!"
"What's going on!?" Meadow asked, panicking internally at seeing the Human thrashing about.
"I don't fucking know! Icepick, get here now!"
\\\\\\//////
Luna pulled back from the mind of the Human soldier, gasping and struggling to contain her screams. Of all the horrors she had seen throughout her life, none had prepared her for that. Even when she thought back to the atrocities of insane mages and failed experiments, from evil conquerors and overlords bent on destruction, to simple beasts that only wanted blood... nothing compared to what she just witnessed. The images were still flashing around her mind, taking away her focus as she felt her magic surging away from her in all directions. A number of muffled sounds came from the world around the Princess before she felt her body seize up and collapsed to the floor, unconscious once again.
Maelstrom watched as several thousand memories played through his mind in fast-forward, likely burning his eyes as he watched countless others die in combat. Not only was he reliving his memories of the Covenant War, but also his few skirmishes against Insurrectionists. Blood of different colors stained his hands, armor, weapons, and everything else that constantly changed around him. He tried to scream out or simply close his eyes, but was unable to control anything around him. Barely audible voices started to cut into his hearing, fading in and out of the memories.
\\\\\\//////
"Shit, what's going on!?" Icepick panicked as she opened the first-aid kit.
"I don't know, just try to stop it!" Sputnik shouted.
Maelstrom continued to thrash about on the floor of the tram car, his limbs going about in random motions as his face contorted in pain. The Sergeant was held down by Sputnik while Icepick dug around for any kind of medicine that could help in this scenario. As she did, Maelstrom began to experience something beyond his own memories.
\\\\\\//////
Familiarity left Maelstrom's senses as he watched several different alien species battle across a large field. Blue lights began to flash around him as the visions changed over and over again, progressing through them similarly to his own memories. After what felt like an eternity, the visions finally paused.
\\\\\\//////
Icepick and Sputnik watched in horror as Maelstrom simply fell limp to the ground, his thrashing finally ceasing as he laid still. Neither noticed the faint blue glow in his eyes.
\\\\\\//////
Maelstrom finally felt a sense of freedom as he began to move about the strange landscape, his armor fully donned. As if out of nowhere, his Magnum was now in his hands, and fully loaded. The ODST began to lift it up, and scanned the area around him. It looked as though he were walking around some kind of star-map, with images of aliens similar to Meadow flashing in and out. Some of the images had Humans in them, but were disturbing to say the least. A large number of the ones with Humans involved sexual acts, while a few showed them as slaves being whipped into submission. Just as he was about to do something, however, a voice spoke to him.
"What art thou doing in mine realm?"
Maelstrom spun around and leveled his Magnum at the face of a new alien. It was likely a related species to Meadow, he assumed because of its four-legged form and large head. However, where as Meadow had wings, this one had wings and a large horn on its head. Its body was largely navy blue, with a blotch of black on its rear. The hair and tail, however, were something else entirely. Both groups were waving around in some kind of breeze, and seemed to be made of the blackness of space, with stars dotting it in fixed places. As the creature shifted, its hair continued to change, the stars within shifting around and being replaced with new ones.
"Halt," it spoke in a female voice, "We recognize thee. The locomotive. Seven of thy kind, warriors of some sort. We are correct, would you say?"
Maelstrom felt conflicting emotions as he stared at the creature before him.
"We know this must confuse thy senses, considering where we speak now."
Cautiously, Maelstrom finally spoke.
"Who's 'we'?" he asked.
The alien tilted its head to the side a bit.
"What doth thou mean?"
"You keep saying 'we'. Who else is here?"
"Ah, you mistake our tongue for another meaning, soldier. We only announce ourselves as such for royal purposes."
"Do all of your kind speak like that?"
"Hath you not met more of our subjects?"
'So this is their ruler,' Maelstrom thought. 'Weird mind-shit aside, this could be worse.'
"Only spoke to one so far, so not much to go on."
The alien nodded.
"We apologize for intruding upon thy personal space. All we wanted was a perspective on thy and thy company's motives."
"So you tried to get into my brain?" Maelstrom asked, slightly raising his Magnum.
"We only wanted a glimpse, not to cause trouble. If anything, we wish to help thy kind."
Maelstrom hesitated the thought of leveling the Magnum with the alien's head as it said this.
"I'm listening."
The horn atop its head began to glow as the image around them shifted from a starry expanse to a large, bright castle. Hallways zipped by in a flash before stopping in front of a large chamber.
"This is where we shall wait. Once hast found solitude for the innocent ones, we wish to meet with thy fellows as well."
"How will that help us?"
"We will help in thy search of thine vessel."
Maelstrom edged the end of the Magnum's barrel at the temple of the alien.
"What do you know about our ship?" he demanded in a threatening tone.
The alien looked to him cautiously, but not with anger. Instead, it looked almost sad.
"We wish we knew more than we do now. However, with mine sister's assistance, we shall find thy vessel, and aid in thy escape."
Maelstrom hesitated his finger on the trigger for a moment before pulling it back, but kept it in his grasp.
"Where was all this willingness to help when the first of my kind came here?"
"We weren't present at the time. Only today had we been freed from a thousand years of confinement."
'Christ almighty, a thousand years?' Maelstrom thought to himself.
"We understand if thou are hesitant. All we ask is for your consideration."
The ODST thought for a few moments, weighing the options between searching for the Lost in the Stars with just his squad as back-up, finding it with the help of an alien leader, or being betrayed by said leader only a few minutes later. All things considered, he knew that his ODSTs would make it out in one piece. Without further prompting, Maelstrom holstered the Magnum and held out his hand to the alien.
"Maelstrom. Member of the 105th Shock Troops Division and leader of ODST fire-team Nightmare."
A smile came to the face of the alien as it picked up one of its appendages and placed it in Maelstrom's hand.
"Princess Luna. Entity of the Nightly Power, raiser of the Moon, and co-ruler of Equestria. We thank thee graciously for this chance."
Before he could respond, Maelstrom felt everything around him be pulled out at once as he felt a sharp pain in his lungs.
\\\\\\//////
Maelstrom woke up in a coughing fit, the world around him a dark blur. He put a hand out to the ground and slowly started to move. When he began to stand up, he felt a pulsating sensation in every part of his body. Blinking to adjust his sight, Maelstrom looked around the immediate area. Sputnik and Icepick were both watching him closely, the former offering his hand to the Sergeant. Maelstrom firmly grasped it as he was hefted up onto his feet.
"Thanks," he groaned to Sputnik.
"Sir, what was that?" Icepick asked.
The ODST paused as he tried to think back to decades-old medical records.
'Shit, what was it those ONI spooks called it? Bornes? Broens? Come on... oh, right!'
"Boren's Syndrome," Maelstrom stated.
"Never heard of it."
"Rare neurological disorder. Only a few in a million get it."
"Sir, are you gonna be alright for combat?" Sputnik asked hesitantly.
"I'm fine. Docs said that the build-up of stress would either kill me or just... whatever just happened. I'm still here, and I'm fine."
"With all due respect, sir," Icepick argued, "you're clearly not fine. You almost died right then and there! Maybe we should find the ship first and get you some medical attention."
"Private, I've survived the entire Covie war with this disease, it's not gonna kill me now," Maelstrom stated.
"Denied. They told me it'll only happen once, and then that's it. No more worries," Maelstrom lied on the spot. "Now, let's focus on the mission at hand, understood?"
The other troopers exchanged a concerned look before nodding towards Maelstrom.
"Good. Meadow, how long til we get to wherever we need to go?" Maelstrom asked the alien.
"Three hours," it answered.
"Alright. Icepick, Sputnik, go check on the civies."
"Yes, sir," they responded, giving a salute.
The two troopers left Maelstrom as he looked around for his helmet, unaware of the stare that Meadow was giving him.
Princess Celestia watched as the armored train moved in under the cover of the dark morning. She had yet to raise the Sun, and was holding off doing so to see what procurements the First Reclamation had gotten from the alien ship. Apparently, this thing had come down at the same time that her sister had returned. After reading through several reports, and getting agents out to cover up the stories being spawned, Celestia noticed something that clicked together.
Luna mentioned that it was a ship that had broken Nightmare Moon out of her imprisonment. Not only that, but images that on-site recorders had found Equish writing on the hull of the alien vessel, labeling it as: "UNSC Lost in the Stars". How fitting, she realized, that the stars had aided in her escape. Destiny was a frustrating thing, the Princess thought, amazed by the event.
However, Celestia did not think it to be Human in origin, not by a long shot. This vessel's hull, the reports had read, is capable of withstanding dragonflame torches turned to maximum overdrive. No metal on Equis could stay in solid form for so long. Not only that, but its propulsion is non-magical in origin, and is powered by something unimaginably strong. Estimated output by the vessel in its inoperable state are estimated to be more than 8 million times the total electrical output of Equestria and the Griffon empire. To think that Humans, of all creatures, could have built something like that was something akin to comedy in the scientific community.
The Princess did not hold that against her sister, however, since it was probably Nightmare's influence over her psyche that made her sister see Humans as opposed to the actual aliens.
Her thoughts ceased as the armored train hissed to a stop before her, and several Guards began to file out and secure the platform. One in particular bowed to the Princess as she spoke.
"Good morning, Your Highness," the officer spoke as she rose from the bow with a salute. "We've readied the quarantine container with the unknown items, but before we left, reclamation found another crate inside the vessel."
"Oh?" Celestia asked with an eyebrow raised. "What was in it?"
"We have no idea. I suggest we let Science figure it out when we get it through processing."
Celestia nodded.
"Excellent. We've readied the lab's quarantine zone. Begin transport. I'll accompany you."
"Yes ma'am."
With that, the Guards began to line up along the darkened streets of Canterlot, blocking off any intercepting ponies that could see the hazard teams carrying orange boxes through the tunnels leading to the Castle, closely followed by a group carrying a crate with the picture of a skull with wings.
\\\\\\//////
Maelstrom watched as the Sun finally began to rise over the horizon, bathing the landscape in a refreshing, warm light. The ODST could finally see the landscape for what it truly was now, and found himself staring at the beautiful scenery that sped by him.
It looked as though they were going along the surface of a broken lake, with large pockets of water separated by thin strips of land that had lush, green grass across each piece. The tracks beneath the tram seemed to be fixed on the surface of the water at a distance, but when it began to chug over the liquid surface, Maelstrom was amazed to see how clear the blue truly was. If he focused his sight, the ODST could see straight down through the surface and watch as multiple forms of aquatic life began to retreat from the tram. After a few seconds of time over the water, Maelstrom could see large support beams underneath the tracks, keeping them above the water.
The trooper let out a sigh as he slumped back into the space he was in. Opposite of him in the car, Meadow began to wake up and gave a light yawn as she regained consciousness. She blinked until her vision was clear and looked over to the Sergeant.
"Um... g-good morning," she spoke hesitantly. "Are you doing alright?"
"I'm fine," he answered automatically.
"Oh, sorry. I-It's just... that was scary, what happened last night."
"Boren's Syndrome only attacks once, then I'm fine. It passed."
Meadow seemed to visibly shrink under the words alone of the ODST. Wanting to change the subject, Maelstrom pulled out his Magnum and began to run an inspection over it while he talked to Meadow.
"How close are we to your contact's rendezvous?"
"Oh! I almost forgot! Um, hold on."
Meadow retreated to a small semi-office that the tram car had to the side of the control panel and began examining the map. As she did, Maelstrom released the magazine of the Magnum and popped out the round in the chamber. He glimpsed down the barrel and nodded to himself after checking the condition. Maelstrom placed the loose round into the top of the magazine and slammed it back into the Magnum before cocking it once more and held it in his hand.
The world seemed to fade away as he stared at his hand gun, and thought back to the attack of memories before he talked to the illusion of the alien's supposed leader. A certain memory clung to the forefront of his thoughts, and he decided to act on it. Maelstrom pushed his hand out forward and clicked the safety on as he let the Magnum spin on his trigger finger. The weapon spun a few times on his finger before Maelstrom caught it mid-spin and leveled it at one of the birds that got out of the way of the train. The safety kept him from killing the creature, but the ODST was sure that it would have been a nice, clean kill.
"Still got it," he said with a smirk.
"Wow."
Maelstrom looked over to see Meadow staring at him with a small smile which disappeared as soon as he saw it. Immediately, he tried to focus back on what he had asked only a few seconds ago.
Maelstrom nodded to her before reaching over and grabbing his helmet. He slipped it on spoke into the comms.
"Wake up, buttercups. We're arriving at the unknown contact's location in 8 mikes. Prep for combat but don't open fire until I give word."
"Yes, sir!" came the chorused response.
The ODST began to stand up slowly as Meadow began to sit on the strange seat before the console and looked over the devices. Without a word, Maelstrom approached the console and looked out towards the tracks, finding a large rock formation roughly 600 meters ahead.
"I-If you don't mind me asking," Meadow started softly, "what was that spinning thing you were doing?"
Maelstrom sighed as he looked down to his hand at the Magnum.
"Picked it up a few decades ago, before the Covenant War."
"The what?"
"Big war that I spent most of my life fighting in. Doesn't matter. I didn't learn it for me."
"Well, um, why did you learn it, then?"
"My son loved watching old western-style movies. Always loved how the heroes would spin their guns like this," Maelstrom demonstrated once more to the fascination of the alien, "before taking down the bad guys. I spent months trying to figure out how to do it, so when I was on shore-leave, I could show him how cool his old man was."
"Well, he must be very happy."
Maelstrom slowly nodded as he felt his heart ache again.
"Yeah. He loved seeing it. I used to spin this thing about a hundred times a day when I was home. At one point, he asked if he could do that when he becomes a soldier, just like his old man. Proudest moment of my life, right then and there."
"Aw, that's beautiful. How is he now?"
Maelstrom gripped the Magnum hard enough to start losing feeling in his fingers, but eased off as he took a deep breath.
"I don't know. He signed up for the UNSC Marine Corps back in 2537, haven't heard from him since."
"Oh. What year is it now, then?"
"2557."
"Oh."
Silence fell between the two as the rock formation was now only 400 meters away.
Maelstrom had no idea why, but he felt the urge to continue the conversation.
"What about you? Any family or others?"
"Well... my parents were both Unicorns in Canterlot, the capitol city of Equestria. They weren't exactly welcome among their peers since I was born a Pegasus."
'Wow, that's racist,' Maelstrom thought to himself.
"When we moved to Ponyville a few years later, I think I was 9, we had adopted a Human child we found on the side of a road. He... he means so much to me."
At this point, Meadow's face began to turn red as a smile came onto her lips.
"We spent almost every day together. He would help me when we went to get groceries, and I would help him learn to read and write."
"The injured one."
Meadow blinked a few times as she looked up to Maelstrom.
"W-what?"
"It doesn't take a degree in Theoretical Physics to put two and two together to make four. Icepick, the lovely lady with the big knife, told me all about what you had said. So now a question: why are you trying to relocate him?"
"W-well, a few years ago, a law was passed that said that Humans and Ponies can no longer be wed by any courts in Equestria. So, we planned on moving to Minos, but there was already a law in place against Humans traveling as anything besides cargo. We heard about this shipment of Humans being smuggled to a transport, and since the Minotaurs view Humans as a subspecies of themselves, they have the same rights as everyone else there."
"Then why was that one guy trying to kill him?"
Meadow cringed at that mention.
"That... was Brick. He came onto the smuggling ring for the bits, and tried to sleep with me. When he found out Geo and I were going to Minos to get married... you saw the damage. And... stopped it."
"What we saw was an unknown element brutalizing an innocent civilian. We acted as any military or police force would and should have in that situation. I do not regret ordering my men to neutralize the hostile."
"I just... think you could have stopped him without-"
"Keeping an innocent civilian alive? Absolutely not."
"But... what if you just tried to stop him without hurting him?"
"He would have fought back and tried to kill us."
"But does that make it right to you?"
"We just came out of a three decade long war and were under the threat of extinction. Doing things that way isn't something ODSTs are used to, especially when dealing with anything that isn't Human."
Meadow seemed to droop as tears began to form in her eyes.
"Look, they're practically kids, compared to me. All they've known is 'shoot anything that isn't Human'. Obviously, not all of your kind support this look on my kind, right?"
Meadow nodded.
"Y-yes. There are several Dukes that are against the anti-Human campaigns, like Fancy Pants and Blueblood, as well as some high members of the multiple Guard divisions."
"And one of your Princesses."
"W-what?"
Meadow was looking at Maelstrom with a sense of confusion and fear before he spoke again.
"When I blacked out, your Princess did some weird communications thing. She was blue, had hair like the night sky, picture of a moon on her back, think her name was... Luna?"
"P-P-P-Princess L-Luna?" Meadow asked as she began to shake.
"Yeah, why? What's wrong with her?"
"S-she's... back? Is she no longer Nightmare Moon?"
'And this just got weird,' Maelstrom thought to himself.
"And she saw you? She spoke to you?"
"Apparently she's been wanting to help us since she saw us land. Didn't get a chance to talk until I had that seizure, though."
"Do... do you think she had something to do with your..."
Maelstrom paused as he thought about the possibility of Luna's involvement with his attack. Boren's Syndrome didn't actually cause spasms that violent, if any at all. She had been waiting to talk to him when he was unconscious, though, and that was eerie enough without thinking to connect the dots.
"Maybe... gonna have to talk this out later."
"Are you going to meet her?"
Maelstrom nodded.
"She gave me a vision of some kind. I know where she wants to meet me, and she even gave me a little tour of some secret passages. We're heading there as soon as this little excursion is over. Speaking of," Maelstrom trailed off as he saw the rocks begin to give way to the tram's path.
As the tram began to grind to a halt, the trails began to curve into the rock formation and broke apart to reveal a massive balloon-based vehicle. Outside of it were creatures that were certainly somewhere between the ODSTs' definitions of "friendly" and "shoot first, questions later".
"The Hell are those?" Maelstrom asked.
"Minotaurs," Meadow answered.
Their top halves were mainly Human, save for their faces which resembled that of the other aliens he had seen on the planet, thus far, except they had horns on both sides of their heads. Instead of skin colors, however, they were differentiated by fur colors, ranging from blues to browns, and everything in between. The legs of each one were colored similarly to their torsos, but were more like the back legs of the alien next to him. All of them wore some kind of plated armor, and were carrying swords and shields. When they saw the tram coming, they began to move for it, only to stop as Maelstrom hopped out.
"Nightmare, out of the tram, but don't open fire until I give word."
Behind him, several doors opened to reveal the rest of fire-team Nightmare, all exiting the tram with their visors turned to their signature setting, with the flaming skulls of the ODSTs overtaking the silver plating. Maelstrom did the same as he watched the reticle for his Magnum center on his HUD. When they were all close enough, Maelstrom signaled for the ODSTs to stop. The Minotaurs watched dumbfounded as the troopers held a line of only seven against fifty. A deep chuckled sounded through the area, and the largest one walked towards Maelstrom. This one was a dark brown, standing nearly six-foot, eight-inches tall. It had a ring going through its nostril, and wore round plates of armor that swayed as it walked, hanging off of some fabric. On its back was a massive hammer, the head of which was almost the width of an Assault Rifle.
"Well now," it spoke in a deep, masculine baritone, "what have we here? Humans in armor? What are you doing?" it asked with a wide smile.
"Hold on!" Meadow called from behind the line of ODSTs.
All the Minotaurs looked beyond the seven soldiers to see a pegasus moving to open each and every car of the tram and revealed several large groups of Human civilians. Just as a few Minotaurs began to move, Sputnik leveled his SMG at the group, shaking his head.
"Don't move," he threatened.
"Or what? You'll hit us with a miniature arrow?" one of the Minotaurs asked.
"I'd suggest you listen to my fellow troopers. We're very short tempered, as of late."
The large one was frowning slightly now, though it was more out of confusion than anger.
"What are you Humans doing?"
"Making sure this 'deal' isn't a trap. We heard you're taking these civies to some place safe for them. I want details."
"On who's authority?" the Minotaur asked, leaning down to look Maelstrom in the visor.
"My God-damn authority," Maelstrom responded as he leveled the barrel of his Magnum at the Minotaur's chin.
The two held that position as the tension in the air bean to boil. The civilians were weary of getting off of the tram, understandably, while the Minotaurs continued to eye the ODSTs with anger and confusion. Finally, the leader broke into a smile and backed away from Maelstrom, patting him on the shoulder.
"You've got guts like a Dragon. I like that. Alright, how about we all sit down and get this sorted out?"
"Sir," another Minotaur, this one much shorter than even the ODSTs, spoke, "we have to be back before the storm hits, otherwise we'll be stuck for another month!"
"Hmph. Right. Well, how do we get you to trust us?"
"We search your ship and watch the civilians being brought in. Anything we see that we don't like, we're out of here. All of us."
The Minotaur held out its beefy hand for a shake.
"Steel Battalion."
Maelstrom looked at the hand before placing the Magnum in its holster and gripping tightly.
"Maelstrom."
The ODST let go as the Minotaur stared at his own hand with wide eyes.
"My my, some truly strong Humans! I'd be happy to have you aboard the Freedom's Dream."
Applejack woke up with a soft yawn as she sat up in her bed. Outside the window, she could hear the rooster calling out the morning for everypony in the house, as well as everyone in the barn. The farmer smiled as she thought of the previous few days, what with the Apple Family Reunion, the fall of Nightmare Moon, and even something that hit closer to home for her.
Grabbing for her Stetson, Applejack swiftly, yet precisely, made her bed and was already out the door faster than most would upon waking up. Applejack sniffed the air outside her room, and to her delight, found it to be full of a wonderful, delicious scent. She trotted down the stairs and went straight for the kitchen, the sounds of a filly following her closely.
"Mornin' sis!" Apple Bloom beamed. "Didja sleep alright?"
"Course Ah did, sis," Applejack replied as she hugged Apple Bloom, "ain't nothin' ta worry 'bout."
"Sorry, it's just that, well, you beat Nightmare Moon!" the filly exclaimed as she raised her front hooves in the air. "Ah thought that'd take a little bit outta ya."
"Same 'ere. But don't fret none, cause Ah'm just fine," Applejack said before nuzzling her sister.
"Ah'm glad you made it back," Apple Bloom muttered as she reached up to give Applejack a hug.
"Ah'm glad, too," Applejack said with a warm smile as she returned the gesture.
"Room for one more?" a small, male voice asked.
Applejack looked behind her and smiled when she saw the source of the voice.
"Course we got room for you, Oak," Applejack said with a blush as she opened up for another hug.
The Human in question had a red tinge on his cheeks as well as he joined the hug. Applejack examined his small yet defined muscles, wavy length of black hair, and pale green eyes that melted with the reflection of her own emerald ones. They all held on to each other, though Oak was kneeling on one limb to adjust his height.
"I'm so happy you're safe, Applejack," he whispered into her ear.
"Rememberin' mah family kept me goin'," she replied before rubbing her cheek on his.
A small ringing sound came from the kitchen before an elderly voice called out to them.
"Git your breakfast, 'fore Ah gobble it down mahself!" Granny Smith called.
The trio broke apart from their embrace and happily made their way to the dinning area. Apple Bloom turned her head and shouted towards the stairs.
"Come on, Big Mac! Breakfast's ready!"
\\\\\\//////
The large red stallion had heard the call for breakfast already, but ignored it as he watched the gates of Sweet Apple Acres. Around an hour ago, now, he had been woken up by some strange noises from the window. After peering through the glass to find the source of the disturbance, he saw several chariots and carriages being pulled before their property. A part of him wanted to shoo them off the Apple Family land, but knew it wouldn't help any situation until he had some kind of information.
Right now, however, all he knew was that they were all unloading something big. Something that needed a lot of magic. He could sense it. The magic from the ground beneath this land flowed within not only him, but within his siblings as well.
Almost as soon as they started the machine, it powered down, and they began to move for the gates. A few ponies in grey armor brought out magic-cutters and incinerated the lock on the gate, allowing it to swing open.
"They'd better have good insurance," Big Mac commented as he rushed out of his room. "Applejack! We've got trouble at the gate!"
Big Mac didn't stop to hear what his sister had to say, and bolted through the door of the farmhouse as Applejack shot out in pursuit.
\\\\\\//////
Black Ink watched as her security forces opened the farm gates for the rest of the teams to move through. A sigh escaped her lips as she could practically sense the oncoming barrage of fury and threats from the local farmers. That didn't matter to her, however, since she had one of her greatest cover-up methods secured in her pitch-black mane. As Black Ink entered the gates, she let herself run through the list of objectives and scenarios for when they began to search for anything relevant to their previous studies.
"What do ya'll think yer doin'!?" came a furious accent.
'Oh joy, here we go,' Black Ink thought to herself.
The security teams drew fan-blades and halted the attackers back as Black Ink moved in to see who had decided to get in their way.
\\\\\\//////
Applejack was beyond any countryisms for her rage. She was downright pissed at whoever thought they could break into Sweet Apple Acres while she was breathing. The farmer had charged the invading ponies at full-speed before they pushed her back with a blade to her throat. Cautiously eying the piece of metal at her neck, Applejack looked at the armored pony to see the armor they were wearing. It was all a dark-grey steel, and covered both of the pegasus' wings with fan-like blades that seemed to fit on every feather. The helmet, however, was what convinced her that they weren't a part of the Guard. Instead of having the face and neck exposed while pushing the mane out through a small crevice, this helmet had a chain-mail like texture around the neck, kept a black piece of glass in front of the entire face, save for the snout, which had its own little gas-mask. The top of the helmet was more like a Griffon's, being a simple piece of metal that covered a majority of the head. And finally, where the ears should have been, were rectangular prisms that had some wires going across them.
"Halt," a stern, muffled voice spoke from the helmet, "you are interfering with official Equestrian Government operations. Return to your homes or we will be forced to take action."
"Return to- ya'll are invadin' mah home!" Applejack shouted. "What gives ya'll the right ta come ta mah land and destroy mah property!? Ain't no part o' the law that says that!"
"Miss, please calm down," another voice spoke.
Applejack looked up to see a unicorn mare with a black mane, tied up in a bun, with dark gray fur, and a white lab coat walk over to her. For some reason, though, Applejack couldn't place a color on her eyes.
"Calm down!? Ya break open mah gates and storm in 'ere, then shove some knives in my throat, and tell me that AH'M the one that needs ta calm down!? What the buck kinda crazies are ya!?"
The unicorn's horn lit up with a faint, almost nonexistent grey glow and levitated out a scroll of parchment. It unraveled before Applejack, allowing her to read it.
By The Order of Her Majesty, Princess Celestia, Sweet Apple Acres Will Undergo a Thorough Inspection of any Contaminant Prior to Establishing a Royal Supply To be Delivered to Canterlot Castle To Ensure the Quality and Cleanliness of any Future Shipment.
The Inspectors are to NOT be Disturbed under ANY AND ALL Circumstances. Anypony/one Caught Intruding the Inspectors' Equipment or Endangering Personnel WILL BE JUDGED UNDER PRETENSES FOR TREASON.
Diarch of Equestria, -Princess Celestia
Applejack was unable to move, trying to process what she had read.
"In case you don't get the gist of it," the mare explained, "we're here to make sure your product is worthy quality of the Royal Seal. Her Majesty, Princess Celestia herself, chose us to make sure that this land and all those that work here are in a good enough condition to allow your product through the castle gates. I assure you, that once you pass, we'll pay for any damages on site. And trust me, Princess Celestia was very keen on ensuring this place has some known name in the palace. We're just here to make sure the local water supply, air quality, and local wildlife and fauna don't interfere too severely with what you and your... help, are growing."
The farmer was still unable to respond at the time, simply weighing her emotions and knowledge to try and find some cohesive thought on the situation.
Big Mac, however, was already ahead of her.
"So that means ya'll are just gonna go 'round, tearin' out trees, putting junk in our water, and testin' our workers?"
"Not entirely, no. We'll just be on the opposite side of the compound, by the edge of the Everfree Forest, scanning the water and plants around your farm. You'll barely notice us."
With that, the mare turned and walked away, motioning for the armored ponies to follow. The one in front of Applejack lowered his wing and bowed slightly before returning to the coated mare's side.
"W-wha..." Applejack struggled to form words.
"You're gonna have a word with Twilight 'bout this, aren't cha?" Big Mac asked.
Applejack nodded.
"Eeyup."
\\\\\\//////
Luna blinked as her surroundings began to fade in once more. This time, however, instead of seeing the hooves of her sister, she saw a white room with a window.
"Ah, Princess, good to see you're awake."
The Princess of the Night looked over to see a new Pony she hadn't met yet. However, she could recognize the armor he wore without even having to look at it for more than a fraction of a second.
"Greetings, fair Captain of the Night Watch," Luna greeted.
The Captain bowed to her as he spoke.
"Thank you, Princess, but I'm afraid nopony calls it that anymore. We go by the title of the 'Lunar Guard,' now."
That name gave a flutter to Luna's chest.
"Excellent news. What be thy name, Captain?"
"Captain Blade Wing of Her Majesties' Royal Lunar Guard."
"We thank thee for keeping watch, Captain Blade Wing. Pray tell, what circumstance caused Us to waken within these blinding confines?"
"Apologies, your majesty. My Lieutenants and I were on our way to introduce ourselves to you when we saw your magical backlash. We assumed that it was because you haven't adjusted to the magical aura of the Moon since... your, untimely absence."
Luna shook her head as she started to sit up.
"Fret not to speak with truth, Captain. I acknowledge that We were once a true nightmare to Equestria. Now, however, We only seek to find our place within the Equestrian Society."
Blade nodded as he offered a hoof to the Princess.
"You have our support, Princess."
Luna smiled warmly as she accepted the helping hoof. She felt comfort in knowing that there were already ponies willing to look beyond her time as Nightmare Moon, and accept her. However, she knew there was still something urgent that needed to be done.
"Captain Blade, fetch us a Scribe. We wish to seek out those that dare to keep customs such as slavery alive."
"You mean... the Humans?"
"Indeed. We hath not seen this species before our imprisonment, and to see an entire race subjugated thusly... we believe there are still those that are in need of a visit."
"Princess," Blade spoke in a worried tone.
"Not Us, of course. We must acquaint ourselves with the Council as well as current politics. There are others that can bring... a different perspective, if thou will, to those that need a new light."
Once again, Blade nodded.
"Of course, your Highness."
Blade strode out of the room, leaving Princess Luna under the watch of two more Lunar Guards who bowed when in her sight.
'Perhaps this, Maelstrom, and his fellow soldiers could demonstrate what their definition of a "Nightmare" is to slavers,' Luna thought darkly.
\\\\\\//////
Geo pushed against the seat he was in to feel the softness of the whole thing. The map enthusiast had never even dreamed of something this comfortable! He felt as though he was going to fall asleep the moment he sat down. Around him, Geo could see the other former slaves sharing the same idea, while a few were already a few steps ahead. The Minotaurs had been going around and giving out plates of steamy, buttery meals, and were even sitting down and talking to some of the former slaves. There was even a female Minotaur that had sat down to eat with him a few minutes ago. She had taken one of his celery stalks and slid it underneath her shirt, saying he could have it when she, "dipped it in secret sauce". He had hoped that whatever it was, it would be as good as the rest of the food was.
There was a loud clang above the large space where all the Humans slept, and several occupants looked up. When they did, however, they felt a sense of dread and fear. Above them all were several armored figures. Two of them were Minotaurs, one being massive to the point of absurdity, while the other was almost half his height. What was frightening, however, were the armored Humans from before. Only two of them were looking at the compartment, but the silver face-things on their heads were covered in a horrifying image of a flaming skull with red eyes. One had an eye patch over its left eye, while the other had an image of a cigar underneath it. The images weren't glowing, though, they looked like they were already a part of the metal, seamlessly merging with the plated faces.
The large Minotaur turned to the one with the cigar image on his helmet and held a hand out over the railing to the compartment. Perhaps they were talking about something, but Geo couldn't hear them. After about a minute of talking (mostly from the Minotaur), the Human nodded and held out his hand for the Minotaur to shake. Once they did, the Humans turned around and began to walk.
\\\\\\//////
"Permission to speak freely, sir?" Black Eye asked.
"Granted."
"This looks pretty good, right now. I mean, they're giving them first-class seats and fresh food, by the looks of it."
"Yeah, they are."
"Not only that, but that Steel guy seemed actually impressed when he saw us."
"As he should be. Before Spartans became the standard sign-up and present-veins kind of thing, us ODSTs are the baddest motherfuckers this side of the Galaxy."
"Damn straight, sir."
The ODSTs found the hatch to the outside once more and stepped through. Behind them, Steel Battalion watched as they left for the tram.
"Humans," Steel called to them, "do me a favor if you go to Canterlot."
Maelstrom stopped in his tracks and turned to face the Minotaur.
"What's that?"
"Be sure to give those supporters a pat on the back. And also to give the arse-holes that hate Humans a knife in the throat."
The ODSTs shared a dark chuckle at that joke.
"When we're done with the anti-Human ones, they'll be begging for something that quick."
Steel Battalion saluted the ODSTs, which the Sergeant returned casually before shutting the door to the airship. Fire-team Nightmare watched as the massive balloon began to expand as waves of heat rolled over them. A large set of thrusters ignited underneath the archaic ship as streams of fire and smoke poured out in opposing directions. The massive hunk of metal lurched into the air and extended several fins on the exterior. Once it had risen above the rock cover, a gust of wind pushed the ship to the left, and the large metal airship was out of sight in minutes.
"Good shit, that thing's slower than a Grunt," Cowbell commented.
Maelstrom began to walk back to the tram, motioning for his team to follow as he spoke.
"Turns out that little episode I had may have had an outside influence. One of the leaders of the country we're in now decided she wanted to talk with me."
"By giving you a fucking seizure!?" Blind asked, stunned by the implications.
"Maybe she didn't know. Point is, if she wanted me dead, I'd be dead right now. She said that when Lost in the Stars entered their planet's orbit, she was woken up from something. And just as our luck would have it, she's now on our side. We're going to take this tram up to some mountain city, Canter-something, and meet this, 'Princess Luna' to discuss how we're freeing every Human on this planet."
"With all due respect, sir," Icepick started, "do you really think this is our best option right now?"
"Aside from wasting months, maybe years looking for the ship on our own with no back-up or fallback plan? Not to mention less than a week's supply of rations and God knows how much ammo? We've got no choice."
"What if it's a trap, sir?" Black Eye asked.
"Then we spring it, break it, and kick the ass of whoever thought to set it up."
The ODSTs were about to get ready to hunker down in their respective tram cars before they heard some muffled banging sounds from the interior. Suddenly, one of them realized something they had forgotten about long ago.
"Aw shit, we forgot about the other prisoners," Cowbell stated.
As it turned out, there were only two prisoners that Nightmare had captured, and both were fully cooperative, much to the ODSTs' convenience. The one with the scarf had pointed them in the direction of Canterlot, and within two hours, the pair of prisoners were assisting with the tram's operations and swore to never speak a word of this to anyone, so long as they lived.
As they went along the tracks, Maelstrom stayed at the control panel in case the one with the scarf, named Doctor, decided to go back on his word. Every time Maelstrom checked in on him, Doctor simply smiled at him. Dismissing the captive, Maelstrom switched on his comms in the confines of his helmet.
"Alright, equipment check. What's everyone got?"
"Icepick, checking in. I've got three mags for my DMR, four for my SMG, and two for my Magnum."
"Sputnik, checking in. Counting eight mags for both SMG and Magnum, and three Frag grenades."
"Black Eye, checking in. Twelve extra rounds for my Shotgun, one Frag grenade, and two mags for my SMG and Magnum."
"Melt, checking in. I'm in the aft cart with Blind and Cowbell. We're checking over what we've got left for now. Stand by."
Several seconds of radio silence went by before Melt spoke again.
"Counting two Plasma Rifles, two Plasma Pistols, one Carbine, and six Plasma grenades."
"Blind, checking in. Count a total of twenty magazines for my Sniper Rifle, and four mags for my Magnum."
"Cowbell, checking in. I grabbed everything I could before we jumped, sir. Counting twenty canisters of C-7 foaming explosives, four extra rocket tubes, six mags for my SMG, eight Frag grenades, and one extra case of ammo for our M7s and Magnums, at least thirty each. Oh, and we've got two First-Aid kits."
"Christ, Cowbell, we're trying to be stealthy here! How the Hell are we going to sneak any of that into a capital city?" Maelstrom replied.
"Well, it's not like they're that big, sir. We can each carry something. I'll take the C-7 and rockets, but someone's carrying the grenades," the heavy offered.
"No telling how long we'll be suck here, sir," Sputnik spoke. "We'll need all the ammo we can get. I'll take the extra mags."
"I'll carry the First-Aid kits," Icepick spoke.
"And I'm taking the grenades," Maelstrom finished. "I want everyone ready to go in ten mikes. Sputnik, I need you to run those grenades up to me. I need to watch for when we start to close in on our destination."
"Yes, sir."
With that, the ODSTs began to prepare their equipment for a stealth run in broad daylight.
\\\\\\//////
Luna walked through the halls of Canterlot Castle, eying each and every window, column, and portrait that she walked by. A large number of them involved some historical event, usually involving Celestia, or some other significant individual that she hasn't been able to read of yet. A great number of them, she noticed, were mainly unicorns, with golden name plates underneath them. Few showed portraits of similar figures accepting awards or prizes from Celestia or another face from the further end of the rows of pictures.
Lost in her thoughts, Luna failed to notice her sister walking towards her with several files held aloft in her magical grip. The Princess of the Night almost tripped over her own hooves as she finally saw Celestia next to her.
"Sorry, Luna," Celestia spoke as she leaned her head closer, "I didn't mean to startle you. Are you alright?"
Luna breathed deeply as she thought of what to answer with. In the end, the truth won out.
"We have concern for our know of these faces, and their roles from times long passed. We worry that thine subjects shall question our return, and test our knowledge to prove our loyalties."
Celestia came up to Luna's side and wrapped a wing around her as they nuzzled.
"Don't worry about it, Luna. You can greet the public when you think you're ready. And when you do, I'll stand by you, one-hundred percent. The only thing, I assure you, that's worth worrying about are the nobles. Just take your time. I'm here for you."
Luna slipped her wing up against Celestia's barrel, trying to reach her back in her weakened form.
"We thank thee eternally, dearest sister."
Celestia held Luna close and then looked around the immediate hallways. Her horn lit up before they were both teleported into a dark room with only two doors. Luna looked around frantically, surprised by the sudden change of environment.
"What hath transpired!?" Luna asked.
"Relax, sister," Celestia said in a calm tone.
Luna broke contact with her sister as she looked around the room. The ceiling was nowhere near as tall as the halls they were in, though still tall enough to fit one of those "trains" from earlier, and were made of thick grey bricks. The entire room was grey, only with two things standing out, being the two entrances to the room. One looked like a simple door, made of glass panes, and the opposite one looked like it was the entrance to a fort with massive bars of metal and chains barricading it.
"Where have we gone, sister?" Luna asked, perplexed.
"We're in the entrance to the Equestrian Reclamation Force. Beyond this room, we have hundreds of ponies, Griffons, Minotaurs, Deer, Zebras, you name it, working around the clock to study alien technology."
Luna froze. Did her sister believe her now? Did they find the Human's ship?
Or did her sister know all along, and was waiting to tell her?
"Recently, we've secured two locations of possible Reclamation, and are looking for any relics. One of them, was a ship that crashed the night you returned."
Luna turned to see Celestia smiling at her.
"Dost thou believe us, now?"
"About the ship, absolutely. But the part about Humans, no. There's no possible way for Humans to have anything to do with this thing. According to our field reports," she said while holding up a folder, "this technology is using metals anyone on this planet can't make yet, and won't for at least a few decades. Another thing is, it doesn't run on any magic. The calculations behind the amount of power needed to lift it into the air under its own power are beyond anything either of us could do magically. Not to mention several other scans they've done that suggest-"
"Sister!" Luna interrupted. "We understand. Thou shalt not believe our words lest we show proof."
Celestia walked over to Luna as she spoke.
"Luna, I didn't mean to insult you. I'm just saying that you were still under Nightmare's influence then, and you were likely being tricked."
The Lunar Princess looked up to her sister as she closed the gap to nuzzle once again.
"We still know where the truth lay, sister. We hath seen them again. We art sure of this."
Celestia sighed as she backed away from her sister's embrace and turned towards the glass door.
"Alright. I won't try to push this now, but I'm certain that after some time spent here, you'll forget about that."
"Pertaining to our prior discussion, pray tell, what purpose doth this room serve?"
"It's an advanced teleportation tracking grid. If anyone, or thing, tries to teleport either in or out of the facility, a sensory spell is activated and redirects the exit-point of the teleport and erects a barrier around it, in here. Right now, only you and I are capable of leaving or entering the facility. This area also serves as the main staging area for launching Recovery or Reclamation operations. As I said before, two operations are already in progress."
Celestia beckoned her sister to follow as she neared the glass doors. Once both Princesses were close, a part of the stones became transparent, and revealed a grey-furred, white-maned security officer.
"Ah, good morning, your Highnesses," he said with a small bow. "Here to finish the process?" he asked, giving Celestia a knowing look.
"We are, yes."
The stallion shot off a quick salute before pulling a lever. The glass doors hissed and slid open, revealing a white, smooth hallway.
"Come, we have much to discuss," Celestia said as she began to walk down the hallway.
Luna looked back at the security checkpoint as the doors slid to a close.
"Sister, why hath that Guard addressed us in such a manner?"
"It's one of the established rules in this facility, sister. I've told them to address me as they would any of their colleagues so that when I come through, they don't jeopardize any experiments by trying to bow or stumble over greeting me. It's also one of the reasons I've thought about going through with this."
"With what?" Luna asked.
"Luna, I don't want to admit how painfully long it'll be until you're welcomed back into the courts. Tartarus, today, nobles were screaming their heads off, trying to warn me that Nightmare Moon was seen walking the halls of the Castle."
Luna cringed at that.
"So, I thought that since you need time until the nobles are more accepting of your presence, and since I don't want any more secrets to be kept between us, that I'd hoof over this department, to you."
Luna nearly stopped then and there.
"Thou wish for Us to operate this facility?"
"Not on your own, no. There are already several officers in place that monitor all of our major operations and research divisions, but I think it's important that these discoveries are kept from the rest of the world until everypony, and everyone, are ready for them. Ah, here we are."
They stopped before a flat, smooth wall with a small, round indent in the center. Celestia pressed her horseshoe into the groove and twisted it to the right around sixty degrees before pulling back as the wall began to click. After a loud clunk, the wall split apart to reveal an elevator. Both of the alicorns stepped inside as the doors closed once again and began to take them down to the labs.
"It's not just for the security or the time needed to accept you either, Lulu," Celestia started again. "I want you to try conversing with these ponies and become social. One of the biggest reasons for... you know who taking over, was because I didn't want to expose you to those filthy political figures that only wanted our power. I was so afraid of what would happen if you faced them, that I never let you meet anypony. It was because of the isolation I put you in that-"
Celestia stopped talking as she felt her sister's hooves reach around her shoulders for a hug.
"Sister, I beg of thee, do not blame thyself for Our misdirection. Thou had only good intentions, yet We did not see it that way."
The two simply held each other in silence as the elevator continued to descend. After a few minutes of silence, they broke apart and Celestia continued.
"Regardless, I wanted to give you this so that you could actually interact with ponies that are caught up with current events, and learn about the world through something other than books. It'll help you adjust your vocabulary and prepare you for when your court is back in session."
"We thank thee greatly, sister."
After another minute of silence, the doors slid open once more and revealed a massive open space. The entire facility was practically exposed at once to the entrance way, and was similar to a coliseum. Hundreds of ponies in white coats were moving about, going from indescribable thing to indescribable thing. The noises of talking faded away to Luna as she gazed upon several large walls that were blocking off the rest of the facility from view.
"Here we have the main research department, also known as 'Science Mountain'," Celestia explained as she extended her wings.
"Art thou sure of the safety here to fly?"
"Everything's sealed off in individual crystal chambers, so flying between stations doesn't effect any of the experiments. They're also one-way visual crystals, so feel free to look inside."
Luna nodded and began to flap her wings. Slowly but surely, she got into the air and waited until her sister began to glide downwards and followed. Below, she could see several chambers where pegasi were testing some kind of harness that was locked to their wings. Unicorns and scientists were experimenting with several books that were kept at a distance from the herds of researchers. Some stations had just rows of ponies and deer simply sitting and attending to large, white things that they vigorously kicked away at.
"Here, they test out several artifacts that we've found over the centuries and document what effects they have and how to apply their magics to what we have today. Sometimes it leads to a breakthrough that's good for all of Equestria, such as gas-free lamps and communication without the need for magic or training. I remember showing you one of the train ride to Canterlot."
Luna remembered back to when she had seen the "radio" and nodded. She looked ahead and saw that they were getting close to one of the large barriers between Science Mountain and another wing of the facility.
"Ahead is the entrance to the military sciences division, otherwise known as 'Dead Field'," Celestia explained.
"Why 'Dead Field'?" Luna asked.
"Because they said, 'there's no room for Green-Grass'. It's a term the Guard uses for new recruits."
"Have We seen the products of this facility recently?"
"I'm afraid not," Celestia said with a frown. "The advancements we've made here are beyond expensive, and haven't been announced. The research teams concluded that if we were to introduce these technologies now, it'd spark several conflicts that aren't able to progress because they lack what we have here, like the Minos Isles being bombarded by Righteous Wing Rebels. If either side had the equipment we have here, either the Minotaurs will wipe out the military bases ashore the Griffon islands, and kill thousands, or the Rebels will likely use enhanced shields to break through the Minotaur artillery line and destroy hundreds of square acres of valuable farmland."
"So thou hast been keeping secrets from our world to avoid escalating conflict," Luna stated.
"Believe me, I don't want to keep these secrets. I just wish we didn't need to."
"Need?"
Celestia took on a regretful look before she began to flap her wings to slow down. Luna did the same as they began to close in on the massive doors that lead to the Dead Field. When they landed, they were approached by two pegasi in strange armor, similar to that of Maelstrom, she noticed. One of them waved a hoof by her form as Luna felt a slight tingle from it. After a few seconds of this, they nodded and gave a quick salute before standing still once more.
"Security scans to ensure nothing undesired gets in or out," Celestia explained.
Luna didn't have time to elaborate as a loud groan rung from the massive door before them. Slowly, a section of the massive barrier opened up to around a tenth of the entrance's width, which was still large enough for at lest five others standing side-to-side. The two Princesses made their way through the entrance as the white surfaces and open space were replaced with dark-grey cement and hallways laid with steel doors. As the door closed behind them, Celestia strode forward and spoke.
"Welcome to Dead Field. In here, we build and maintain weapons that ensure the peace and stability of Equis."
\\\\\\//////
Maelstrom watched with baited breath as the tram slowed down into the station that connected to the white and gold city. The entirety of the mountain-stationed capital was seemingly glowing with sheer beauty, reminding him all too much of the paradise once known as Arcadia. Images of his old home and family flashed in his eyes again as he tried to shake away his emotions. He kept his gaze on the scarf-wearing Doctor as the tram began to get into the range of the golden gates. Entire rows of guards were lined up in gold-colored armor, watching the transport. Maelstrom ducked into the compartment in the Control Car and listened to the world around him.
A few seconds later, he felt the tram come to a stop as metal contacted metal, and a voice spoke outside the door.
"Reason for bringing this in?" a gruff voice asked.
"Oh, just needed to leave it someplace safe while my companion and I get some rest. Lots of traveling and such, you know," he heard Doctor reply.
"Alright, let's just see those forms, then."
Everything went quiet as Maelstrom waited for whoever was out there stayed quiet.
"Well, everything's in order. Enjoy your time in Canterlot," the voice stated.
"Of course."
More clangs against the metal sounded out before Maelstrom felt the tram shift again, crawling along the tracks.
"Maelstrom to Nightmare, any visual?" he spoke into the comms.
"Both occupants have gotten off, and we're being dragged into the docks," Melt responded. "ETA, five mikes until we're inside."
"Get ready, Nightmare. Non-lethal when they start sweeping, keep quiet, and keep radio-silent."
Green lights flashed across his HUD as Maelstrom gripped his Magnum tighter.
Minutes turned to hours as the ODSTs waited for the tram to stop moving once again, and held their breath unknowingly as it hissed to a stop. The wait became unbearable as they continued to wait for any more voices saying they were going to sweep the tram. Maelstrom cautiously reached for the door to the outside and carefully cracked open the door. He swept his Magnum across the field of vision and found that the tram was deposited into a dark warehouse. Slits of windows provided barely any noticeable light, and not a sound came from outside.
Maelstrom flashed the team-status on his HUD to signal his teammates, and waited for them to check. Seconds later, green flashed against his face once again, and the ODSTs began to slowly exit the tram.
Maelstrom touched down onto the gravel as he looked around to see dozens of unattended trams made of wood and steel, a few of which were colored pink or purple for some reason. Behind him, the rest of Nightmare swept the immediate area, listening for any signs of patrols or guards. When nothing happened, Maelstrom raised his hand and motioned for them to move forward.
\\\\\\//////
Steel Wool sighed as he wet the rag in his magical grip and began to scrub it against the Guard Post that stood between the train depot and the loading station into Canterlot. Inside the booth, a Royal Guard was sleeping with the morning's paper covering his snoring muzzle. Wool noticed it was flipped to the sports section, and was angered by the fact that the Maresville Wolverines were beaten 27-6 by the Cloudsdale Thunderclaps. He lost almost 300 bits in a bet, and wasn't looking forward to admitting defeat in Hooves-Down, his favorite sports bar.
He began to run the rag against the booth and began to glare at it, scrubbing harder to try and sate his anger.
"Stupid... my daughter could have made that throw," he grumbled to himself.
Behind him, seven figures in black armor eyed him cautiously as they stuck to the shadows of the loading area, keeping their weapons trained on him as they looked for a way forward.
\\\\\\//////
Luna watched as the military ponies were going through various exorcizes and drills, wearing strange armors and carrying odd weapons. Some had blades that ran across their wings, while others were equipped with iron boots that glowed. A few ponies in white coats had said their greetings to both Princesses as they passed through the halls, examining every aspect available as Celestia lead them.
"Where is our destination, sister?" Luna asked.
"We're going to the Overseer Office, where you can monitor everything in the facility and make any announcements you wish."
After a few more minutes of walking, they arrived at another elevator and rode it up. When they exited, they found themselves in the center of a large, circular room that looked over the entire expanse of the entire underground facility, including Science Mountain, Dead Field, and another part she didn't see yet. All the walls were made of crystal, and between them and the rest of the large room, were desks with long rods that ended in black spheres. One desk that pointed to the main entrance, she could tell by the large tube heading upwards, and had several lights and buttons that were all different ranges of colors. Celestia approached the console and pressed a hoof against the large, blue button.
\\\\\\//////
"Alright, test in 3-"
The sound of the intercom broadcasting stopped Strange from testing the strange devices that Reclamation had found in the alien ship. Him and his colleagues looked to the speaker and waited for what was to be said.
"Attention everypony," Princess Celestia's voice rung through static, "as of today, I hereby resign my dominance over the Reclamation Foundation."
All the scientists began to look between each other, gauging the possibilities of what they would do if they all lost their jobs at once.
"In my place," she continued, "I want to introduce the newest head of the facility. My beloved sister, Princess Luna. I expect you all to treat her with the same respect that you showed me, and help her feel welcomed in not only this facility, but welcomed back to Equestria."
Maelstrom kept his eyes trained on the two gold-armored soldiers that were patrolling the grounds and laughing with each other. Right now, fire-team Nightmare were in the same bush behind him, waiting for the two to pass by. So far, they were disgusted with the downright shitty excuse for guards of their capital city. The ODST Sergeant had memorized the path that Princess Luna had shared with him, and saw that they were literally one turn away from being in the so called, "Royal Palace," wherein the ODSTs would meet this leader for whatever reason. If it was a trap, Maelstrom decided that they would spring it, and hold their leader hostage until either they agreed to free whatever Humans were on the planet, or until the UNSC came by and mopped the place up.
The two guards turned another corner and left the grassy area wide open and unwatched.
Maelstrom brought his hand up and motioned for the ODSTs to move forward.
In a second's notice, the seven troopers burst from the bushes. Maelstrom ducked underneath the massive window that let them see into the pristine castle, and waited for the rest of Nightmare to line up beneath the massive pane of glass. The ODST motioned upward to Blind before they slowly looked over the small barrier and into the hallway.
Nothing.
Maelstrom ducked back down and motioned towards the ground, where a large grate was left slightly ajar. Icepick and Black Eye removed the large lid before Maelstrom signaled his team to go down into it. First Melt went in, swept the immediate area, and then gave the "All-Clear". Sputnik followed right after, then in went Cowbell, Icepick, Black Eye, who handed the cover over to Maelstrom, Blind, and then the Sergeant himself. Once they were all underneath the ground, Maelstrom slid the cover back over the opening, and examined the tunnel. From what he had been told, this was part of an emergency escape system, should the premises come under attack and holding ground wasn't an option.
The ODSTs began slowly crawling through the tunnels, adjusting so that Maelstrom could head their trek through the decrepit system. They had quite a walk ahead of them.
\\\\\\//////
Shining Armor watched with a furrowed brow as another dragonflame-magicutter was thrown aside, completely spent from attempting to cut through the armored barrier into the alien vessel. So far, they had used up 17 fully charged burners and haven't even cut halfway through the small doorway. Now was about the time that the Captain of the Royal Guard was beginning to understand the sheer weight against Equestria's abilities, now that it was being put to the test against an actual alien ship. If they were to fully assault Equis as it was, no one would stand a chance.
"Alright, pack it in for now," Shining Armor ordered.
The technicians sighed tiredly before packing up the magicutter and stepping away from the armored door. The Captain stared at the barrier, feeling a small sense of respect for whoever could craft such a sturdy ship. It was downright impenetrable.
\\\\\\//////
"Looks like they're giving up," Lisa noted. "About time, too. It was starting to get even more pathetic."
"Lisa, are we any closer to breaking this jamming field?" Commander Mathias asked the A.I.
"Not yet. I can't get any kind of frequency from the field. It's as if the field doesn't exist on any kind of wavelength we can interpret, even though it's similar to Covenant equipment in form."
"Any ideas on what we can do about our guests?"
"Well, Plan A is to wait until Fire-team Nightmare reboots their communication devices so we can get them over here ASAP and clear them out, but we have no idea if they survived the emergency ejection, or if they're not already holed up with the locals. Plan B is to fire up the thrusters and, in the name of all things logical, burn those unicorns until they're nothing but jerky. That makes three things I've said on this planet that will inevitably get me deactivated."
"And Plan C?" Mathias asked.
"We wait until that one in the gold and purple armor inspects the elevator door by itself and ambush it. From what they've been discussing, and how it commands the rest, that one's the highest ranking officer present."
Mathias thought deeply on how each option would go. True, Plan A would have been their go-to option, but with too many unknowns, Fire-team Nightmare was out of the question. Plan B would be the quickest, and likely the first option that he would have gone for during the War, but in the long run, it would ruin any chance that the UNSC would have at interacting with this species in the future. Granted, yes, they were technologically stunted compared to the UNSC, but they were clearly intelligent, and spoke English. Clearly, there was an underlying necessity to look into this world's history.
Plan C, however...
"Keep watch on that one in purple and gold. I'm going to see if one of our officers wants to help accommodate our new guest."
"I'll ready the brig."
Mathias blinked once before shaking his head and sighing.
'This is an ONI vessel, of course there's a brig,' he thought to himself.
Maelstrom grunted as he pulled himself up through a window before tucking into a roll as he hit the ground, leveling his SMG out in a sweeping motion.
"Clear," he whispered to the rest of Nightmare before stalking down the narrow hallway. The ODSTs filed in behind him as they climbed through the window, checking their corners as they approached another turn.
"Where to now, sir?" Melt asked as he traced his Carbine's sights over the Sergeant's shoulder.
"Give me a second," Maelstrom said as he closed his eyes.
His entire head burned painfully as he thought back to the map that 'Princess Luna' had imprinted in his mind. Everything seemed to fade away as he brought back the memory of the vision, slowing it down as he examined the route that she had set for them.
"This way," Maelstrom said as he turned left.
The ODSTs silently made their way through the empty hallways of the castle, keeping watch on every door, corner and even window they came across. It was shocking to see that the ponies with wings could actually fly, seeing as their appendages looked far too small for their bodies and flapped casually while in the air. The ones with horns were the most troubling to think of, however, as those ones could levitate objects of varying sizes within their field of vision, and the Sergeant had even seen one levitate something out of sight. For all the ODSTs knew, they could stop bullets mid-flight or even redirect them, if they didn't try to pry their weapons out of their hands. God help them if they pulled the pins on their grenades without them noticing.
Maelstrom held his hand up to signal a halt before turning his gaze around the corner to see a door from the vision, and smirked when he noticed it was unguarded.
"Easy streak from here on, Nightmare," Maelstrom said. "Up these stairs and then we wait."
\\\\\\//////
Applejack huffed as she watched the strange ponies moving various equipment across the edge of the apple orchard, unable to do anything to stop them. She had heard of how her parents had dealt with folks that would advertise themselves as "inspectors" before to get a few free meals from under their noses, and she suspected that these ponies were no different. Even with those documents that she would have thought to be forged, they moved with an authority about them that even she couldn't deny that felt true. Whatever purpose they had here, though, had better not be harmful to the farm, lest she buck each of them back to Canterlot with her own four hooves.
"Applejack, you need to relax," Oak said as he put down a few baskets underneath a tree. "If they're here under Princess Celestia's orders, shouldn't you trust them?"
"I should," Applejack admitted, "but look at 'em. Don't look like anypony the Princess would hire, 'specially for somethin' like this. Who the hay needs fancy armor to test apples?"
"Somepony that read 'Snowy White'?" Oak joked.
Applejack shook her head.
"Ah'm not too keen on waitin' for 'em to act up first. Stars know what'll happen if they find out 'bout us. You know how those Canterlot types are 'bout that."
"I do, but we shouldn't care, Applejack."
She sighed in defeat before turning towards the closest apple tree.
"Fine. But Ah'll get ta Twi's faster than a pig to the trough if they screw up."
\\\\\\//////
Celestia hummed to herself as she looked over the list of items that she had been going through since Luna's return. She had drafted this list over the course of the past few hundred years in preparation of this moment, and though she normally loathed lists and going through them, she felt like Twilight would have since it was all to help her sister.
"Restocking on fruits, check," the Princess said to herself, reading off each box. "Introduction to the Reclamation Initiative, check. Reinstating her authority in the Courts, for later. Introduce the concept of Humans... I wish it could have been done more subtly, but none the less, check. New room, check. Unlock her new... armory. Of course I forgot something," Celestia sighed as she pressed a hoof to her temple.
Her horn lit up with a warm glow before she disappeared in a burst of light.
\\\\\\//////
Maelstrom slowly closed the door behind him before silently releasing a breath as he examined the room.
"This place is cozy," Melt noted as he sat on the crescent-moon themed bed.
"Got plenty of room, too," Icepick noticed as she walked around the balcony of the second floor.
"Keep your eyes peeled, Nightmare," Maelstrom instructed as he holstered his SMG. "Black Eye, on the door. Blind, keep an eye on the door from the balcony. Sputnik and Cowbell, windows. Watch out for those ones with wings. Remember, non-lethal takedowns, I repeat, NON-lethal. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," Nightmare chanted.
"Good."
Maelstrom looked around the room in mild interest, trying to gauge who he was going to be dealing with by the hints that the decor provided. The ceiling was painted entirely with constellations galore, a few models of the planet hung up by strings. To either side of the room were giant bay windows, framed by what looked like gold with drapes that were a light shape of blue that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. The bed was a giant decorative piece that looked like it could barely hold one person if they curled up into the fetal position, with some kind of circle of cloth hanging above it.
The ODST Sergeant walked around the bed and saw the wall behind it, eyeing it with curiosity. It didn't look right, for some reason. The paint on it was a different shade than the rest of the room and looked as though it would fall over. He ran a hand across its surface, the texture smoother than the wood that made up the other walls yet not sturdy enough to be marble like the rest of the city.
Maelstrom gave the wall a slight push.
KR-KKKKKKKKKKKKK
The ODSTs suddenly turned towards the wall in defense and watched as the section that Maelstrom had pushed against was turning in place. On the other side of the wall were rows of melee weapons of varying sorts. There were large swords made of silver, stained brown with old blood, some chains that ended in several other weapons like hooks or morning stars, and an assortment of daggers.
"Whoa," Sputnik said. "Looks like someone's expecting to hold out here in a fight."
"Guess they're not exactly up to bat as hard as we thought," Melt said as he examined the sword from a good few feet away. "Even if they close the distance, standard Marine kevlar wouldn't give unless they swung these things around faster than sound. Plus, I doubt these rusted things are going to break any barriers, aside from their own pommels."
Maelstrom nodded as he examined the rows of knives that hung below the larger weapons, and settled his eyes on a dagger at the end. It was a large knife, about the size of a standard combat knife that every ODST had, except this one wasn't serrated, and had a white cloth wrapped around its handle.
For some reason, Maelstrom took the knife off its place on the wall and examined it closely. It had small text in alien writing, yet something echoed in the back of his mind.
'The Maelstrom of Our Arrival is the Will of Justice'
CRACK
Maelstrom and the rest of Nightmare turned around again to see a tall white pony standing next to Black Eye. She stood taller than any other they had seen, possessed a set of wings and a horn like Luna, but her hair was like the lights on Reach. She blinked in shock and looked around to see the ODSTs pointing weapons at her.
SMACK
Before anyone could properly respond, Black Eye slammed the stock of his M-90 into the side of her head, sending her sprawling as a crown clinked against the ground. As the unconscious pony fell to the floor, Maelstrom realized who they had just knocked out.
"Oh shit."
\\\\\\//////
Shining Armor glared at the sealed entrance to the rest of the ship as two unicorns beside him panted from exhaustion.
"It's... huff, no use, s-sir," one said, trying to catch his breath.
"I've seen... dragons... resist less fire..."
"Damn it! Just when we think we have enough hold of these situations, something just has to destroy all expectation and remind us how far behind we are in the universe," one of the technicians said.
Just when Shining Armor was about to order everypony to pull out, everything around him suddenly became far heavier. The guards on either side of him collapsed while everypony else fell to the ground. Shining could barely keep his legs from buckling out beneath him before the unthinkable happened.
The door opened up.
Shining tried to get a good look at whatever was inside, but his vision was obscured by a burst of smoke. He coughed harshly as he fought to stand upright, but before his mind could catch up, something metal struck him in the side of the head, and the Captain of the Guard was out cold.
"Son of a bitch," Maelstrom cursed as Black Eye picked up the unconscious pony.
"She literally came out of nowhere and I reacted, sir," Black Eye said. "What was I supposed to do?"
"That's got to be the largest one we've seen so far, though," Icepick said.
"And apparently they have the capability to teleport," Melt noted. "Just what we need."
"Do you think they know we're all here?" Sputnik asked.
"Doubt it," Blind said. "This one came in here alone and out of nowhere. If this was some kind of jump on us or an ambush, they would have synchronized their assault to keep this one safe."
"Hey, she's got a little tiara on her head! Check it out," Cowbell said.
"Nightmare!"
The ODSTs straightened their posture as Maelstrom walked up to the unconscious pony. He cupped its cheek and turned its head about before sighing.
"We just hit a major snag in this operation."
\\\\\\//////
Luna stopped in her trek as she sensed something in the back of her mind. The familiar matrices of spells she had cast on her chambers rang inside of her mind as she closed her eyes to examine who was in there. She could sense the magic of her sister, but seven other figures. Six of them carried no magical presence, but the seventh she could recognize.
"Did Tia find them out, then?" she panicked.
"Um, Princess?" a scientist said.
Without so much as another word, she vanished in a flash of azure, leaving behind a very stumped team of experts.
"Um... back to work?"
\\\\\\//////
Maelstrom shook his head as Nightmare positioned around the unconscious pony, Black Eye sitting next to her head while Cowbell seemed to be entranced by her tail.
"Is this why people take drugs?" he said, waving a hand around the multi-hued hairs.
"Why, to get fantasies about alien ass?" Icepick said.
"Hey, I'm just looking at this thing's tail, alright? It's moving on its own, without any wind or anything! How is it doing this?"
"Do us a favor and don't try to find out," Melt said.
"Why not?"
"Battle of Cleveland."
"Right, moving away now."
As Cowbell switched places with Sputnik, Maelstrom returned to examining the knife he had found prior. He took a look at the pommel, and noticed that the sapphire had faded to a dark navy. He squinted his eyes to study it closely, until something odd happened. A skull similar to the brand of the ODST insignia etched itself into the gem, the eye sockets burning a bright cyan.
"What the fuck?"
CRACK
Once again, the ODSTs found themselves leveling their weapons at another mysterious intruder, this one, however, smaller than the first, with blue fur and hair and was lucky enough to not be within punching range of any of them.
"Okay, seriously, how!?" Cowbell said.
Maelstrom slid the knife into the back of his belt before approaching the pony.
"Princess Luna, I presume."
The Princess nodded.
"Indeed, Maelstrom. We sincerely apologize for Our sister's undue visit whilst We were escorted about the Castle and her secrets. It calms Us seeing that minimal harm has come to her."
Fire-team Nightmare lowered their collective weapons as Maelstrom spoke on their collective behalf.
"She came in the same way you just did, so we acted on instinct. Let's just say that we're all at fault here and call it even. I believe that you have something you wanted to share with us?"
"Mayhaps mine sister shalt help with thine conundrum. We believe that this situation involving the Human population of this world would be a most pressing concern for her."
\\\\\\//////
"Ugh... my head," Celestia said as she slowly came back to her senses.
She could feel the dull throb in her left temple as her mouth held the taste of iron. The Princess slowly stood up on her front hooves, another pair coming into contact with her shoulders.
"Sister, do not be alarmed," Luna said. "Our guests were merely startled from thine method of arrival."
"O-oh, I apologize then, whoever you are," Celestia said as she rubbed her eyes. "I had the strangest vision when I was kno-"
The Princess of the Sun paused when she looked up to see seven tall, thickly built Humans in advanced combat armor, holding weapons that caused varying degrees of worry to spike through her.
Celestia's jaw dropped when she saw the silver plates of their helmets fall to reveal their scarred faces, glares and sneers directed at her. The one in the middle walked up to her before speaking.
"Apology accepted," he said. "I believe you have some information we're in need of."
\\\\\\//////
Shining Armor groaned as he began to recover from being knocked out, trying to pull a hoof up to his face.
He tried and failed, however, when he felt something keep his hoof down.
Slowly shaking his head, Shining Armor opened his eyes in a brief panic as he fiddled against the restraints on his body. He tried to look around, finding that he was strapped to something vertical to the ground, his legs splayed out in different directions while something held his head in place.
The Captain of the Guard began to take deep breaths in an effort to calm himself down. He had been through worse in training. This room was very sterile and was sparsely decorated, a sheet of glass between him and the metallic surfaces of the outer hallway.
'This is no time to panic, Shiny,' he thought to himself. 'You're strapped to some kind of wall in a prison on an alien spaceship... okay, this is the time to panic. But just think for a second...'
Shining focused his attention upward and smiled.
'They didn't get your horn.'
He focused his magic into the horn, and...
He focused his magic into the horn...
He grunted as he tried to focus his magic into his horn...
... and nothing happened.
"Wha... what? What's going on? Why can't I use my magic?"
He quickly shut his mouth when he heard hooffalls outside of his cell. The pattern, however, threw him off. There was no clop or scrape, and the pace was far too uneven for it to be a pony or Griffon. No, it was bipedal. He could tell from the space between footfalls, like a Human's own from when he saw them cleaning out latrines in the Academy.
The glass slid away as the footsteps approached. A figure turned the corner...
Shining's jaw dropped.
Standing in front of him, chin held high in the best posture he had ever seen, was a Human in a black officer-like uniform with a strange symbol of a triangle. It was an old male Human, judging from the white hair on its head and the beard. It had hard brown eyes, stern and unfeeling, burrowing into Shining with a ferocity that he wouldn't dare question.
It approached him slowly and drew out a small object before resting it on a table that was jutting from the wall.
"What are you doing in here, Human?" Shining said. "Where's your owner? Why are you in here?"
The Human sighed deeply before shaking its head slowly. It closed the distance before it spoke.
"Listen up," the Human said, "because I'm only going to say this once. You and your team are done with your search. You didn't find anything. It was just some meteor that some merchants made off with after it cracked open on impact. Nothing but ice and rocks. Everything you've seen here, will be forgotten. Do you understand?"
Shining's jaw flapped up and down, trying to formulate a response. Again, he had to steel himself internally, reminding himself that he was the Captain of Celestia's Royal Guard! He wasn't going to be made a fool of by some alien's pet Human!
"You better watch yourself, Human! I'm the Captain of Princess Celestia's Royal Guard! I can have you put away for 20 years for daring to speak to me like this! I order you to go find your master or whatever owns this thing, and tell them that if they don't release me, they'll be facing the wrath of the Sun itself!"
The Human let out a breath through its nostrils before it chuckled.
Shining's eyes widened. Was this Human... laughing at him!?
"Boy, I think you'd best think of the good of your planet before you go threatening a Commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence. I can have enough ordnance dropped on this backwater planet to leave a crater big enough to fit its moon. One wrong word out of you can have a fleet of hundreds ready to storm this planet and rescue our kind by force. I'm giving you one, and only one chance, here. I suggest you pull your head out of your anus, swallow all two inches of your pride, and wake up. You're no big dog in this universe. You're barely a blip on the radar. Humanity's faced bigger and far, far badder monsters than your kind. I don't know how you managed to abduct and enslave these people, and I don't care. It ends. Now. Humanity's taken enough beatings in the last 30 years than you'll ever know, and we came out on top. Don't you DARE threaten me. Don't you dare threaten US. Because the last guys that did that are either dead or so fragmented amongst themselves that they won't pose another threat for centuries."
The Human grasped Shining by the throat before bringing his face closer.
"I'll tell you again. Tell your leaders to let my people go, or we'll do it ourselves."
This... this thing, was not Human. It couldn't be! The way it spoke, the way it carried itself, and the pure fear that Shining felt under its gaze... there's no way this thing was related to Humans.
Here she was, in her sister's quarters, being faced down by a squad of armored humans.
"Sister," Celestia said, "am I dreaming?"
"Nay, sister, thou art as awake as We are."
"Then why are there armored humans standing around the room?"
"We're ODSTs," Maelstrom said, "and we'd like to talk about the treatment our kind seems to be getting on this planet."
\\\\\\//////
"Yep, they're planning on raiding the ship for their Captain," Lisa said.
Commander Mathias watched the viewport, a rear camera pointed towards the camp the equines made outside, parts of the display obscured by scans and diagrams of the ponies' bodies.
"I would expect nothing less from Princess Celestia's finest," the captive Captain said.
Behind Mathias, Captain Shining Armor stood shakily, his body nearly buckling under the weight of his own armor. At either side of the unicorn stood a black-clad ONI officer armed with an MA5-D.
"You keep mentioning this, 'Princess Celestia', whether cursing or praying. Is she some kind of idol of worship? A leader with great PR?" Lisa said.
"I will not give an answer to something that doesn't even bother to show it's face!" Shining Armor said.
"Quiet!" Commander Mathias said. "Lisa, refrain from interacting with the prisoner from here on out unless given an override command."
"Aye aye, sir."
Mathias turned to the unicorn, lowering himself to look the Captain at an eye level.
"Captain Armor, I'll tell you this once, and you'd better take this to heart."
"I demand that your masters confront me, Human, because I don't talk to pets."
One of the ONI officers stepped up and slammed the stock of his rifle against Armor's side, sending him to the floor in a coughing fit.
'H-how in Tartarus... are these things so strong?' Shining Armor questioned in his thoughts. 'If this ship wasn't sucking out all of my magic, I'd show these damned animals who they're messing with.'
"Let's try that again, shall we?" Commander Mathias said. "You've got two options here. Option A, you order your subordinates to dispel this dome, return our equipment and leave, so everyone can move on with their lives. Option B, we let Lisa re-calibrate the ship's targeting systems on your friends and bring you to a dissection table in the deepest, dankest and bloodiest corner of Section 3."
Shining Armor glared at the Commander, growling in protest as he tried to get up, only to have Mathias place his boot on his barrel.
"I suggest you make your decision fairly quickly, Captain. Otherwise, Lisa might get impatient."
\\\\\\//////
"... I... I don't understand," Princess Celestia said.
"Oh, for fuck's sake," Cowbell said. "How many times are we going to have to explain this?"
"Humans are inhabitants of this world, I know for a fact. I remember when your kind first came wandering into Equestria hundreds of years ago."
The ODSTs groaned in response, Maelstrom leaning his head to his hand.
"Well then that's however long ago a ship may have crashed. Either way, we're here to get our kind off this rock and back where they belong."
"But your kind belongs here!"
"As your fucking slaves!?" Icepick said, drawing her Kukri.
"No, no not as slaves, I've been trying to help bring Humanity up to be equals in the world!"
"Trains full of people kept in cages," Cowbell said.
"It's been a rough process, yes, and there have been setbacks, but-"
The doors burst open, drawing the attention of the Princesses and ODSTs.
"Princess Celestia, we need- WHOA!" a blue pony in a lab coat reeled back when he saw the soldiers aiming at him.
"Getting real sick of people dropping in on us like this!" Melt said.
"Everypony, calm down!" Princess Luna said. "We will not allow bloodshed in our home! You, the one in white, what be thou'st message?"
"Th-the recovery team i-is requesting emergency backup, the Captain has been taken hostage by unknown entities."
"The ship's still staffed?" Celestia said.
"The Lost in the Stars!" Maelstrom said.
"We may solve several issues in one swoop," Luna said. "Maelstrom, sister, we must all head for the ship. There is no time to be lost."
"Luna, what in our mother's name is going on?"
"Squire, inform the staff to make way for our guests. They are to not be disturbed whilst we make ourselves scarce."
"Alright, Nightmare, move it into fifth gear!"
\\\\\\//////
Celestia tapped her rear hooves on the concrete as she lead the Humans to the underground railway. She could feel their cold glares and burning hatred all across her back as they followed her and Luna.
"Sister, I am desperately trying to understand what's happening right now," she whispered.
"The answers have already been presented thusly to you, Sister. There's nothing more to learn 'till we reach their vessel."
"But why do they keep insisting that they're not from Equestria? Luna, I was there when their species first showed up in our lands, six hundred years ago. They belong on this world, and insisting that they're aliens is ludicrous."
"They speak the truth, sister. Twas their very ship that rendered the bindings of the Elements naught but dust on the cosmic winds. Their ship allowed myself and the Nightmare free."
"Are you sure that wasn't just a vision that the Nightmare put in your mind? I mean... they're calling themselves Nightmare, that's not worrying in the least?"
"Mayhaps it is but coincidence."
They continued in silence as they approached the bulkhead for the Reclamation Force at the end of the rail line, a line of Guards readying their weapons at the sight of the humans.
"Halt! You beasts dare to threaten the rulers of Equestria!?" one barked.
"Stand down, Sergeant, they're coming inside with us," Celestia said. "Have your troupe stand aside at once."
The Sergeant pulled his spear back and nodded, motioning for his squad to do the same. They all stepped out of their way as the bulkhead was opened, ushering the Princesses and the ODSTs inside.
