> "It Was My Job to Take Care of You....." > by Master4871 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > You Did it, Just Like you Always Do > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chief and Cortana's final confrontation...... "Cortana?" Chief got up from his kneeling stance and asked again, "Cortana do you read?" he asked again with worry in his voice, "Cortana, come in!" There had been a slight shimmering noise when Chief finished his pleas. He turned around to see what was watching him, but was surprised to find a human sized Cortana walking towards him. "How......" Chief was confused at the AI's new configuration. "Oh, i'm the strangest thing you've seen all day?" Cortana had replied sarcastically. "But if were here-" Chief was stopped. "It worked...you did it, just like you always do." Cortana's tone had obviously shown sadness but Chief ignored it while looking around the 'room' they were currently in. "So how do we get out of here?" Chief questioned. "I'm not coming with you this time." "What!?" Chief was surprised at her behavior. "Most of me is down there," Cortana looked down at the remains of the Didact's ship, "I only held enough back to get you off the ship." "No! That's not...We go together!" Chief interrupted, now showing fear in his stone cold voice. "It's already done." There was a short pause before Chief had broken the seal again, "I am NOT leaving you here...." "John...." Cortana now started walking towards Chief and lifted a hand to touch his chest piece, "I've waited so long to do that." Cortana now sounded of terror. "It was my job to take care of you." Chief was desperately trying to sway Cortana. "We were supposed to take care of each other." Cortana reiterated, "And we did." "Cortana please..." Chief now knew he was wasting his time but kept trying, "Wait!" "Welcome home John." with her last words Cortana dissipated and left John staring into nothingness. John was now truly alone. No one to call friends, no one to call family, and no one to call Cortana. Alone was all John could keep thinking of, while blissfully being okay with floating through space. He was sure help would come soon, but nothing is ever certain. Unaware that behind him was a lushous planet, John was, for all intents and purposes, paralyzed with guilt and sadness that had washed over him. Ignorance, however, was not bliss on this fine day for John had met head on with some scrap pieces of the Didact's ship. This obviously worked to get him out of his trance for he now turned around and saw the planet that was now 'pulling' him towards itself. John was not nearly close enough to the planet to even drop to the surface, and the heat from re-entree would kill him, so he pushed all thoughts of the planet out of his head. Little did he know his luck was going to change for the better, for after a short pause John had spotted a Pelican dropship, obviously left behind by Infinity or perhaps the driver got shot out of it. Of course it was the latter because there were bullet holes peppered across the windshield of the aircraft. The Pelican had enough juice to get to the planet however and the ship was capable of re-entree, so that solved two problems. The last problem was not knowing if the planet was hostile or friendly. 'Gotta learn the hard way for now.' John thought. He accelerated the Pelican's boost and the ship took off. The planet was coming increasingly close by the second, and within a few minutes John had reached the outer layer of the atmosphere. The gun ship was easing its way through the layers as if there were no resistance. The last barrier had been broken and the ship had created a sonic-boom that could be heard from miles off into the distance. Not a good way to be discreet, but he was left with no choice. John could see everything from the altitude he was at. He saw forests, villages, a desert, and a giant castle. 'Not exactly modern, but whatever' John was perplexed at the design of the cities, they were old and...colorful. Nothing the combat Pelican couldn't handle though. John had spotted a clearing in the middle of a dense forest that was severely in need of a population, or civilization. 'Beggars can't be choosers' Chief thought as he was landing the Pelican. The Pelican probably stirred up some commotion in the nearby town that was close to the forest so Chief decided to wait the night out in the Pelican's soldier bay. With a press of the button, the Pelican had locked down and Chief was remembering that he was alone. ...... Dear Twilight Sparkle, Thank you for receiving this on such short notice faithful student, but alas I wish it were on better terms. I presume you saw the object in the sky and were going to gather your friends to go search it. Do Not go until I get to your house tomorrow morning. Would like to see it for myself. Farewell my faithful student. Princess Celestia "Well that object sure was odd, but I had no idea the Princess would get involved." Twilight was pacing back and forth, pondering the idea of what the flying object could be. "I don't know Twilight, looked pretty dangerous to me." Spike was worried for Twilight, for he knew what curiosity had done to her before. "Oh come now Spike, it looked like a rock. You aren't afraid of rocks now are you?" Twilight teased. "No, and it did sort of look like a rock." Spike was walking up the stairs of the tree house when he stopped to say: "Good night Twi." "Night Spike." Twilight watched her friend head up the stairs and shut the door. When she was sure Spike was asleep, Twilight took the liberty to gather her friends to discuss what could have fallen from the sky. She got up and went out the door in search of her friends. First she went to Carousal Boutique, Rarity's home. She knocked on the door to find that Rarity was going to lay down and read a book on old Canterlot fashion, but Rarity agreed to gather at Twilight's home. Next stop was Fluttershy's cottage where not only Fluttershy was, but the tomboyish Rainbow Dash as well. They both agreed to gather as well. Rainbow had also mentioned that she saw the object as well while on her way to the cottage. The next destination was Sweet Apple Acres, where their friend Applejack called home. Applejack was finishing up the last apple bucking of the day when her friends came by. She graciously accepted their offer and tagged along with them. Last stop was Sugar Cube Corner, the bakery and home of Pinkie Pie. She was ecstatic at the thought of being with her friends so Pinkie agreed with full joy. When they came back to the tree house, they found a not so happy Spike awake. "Oh Celestia, not an all girls slumber party." Spike grumbled "Well anyways, here's another letter from Celestia Twilight." Spike handed Twilight the letter and headed off to bed again, angrily slamming the door behind him. "Spikey-Wikey must be tired." Rarity inquired. "All right, so now that were all here, what'd you wanna tell us Twi?" Applejack asked. "All right, well this will sound strange but, before I went to gather you all a large object had landed in or around the Everfree Forest." Twilight was rudely interrupted by Rainbow Dash. "It was in the Everfree Forest." Dash cut in. "Thank you Dash!" Twilight scolded, "Now where was I, oh yes, this object looked peculiar in size and shape. Just as I was about to come and get you guys, Celestia sent me a letter saying to wait till morning when she got here. So, I gathered you guys here to discuss the plan and spend the night, to make things quicker in the morning." Twilight finished. "I'm down for that!" Dash blurted out. "I guess I will go." Fluttershy sheepishly agreed. "Ah'll go to Sugar Cube." Applejack was in too. "Yeah that sounds like fun!" Pinkie screamed. "Shut up!" Spike yelled through the floor to try to get everyone to calm down. "I'm in as well darling." Rarity humbly accepted. "Well then it's settled, we all go with the Princess tomorrow." Twilight announced. While everypony was ready to go to sleep, there was still: "One more thing girls. The letter from Celestia Spike gave us when we got back." Twilight never let a letter go unread. "Dear Twilight Sparkle, Tomorrow morning when I arrive, I would like to let you know that Princess Luna and Princess Cadence will join us along with your brother Shining Armor. Just thought I would let you know. Princess Celestia" "Well that's good to know." Twilight examined the letter again to make sure she didn't miss anything. "Well goodnight everypony." "Good night." they all whispered in unison. ...... The next day proved difficult for John. He found it hard to deal with loss of someone he cared deeply for. The only other times it happened was when Sam had died upon a Covenant Cruiser, and when Kurt was presumably dead (which he wasn't). Sleep had eluded him the night he touched down on the planet, but he took the time to take inventory of what the Pelican had in stock. Surprisingly, it harbored a dozen storm rifles, and twenty plasma pistols, four assault rifles, four battle rifles, four DMRs, and a SAW machine gun, all of which had ample ammo. Good in case he got in a firefight. However something was missing. He already knew what it was...Cortana. While looking for food throughout the morning, John came across a river with fish, easy food and water access for him now that he needed it, but little did he know a search party was coming for him. ...... "All right everypony are you ready to go?" Celestia asked in her regal tone. "Yes." everypony replied. "Let's begin the great journey that lies ahead of us then shall we." Celestia added. The journey was not long though for the night before, Rainbow Dash had seen the landing of the object, and knew where it was. It took a little over an hour before the group made any substantial progress however, due to the forest's dense underbrush. When they were eyesight of the Pelican ship, they all dawned confused expressions, nopony knowing what the object was. What confused them more is that there was now a sage green creature walking outside of the object, now doing some workout routines. Still perplexed the group moved closer, quite sure that they were not noticed by the creature. "Let's surround it, make sure it can't escape." Shining Armor was determined to know what an alien creature was doing in the land he was sworn to protect. Everypony had done as told and made it nearly impossible for the creature to escape... or so they think. ...... John was aware he was being watched, something he learned from basic training. And his radar had shown ten red dots surrounding him. He however kept doing his exercises to confuse the enemy targets that surrounded him. He was unsure what the unknown enemies were, but he did know that they were most likely not friendly... or so he thinks. ...... Celestia had made her move towards the creature that was on the ground before her. However she had crumpled some leaves with her hooves which she thought ruined her plans, but the creature just kept going. "Hello." ...... John heard the gesture and was not shocked to hear English, but shocked to see an Alicorn, something he only thought was a myth. He stood his ground and said nothing. Just staring at the equine. He could tell she was uncomfortable. "Do you have a name?" the Alicorn had spoken up again. John still remained cold and silent and resumed to his exercises, thinking he had gone insane. The Alicorn had made another step towards him, to which John replied with his magnum instantly being pulled up from his side holster. This made the Alicorn unnerved and she backed off. Chief put the magnum back but kept watching the equine, still remembering the nine enemies that surrounded him, which Chief put off as more of the Alicorns. However the current one standing in frond of him had looked all around the DZ and slightly nodded her head. Again Chief pulled out his magnum aiming at the closest red dot on his radar... > Big Things Start with Big Beginnings > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chief stood his ground, even though he knew he was outmatched and possibly outgunned. However he made no attempt at a violent first encounter. The looks on the ponies however were some of mystery, fear, and amazement. The three that stood out the most to Chief were the three Alicorns; one being dark blue and being somewhat medium on the height scale, another one was pink which was about the same size as the blue pony. The last however stood out the most, mainly because she was the tallest out of all of them. She had spoken again: "Do you have a name?" she was more demanding this time around but to her dismay Chief kept quiet again. She now asked the pink Alicorn a question, "Cadence, do you see any hate in it? Perhaps it is sad but I could be wrong." After a brief pause the pink Alicorn known as Cadence stepped forward and her horn started glowing. Another brief pause came and her response was grim. "Nothing, it has never known true love, perhaps not even love. I can't tell. I'm sorry." Cadence apologized. Chief was sick of the colored equines so he headed inside of the Pelican gunship to get away from the 'chaos' that was outside. 'What is this place, why didn't Cortana send me back to Earth?' Chief thought as the Pelican's hatch was closing. Just as the hatch was almost closed it was surrounded by a yellow aura, which seemed to restrain the hatch from finishing the command. This truly pissed Chief off at this point. Chief grabbed a storm rifle and unlocked the hatch. When the hatch was open all the way he shot, what passed for angry glares through his helmet, at the tall white Alicorn. She seemed to notice and replied with a stern statement. "I wish for you to come with us so we can question your intentions here in Equestria." When she finished Chief aimed at her face with the storm rifle and was about to pull the trigger when an unknown force started pulling on it. "Thou will no hurt thy sister!" this time the dark blue Alicorn was interfering. The strength of her 'force' was stronger than Chief anticipated as it had pulled him a few feet, but he in the end came out as the victor. The Alicorn looked tired from using so much energy. "How did you beat my magic?!" she questioned. "Hey!" this time a male unicorn was yelling at Chief, "You want the Princesses you go through me!" Chief took this challenge as he stepped forward and holstered his storm rifle to his magnetic back holster. The unicorn took that as a 'give me your best shot' gesture, which he in turn gave his most powerful shot of magic he has ever produced. Chief quickly dodged the fairly large projectile while heading closer to his new enemy. Chief swung but the pony disappeared in the blink of an eye, then appeared right behind Chief, blasting another bolt of energy at the green warrior. The same routine went on one more time until Chief found a weak point in the unicorn's tactic. This time when Chief went for a hit he quickly turned around and dashed towards where the unicorn would end up, and thanks to his precise planning, landed a punch to the creature's chest. Chief grinned when he heard a few cracks, but when he turned to see the audience, they were all dumbstruck as to how Chief beat the best guard Celestia had to offer. "That is quite enough!" the lead Alicorn finally stopped the fight before things got to rough, "You will listen to your superiors! And you will not attack again!" she commanded. "You and what army." Chief finally spoke up. This startled all of the ponies, but the majestic white Alicorn quickly regained composure and replied: "Thank you, now acquaintances can be held later, but for now you will come with us and answer to your crimes against Equestria." she ordered Chief like Mendez did on first day of training. "No, you have no authority over me. Now if you don't mind I would like to be left alone." Chief responded. "How dare you disrespect the Princess in such a way!" now one of the smaller ponies stood up to Chief, this one being lavender in color, and a female unicorn to match. "I don't belong here, and you just asked me to bow down to your leader like a damn peasant. So no, I will never bow to your 'majesty'." Chief thought he did a good job in his argument as he looked over to the injured male with Cadence over him, "I'm sorry about your friend though. Now leave me alone." Chief started walking back to the gunship when the goddess of an Alicorn spoke up again: "Your apologies are accepted and we would like to know you better. I'm sorry, we didn't know you came from somewhere else and apologize ourselves to this honest mistake." 'Wow, this place is f-ed up, guess an 'I'm sorry' will settle any problems' Chief thought. "What do you want me to do?" he asked, "it's the least I can do to make up for this." "I would like you to come to the castle with us so we can question you on some things. Is that alright?" she asked. "No it's fine, just let me grab some things." with that Chief walked back into the Pelican and grabbed his assault rifle, his magnum, and plenty of magazines. Last thing he grabbed was a Cortana's AI. chip that he pulled out before Cortana's podium got obliterated by the Didact. He placed it in his helmets interface and continued on out of the Pelican. "All right let's go." he stated. "Brace yourself." the Alicorn warned. As she finished her sentence everyone teleported back to, what Chief assumed to be, the castle. "Welcome to Canterlot Castle." she warmly welcomed. "First things first, guard get in here please!" she commanded one of the guards guarding the main hall door to come to her, "take Shining Armor to the infirmary please." "Yes Princess!" he respectfully replied. She nodded her head in thanks and turned to Chief. "How will we question you strange alien?" Everyone pondered this question when a pink female pony spoke up and gave her idea, "Let's have a slumber party!" she exclaimed. "What?"! was all Chief could reply. "I for one think that is a splendid idea." the Alicorn replied. "What?" Chief asked again. "Yes we can question him, and all share out ideas while having fun. I will have this arranged for tonight." the Alicorn spoke again. Chief had the thousand yard stare as he heard the atrocity forcing its way into his ears. 'Fuck me' was all Chief could think. ...... It had been an hour since first contact with the ponies and Chief had already learned all the ponies names. All ten of the group walked towards Celestia's royal bedroom to commence the sleepover. To Chief's delight, he only had to answer questions. When they got to the giant bedroom doors they opened with a yellow aura around them. The room already had all the plush items for all the other ponies to cuddle with and sleep with and whatever else Chief thought they might do tonight. 'UGH!' he thought. The ponies were getting comfortable while Chief found a nice non-fluffy spot to lie down on. 'This is the most ludicrous thing I've agreed to do, and I went through Spartan training, which was Hell!' he though again. "Shall we get started with the questions then?" Celestia asked. "Fine." Chief sternly replied. "I'll go first," Twilight offered, "alright, so what is your name?" "That's classified." Chief responded. "Then what was your job?" Fluttershy asked. "That's classified." he responded again. "Have you ever been in true love?" this time Cadence asked the question. "........................No I have known love beyond who is dead." This made everypony in the room gasp at the sudden sadness they heard. "What did you mean 'Who is dead'?" Cadence asked again. "Where would you like me to start?" Chief asked. > Slumber Party? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I know I said that my job was classified, but I now see no reason to hide it from you." Chief changed his mind about how 'classified' things were mainly because of the fact that he may never be home to get tried for releasing top secret information. "But to warn you, my planet's history and the history of all others I share with you are gruesome and I would not suggest telling anyone outside of this 'meeting'." Chief warned them of the horror that lay on the words of his story, waiting to come out and delve into the ponies minds, but they shook their heads in conformation. "Well, it all began when I was six years old. This women had come to my home planet to do research on me." "What's a women?" asked Twilight. "In my galaxy or universe or whatever the hell it is, males are called men, and females are called women. This, as far as I know, applies to every race that I know of. Now back to the story. The woman did 'research on me and that was pretty much it." Chief looked around and saw all the "yeah right" faces donned by all the ponies in the room "Your tiny story raises only more questions strange one." Luna piped up. "And I know how to answer them." Celestia said as she got up and walked towards Chief. He trusted her enough to know she wouldn't hurt him. "How about this." she said. As her horn started glowing, images of Chief's past appeared in the middle of the room. He knew what was going on, and what they would think. The first image had appeared and started to become audible: The woman was standing in front of him ready to ask questions as she said before. "What's your name?" she asked. "John" the little boy replied. "That's a nice name. Hey would you like to play a game?" the woman questioned. "Sure!" the boy exclaimed. "You see this coin?" the woman took a silver coin out of her bag to which the boy nodded his head, "This is the money from Earth. Now you see the man's head and the eagle on the other side?" the boy nodded again, "I'm gonna flip the coin and you guess what side it ends up on alright." "Yeah, and I'm gonna win!" the boy confidently stated. "Alright..." the woman hesitantly replied. She then proceeded to flip the coin and just before the coin hit the ground the boy called a side. When the coin did finally hit the ground the boy was right and got to keep the coin just as promised. John was now exiting a dropship with many other children. They were either crying or silent. When they were all corralled in a big room, the same women entered and started to speak: "Hello everyone, my name is Doctor Halsey, I have brought you here to tell you that the war we are currently in has made you orphans and has taken your family away form you. Let me just tell you that you will be the best we can make you. You will be the protectors of Earth and all her colonies. This man is Chief Mendez and he will train you to be the best of the best and help you take revenge on the evil that has taken your life away from you." John was running on the path with all the other candidates for the Spartan II program. They were running the five mile run to the school when John had to stop and throw up, and when he looked up he saw another kid get beat by a guard for not listening. He instantly got up and started running. After about a half hour of jogging the children arrived at what appeared to be a school. John, Sam, and Kelly were boarding the Covenant cruiser after John suggested to go EVA. When they made their way in they stumbled upon a group of birdlike creatures that the UNSC classified as Jackals. One of the Jackals were charging up its plasma pistol while the rest of its squad was eliminated. When Sam turned the Corner the Jackal shot and penetrated a very large gash in Sam's armor, the Spartan's squad mates put it down. Stopping to speak Sam turned around and proclaimed the revelation he came to: "Go. I got this. I'll set off the nukes, you guys just get out of here." Sam wasn't able to make it out of the ship because his suit could no longer keep the oxygen in his suit while EVA. John was ready to argue but knew that this was the only way the mission could get complete. With hesitation John and Kelly left the ship, allowing Sam to fight off the Covenant and set the bombs off. When the two floating Spartans got to a safe distance John told Sam they were ready. Sam replied with a nuclear blast from inside the Covenant ship. John was standing in the main deck of the Pillar of Autumn. Captain Keyes had ordered him to get up to the bridge and assess the situation. To John's surprise, they were not floating to a human planet, but to a large planet sized ring. After a short discussion, an AI showed up and greeted him, to which he replied by putting her chip in his helmet. When they left the bridge they were immediately met by a squadron of Grunts which John killed, a bullet to each head. After they found the control room for Installation 04, Cortana and John split up to cover more ground. Cortana had the information and John was to stop the Captain from finding the 'weapon' stored inside the Halo ring. When John found the Captain's dead crew in a Forerunner facility John assumed the worst. What he didn't expect to find was one thing... the Flood. In the midst of battle, John befriended an Forerunner caretaker, 343 Guilty Spark, who looked after the Halo they were on. After convincing John to get the activation index and use it, they finally arrived at the index which is when Spark teleported them to the control room. When they arrived and set the ring to fire, Cortana appeared, angrier than John has ever seen her. "Turned out that Spark didn't tell you the whole truth, huh." Cortana remarked. "Apparently the Halo ring is a mass weapon of destruction that destroys all living things in the galaxy." While running down the hall from the Control room John fought off a squad of Elites, Jackals, and Grunts with a few Sentinels here and there. When they got outside Cortana spoke up again: "We can stop the ring from firing Chief, but it may take time to figure out a plan." John nodded and went to the nearest banshee he could see. While the dynamic duo was escaping in a Longsword bomber, they watched the Pillar of Autumn explode and send the Halo ring into oblivion. "We did it Chief. The Covenant, the Flood... it's over." Cortana spoke. "No, I think we're just getting started." John replied as he was taking his helmet off. John finished putting on his Mjonir Mark VI armor as he was about to go to the war ceremony. As the ceremony started however, a fleet of Covenant ships arrived at Earth ready to attack the planet's space defenses. John was on Earth walking out of a downed Scarab tank that he single handedly destroyed. When the evac arrived they went to the In Amberclad and they head off to follow the Prophet of Regret's ship. When they went through the slipspace portal with the Covenant capital ship they arrived at another Halo ring. John was on top of the Prophet of Regret's floating throne, pummeling the religious leader to extinction. When the Prophet showed no struggle, the Covenant fleet above the base John was in knew too and were firing the 'holy fire' and eradicated the base. When John knew this he ran out of the base and jumped into the giant lake before him. When he landed in the water he was grabbed by a massive tentacle which was followed by the words, " This is not your grave!" When John awoke he was in the presence of the largest Flood life form he has every seen. After a short while it dragged an Elite down into its lair where it had a long discussion with both of them. The Elite, known as Arbiter, and John were in a forced truce with the each other as they had the same goal in mind. Stop the rings and the brutes. John was outside in High Charity when he noticed the Prophet of Mercy on the ground with a Flood spore atop of him. John killed the parasite and asked the Prophet where Truth was going. There was silence. John was ready to board the Prophet of Truth's ship but was too late. However Cortana appeared and in an act of valor, stayed behind and made it possible for John to board the ship. John promised to come back for her when she replied with:"Don't make a girl a promise, if you know you can't keep it." something often said by Dr. Halsey. John awoke in a forest, unable to move due to his armor's gel layer locking up. Sgt. Maj. Avery Johnson and the Arbiter went into the jungle to look for him. When they saw him they unlocked him and handed him an assault rifle. John and Arbiter were making there way towards Truth to stop the rings from firing, but were too late when Commander Keyes crashed a pelican drop ship and tried saving Johnson from the brutes. She died trying. When John and Arbiter made it to Truth he was succumbing to the Flood. Arbiter quickly got revenge for Truth's sins. John was making his way through a Flood infested High Charity, where he knew Cortana was at. When he reached the source of Cortana's radio signal he bashed the safety zone around her and retrieved the broken Cortana. 343 Guilty Spark had shot and killed Johnson. John killed spark in return. After the sad farewells John activated the Halo ring and beat feet to the entrance of the control room, followed by Arbiter. Arbiter and John crashed through the vehicle bay of the Forward Unto Dawn while escaping the Halo's fire. While escaping John stayed in the bay to finish his fight. Cortana stayed as well. John and Cortana were drifting through space towards an unknown and possibly hostile planet. John went into cryostasis and had Cortana wait for them to be found by UNSC or even the Elites Arbiter controlled. Four years had passed since the Forward Unto Dawn was split in half, leaving Arbiter on Earth and John in random space. Now the duo were being boarded by Covenant who were stuck in the old ways of things. Elites, Jackals, Grunts, and even Hunters. The planet the aft half of the Dawn was floating towards was in fact a Forerunner shield world. When John and Cortana landed on the planet, called Requiem, they came into contact with the Prometheans and their leader known as the Didact. Didact got the covenant and Prometheans to work together after a short while, and try to eradicate the humans that found Requiem. The human ship was large, very large and was donned the name Infinity. John was retrieving Cortana from a Forerunner podium, but the Didact destroyed said podium. John was now alone while on his way up to fight Didact. Multiple Cortanas started to rise from the hard light bridge that Didact and John were on. They quickly distracted the Didact long enough for John to plant a grenade in his chest and inevitably kill him. John had to set off the nuke that he acquired from the broadsword and the only way to now do that is manually. John set the bomb to standby, and after a short moment of silence, he detonated the bomb with all the strength he could muster. "Cortana?" Chief got up from his kneeling stance and asked again, "Cortana do you read?" he asked again with worry in his voice, "Cortana, come in!" There had been a slight shimmering noise when Chief finished his pleas. He turned around to see what was watching him, but was surprised to find a human sized Cortana walking towards him. "How......" Chief was confused at the AI's new configuration . "Oh, i'm the strangest thing you've seen all day?" Cortana had replied sarcastically. "But if were here-" Chief was stopped. "It worked...you did it, just like you always do." Cortana's tone had obviously shown sadness but Chief ignored it while looking around the 'room' they were currently in. "So how do we get out of here?" Chief questioned. "I'm not coming with you this time." "What!?" Chief was surprised at her behavior. "Most of me is down there," Cortana looked down at the remains of the Didact's ship, "I only held enough back to get you off the ship." "No! That's not...We go together!" Chief interrupted, now showing fear in his stone cold voice. "It's already done." There was a short pause before Chief had broken the seal again, "I am NOT leaving you here...." "John...." Cortana now started walking towards Chief and lifted a hand to touch his chest piece, "I've waited so long to do that." Cortana now sounded of terror. "It was my job to take care of you." Chief was desperately trying to sway Cortana. "We were supposed to take care of each other." Cortana reiterated, "And we did." "Cortana please..." Chief now knew he was wasting his time but kept trying, "Wait!" "Welcome home John." with her last words Cortana dissipated and left John staring into nothingness. The ponies were now staring at each other, astonished that John is even sane after the events they just witnessed. "That was a long and sad story, to say the least." Celestia broke the silence. "Indeed." Luna commented. All the ponies now looked at John, but found him aimlessly staring at the chip he removed from his helmet. John put the chip back into his helmet. John looked at all of them and said nothing. "How?" Cadence asked. John cocked his head to show his misunderstanding. "How did you go that long without love? How?" "That's what Spartans are trained to do. They eat, sleep, and breath war. That's why we were made." John replied. "On top of that, the only person who I remember as family, are my fellow Spartans and Doctor Halsey." "I don't know about you guys but I think I need a break from sad stories for a while. Don't you." Pinkie sulked away into her comfy bed that was put in the room for the slumber party. The other girls followed suit. An hour or so later John was sitting in a corner of the room when a echoing voice chimed in his head: "I can see the hate and sadness that dwells in your mind. And I'm the only one who can help. You just have to trust me John." > Minor Problem > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia's morning sun was radiant in her room, casting glares off of John's armor as it did so. John failed to find sleeps sweet embrace that night. Luna's moon was however the most beautiful moon John had ever seen. He held a silent vigil that morning for all of his fallen comrades; Johnson in particular. Sgt. Major Avery Johnson was the closest person John could call a brother. They were through the events at Halo Installation-04, the Invasion of Earth, and even the Battle of Installation-04b. They were through hell and back many times, but it had to end at some point. No one could fight their whole lives and Johnson found his end. On a similar note, John was thinking of Arbiter and why the elites formed another Covenant. John knew Arbiter wasn't in command of the new Covenant, but why would he allow this. Had he allowed this? John would never know this, but it kept him occupied through the eventful past few days. John was starting to get up from his camping spot trying very hard not to wake any of the ponies. The half-ton armor didn't help in the process. Making sure that his assault rifle was holstered, he finally got to the door and opened it to just what he needed to get out. The door creaked a little making it very awkward for him. When he exited the room fully he slipped the door back into place and walked down the hallway. Trying to avoid the guard was not an easy task either. John was unaware of how well they were trained and if they met his expectations he would need an active camouflage to get through the long corridors of the castle. Making it past the first turn was easy no guards at all, but the next proved difficult. Guards were switching their guard posts and three were making their way to Celestia's bedroom. John silently ran back to the room to find haven with his hosts. This only caused more trouble as some guards came through another door. The reason John didn't use that door was because it was locked, which meant that the guards were the only ones allowed entrance. 'Perfect' he thought as he was jogging to Celestia's room. John whizzed his head around to see if he was being followed and sure enough a Unicorn guard stopped dead in his tracks and gave a commanding order to his lesser troops: "Halt! By order of Celestia you are under arrest for wandering around the castle's corridors! And going to our majesty's room as well! Guards seize him!" The captain of the group was charging some sort of energy as his horn was glowing a deep magenta color. Sure enough, two bolts of magic made contact with John's armor. His shields didn't even flare. As this went down, John made no attempt of being quiet. He slammed the door shut and ran to the window. This had obviously woken the ponies up and made them worry about their new 'friend'. "John, what's wrong?!" asked a disturbed Twilight. "I guess the guards don't have a liking towards me." John replied. "Hold on, I can handle this." Celestia retorted. As she finished her gesture the same three guards from earlier came barging through the door, spears and magic at the ready. "Guards hold firm! This creature is not your enemy." Celestia's regal tone had seemed to calm down the guards. To Chief's surprise they were rookies, first day actually. With everybody calmed down, and the guards back at their posts, the group of mares and the lone wolf were on their way to breakfast. This had been a luxury John hadn't had since basic Spartan training. In fact it had been a few days since he last had something to eat so this was more of a treat than anything. As they entered the dining hall the mere size of the room shocked him. Disregarding that, he took a look at what was on the dining list this morning. Waffles and pancakes were the main course along with other pony related foods. Although he was hungry and dearly wanted to have something delicious, John denied what he wanted. He didn't feel the need to eat just yet and wanted to hold off on all things food related unless he needed to eat. While the others were finishing their meals John asked a question to Celestia: "Is there a chance you would let me back to the ship? I should go check up on its condition." "Why of course, but you would need to take at least one pony with you. And they can bring a few of their friends with them. Under those conditions may you go back to your, uh- ship." Celestia laid down a set of other rules that John felt was already known such as; "Don't harm another pony." Typical yet needed. "Fine, I need someone to come-" John was immediately interrupted by Twilight. "I'll go!" "Alright you can come." John mentally sighed as he knew why she did so. "And I want my friends to come with me as well." "Fine. We leave in ten minutes." ... As the group exited the castle they were making their way around the back of the castle. Not only was this quicker and more efficient, but it was in the direction of the Pelican anyways. They walked through old abandoned parts of the castle, none gaining interest in anybody. While the castle was very close to their destination the way to it was to rocky for the ponies to keep up with Chief; Chief just asked if he could run ahead to which they said yes, only if Rainbow Dash went with him. He agreed and they ran, and in Rainbow's case flew, to the LZ. At a steady pace of thirty miles an hour the duo made it their in no time at all. Rainbow decided to do tricks while the friends caught up and Chief just did maintenance on all of the guns and other important equipment in the ship. Eventually the others caught up and started to talk. And talk and talk and talk. John never heard so much talk in his life and this aggravated him to the core. He kept his cool however and kept working. The work was about half done when something caught the attention of mares and the sage green warrior. The loudest roar ever heard by John's ears was just over the hill to their north. Getting ready for anything Chief grabbed a storm rifle and three plasma grenades. And just in case it was something stationary, he grabbed two remote charges. The others were wondering what the items he retrieved were but let him do what he was going to do without question. Getting ready for the fight of his life, John hid behind an oak tree ready for enemy fire. The creature had marched over the hill in all it's sapphire coated glory. A bear, but not just any bear. A giant bear nearly thirty feet tall. John readied his storm rifle and took aim at the monster's face. The bear saw this and roared again taking his gesture as a threat. John put his finger on the trigger and in a moments notice fired bursts of concentrated plasma into the bears face. This obviously pestered the bear for the animal was swatting the air with its gigantic paws. John could tell the shots were penetrating the large coat and were burning the animal from the inside out. He should know this better than anyone. While the bear was distracted with swinging its paws at the air, John aimed at the eyes. This was not easy because of the weapons effective range. Luck was with John however because he got both eyes with two shots. This caused the bear great pain which caused another roar of defiance from its monstrous jaws. Now that the bear couldn't see John executed his plan: he started running towards the bear, holstering his rifle while doing so. When the bear was within twenty feet he unsheathed his knife and stabbed the bear. The bear didn't feel his knife penetrate the skin, perfect for his plan. He started climbing the bear grabbing a giant handful of fur then using his knife as a sort of ice pick. The mares were watching this and started to think that John was going to die, but little did they know John was on to something. John was not on top of the bear's head ready to slay the foul beast where it stands. He started to carve out a large enough hole in the bear's head to place a charge in. When the size was ready and fit the charge he placed it in. The bear however felt every agonizing second of the knife carving its own meat out. The bear was desperately trying to shake John off but he had a very good spot on the head. Sensing the danger of the newly enraged bear, John had only one option. He jumped off the bears head and while doing so used his thruster pack to keep his pace and balance. The bear was swatting the air even more violently than before. It had gotten a lucky hit on John sending the Spartan into a nearby boulder, obliterating the boulder to millions of pieces. The mares looked in horror as the bear now sniffed them out, full of revenge. However their spirits were lifted when they saw John walk out of the rubble, holding a little stick device in his right hand. This gained the ponies interest but that interest was short lived. John lifted the little tab and a red button appeared. When John pushed his thumb down on the button, the ponies were horrified. The charge was set off and the bear's head obliterated into chum. The monster came down with a giant tumbling crash, shaking the earth across a fairly large distance. "John, What did you do!!!" Fluttershy was now enraged with fear and obvious anger. "Saved your lives." he replied nonchalantly. John's victory celebration in his head was stopped when he heard another roar. This one even bigger than the last... > Major Problem > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The second roar was even more monstrous than the first, making the ground shake and everypony's hearts pound. In the rush of the whole incident John was checking his weapons and ammo. Storm rifle showed to be at 68% charge, enough to help with another bear if that was the case. The case was settled when John came face to face with the largest living thing he has ever seen, another bear over twice the size of the last bear. Trying to help John Twilight screamed: "John get out of its, it's an ursa major!" John was standing still staring at the new crimson colored enemy. The major looked at the dead body of it's offspring and roared in defiance and agony over losing its loved one. The roar was so loud in fact that even Celestia herself heard the menacing cry over the entire distance. When the ursa was finished bellowing it turned to John and gave him the "You're gonna fucking die," look. John took that as a compliment, the blue ursa was no easy task to take down. John felt however that he was at an extreme disadvantage compared to the older ursa because the ursa major was magnitudes larger than the thirty foot tall beast that lay dead. John looked at the pelican and back at the ursa. John put his new quickly thought out plan to action with an order. "Distract this thing I have an idea!" "Are y'all crazy! It'l tear us to pieces!" A shocked Applejack responded. "Just do it!" John commanded. Applejack and the others fallowed his demands and started to gain the attention of the ursa major. While they were distracting the mega-beast John was running for the pelican cockpit. Instead of flying the ship, he decided to use the top mounted turret, a new feature since he was last out of cryo. The new model of the UNSC battle pelican came with a pilot operated machine gun and spartan anti-vehicle laser. The side man-operated cannons took after the falcon battle aircraft from the Invasion of Reach. And the top turret was the infamous scorpion tank main turret. With this weaponry available to him, John would have an easier time taking out the ursa major. When he reached the cockpit John jumped into the upper seat which controlled the top cannon. With precise aim he readied the shot and let loose a 90mm explosive round into the ursa's head. When the smoke cleared all that could be seen of the major's head was the side that John didn't shoot. With a sound as loud as thunder the gargantuan beast came tumbling down onto the ground. 'Why didn't I do this before?' he thought. He unhitched the cockpit and jumped out, greeted by five ponies. Fluttershy had passed out and laid on the ground where they were safe from the ursas earlier. "John, how did you kill an ursa major?!" a shocked Twilight burst out. "It was what I was trained to do." "Dear why did you though? Twilight could have done what she did to the last one that arrived in Ponyville a while back." Right as Rarity stopped talking a large white flash appeared out of nowhere and blinded all but John. When the flash dissipated an enraged Celestia and Shining Armor along with his fairly new wife, Cadence, were trotting towards John. "John do care to explain yourself here!" Celestia barked. "I saved us from these ursas. Nothing else would have helped us in this situation ma'am." "We don't kill here John, not the wildlife not the citizens. Do you understand?" Shining cut in. "What if I don't?" John tested. "Try me, I dare you." Shining relayed. "Gentlecolts please calm down. I am sure we can handle this in a civil manner." Rarity but in. "I would love to start," John replied, "I only did this to save your subjects and your sister. If I didn't they would be morsels for worms. If you don't like it what are you gonna do about it, prissy colt." John had pulled on Shining's last nerve causing the enraged colt to shoot out magical bolts of energy. John easily avoided all of them and continued to taunt. "You can't do anything. You're weak, pathetic, and most of all...worthless." Shining shot another volley of magic at John. More intense than the last. Again they were all avoided easily by him. "Why do you try, has Celestia even told you what I did for a living?" as John kept talking he was now taking action and throwing some punches and kicks in for more of a show. "I am a soldier the best in the galaxy." His fist made contact, cracking a rib or two in Shining's chest. "I have killed more than you can count." Another punch was delivered to Shining's side cracking another couple ribs in the process. "And I can kill you... but I won't." John's last kick made impact with Shining's jaw rendering the Captain 'down for the count'. "Because I don't need to." When John finished his speech he was hit with multiple shots of magic which brought his shields down by about 3%. John turned his head to see Twilight as angry as the ursa major was. "Why would you do that!" She exclaimed. "To show you the hell that I and over a hundred others have gone through. You see how easily I was able to break him, I was a child when this shit happened to me and I damn well plan on using my skill and knowledge in the battlefield and off the battlefield to help me when I can." John turned and walked back to the pelican and returned the storm rifle and any other equipment he had on him back to the pelican. When he got out he was surrounded by the six mares who used to call him friend but now called him foe. They all donned special looking jewelry, Twilight's was especially more dazzling than any of the others fancy necklaces. Celestia and Cadence were tending Shining while the mares in front of him were lighting up, as if they were charging. > I am a Monument to all Your Sins > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "John, you forced us to no other option. You will face judgement." Celestia yelled over the group of charging ponies in front of him. "Bring it on." John said. As he did so the mares in front of his were now done charging and sent a large rainbow beam, vibrant and full of color, in John's general direction. There was nothing John could do but try to dodge the energy that was desperately trying to catch the Spartan. John looked over and saw Celestia's horn glowing yellow, which caused him to get distracted and almost get hit by the beam. Looking at Celestia's horn again proved to be a problem. Now that she was using her magic, she decided to use a incapacitation spell, sending shocks throughout John's entire body. "Again." she ordered. The mares followed and charged another beam to shoot. John struggled to get free but to no avail was unable to budge. The harmonious beam flowed towards him. "This may sting a little." John prepared for the impending blast to fall upon him, but it never touched him. When he looked to see why this was so he saw a bubble-shield like barrier surrounding him. "I looked through your memories, and found this." The voice penetrated John's mind again. "Oh and how about Celly's magical hold hmm?" With the sound of snapping fingers John fell to his feet once again, able to move about as he wished. "John I can't explain everything now, but you need to trust me. Let them get you with the Elements of Harmony. It won't hurt you, but rather give you a slight pinch. Let them capture you if need be, but get back to Canterlot Castle. I will explain later." John pondered this offer with much vigor before the bubble shield 'popped'. He decided to take the offer, he had nothing to lose anyways and he was sure he could fight his way out of the castle if it came to that. Celestia had grabbed John for a second time and commanded the Elements to try again. Without being able to move John just let his muscles relax. When the beam of harmony hit John, there was a tremendous flash, as bright as Celestia's mid-day sun. When the flash let down John was found unchanged. This greatly confused all of the ponies who were in audience to this. "John how have you not changed?" Cadence demanded. John replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "We'll bring him to the castle, have him under constant surveillance. Then we will find out why you have not changed." Celestia ordered that Cadence and Twilight teleport everypony back to the throne room. When they all arrived at the throne room they were greeted by a worried Luna. "Sister, s-sister!" She called out. "It's, it's oh just come and look!" Luna led Celestia off to Canterlot gardens, full of wonderful beauties, flora, fauna, and even the lifeless statues that guarded the gardens. The two sisters arrived at an empty pedestal, labeled: "Discord, Lord of Chaos". The sisters looked at each other with worried looks when a deep dark laugh shrouded their thoughts. "Oh it has been too long Celestia, too long indeed." The menacing voice was now moving from John to the dual Princesses. Suddenly, out of thin air, Discord himself appeared frightening both sisters. "Oh and Luna, I didn't talk to you last time I was here." the spirit said with glee while giving both of them a hug. "Discord, h-how did you escape from your stone imprisonment?" Luna demanded. "Oh you know, I used the only thing that matters in life... CHAOS! And I have Johnny to thank for it. Isn't that nice, a stranger arrive's here and you get stuck with him, and then he unintentionally helps me escape! HA! Classic." Discord summoned a pink cloud of cotton candy, instantly jumping on the soft and somewhat gelatinous cloud. "Why did you escape then and what do you intend to do when we use the Elements of Harmony on you?" Celestia asked. "Oh you won't have to this time because, get this, I plan on being nicer for a change." The two sisters looked at each other, mouth agape from what they just heard. "Yeah I know right. Well I just want to see the world differently, but don't get me wrong I will spread chaos, just not here. So what do you think, pretty please with a cherry on top." Discord changed his head to a puppies head with a literal cherry on top, giving the rulers a true puppy dog stare. "Fine fine just get those adorable eyes away from me." Celestia conceded. "Celly could I talk to you for a moment," Luna asked, now glaring at Discord, "alone!" "Yes of course dear sister." Celestia was lead by Luna to a rather secluded corner of the Caterlot Castle garden. Once there Luna continued with her talk. ... Twilight was pacing back and forth in the throne room, staring at John with much hate. She continued this while her friends were talking in a private group she was excluded from. This went on for about ten minutes until the group broke apart to talk to Twilight herself. Twilight graciously accepted the offer, ready to take any chance to stop guarding John. The group only went as far as the hallway just outside the throne room. There they talked. "Twilight dear, we know you must be concerned for you brother's welfare," Rarity started, "But we think it is unhealthy to hate somepony as much as you hate John right now." "Yeah I mean come on, we invited him to stay with us, we saw what happened to him, we even cared about him, but that doesn't mean that if they betray you you hate them for the rest of their lives." Rainbow pointed out. "We didn't even throw him a 'Welcome to Equestria Party' or a 'Welcome to Ponyville Party' or even a 'Congrats on Surviving War Party'!" Pinkie ranted. "We just care about yer well bein' Sugarcube." Applejack said. "We just want you to be happy, that's all." Fluttershy whispered. The group of mares waiting for a response were greeted by something different, something that looked like it wanted to harm them. ... "Sister, I think it unwise to keep Discord out for long. What if he is just pulling our legs and pursues chaos here, against his promise?" Luna asked. "Luna please, we have the Elements to take care of him and on top of that, I don't feel having him around would be bad for anyone." "Fine, I will agree with you for now. Do you remember what I said when we defeated him the first time?" "What was that again?" "He is just the monument to all our sins." > Real World Rampancy > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Twilight darling are you alright?" Rarity asked. Twilight turned to meet gazes with here friends again, this time carrying many changes along with her. Visible changes were, to say the least, many. Her coat looked like was rubbed down with coal, her mane looked as if she hadn't brushed since she had awoken, there was also a small fang creeping its way out of her mouth, but these were the small things. The more odd looking differences were very concerning. On her shoulders, spikes had grown through her skin. The scariest and most identifiable difference from the front view of Twilight was her eyes. The sclera of her eyes had shifted from white to pitch black, and her iris was ice blue with a small black pupil in the center. She evilly smiled at her friends, showing off her devilishly bloody teeth. "Yes Rarity, I am most certainly fine..." Twilight's new speaking tone was the icing on the cake for her new looks. She turned again to her prisoner, giving him the evil eye. As she turned back to speak to her friends once more, she found her path to be blocked by her teacher, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna, both stunned to find Twilight like this. "Hello Celestia, it has been to long hasn't it." Twilight's demonic female voice, changed to a demonic male voice when she spoke to her mentor. "Twilight...what has become of you?!" Celestia inquired. A few tears forming out of the corners of her eyes. "Oh Celestia, we are not Twilight anymore. Surely you remember me, Luna how about you do you remember me?" The voice was taunting them, and it was succeeding. Soon enough Discord teleported into the room, sunglasses on and riding a pink cotton candy cloud. "Ah Discord, tell everypony here that you know me. I mean you have to, right?" Discord's cotton candy cloud 'popped' as if it were a balloon, sending it flying around the room and Discord on the floor. "There's a voice I wish I could forget." Discord stated. After getting up from the floor he walked up to Twilight's taken over body, shocked to here his old foes voice. "Come now, you missed me. Right?" "Nah, preferred you where you were." "Oh...that is disappointing isn't it." Twilight's body turned once again to face John, who was having trouble of what to make of the situation. "Aw our guest, I have been waiting for you. You let me escape you know." "Oh yeah, how did I manage that?" John retorted. "Ah yes! I almost forgot to tell you." The unknown entity walked toward John, leaning in for a whisper, "I was the voice you heard in your head..." "Oh." "And I still remember the first thing I said to you, do you? I said that I could help you and that all you had to do was trust me. So far you have, so that obviously means that you trust me or that you are very dumb." The entity turned back towards Celestia, "And your kingdom, is now mine once again. HUHUHUHUHUHUHUH!!" "You will never get away with this Entropy!" Celestia barked. "So you do remember my name, well than you should remember what happens to the ponies that I take control of correct?" "Yes..." Was all Celestia could reply, while tears were falling down here cheeks. Entropy turned back to John, large demon-like smile scrawled across his face. "What do you say John, want to get back home or help me rule here? The choice is up to you...Just don't pick the wrong one. Hehehehehe..." Entropy let the restraints on John free, allowing the Spartan to move freely. "Can you really send me home?" John asked. "Maybe, but I would need professionals to look up what I should do and how I would need to do it before we could commit to something of that scale." Entropy was lost in thought for a moment but came back to reality a second later, "Ah yes I remember what I'm missing, guards." With the last word spoken, Entropy's horn glowed blood red with magic and a new battalion of fifty shadow like Alicorns appeared. "Take my new prisoners to the dungeon and kill all who stand in your way." The 'shadow warriors' did as told and went to clear the castle of any guards. John just stood in the background while Discord was sitting on the floor, pondering what was going on. "Do you know why you are not a prisoner Discord?" "To be honest, maybe, ahhhh, no." ... Celestia and the rest of the imprisoned ponies were making there way towards the Canterlot Castle Dungeons, at the same time being escorted by ten 'shadow warriors'. Celestia was done draining tears and looked over to Luna who had a similar, miserable expression on her face. Celestia then looked the the five other Elements all sad and rightfully upset with Entropy's crimes and sins. She didn't blame them, she and Luna were no strangers to Entropy's gaping maw of darkness. When they arrived at the dungeon gates there was heavy resistance from Celestia's guard, many of which did not survive the volley of dark magic being shot at them. The ones that did survive hits were sent into cells along with their leader. In a matter of minutes the dungeon was taken over. The princess was not one to show public sadness but the recent events had proved too much for her strong will to take, and she was not the only one. She found the others with teary eyes and broken spirits. Eventually the silence was broken. "P-Princess, What did Entropy mean by "Do you know what happens to the ponies I take control of?" Fluttershy asked. The princess had a hard time thinking about the problem let alone talk about it, but the question deserved an answer. "It means, dear Fluttershy, that when he leaves Twilight's body, she will die." ... After several minutes pondering the situation Discord finally spoke up; "Excuse me but I don't feel like being here right now." Discord excused himself when he heard the screams of dying guards from around the castle. "NO!" Entropy shouted, "You will rule by my side! Just like a son should!" > "Now the gate has been unlatched, headstones pushed aside. Corpses shift and offer room, a fate you must abide!" > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "You are no father of mine!" Discord shouted. Entropy was now walking up and down the long corridor sized carpet that lay in the throne room. He gave a quick glare at Discord, but resumed his pacing. At a moments notice, John walked in expecting progress on the research for his return to Earth. He found nothing. "Entropy, when are you going to get me home?" he asked. "My top specialists are working on it as we speak John, just keep your composure and you will be rewarded." "Okay, I'm just eager that's all." John walked over to the window that is positioned in the throne room. When he looked outside he saw not the usual colorful world of Equestria, but an already dark version of what looked like a living hell. This was not what he wanted, and this conflicted him greatly on his morals. He contemplated on whether this was right or not and of course, his mind chose the more peaceful approach and not this, hellish approach happening right at his doorstep. "I know it's only been a day since our truce, but be honest with me; do you really think you can get me home?" "John, I made a promise and I for one keep the promises I make." Entropy fell for John's trap. John knew that Entropy found the promise conversations while sifting through his thoughts and memories and that the memory of Cortana would make him weak. Entropy was sadly mistaken. John was certain now what will happen in the hours ahead of him. Entropy was planning on betraying him, something commonly found with enemies that make temporary alliances just to get what they want. Entropy's goal: take over Equestria. And John knew just how to stop him. "I'm going for a walk." John stated. "Fine fine, it's not like you have done anything else around here since I came to power." Entropy was neglecting his composure, quickly gaining it back when he asked the Spartan if he would like company, to which the Spartan happily declined. Why? Because John planned on going where he was forbidden to go: the dungeon. ... When John arrived at the dungeon, he was quickly scooted out of the "Restricted Area" from several shadow guards. He let them do as they were ordered to do the first time, but when they denied him access a second time he gave each of them a quick punch to the jaw, knocking them out so he could infiltrate the dungeon. However John had to remain still or the guards would see him. While trying to be sneaky he witnessed the most horrifying thing, he thought, he ever saw. A shadow guard was whipping a Celestial guard who forcibly pushed up against the wall. John couldn't tell at first, but eventually noted that the guard was a Pegasus, with his wings hacked off. The whip being used on the poor soul was tearing flesh from the guards body, flinging chunks of meat across the room. The shadow guard was amused but not done, for when the tortured guard fell from the excruciating pain, he was placed on a rack, where he was secured with tight straps. When the victim was secure he was tortured even more from the crushing force that the torturer was laying down upon him, crushing ever bone in his now frail body. The last thing the victim went through was the rack's true purpose. The second shadow guard standing next to the device increased the tension on the chains which gave the final, gruesome results. The now dead guard was split into five pieces: all the legs were torn apart from the body and the main body itself was now on the ground. This made the two torturers laugh hysterically. The next prisoner was called in and John was too familiar with him. Shining Armor was stood against the wall, muscles tensing from the pain he was about to receive. What made the whole experience worse was the fact the five Elements and the three princesses were forced to watch every gruesome detail of the tortures. John decided to take action and pulled his magnum out when the shadow guards weren't paying attention, aiming down the 2X scope. When the target's head was in sight he let loose a round in his head and instantly gave another round into the second head. When the tangos dropped John holstered his magnum and when to the prisoners. "John, what are you doing here." A broken Celestia asked. "This world is succumbing to evil and I intend to stop it." "Why? We betrayed you and you're still trying to help us." Luna inquired. "If I could stand fighting alongside Elites, why can't I help fight for my new home." John would regret saying what he just said at a later date, because he didn't intend on staying longer than he had to. "Well we need to defeat Entropy the same way we defeated him last time. But how......hmm...I got it! Luna do you remember the last time we defeated him, that I had a special little box?" Celestia sporadically asked. "Y-yes, why is that silly thing so important?" Luna replied. "That, "silly thing" held our weapon against his tyranny." "You don't mean the-" "Yes, we must use-" "No Cely we can't use it, it's not right!" "Luna we have no choice." After a quick moment pondering the dire situation, Luna came to a consensus and agreed with her sister. "Wait hold on, what is this weapon you used on him?" Rainbow Dash asked. "It was our old toy crowns." The answer was followed by very irritated glares from everypony else who heard the ludicrous scheme. "Our parents placed very powerful magic spells on them, that when used correctly gives us three free wishes. There are two that remain." "Yes and we used the first on Entropy when he first took over." Luna finished. "Okay it sounds like a plan, but we still need to get you up to the throne room undetected." John pointed out. "I'll go up and distract Entropy, while you guys follow at a reasonable pace behind me. When I give the signal you will use your magic and stop him." Everypony nodded in confirmation on the plan but one, Fluttershy, who was clearly upset, had not spoken loud enough for all the other ponies to hear. The only way she could get their attention was through action. When Luna saw this she went back for her, only to hear the grim reality of what was going on. Fluttershy was trying to tell everypony that when Entropy leaves his host, the hosting body does not come back to life, rendering Twilight dead. John and Shining Armor didn't know of this until now. "What! No, there has to be another way, we can't lose Twiley!" Shining spat. "Captain Armor, I'm sorry, but there is no other option here." John relayed. "We can't just let her die!" Shining retorted back. "Stop your quarrelling you two!" Celestia shouted, "There are two 'wishes' left on our crowns, combined, both wishes will do both jobs at hand. I can assure you Shining Armor that Twilight will be alright." "We need to get this done. Entropy's betrayal will be soon if I am correct." John barked the information out to everypony else, giving them the rest of the plan while he was on the spotlight. As soon as all the others knew what was going to go down, John commenced the first stage.