My Little Pony: Apocalypse

Chapters

Chapter 1: The Portal
Chapter 2: Premonitions
Chapter 3: A New Day
Chapter 4: Arrival
Chapter 5: Strangers

Chapter 1: The Portal

ONI Orbital Facility, Earth
November 16, 2552
14:56 hours

Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck gazed out of the viewport. On Earth below, the last bastions of humanity were fighting valiantly against the unstoppable Covenant. Even from space, he could see large fires covering large portions of the planet. The Covenant ships had been glassing sections of Earth for nearly an entire month. The initial invasion occurred only within the vicinity of New Mombasa in East Africa. After the Prophet of Regret jumped away, the new Covenant fleet that arrived immediately after set their sights on the rest of the planet. Battles have followed suit in North and South America, Australia and even Antarctica.

Dozens of cities have been reduced to rubble; New Mombasa is nothing more than a memory now. Millions of people have died on Earth alone. But that does not compete with the billions the Covenant have killed over the course of 27 long years. Buck has been involved with this war for most of his life. He served on Harvest, fought on Reach during its last days, and now could only watch as Earth, humanity’s last hope, burns beneath him.

Buck sadly sighed. He could only imagine the thousands of people suffering and dying at the hands of the enemy. He longed to be able to fight on the ground and save them. However, he was needed on this space station. He, along with the rest of his squad, had managed to capture a Covenant Engineer in New Mombasa on the second day of their invasion. The Engineer had downloaded New Mombasa’s Superintendent class A.I., designated Vergil, into its “core” before they had found it. As such, the Engineer has been designated “Vergil”.

It was not easy to get Vergil out of the city. The Covenant did not take kindly to their Engineer defecting so willingly. They sent an entire battalion of troops to kill the Engineer. Unfortunately for them, they underestimated the superiority of a small team of ODSTs. Buck was still contemplating how they managed to pull that off. Truthfully, he thought it was thanks to the Rookie that they escaped from the city, let alone captured the Engineer.

Ever since that day, almost a month ago, ONI has assigned Buck and his team to guard the Engineer. A simple, yet important task… so they say. Buck has hated this detail. He’s a fighter, always has been. The others were getting irritated with this task as well. Romeo has been complaining like an old lady for the past week. Dutch has been trying to keep him under control. Mickey, too, hasn’t been overly thrilled about guarding the Engineer. The Rookie, on the other hand, never complained once. Then again, he doesn’t talk much anyways.

The only “exciting” thing that has happened recently was when Sergeant Major Johnson came to interrogate the alien. The interrogation went well. The Engineer was more cooperative than Buck had thought. It took several hours to interpret what it was saying, but the UNSC now knows what the Covenant are after on Earth: something called “the Ark”. That’s what the Covenant are currently excavating for on the ground. From the sounds of things, they’ve nearly fully uncovered it. The destruction of New Mombasa finally made sense; “the Ark” was buried beneath the city.

But regardless, Buck’s team was not going to be a part of the defense of Earth anymore. He turned away from the viewport. Behind him was one of the space station’s laboratories. The Engineer was working on some sort of project involving a Slipspace drive. Several ONI scientists were assisting it in its “project”. No one truly knows what the alien is attempting, but ONI thinks it could help them win the war. Vergil hasn’t done anything dangerous as of yet, but Buck wasn’t putting his money on that this “project” was perfectly safe. Slipspace drives can have unpredictable results if misused.

Buck watched Vergil take apart several components on the Slipspace drive with its four tentacles. The Engineer rearranged the components into new locations on the Slipspace drive. It also attached other seemingly useless junk to the drive. It pulled wires out of the drive and fixed them to the new parts. Buck watched in amazement at how fast the alien was able to completely modify human technology. He didn’t know if whatever Vergil was doing would work, but the alien sure seemed confident in itself. The scientists working with it appeared to be just as perplexed as Buck was.

The Engineer turned its long slender head to look at one of the computer monitors hooked up to the Slipspace drive. It blinked its six eyes and hovered one of its tentacles over the terminal. Its cilia spread out over the controls and easily penetrated the computer. One of the scientists protested the Engineers actions. A second scientist stopped him and insisted that they allow Vergil to continue its work.

Buck chuckled and walked away from the lab. He casually walked down one of the station’s corridors and once again thought about the fight on the ground. He wondered how the fight was going. There was not much fighting happening in space for the time being. There were rumors circulating that ONI and High Command were planning something big for the Covenant gathered around the Ark. He hoped that he’d be allowed to take part in that. He was dying for some action.

Bridge of the CCS-class Battlecruiser Righteous Condemnation

Shipmaster Leonius stared at the holo-monitors in front of him. The human space station was in his ships sights. He could easily order a barrage of plasma torpedoes to annihilate the pathetic excuse for station, but he had orders straight from the holy Prophet of Truth himself. The humans had one of their Huragok and the Covenant wants it back. Apparently, this was the same Huragok that had betrayed the Covenant to the humans in the city called “New Mombasa”. Leonius would rather have the Huragok killed for its treachery, but the Prophet of Truth believed that it could still have potential uses. He didn’t care. All he cared was that this operation would succeed swiftly; he wanted his ship present once the holy prophet activated the Ark portal.

“Shipmaster, Chieftain Barrackus here,” a rough voice spoke over the cruiser’s COM.

Leonius turned his attention to another terminal. “What is it?” the Jiralhanae barked.

“We are ready to board the station. Begin diversionary attack,” the Chieftain ordered.

“Understood, Chieftain,” the gruff shipmaster replied. He ended the COM. He strolled over to one of his ship’s gunners. “Prepare to fire on the stations defenses!” The gunner barked a confirmation. The shipmaster turned his attention to another bridge officer. “Launch all fighters to cover our Phantom boarding parties!”

“Yes, Shipmaster!” the subordinate answered.

Leonius fixed his gaze at the main view screen. “All cannons: FIRE!” The Righteous Condemnation’s frontal plasma cannons opened fire on station. He grinned in satisfaction when that section of the station engulfed in flame. Multiple Seraph fighters shot out of the cruisers main hangar followed by waves of Phantoms. Each Phantom contained a few dozen Jiralhanae, Unggoy, Kig-Yar, and Mgalekgolo. They would find the traitorous Huragok and either capture it, or ensure it can never help the humans again. As for the humans, they have no chance against the assault teams.

The human station launched their own response fighters to engage the Seraphs. Those ships were fast, but Covenant Seraphs were more powerful. They have shields and their plasma cannons deal more damage than human missiles. Several Seraphs began to strafe the station dodging the station’s defense turrets. Some turrets got lucky and took out a few Seraphs, but losing a few pilots was insignificant to the shipmaster. Those pilots gave their lives for the Great Journey, and he would see them again once they’ve attained godhood.

The first few Phantoms reached the closest hangar of the space station. Leonius smiled a wicked grin. How he wished he could be attacking the station. He loved to kill humans and he always hated missing out on the fun. Before he departed the cruiser, Leonius asked Chieftain Barrackus to bring him back a human for later. He was getting hungry, and human was on the menu.

ONI Orbital Facility
15:19 hours

Buck had just entered the station’s lounge. BOOOOOOM!!!!! The entire station shook from an explosion. The ODST lost his balance and grabbed the wall rail for support. He looked up. “What the hell was that?”

“Alert, all hands! The station is under attack!” someone shouted over the station’s intercom. Buck shot to his feet. This wasn’t good. The Covenant had not attacked the station before, what could’ve made them attack now? “Covenant boarding craft are inbound! All combat teams are to repel boarders!”

“I have to find the squad!” Buck sprinted towards the armory. He passed by several technicians and security officers along the way. The security was most likely trying to escort the station’s technicians someplace safe. Buck got onto his COM: “Squad! Get to the armory! On the double, troopers!”

The first to answer was Dutch. “Gunny, Romeo and I are on the way!”

Mickey responded second. “Already there, Gunny.” Buck ran past more security and maries who were in preparing defenses in the corridors. Some technicians were welding blast doors shut. Buck wondered where the Rookie was. He didn’t reply, which wasn’t something new, but he was a dedicated soldier. He was sure the Rookie was heading for the station’s armory. Unless he’s asleep, again.

A few minutes later and Buck found himself at the armory. Mickey was waiting for him. “Gunny,” the private saluted.

“Mickey, have the others got here yet?” Buck inquired. Mickey shook his head. The two ODSTs entered the armory. The walls were lined with all types of weapons: pistols and magnums, assault rifles, shotguns, battle rifles, SMGs, grenades, sniper rifles and even a few rocket launchers. There was even an M6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle (aka a Spartan laser). ‘I think Dutch will want that,’ Buck thought. Despite the ONI station being a research facility it sure was well stocked in firepower. Buck grabbed an MA5C assault rifle, an M6C/SOCOM magnum, and several grenades. Mickey opted for a suppressed M7 SMG and an M41 rocket launcher.

Buck stared at the private. Mickey looked at him and shrugged. “What? We’re gonna need the firepower.”

‘That’s a little too much firepower, Mickey,’ Buck said to himself. He returned his attention to the assault rifle and resumed stocking up on ammo. He could hear multiple footsteps coming down the corridor. The blast door opened and Dutch and Romeo entered the armory. “Lock and load, troopers!” Buck shouted to them. They both quietly grabbed their weapons of choice: Romeo picked up an SRS99D-S2 AM sniper rifle and Dutch, unsurprisingly, chose the Spartan laser.

Romeo slapped a fresh magazine into his sniper rifle and looked at Buck. “It’s about time we get to see some action,” he cheered. “Let’s kick some ass.” Romeo turned and started coughing. Dutch ran over to his side. Romeo had his lung punctured by a Brute Chieftain’s gravity hammer back in New Mombasa. Though he’s made a full recovery he still has moments when he coughs uncontrollably. Romeo coughed some more and waved off Dutch. “I’m fine, Dutch. I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Dutch asked.

“Hell yeah I’m sure,” Romeo coughed. As long as he was combat ready, Buck believed him.

“Have either of you seen the Rookie?” Buck queried.

Dutch shook his head. “Negative,” he answered.

‘Where are you, Rookie?’ Buck wondered. BOOOOOM!!!!! Another explosion rocked the station.

“Covenant troops have entered the station!” someone shouted over the intercom. “Repeat, Covenant troops have entered-” the line was cut off. Buck could hear the distant sounds of plasma and gunfire.

“Okay troopers, let’s move,” Buck shouted to the team. They all nodded and left the bolted out of the armory. Stepping out of the blast door, they ran right into the Rookie. Buck stared at the silent ODST. “What took you so long, Rookie,” he demanded. The Rookie quietly shrugged. Buck slapped his palm against his visor. “Never mind. Lock and load Rookie. We have to defend the station.” The ODST nodded and entered the armory. Buck looked at Mickey, Dutch and Romeo. “Spread out and secure the station.” They all nodded and went down different corridors. ‘I think we’re in for a helluva fight.’

ONI Orbital Facility
15:59 hours

The Rookie fired his suppressed SMG down the hall. Squads of Grunts were advancing in standard formation firing plasma pistols back at him. The Rookie ducked as an overcharged bolt flew past him and struck the wall. The wall fizzed and melted from the plasma. The Rookie switched to his automag and shot the closest Grunt in the head. Light blue blood sprayed on the wall behind the Grunt. The Rookie continued to shoot the advancing aliens. One by one they dropped. But they continued to advance.

Two marines of the Rookie’s original fifteen man squad remained. The others were all killed. A Brute Captain emerged in the hallway behind the Grunts. He pointed his right paw and barked an order to the Grunts. The front pair immediately ignited plasma grenades and hurled them at the humans. The trio scattered in the corridor. The grenades exploded leaving black scorch marks on the floor. One of the marines tossed one of his own grenades at the aliens. The Grunts screamed and tried to run. Two were caught in the explosion. Their limp bodies tossed through the air like ragdolls.

The Brute Captain barked, “Forward you whelps!” The remaining Grunts continued to fire their plasma pistols down the hall. The bolts harmlessly flew past the Rookie and the marines. The Rookie finished the last of the Grunts with a pair of headshots from the automag. The Brute Captain holstered his spiker and charged at the humans in frenzy. The marines opened fire with their assault rifles. The Brute’s shields flickered and died. The alien stopped in his tracks in surprise. The Rookie put him down with a headshot.

One of the marines breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay,” he said happily. “This sector is clear.” He looked at the Rookie and the other marine. “Let’s move on and-” A projectile erupted through the side of the man’s head. The marine crumpled to the floor.

A group of Jackals appeared armed with carbines. The bird-like aliens fired the projectiles at the Rookie and his last remaining marine. A carbine round stuck the marine in the stomach. He yelled in pain and fell to the ground. The Rookie knelt to help him. The marine pushed him off. “Get the hell out of here, trooper!” the wounded man shouted. The Jackals continued to fire in their direction. “You… have to… leave me!”

The Rookie shook his head and tried to pick up the marine. The marine pushed him off again. “You have to fall back, trooper! I’ll handle them,” he said weakly while grabbing a couple grenades. The Rookie slowly nodded. The ODST quickly stood up and sprinted further down the corridor. He heard the marine taunt the Jackals seconds before the hallway behind him exploded.

Not sensing anymore immediate danger, the Rookie took a moment to check and reload his weapons. He took spare ammo from the numerous dead marines that littered the hallway. This section of the station was hit the hardest in the Covenant’s attack. The corridor’s floor and walls were covered in red blood. Bullet holes and plasma burns speckled the walls around the deceased humans and aliens. Unfortunately, there was not nearly as many dead Covenant as there were humans.

The Rookie’s automag was out of ammo and he couldn’t find any on the fallen soldiers. He swapped it for a BR55 battle rifle. He slapped a new magazine into the battle rifle and continued down the long corridor. He couldn’t hear any other noises. ‘The battle must be over in this part of the station,’ he thought. Stepping around a corner, he barely had time to dodge a swinging gravity hammer.

Diving to the floor he rolled onto his back and looked up at a Brute Chieftain. The Chieftain was not alone. There was a pair of Hunters flanking him. The Chieftain slammed his gravity hammer on the floor. The shockwave sent the Rookie flying against the wall. Pain shot through him as his back slammed into the wall. The Brute Chieftain sprinted towards him. The Rookie dove to the side and quickly got back to his feet.

The Chieftain swung his hammer at the wall where the Rookie was. The ODST turned and fired a three-burst round from the battle rifle. The rounds harmlessly reflected off the Chieftain’s power armor. The Brute glared at him and appeared to smile at his attempts. He barked something and the two Hunters approached his rear. The Chieftain backed up behind them. The Hunters crouched into their battle positions; their fuel rod cannons began to glow. The Rookie did not have the firepower to take on the Hunters. He turned and sprinted away. Fuel pods exploded around him as the two Hunters pursued him.

As he rounded a corner he heard Buck over the COM link: “All squads, fall back to the laboratories! The Covenant are coming for the Engineer! We must protect the asset!” The Rookie was pretty far from the labs, so he ran even faster to get there. He looked over his shoulder to see if he was still being followed. There was no sign of the Hunters; those monsters were big but they weren’t very fast.

Eventually, he could hear the sounds of gunfire again. He entered a large rotunda where several marines were making a stand against the Covenant. On the sloped pavilion below, dozens of Grunts, Jackals and Brutes were throwing everything they had at the human defenders. The Rookie looked at the mass of Covenant and spotted a bronze-colored War Chieftain. He was near the back and seemed to be in command of the assault.

Over the sounds of battle he could hear the Chieftain bark, “Forward! Grind their bones beneath your feet!” At that command, the aliens marched up the incline. A marine on a mounted machine gun turret let them have it. A few Grunts and Jackals fell from the barrage of bullets. A Jackal armed with a particle beam rifle emerged from cover and sniped the marine on the turret.

A sniper rifle rang out and the Jackal sniper toppled. The Rookie looked behind him and saw Romeo on an upper ledge in the rotunda. Romeo aimed the rifle and shot three more Jackals. The Rookie ran up the rise towards the marines. The rest of his squad was dug in with the others.

Buck spotted him and waved him over. The Rookie took cover next to him. “Rookie, were you able to secure your section of the station?” the gunnery sergeant asked. The Rookie shook his head. “No matter. We need to hold the line. The Covies are here for the Engineer, that’s why they didn’t destroy the station.” The Rookie nodded and moved away from Buck.

He got behind a large planter box and readied his battle rifle. Leaning around the corner he sighted a Brute charging forward with a brute shot. The Rookie aimed at his head and fired. The Brute’s shields flickered as he returned fire. The grenades from the brute shot detonated close to the ODST. He was struck by some shrapnel which dented his armor. He leaned out from cover and shot the Brute again. This time the Brute’s shields went down. The Rookie quickly followed up with a burst to the head. The Brute fell over backwards firing several grenades in the air.

The Covenant were not fazed as they sent more troops up the rotunda. A rocket soared through the air and exploded in a small group of Grunts and Jackals. “BOOM! That’s the way!” Mickey cheered. A second rocket blasted away a pair of Brutes. The firefight continued for several minutes with both sides dealing damage to each other. The marines were not lasting very long against the enemy. It seemed that the Covenant were receiving reinforcements as they just kept coming. Dutch's Spartan laser whined to life before blasting a deadly hole through several Brutes lined up in a row. He cheered before tossing it away; it was most likely out of battery.

Eventually, only one marine was left standing amongst the ODSTs. The soldier took control of the abandoned turret. The barrels spun to life and ripped apart a cluster Covenant. Blood of all colors splattered the walls and floor as the turret mowed down a dozen Grunts, Jackals and Brutes. Romeo and the Rookie supported the marine with their ranged weapons. At once, the Covenant halted in their tracks and took cover. 'Why did they all take cover at once?'

BOOOM!!! The turret and the marine exploded in green inferno. The marines severed limbs dispersed leaving behind a bloody carcass. The Rookie looked towards the hall he came from. The Hunters had finally caught up. They were already firing their fuel rod cannons at the ODSTs. The Rookie retreated from his cover and proceeded further up the rotunda. Mickey fired a rocket at one of the Hunters. The monster crouched behind its gauntlet. The rocket exploded on the defense shield and did little damage to the Hunter. It resumed firing alongside of its companion.

“Fall back! Fall back!” Buck shouted. The Hunters slowly advanced up the hill firing their fuel rod cannons. Buck lobbed two grenades at them. The Hunters stopped and shielded themselves from the small explosives. The grenades exploded. A small patch of orange blood splattered on the ground beneath the Hunters’ enormous boots. Beyond that, they were not daunted. Romeo took a shot from his sniper rifle. The bullet ricocheted off the armor of one of the Hunters. With no sufficient firepower, the ODSTs retreated further into the station.

The Covenant emerged from cover and followed the Hunters up to the top of the rotunda. From his position in the rear the War Chieftain Barrackus let out a triumphant howl. The aliens trailed the fleeing humans.

The ODSTs entered the lab where the Engineer was still modifying the Slipspace drive. Dutch sealed the door behind them and sabotaged the controls. Despite all the violence, the alien was still content working on the Slipspace drive. Only one scientist was in the lab. The others had fled, and were likely dead. Upon seeing the troopers the scientist whimpered, “What’s going on out there? Is it safe?”

Buck shook his head, “Negative. The Covenant have overrun us.”

The scientist panicked. “W-w-what are we going t-t-t-to do?” he stuttered.

Buck looked around the lab. There was no way to properly defend it. The only cover would be a few monitors and other equipment whose functions he didn’t know. The Covies would be arriving in seconds. He was down to his last mags and did not have any grenades. ‘This will be a very short fight,’ he moaned to himself. Dutch, Romeo, Mickey and the Rookie all looked at awaiting orders. The sounds of the Covenant were getting louder. “Okay. We hold our ground and give them everything we have.” It wasn’t the best plan, it was the only plan.

“Gunny,” Mickey spoke up, “this is not a fight we’ll win.”

“Nor one we’ll survive,” Dutch added. The scientist shook in fear.

Buck nodded. “I know,” was all he said.

The ODSTs all silently stared at one another. Finally Dutch said, “It’s been honor, everyone.”

“Amen brother,” Romeo said. He lifted his sniper rifle and put his final magazine into the chamber. “Let’s give them hell!”

“We’ll make them regret the day they blew up our squad,” Mickey cheered, pumping his fist into the air. The Rookie nodded in agreement, silently raising his SMG into the air.

The scientist looked pale. Hearing that this would be his last day of life wasn’t sitting too well for him. His face turned as white as his lab coat. The ODSTs wanted to die just as much as the next guy, but they weren’t going down without a fight. Buck handed the man a suppressed SMG. The scientist hesitated before accepting the weapon. The Covenant were closing in on the lab.

“Okay squad,” Buck declared. “We make our stand and take out as many of the bastards as we can.” Vergil whistled at the humans. They turned their attention to the Engineer. It was typing something into the nearest terminal with its cilia. Buck walked up to the terminal. Vergil had typed a message: If you can delay them long enough, I can save us. Buck’s eyes widened. He looked at the floating squid. The Engineer’s blue slender head looked at him. Its six eyes blinked. “How can you save us?” he demanded.

The Engineer waved its tentacles across the console. A new message appeared: My creation is almost finished. It will save us. “What’s going on, Gunny,” Dutch questioned.

Buck didn’t know what the Engineer was getting at, but he decided it meant his squad’s survival then he trusted the alien. “How much time do you need?” he asked Vergil. The Engineer typed another reply: Several minutes. That wasn’t a good enough answer. But he decided it was best to quit questioning the Engineer and allow it to continue its work. The gunnery sergeant looked back at the others. “This is what we’re going to do. We defend the Engineer at all costs!”

Romeo’s visor depolarized. He gave him an odd look. “Why do we need to do that?”

Buck shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. But I have confidence that whatever “pinky” is doing, it will help.”

Romeo looked unconvinced. “If you say, sweetheart,” he said sarcastically. The Covenant had arrived began pounding on the blast door. Everyone turned to look at it. It was sparking from the other side. Buck could hear the sounds of plasma rifles and plasma pistols shooting it.

“Spread out and cover the door,” Buck ordered. Romeo maneuvered to the furthest point from the door and readied his sniper rifle. Mickey and Dutch took up position near the Engineer. Buck and the Rookie each positioned themselves behind some crates. The scared scientist nervously held his SMG and took cover next to Romeo. The Covenant continued to fire at the laboratory door. “Soon as that door opens,” Buck said leveling his assault rifle, “let ‘em have it!”

The several moments that passed while the Covenant worked on breaching the blast door felt like an eternity. Buck began to nervously sweat under his helmet. He waited and waited. Finally, the blast door blew open. The first Covies to enter were Grunts. The squad opened fire on them, dropping the aliens instantly. The next Covies to enter were the nimbler Jackals. Assuming a phalanx formation, the lead Jackals crouched behind their shields while others shot over them.

The scientist wildly fired his SMG at the Jackals’ shields. The bullets harmlessly deflected off the defense gauntlets. The Jackals in the rear of the formation were wielding carbines. Romeo chose not to use his last four sniper rounds on them. He took shots with his automag sidearm on those Jackals. The Rookie fired his battle rifle at the weak spot on the Jackals’ shields to expose them. As the Jackals flinched from being shot in those openings, Mickey and Dutch dropped them with their SMGs.

Eventually all the Jackals had fallen on top of the Grunts. The Brutes charged into the opening next. Romeo fired his first round at one of the Brutes. The bullet dropped his shields and passed through his skull, dark blood and bone fragments sprayed the Brute behind him. The other Brutes immediately fired their spikers at Romeo. He took cover.

The scientist foolishly continued to stay out in the open desperately firing his SMG missing nearly every shot. One of the Brutes took aim and shot him with a spike. The spike punctured his throat and exited through the back of his neck. The scientist dropped the SMG and fell to the ground grasping the spike in complete shock. As he hit the ground he coughed up blood which covered his whole face. He flinched and died.

Romeo quickly fired a sniper round through the skull of the murderous Brute. The beast hit the dirt. The other ODSTs finished the remaining Brutes. This was taking longer than Buck liked. It was now just down to himself and the other four ODSTs. He quickly glanced at the Engineer who was continuing to strip components off of the Slipspace drive and reattaching them elsewhere. ‘How much longer will this take?’ he desperately asked himself.

The next wave of Covenant was a mixture of Grunts, Jackals, and Brutes. They swarmed through the opening as the ODSTs continued to fire. The front pair of Grunts lobbed a couple of plasma grenades into the lab. One of the grenades landed near Buck and the Rookie, forcing them to dive for cover. As they did so, a Brute armed with a brute shot fired in their direction. Romeo used his next sniper bullet on that Brute. The beast continued to fire the grenade launcher as he toppled, much like the brute shot wielder before. However, one of the grenades detonated next to a Jackal. The explosion merely disoriented the alien. Dutch took it down with the SMG.

The other Covenant still in the room quickly fanned out to engage the humans. A Grunt Ultra armed with a needler and a Brute Captain wielding a pair of maulers challenged Mickey and Dutch. The Grunt unleashed a salvo of the explosive crystals in Mickey’s direction. The trooper dove to the ground but the explosives continued to track him. Frantically, he rolled around like he was on fire to throw off the needles. The pink crystalline objects struck the ground all around him before harmlessly bursting. Mickey rapidly fired his SMG at the Grunt Ultra before it could reload.

Dutch, meanwhile, was swiftly backing away from the Brute which was shooting both maulers simultaneously. One of the rounds struck him in the shoulder. Dutch collapsed grabbing his shoulder in excruciating pain. He looked at his palm which was covered in blood. The Brute’s mauler had easily penetrated his armor. The ape-like beast stood over the fallen ODST and chuckled in its alien language. It aimed one its maulers at Dutch’s head, ready for the kill.

At that moment, Mickey lunged into the Brute from the rear. The startled beast fired its mauler wildly, completely missing Dutch. The Brute turned and swung its arm to backhand Mickey. He ducked underneath the swing and fired the suppressed SMG into the Brute’s chest. The bullets reflected off the power armor. The Brute wickedly smiled and aimed both maulers at Mickey. Dutch shook off the pain in his shoulder and leapt onto the Brute’s back, wrapping his arms around its neck. The Brute dropped its maulers and tried to grasp the human. Mickey snatched up the maulers and unleashed all their ammo into the alien. The first two rounds dropped the Brute’s shields, the last two killed it. Dutch nodded at Mickey in thanks. He picked up the fallen Grunt Ultra’s needler and resumed the fight.

On the other side of the lab Buck and the Rookie were dealing with a pair of Jackals. The bird-like aliens were crouched behind their orange shields and shooting needlers at the pinned ODSTs. A Brute Major armed with a red brute plasma rifle was flanking them. Buck quickly leapt out from cover and fired a short burst from the assault rifle at the Brute. The Brute’s shield flickered. A Jackal shot a few needles at the gunnery sergeant. Buck ducked back behind cover. He loaded his last magazine into the assault rifle. He now only had 32 rounds, no sidearm, and no grenades. If he or the Rookie could just grab an alien weapon…

The Rookie leaned around the crate he was behind and fired off a few bursts from the battle rifle. One of the Jackals was killed. Suddenly a spike grenade landed next to the Rookie. He shot to his feet and sprinted away just as the grenade exploded sending spikes everywhere. One spike struck the wall right next to Buck’s head. ‘If that had just been an inch to the left…’ he didn’t want to think about it. It was now or never. Buck jumped out from cover and fired the entire clip into the Brute. It took the full 32 rounds just to drop its shield.

The Jackal attempted to shoot Buck with the needler, but was stopped dead by the Rookie’s battle rifle. The Rookie turned his rifle on the Brute and dropped the beast. Another wave of Covenant was down.

Buck tossed his assault rifle away. “Squad, ammo check!” he yelled.

“I’ve only got one shot left,” Romeo shouted.

“I’m out,” Mickey called.

“Me too, gunny,” Dutch replied.

Buck looked at the Rookie. The trooper silently shook his head and dropped his battle rifle on the ground; he was out of ammo too. Buck sighed. He picked up a dropped plasma rifle and spike grenade. The Rookie grabbed a needler. Mickey and Dutch both already had Covenant weapons of their own. Buck glanced at the Engineer who seemed oblivious to the events that transpired. He hoped it was almost done with its “project”. A loud stomping emanated from the corridor. The ODSTs turned to see the Hunters enter the room. The walking tanks entered their battle stances and charged their fuel rod cannons.

Buck didn’t even have a chance to shout “Take cover!” before the Hunters unleashed hell. The laboratory was enveloped in green explosions. Computer terminals shattered, paperwork containing graphs and other data flew into the air, crates burst open spilling their contents, the Engineer wailed in alarm. The ODSTs were all thrown off their feet. Buck, lying on his stomach, slowly looked up to see the Hunters walk into the room followed by a pair of Brute Chieftains. One was the War Chieftain. Many more Brutes, Grunts and Jackals entered the lab behind them. The other aliens kept their weapons aimed at the humans but did not shoot.

Buck looked around and saw the Rookie, Mickey and Dutch were, likewise, flat on the ground. There was no sign of Romeo. The War Chieftain strolled up to the Engineer. Vergil gave a frightened wail as the beast got close to it. “We finally have you, Huragok,” the War Chieftain proudly said. “Now you will see what happens to traitors of the Covenant!” The Engineer hissed at the Chieftain.

The second Brute Chieftain spoke, “We should let the Yanme’e tear this creature apart.”

The War Chieftain nodded in agreement, “First we see what secrets it has learned of the humans. Then we have it killed.” The War Chieftain looked at the Slipspace drive the Engineer was working on. “Well, what have you been up to?” he inquired. The Brute snatched the Engineer’s blue head in his paw. Vergil let out a high-pitched wail. A sniper bullet stuck the War Chieftain in the head. The shield instantly failed causing the Brute to stagger backwards, releasing Vergil who immediately floated back to the Slipspace drive. The War Chieftain angrily turned towards the source of the shot.

Buck rolled over to see where he was looking. The Jackal watching him squawked but didn’t fire its plasma pistol. Romeo was standing a few yards away with his sniper rifle. He slung his now empty sniper rifle over his back. The War Chieftain roared at the ODST as he charged forward and grabbed him. The insidious Brute brought Romeo up to eyelevel. He stared at him for a moment before snarling, “You’ll be the one I bring back to the Shipmaster. He loves his meat fresh.”

“I hope he chokes,” Romeo retorted. The War Chieftain laughed, as did the other Chieftain. This was it for Buck and his team. They gave it their best, but now it’s all over.

The Engineer happily whistled. Suddenly the room was engulfed in a bright pulsating light. The Covenant looked around the lab in confusion, as did the ODSTs. Immediately after, a loud humming noise vibrated all along the walls and ceiling. The War Chieftain dropped Romeo and threw his paws over his ears, as did the other Chieftain. All the Covenant began to shriek and grasp their heads as the noise grew louder and louder.

Buck, too, was experiencing the sensation in a negative way. He slapped his hands to his helmet in pain. The other ODSTs did the same. ‘What’s going on?’ he asked himself. Buck rolled around feeling light-headed as the field around him grew brighter and brighter. He felt like he about to pass out. The Hunters appeared to be in a stage of panic. They were flailing their arms and staggering around the laboratory. The Grunts in the lab ran around in circles in total panic. The gunnery sergeant shut his eyes.

He thought he heard a voice shout: “Pinkie Pie! What’s happening?”

“It’s working, Twilight! I’m saving them! Vergil and his friends are coming!” another voice said.

The humming grew louder and louder. The light intensified and suddenly Buck could no longer feel his body. The light faded and the humming ended. All in the room had vanished.

Chapter 2: Premonitions

Pinkie Pie was throwing her best party ever. Balloons, streamers and confetti were strewn all over Sugarcube Corner. Mr. and Mrs. Cake had prepared the most delicious looking treats that anypony would just die for. Everyone was here having a great time. This was not something new as Pinkie Pie always knows how to throw the best parties. She’d throw parties for every possible occasion she could think of, even if it was for a random stranger who just arrived in Ponyville. Her optimistic, happy-go-lucky lifestyle is what her friends like most about her.

Twilight Sparkle was enjoying the party next to the refreshment table. She was levitating a cup of punch in a field of purple aura and casually took sips from it. She happily looked at her friends socializing with the other guests. Pinkie Pie was starting a conga line and inspiring all the other ponies to join in. Applejack and Rarity immediately joined. Rainbow Dash was reluctant at first, complaining it was not awesome enough for her. After a little encouragement, she too joined the conga line.

Twilight quickly finished drinking her punch intending to join the fun. She trotted over to them. “Umm… Twilight,” a small voice stopped her.

Twilight turned to see Fluttershy. The bashful yellow Pegasus looked troubled by something. She seemed to be trembling in fear. “What is it, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked her friend.

Fluttershy’s teal eyes darted around the building as if she was expecting something was watching her. “Can I show you something outside?” she asked nervously. “I mean… if it is no trouble,” she added timidly.

Twilight nodded, “Of course, Fluttershy. What’s troubling you?” The yellow Pegasus said nothing, just continued to look around fearful of the party. This disturbed Twilight. Fluttershy may be the most timid pony in all of Equestria, but even she never acted this way at one of Pinkie Pie’s parties. Fluttershy turned and slowly walked out the door to Ponyville, Twilight followed right behind.

Stepping outside, Twilight breathed in the fresh evening air. Ponyville was always peaceful at night, and this night was no exception. “Is everything alright, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked. She turned to look at the Pegasus, but she was gone. Twilight looked around and couldn’t see Fluttershy anywhere. “Fluttershy?” she called. She got no answer. She considered that Fluttershy may have gone back inside. She turned around to return to the party. However, something had happened to Sugarcube Corner. The entire building was in ruin. The roof had caved in, the windows were all shattered, and the door was torn from its hinges. “What happened?” she cried in alarm.

She dashed inside the crumbling building to find her friends. The interior looked almost as bad as the exterior. Everything was in shambles. But there was no indication that a party had taken place that evening. There were no balloons, no streamers. The counter in the back of the store was smashed to pieces. Splinters of wood covered the ground in its immediate vicinity. “Hello?” Twilight called. “Where is everyone?”

The lavender unicorn galloped to the stairs hoping to check the next floor. Debris was blocking the staircase. She drew on her magic and enveloped the blockage. As she focused on moving it, the building began to shake violently. She dropped the debris as sections of the roof began to collapse around her. Panicking, she sprinted back out onto the street.

Upon exiting, she watched Sugarcube Corner collapse to the ground creating an earth-shaking tremor. “What has happened?” she asked herself in complete shock. She had to tell the rest of town of this mystery. She barely spun around when she noticed the state of the rest of Ponyville: the entire town looked like it had been hit by an earthquake. Most of the buildings had collapsed and several were on fire.

Twilight fell to her haunches in disbelief. Her lavender eyes wide open and her mouth was practically hitting the dirt. “Ponyville…?” she hesitated. “It can’t be. It just can’t be!” She leapt to her hooves and galloped down the street to find someone, anyone, who could explain what happened to the town in a matter of seconds. She galloped for the Carousel Boutique and discovered that it, too, was virtually destroyed.

Twilight entered Rarity’s ruined shop regardless in hopes she could find her unicorn friend. She stepped inside and was greeted with a similar sight as Sugarcube Corner. Only this time, the scene was much, much worse. Twilight froze at what she found: it looked as if some painter pony had entered and threw buckets of red paint along the walls and floor, but Twilight tragically knew that wasn’t the case. She was looking at a slaughterhouse. She looked on in horror as she counted a dozen ponies lying lifeless on the floor of the store. Each pony was drenched in blood which pooled beneath them.

Tears began to pool in Twilight’s eyes. She slowly approached one of the ponies. Stepping around their body, she leaned in to get a better look at them. What she saw made her scream… it was Sweetie Belle. The unicorn filly had a vicious-looking steel spike jutting out from one of her eyes; a dried stream of blood filtered out of the socket. The other eye was permanently fixed in a look of terror. Her pretty pink and purple mane was coated in dark streaks of blood. Twilight backed up in fear and ended up tripping over another pony’s corpse.

Landing in a puddle of sticky red blood, she noticed the remains she tripped over: Applejack’s little sister, Apple Bloom. Twilight couldn’t have known from the amount of blood covering her; it was the pink bow that gave her away. Just like Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom’s eyes were of total fright; they were fixed on whatever had frightened her before her untimely death. To Twilight’s horror, she was only looking at Apple Bloom’s head! A gore covered portion of her vertebrae was all that was connected to her head. The rest of the filly’s body was missing!

Twilight screamed and spun around, only to come face to face with Scootaloo, or at least what was left of her. Her little torso had been splayed open spilling her entrails on the floor. Her wings were ripped from her back and the feathers stuffed in her torso like some kind of horrid taxidermy project. Twilight was shaking like she was caught in an earthquake. Suddenly, Scootaloo’s lavender eyes moved in her direction. Twilight jumped to her hooves in fright.

Scootaloo’s mouth moved. “Help… me… Twilight,” the orange Pegasus filly weakly pleaded. Scootaloo faintly raised her forehoof for Twilight’s help. The lavender unicorn hesitantly reached her hoof to her dying friend. Before she could reach Scootaloo, the Pegasus dropped her foreleg like a weight and ceased all remaining functions.

“What did this?” Twilight screamed. She looked at the rest of the bodies, all of which were the foals of Ponyville. They were all ripped to pieces in grotesque ways. Severed appendages and internal organs littered the room. Twilight spun around comprehending the horror before her. She stepped in something wet and squishy. Looking down she learned she had stepped on an intestine that spilled out of the filly Silver Spoon. Half her body had melted into a puddle of gore. The rest of her was covered in spikes identical to the one that killed Sweetie Belle. Twilight was only able to identify her from a visible portion of her cutie mark.

Silver Spoon’s best friend Diamond Tiara was right next to her. The pink filly’s tiara was lodged in her throat. It was so deep in her neck that she was nearly decapitated, unlike Apple Bloom. Twilight could see bone sticking out of Diamond Tiara’s wound. Strands of internal tissue dangled out of the abysmal injury.

Twilight couldn’t stand it. She didn’t want to be there anymore. She galloped as fast as she could to the door. She had to find help. She had to discover what was happening in Ponyville. Exiting Carousel Boutique, she discovered she was no longer in Ponyville. She had somehow ended up on Smokey Mountain. She looked out across the horizon and spotted Canterlot miles away. She looked at the landscape below and gasped. The ground was covered in dense fires and thick black smoke rose towards the sky.

“Oh my goodness!” she exclaimed. “What is happening to Equestria?” She looked back to the sky and noticed Cloudsdale was, likewise, in complete chaos. She couldn’t tell from her distance, but it looked like the Pegasi city had been leveled by an unknown force. Then, she spotted something fly through the sky. It was moving fast. “What was that? A Pegasus?” Twilight walked up to the edge of the mountain for a better look. The object was flying her direction. As it got closer she could tell it was not a Pegasus or any flying creature she knows. As it got closer it made some kind of wailing sound like a spirit would make. The object approached Smokey Mountain before turning and flying away. More of the objects appeared and started to fly around the mountain making the same bizarre noise.

At once, more strangely shaped flying objects emerged in the dark sky. Many were shaped like the former ones but the new objects somewhat resembled giant purple flying sea shells. Those objects, too, were making a loud characteristic humming sound. The new objects descended upon the valley below. The smaller objects closely following them. Twilight peeked over the edge but could not see the flying objects easily. The smaller ones were briefly lighting up in a hue of green and blue, seconds before explosions engulfed the ground they were flying towards.

The last object to appear was much bigger than the rest. Descending from the sky, it resembled a slender, silver insect. The “insect” came to a stop over Canterlot, its underside directly over the royal palace. From this distance it looked about the size of a parasprite; it had to be gigantic up close. Something red began to pulse underneath the massive object. In an instant, a bright light lit up the night sky. Twilight briefly shielded her eyes from the intense illumination. When the light dimmed she could see a pulsating red beam emanating from the “insect”. The beam was striking the royal palace. Fires rose from the palace and rapidly engulfed the entire city. In a matter of seconds, all of Canterlot had become an inferno.

“This can’t be happening. This can’t be real,” Twilight cried. She back away from the cliff.

All of a sudden, she felt something very large and furry land on her shoulder. Looking over her shoulder she stared at an enormous paw. Raising her head she gazed into the eyes of a huge bipedal beast. From the looks of it, it was covered in thick fur and vaguely resembled an ape. It was covered in some kind of gold or bronze attire. Atop its head was a V-shaped headpiece. The creature appeared to smile at her showing razor sharp teeth. Its smile was full of hatred and not joy. “Behold,” the beast growled in a perfect Equestrian dialect. “This is the way your world ends!”

The creature shoved Twilight to the ground with its paw. The beast howled in laughter. Twilight looked around and saw more of the bipedal creatures had gathered around the bronze-coated one. The others were wearing different styles and colors of attire as opposed to the first one. The bronze-colored beast looked down at Twilight. “Brace yourself, pony. Your species is doomed to extinction!”

Twilight fearfully looked at the closest creature and then the next. “What do you mean?” she whimpered. “What are you doing?”

The creature reached behind it and picked up a large object ambiguously resembling a hammer, if a hammer was twenty times larger and emitted some type of magical field around the “head”. It raised the hammer-like object into the air. The wind began to howl and thunder boomed across the sky. Eerie green storm clouds materialized over the group of beasts. Lightning shot out of the bizarre storm clouds in every direction. The creature snorted in satisfaction at the weather. It lowered its cold gaze to the shivering unicorn. “This is how it begins,” the beast sneered. It lowered the hammer-like object over Twilight’s head. She watched in absolute fear, unable to move. The beast rose up and brought the hammer down upon her.

Golden Oak Library, Ponyville
02:45 hours

Twilight quickly sat up in a state of panic. Panting, she looked around and realized she was in her room and everything was exactly as she had left it. Spike was curled up in his bed sound asleep. Twilight quietly rose from bed and walked out to her balcony. Emerging on the balcony she looked into the night sky, there were no flying objects anywhere in sight. She breathed a sigh of relief and gently inhaled the midnight air. She leaned on the balcony’s rail and examined the town around her. Every building in sight was intact; there were neither fires nor any signs of chaos. She held her head with her forehooves. “What a terrible dream,” she whispered to herself. “I’ve never had a nightmare like that before. It was so horrible.”

“Having trouble sleeping, fair Twilight Sparkle?” a soothing voice spoke behind her.

The sudden voice startled her and she quickly spun around to see Princess Luna standing behind her. “Princess Luna!” she almost shouted in surprise. She held her hoof over her mouth when she noticed her mistake; she didn’t want to wake Spike. She bowed before the Princess of the Night. “What are you doing here?”

“T’is my duty to Equestria and my subjects to oversee all that transpires during the night,” the midnight blue alicorn explained. “Even those that transpire in your dreams. I felt your fears in your sleep.”

Twilight rose to her hooves and sheepishly looked away from the princess. “It was just a bad dream, your Highness.”

Princess Luna looked at her in disbelief. “I would not have appeared here tonight if it were merely a bad dream, Twilight. Everypony has bad dreams from time to time. I feel that this one in particular has troubled you quite so.”

Twilight looked back at the princess. She thought about the nightmare and pondered if it was necessary to speak about. It did trouble her. Never has she had a more vivid nightmare. She couldn’t help but feel it was more than just a dream. ‘It was just a dream. Wasn’t it?’ she thought.

“Would you like to tell me about it?” Princess Luna asked.

“Where do I begin?” Twilight asked aloud. Taking a deep breath she told the princess about what she saw. As she went into detail about the horrors of her nightmare, Princess Luna began to look disturbed as well. Twilight had difficulty elucidating what she saw in Carousel Boutique which was, by far, the most disturbing part of the nightmare. She finished by expressing what she saw at Smokey Mountain: the monstrous beasts and the flying objects destroying the land. She neglected to speak of the strange storm clouds thinking they were insignificant. “One of the creatures said, ‘This is how our world ends,’ and, ‘our species is doomed to extinction’,” she concluded.

“Oh my!” Princess Luna gasped, holding a hoof to her muzzle.

“What does it mean, your Majesty?” Twilight begged. “It must mean something, right?”

Luna looked away in thought. Twilight hoped she could tell her that it was only a dream, terrible as it was. ‘It just has to be a dream. Nothing like that can happen in Equestria,’ she calmly reminded herself.

Luna looked back at the distressed unicorn. “Fair Twilight, t’was only a dream and nothing more,” she reasoned.

“But how could I possibly have a dream like that? If you only saw what I saw…” Twilight whined.

“Everypony has bad dreams from time to time,” the alicorn clarified. “I myself have had atrocious dreams. They do not necessarily mean anything.”

“What did you dream about?” Twilight asked. Luna sadly gazed at the ground remembering her dreadful past. “Luna, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…” Twilight started to apologize.

“That is quite alright, Twilight.” Luna looked back at Twilight. “I always had terrible dreams when I was banished to the moon,” she lamented. “My dreams were fed only by hatred and desires for vengeance. I fantasized about conquering Equestria and covering all the land in eternal darkness. I dreamt of destroying all who stood in my way. I hated every moment of it.”

“That wasn’t you, Luna. That was Nightmare Moon.”

“Perhaps,” she said quietly. “Perhaps.” The Princess of the Night fell silent.

Twilight decided to change the subject back to her own dream. “Could my dream have been a warning? Like a warning of a coming great evil?”

Luna reached out a comforting hoof. “You must not dwell on such concerns, dear Twilight. You don’t want to get yourself worked up for naught, like you’ve done before,” she said. Twilight knew what she meant. She was once visited by herself from the future. She believed that something terrible was to befall Equestria and for an entire week she stressed out preparing for the “inevitable”. But, as it turned out, there was no impending disaster. And so she had been worrying for nothing.

‘Maybe Princess Luna is right,’ Twilight thought. ‘I shouldn’t get worked up over a bad dream.’ The lavender unicorn looked into the alicorn’s eyes. “I guess you’re right, Luna.”

“Perhaps you should get some rest. Think nothing of what you have seen,” Luna suggested.

“Okay. Thank you, Luna,” Twilight thanked.

“Farewell, Twilight Sparkle. Sleep well.” Luna spread her wings and soared into the air. Twilight watched as she vanished into the night sky. She looked out over Ponyville once more before returning to her room. Before settling back in her bed she checked on Spike. The baby dragon hadn’t awoken. Sometimes he seemed like he could sleep through anything.

“I sure hope you’re having a pleasant dream, Spike,” Twilight whispered. The unicorn lied back in bed and threw the covers over her. She stared at the ceiling in deep thought. ‘What could have made me dream of something so horrible? I’ve never seen creatures like those ape-like things before. The only beast that even comes close is a Minotaur, and those things were definitely not Minotaurs.' She rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. 'What were those flying things? They were attacking Equestria with what? Some type of magic? And that giant flying object, it cast a beam of fire all over Canterlot! I’d never want to see something so awful again. At least it was just a dream.’

Twilight heard Spike start to snore. She rolled over in an attempt to block the noise of Spike’s snoring. ‘What if Luna’s wrong? What if my dream was a message of an impending disaster? I know I’ve been through this once before and there was no disaster to fear… But I can’t shake the feeling that this time is different.’ The snoring grew louder, deeper. ‘If something is coming, I know my friends and I will stop it. Together we are unbeatable through the magic of friendship. We’ve defeated Nightmare Moon, returned Discord to stone, and vanquished King Sombra.'

The snoring became much deeper and almost sounded like heavy breathing. ‘But are we even capable of handling a force nopony has ever encountered? Whatever those things were, they looked powerful. Maybe not as powerful as somepony like Princess Celestia, but I could tell they were powerful nonetheless.’ Twilight felt a breeze blow against her. Unlike the wind, however, it was very short and came back in rapid intervals. A foul stench was carried by the “breeze”. It was like something was breathing on her.

Something grabbed Twilight’s muzzle. She opened her eyes and looked into the dark eyes of the bronze-covered beast. It held her down with one of its large paws. Twilight squirmed as its head lowered to within inches of her face. It sneered revealing its sharp teeth. “You cannot stop us,” it threatened. Twilight tried to scream but the beast’s grasp prevented her from making any sound.

“It has begun,” the monster growled. Lightning struck, thunder boomed. Twilight looked towards the doorway leading to the balcony. The flying objects dashed past giving off their characteristic wails. She looked back at the menacing beast. The monster gave a toothy grin before snarling, “A bloody fate awaits you and the rest of your incompetent race.” It raised its opposite paw brandishing a hideous item. It had a pair of blades protruding outward from underneath it. The monster held the bladed item right in front of Twilight’s eye. She let out a terrified, muffled scream. The beast laughed for a few seconds before a searing hot metal spike ejected from the object and penetrated Twilight’s right eye.

Twilight screamed as she sat up in bed. ‘It was another nightmare!’ she told herself. She held herself and rocked back and forth in her bed. No amount of reassurance from Princess Luna was going to help her get to sleep now. She leaned over her bed and found Spike was still asleep. Once again she hadn’t managed to wake up the dragon. She turned her attention out the window and gazed at the night sky. It was just as beautiful a night as ever. “Something horrible is coming,” she fretfully whispered. She knew it was coming, whatever it was. “And I don’t think we can stop it.”

Chapter 3: A New Day

Golden Oak Library, Ponyville
10:25 hours

Twilight Sparkle drowsily flipped through yet another of her books. She had been desperately searching for any possible clues as to what her nightmares had meant. She had witnessed - so to speak - Equestria being attacked by some unknown life forms. Both Ponyville and Cloudsdale had evidently been destroyed, most likely by the fast flying objects. ‘What could those things have been?’ she asked herself yet again. As soon as they had appeared they began to strafe the landscape with energy weapons no one has ever seen before. Immediately after, the giant “insect” descended upon Canterlot, moments before setting the entire city ablaze. ‘They did not look organic in nature. Could they have been some type of artificial creations?’ As she pondered her books all she could muster were more and more questions, and not a single answer.

Twilight slowly yawned. Ever since her second nightmare, she did not sleep at all. Her clock had read 3:02 when she awoke for the second time. She’d refused to go back to sleep in the fear that she would have another nightmare. All she did was sit in her bed and think. Her second nightmare was not as bad as the first, but it gave her the same feeling as the former. Princess Luna had assured her the first nightmare was only a bad dream. A unicorn having a single nightmare was one thing; two was far from coincidence… especially when they each featured creatures giving the same cryptic warning.

Twilight scanned the last page in the book before adding it to the growing pile on the floor. She snatched another book off the shelf and started to skim the pages. She wasn’t expecting to find any answers but that didn’t stop her from searching. Principally, she wanted to discover the identities of the strange, bipedal beasts. They had to be as tall as a Minotaur, maybe even bigger. The multicolored outfits they wore covered most of their bodies; the few exposed spots revealed thick fur and ape-like qualities. Several of them were wearing ornate headpieces that completely covered their faces, with the exception of the bronze-covered one. Its headpiece only covered the top of its head; its face was completely exposed, revealing an eerie, pale face that would surely scare away any pony. ‘Fluttershy would undoubtedly have run after merely glancing at the monster,’ Twilight thought.

That creature in particular stood out the most. Judging from its appearance, Twilight concluded that it must’ve been the leader of the group. It had threatened her that Equestria would be destroyed and that ponykind was to be extinguished. It possessed a giant hammer-like object that was easily twice her size. ‘It lifted it into the air and then – what? – conjured up those storm clouds? Was it controlling them? Each time it appeared in my dreams the storm clouds materialized shortly after. Perhaps there’s a connection? Could it have also been controlling the flying objects with that “hammer”?’ she asked herself. She had noticed the “hammer’s” head was emitting some type of energy field. ‘If the “hammer” was able to do all those things, then it must be powered by magic,’ she concluded.

As she scanned her more of her books, the violet unicorn thought about the horror she saw in Carousel Boutique. Rarity’s beautiful shop was full of corpses: the foals of Ponyville. Each of them had been mutilated in such horrible ways; Twilight couldn’t bear to visualize them again. She shuddered when she thought of Scootaloo. The little Pegasus had still been alive, even after her torso had been dissected. She begged for help… which Twilight was powerless to give. Out of all the foals, Scootaloo’s fate disturbed Twilight the most. ‘Who could do such a thing? What kind of monster would murder anypony in such a way? On second thought, what monster would even consider murdering another pony?’ she mentally demanded. There was only one answer she could think of: the “ape” creatures.

Twilight tossed another book to the floor and sighed. “If my dreams were a warning of things to come, I pray that I can do something to prevent them,” she whispered. At that moment, her assistant Spike strolled down the stairs carrying an armload of books. Sleepily, she watched him add the books to the pile she still had to search through.

“This is the last of the ones up stairs,” the baby dragon said. He picked up one of the books and flipped through the pages. Twilight had asked him for help in searching for the answers she sought, and being the dedicated assistant he is, Spike was all too happy to oblige. “I still haven’t found anything on green storm clouds, Twilight,” Spike added while scanning the contents of the book in his claws.

Twilight loudly sighed, “Just keep looking. There has to be something in one of these books.” Spike shook his head in annoyance and continued to look through his book. Twilight returned her attention to another of her books. She hadn’t told Spike explicitly what she was looking for or why. She felt that if she told him anything of her dreams then he would just lecture her about worrying over nothing as she’s done in the past. However, she had been correct before about the comings of great evil, namely the return of Nightmare Moon. She was confident that evil was drawing near once again. Until she found definitive proof that there is nothing to fear, she would not rest.

Spike slammed his book shut. “Twilight, don’t you think we’ve been at this for long enough?” he asked.

“No,” the violet unicorn quickly responded. “It’s imperative that we discover the source of green storm clouds.”

“We’ve been doing this for several hours. Why are you even stressing out over the weather?” Spike asked in irritation. “Not even Rainbow Dash would stress this much over the weather.”

“She never stresses about anything, Spike,” Twilight commented, unable to look away from the book in front of her.

“Yeah. Unlike somepony I know,” Spike remarked. He walked over to her and looked at the book she was anxiously reading. “I don’t think you’ll find anything about storm clouds in The Encyclopedia on the Beasts of Equestria,” he blatantly explained.

Twilight didn’t answer him. She was looking for any information on the “ape” creatures she could find. ‘Chimeras… Dragons… Hydras… Ursas… No!’ she mentally screamed in aggravation. “Ugh! There’s absolutely nothing on them in here!” she loudly groaned. That felt like the millionth book she checked relating to the life forms found within Equestria and neighboring regions. Twilight tossed the book aside and closed her eyes in thought.

“See, what did I tell you,” Spike casually acknowledged, not at all comprehending Twilight’s true motives.

‘There’s nothing like them in the world,’ Twilight told herself, slapping her forehooves to her face in frustration. She slowly lowered her hooves and opened her eyes coming to a disturbing realization. ‘What if that’s because they are not from this world? What if they’re from a different planet altogether? Then that means they’d have to be… aliens!’

“What was that?” Spike inquired, unsure if he heard her correctly.

Twilight realized she had said that last part out loud. “Uh, nothing,” she quickly lied. Spike looked at her funny but didn’t say anything. ‘That’s ludicrous! There’s no such thing as aliens,’ Twilight corrected herself.

“Can we stop now, Twilight?” Spike complained. “We’ve searched these books a thousand times. We’re not going to find anything on these 'green storm clouds' of yours. And you look like you could use a break.”

Twilight yawned again. She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. She’d been speed-reading all her books for nearly six hours straight; she even reread several of them a second or third time. Normally, this would just be a common occurrence for her. But seeing as she hasn’t really slept since Luna’s visit, she couldn’t argue with Spike’s suggestion; she felt exhausted.

“Perhaps you’re right, Spike,” Twilight finally agreed with the scribe. “I think I do need a break.” Her stomach started to growl. For the first time all morning she realized she didn’t have breakfast. She honestly did not even notice her hunger; for she was too busy reading. “How about we have breakfast now?” she suggested.

Spike quickly answered, “Oh yes! It’s about time! I’ll just whip us up a little something.” He dashed off into the kitchen. Twilight decided she would need to search elsewhere for information relating to the things she saw in her nightmares. Her books would provide no help. Drawing on her magic, she enveloped the books in a field of pink aura and began returning them to the shelves. After safely returning each of the books, she slowly trotted up the stairs to return the books Spike brought down.

A few moments later and every book in the library was re-shelved. Twilight looked at her bed. Temptation was gnawing at her to lie down and get some sleep. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and shook off the urge. ‘The fate of Equestria does not rely on me taking a nap,’ she reasoned with herself. The unicorn turned away from her bed and looked into the mirror hanging on the wall. She looked right into her own sleep deprived eyes. Her thoughts immediately went back to how comfortable her bed looked. ‘Focus, Twilight. You have more important things to worry about.’

Her attention was shifted to her mangled mane; it hadn’t been brushed since she woke up. It surprised her how messed up it was considering how little she slept the previous night. Floating her brush to her, Twilight set about restoring her purple and pink streaked mane. Unlike Rarity who would stress over every single string of hair, Twilight brushed her mane rather quickly. She took a few extra strokes on her bangs making sure they looked nice. She turned her head to check on her work. Nodding in satisfaction, she turned her head the opposite way and froze at what she saw in the mirror.

Staring at her with cold, hard eyes was a face she could not forget. Its face was pale white with a patch of dark brown or black on the chin. It gave the same evil sneer showing off its many sharp teeth. She was staring at the bronze-covered beast through the mirror. The unicorn was petrified with shock. It smiled an evil, toothy grin in her direction. She stared into the beast’s devilish eyes for a second longer before turning to look behind her. The room was empty. She looked back into the mirror to find that the beast had vanished; she saw only her scared reflection.

Twilight walked away from the mirror quickly trotted back down the stairs. Her mind was still playing tricks on her. It was the third time she saw the beast and the first time while she was awake. ‘I’ve got to find more information on this thing,’ she thought. Standing in the center of the main room she looked back at the books she just re-shelved. ‘I’m not going to find anything here. I have to look elsewhere.’ She began to think of where she’d look next. She knew if she told any of her friends then they wouldn’t take it seriously. She began to consider telling Princess Celestia, but she wasn’t sure if even her own mentor would believe it. ‘I don’t think there’s a single pony who would know anything about this. But maybe there is some zebra who might.’

Twilight walked to the door. “Come and get it, Twi,” Spike called from the kitchen. Twilight heard her stomach growl again. Once again, she was reminded by her hunger. She looked over her shoulder to the kitchen and then back at the door. She almost decided to ignore her appetite.

“Okay. I’ll quickly eat and then go to Zecora’s hut,” she decided.

Ponyville
11:55 hours

Twilight stepped out into the bustling town of Ponyville no longer feeling famished. Breakfast had been to die for. Spike had made one of her favorite meals: diced apple crisp coated in cinnamon with a glass of warm milk. Upon seeing what Spike had made she decided to take her time and enjoy the meal. She delicately savored each mouthwatering bite. Spike looked at her strangely and commented that it looked like she knew she wouldn’t be able to have that meal again. Twilight said nothing about the remark, fearing that he may have been right. After eating, Twilight felt more rejuvenated despite her lack of sleep. She was determined to get to the Everfree Forest and pay Zecora a visit. The zebra may be able to shed some light on Twilight’s nightmares… she hoped.

Twilight looked into the sky. There was not a cloud to be seen. She was still anxious about there being any strange storm clouds. ‘If I run into Rainbow I’ll have to ask her about the weather schedule,’ she told herself.

“You still worried about the weather?” Spike asked her.

Twilight quickly looked at her assistant. “No,” she lied. “I was just admiring what a beautiful day it is.” Every day was always beautiful in Ponyville. Twilight could not recall a day when it wasn’t.

“So what’s on the checklist for today,” the dragon inquired.

Twilight chuckled. “Aren’t you the one who usually tells me what we have to do?” she said looking at the baby dragon.

“I’m only supposed to remind you of our daily task,” he explained, not that he needed to. “Which reminds me - you haven’t even told me what we’re doing today.”

“The only thing on our agenda for today is to go and see Zecora,” Twilight answered.

“Really? Is that all?” Spike asked in astonishment. For as long as he’s known her, Twilight rarely went a single day without having a million different things to get done. He got an excited look. Twilight knew he had to be thinking how he’d spend the rest of the day, most likely in relaxation.

“Yes. When we’re done you can take the rest of the day off. Let’s go.” Twilight and Spike walked down the street in the direction of the Everfree Forest. They passed through the town market. Merchant ponies were selling their wares and other merchandises, some at unreasonable prices. At one stand in particular a merchant was demanding seven bits for one carrot. The customer was arguing about the unfair price to which the merchant countered only by raising the price further. The shopper eventually stomped off mumbling choice words about the merchant. Twilight heard the disgruntled shopper say something very inappropriate, to which she gave him a stern look as he trotted past. ‘Do you kiss your mother with that mouth,’ she mentally scolded. The carrot salespony tried to get Twilight to buy some carrots which she respectfully declined.

At another merchant stand, one which was selling heads of lettuce, they noticed Fluttershy with a saddlebag full of produce. She was standing behind a familiar grey Pegasus with a yellow mane and bubbles for a cutie mark. “Hi, Fluttershy!” Spike called.

The yellow Pegasus slowly looked in their direction. “Oh, good morning, Spike. Good morning, Twilight,” she greeted.

Twilight and Spike walked up to her. “How are you doing, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked her shy friend.

“Oh, I’m fine. Angel is refusing to eat again unless I make him his favorite dessert. I’m just buying the ingredients,” she explained. Angel was hardly an angel. That rabbit constantly refuses to do all sorts of things for Fluttershy. One of his favored things is to refuse to eat the healthy food Fluttershy provides him. This is not the first time he’s had Fluttershy go grocery shopping for something he’d rather have. That bunny is downright rude to her more often than not. Being the doormat she is Fluttershy usually gives in to his demands.

“Angel is giving you a hard time again?” Twilight asked. The yellow Pegasus slowly nodded. Fluttershy was the epitome of kindness and sometimes Twilight wondered if she was just too kind. Fluttershy’s three pink butterfly cutie mark represented her love and affection for animals. She’d do anything for any animal; even go so far as to give a certain bunny just about anything he wanted. “Well is there anything we could do to help?”

“No, that’s okay. But thank you for asking. All I need is lettuce. I’m just waiting for the pony in front of me to make her selection,” Fluttershy designated the other Pegasus in line.

The Pegasus was goofily looking at the heads of lettuce the merchant had sitting on the stand. She looked at each one intently as if she were trying to understand what she was looking at. Her yellow cockeyed eyes focused on multiple heads at once. “Do you have any in apple strudel?” she asked.

The merchant gave her an irritated look. “No,” he sighed.

“What about banana nut?” the Pegasus queried.

“No,” the merchant repeated. He was glaring at her in clear frustration. From the sounds of things, Twilight presumed that this had been going on for a while.

“Apple strudel? Banana nut? I didn’t think lettuce came in any special flavor,” Spike said in an aside to Twilight and Fluttershy.

“They don’t,” Twilight answered matter-of-factly.

The Pegasus looked at the lettuce more closely. Nodding, she looked back at the ticked off merchant. “Do you have any with blueberries?” she innocently asked.

“NO,” the merchant all but shouted. The Pegasus looked unoffended by the outburst and resumed looking at the same three heads of lettuce. The merchant looked more infuriated and Twilight could only assume he was about to explode.

The Pegasus started hopping up and down in excitement. “Oh, oh, oh, oh. Do you have any chocolate chip muffins?”

The merchant slammed his forehooves onto the stand and screamed, “NO!!!!!” Fluttershy, surprised by the screech, leaped a few feet back from the Pegasus in front of her; her teal eyes went wide. Twilight did her best to stifle a laugh. Nearby merchants and patrons all turned their attention towards the commotion.

The grey Pegasus gave the steaming merchant a quizzical look. “Well,” she said, “what kinds of muffins do you have?”

The merchant stared at her for a few seconds. “For the last time, Derpy…” he said, his voice low. “I DO NOT SELL MUFFINS!!!” he shouted again. Derpy looked back at the lettuce on the stand to make sure.

‘Well that was rude of him,’ Twilight thought. ‘Would it have killed him to be a little more polite about it?’

While Derpy continued to ponder the lettuce before her the merchant glanced at the numerous pairs of disapproving eyes looking his way, Twilight’s included. “What?” he shrugged. “She does this all the time. Seriously.” Twilight found that a little hard to believe, it still didn’t change her opinion of him. The other ponies in the market only shook their heads in discontentment before returning to their own business.

Derpy looked back at the merchant. It was really hard for Twilight to tell exactly what she was looking at; the goofy Pegasus’ yellow eyes seemed to be fixed in multiple directions. “Are you sure you don’t have any muffins?” she cheerfully asked the merchant. Twilight took back that last thought.

The merchant facehoofed. He muttered, “Oh for the love of…” Twilight didn’t catch the last part. Frankly, she wasn’t certain she wanted to know what he’d mumbled.

Twilight returned her focus to Fluttershy who had returned to her place in line behind Derpy. “This looks like it may take a while. We’ll talk to you later, Fluttershy,” she said to the yellow Pegasus.

“Okay, goodbye, Twilight. Goodbye, Spike,” Fluttershy said to the two. Twilight and Spike walked away from merchant stand just as the pony unsuccessfully tried to explain to Derpy that he wasn’t selling muffins. The violet unicorn found it hard to believe that anypony could mistake lettuce for a muffin. Then again, Derpy wasn’t exactly the brightest pony in Ponyville.

Twilight and Spike left the marketplace and continued to proceed to the opposite side of town. They were approaching Sugar Cube Corner. Twilight’s thoughts began to drift back to her first nightmare the previous night. The dream had begun inside the store. Was there a purpose to it? She couldn’t be certain. All she knew was that Ponyville had become a smoldering ruin shortly after a party thrown by Pinkie Pie. That got her thinking. Perhaps her dream, if it was a vision of the future, has something to do with one of Pinkie’s parties. ‘I should make sure that Pinkie is not having any parties anytime soon.’

At that moment, a bright pink earth pony came happily bounding down the street towards them. “Well speak of the devil…” Twilight said as the pony came to a halt before them.

“Hiiiiiiii, Twilight!” Pinkie Pie greeted while still hopping up and down.

“Hello, Pinkie,” the unicorn returned the greeting. Pinkie continued to hop up and down, her eager blue eyes fixed on Twilight and Spike. “How is your day?”

“Ooooh, I’m having the best day EVER!” Pinkie Pie shouted in joy, while still hopping. “But wait. Yesterday I said I was having the best day ever. Now I’m saying I’m having the best day ever right now. That can’t be right. Can you have two best day evers and still have the best day ever?” Pinkie stopped bouncing and held a contemplating hoof under her chin. Twilight and Spike glanced at each other for a few seconds before looking back at the strange pink pony. “Oh wait!” Pinkie exclaimed. “That’s right! Today’s best day ever hasn’t happened yet!” She resumed happily hopping up and down.

“Okay,” Twilight said rolling your eyes. “And what’ll make today the best day ever?”

“I’m going to meet a new friend! I’m going to introduce him to everypony, then we’ll have a party, and then we’ll become best friends!” the bouncing pony exclaimed. She suddenly stopped and her eyes went wide.

‘A party?’ Twilight thought about the dream. “Uh, actually Pinkie I wanted to talk to you about…” she started.

Pinkie Pie gasped, “That reminds me. He’s in trouble! I have to help him.”

“What?” Spike asked. “Help who?”

“Vergil!” Pinkie Pie answered. “I have to help Vergil! He’s in trouble! I have to help him!” Twilight and Spike looked at one another again.

“Umm, who’s…?” Twilight began to ask.

“Sorry, gotta run!” Pinkie interrupted again before dashing down the street and disappearing around the corner in the blink of an eye. She moved so fast, all Twilight and Spike saw was a pink blur. Twilight always wondered how she could just sprint so fast in an instant.

Confused, Twilight looked at Spike. “Do you know anypony named Vergil?”

Spike shook his head and shrugged. “I’ve never heard of him. Maybe he’s new to Ponyville?” the baby dragon suggested.

A moment later Applejack came around the corner that Pinkie zipped around. Upon seeing Twilight and Spike, the orange mare trotted up to them and, in a heavy country accent, gave a big, “Howdy!” Twilight and Spike returned the greeting. “Whoowee! Didja see Pinkie take off like that? Where do y’all s’pose she’s off to in such a hurry?”

“No idea,” Twilight answered her friend. Applejack looked over her shoulder in the direction she came. Her bow tied yellow mane dangled across her back.

“All she said was she had to help somepony named ‘Vergil’,” Spike added.

Applejack returned her attention to her friends. “Vergil? Who in the hay is that?” she asked.

“Again, I have no idea,” Twilight repeated. “There’s no use figuring out Pinkie Pie.” Twilight still remembered the trouble – not to mention the pain – she went through just trying to understand Pinkie Pie’s uncanny predictions of the immediate future dubbed “Pinkie Sense”. From time to time she could still feel the aches and pains from all the things that happened to her specifically, from the falling anvil to all the random opening doors. Just thinking about it started to give Twilight a headache. Too bad “Pinkie Sense” would be unable to tell her if her dreams were predictions of the future.

“Ain’t that the truth,” Applejack agreed.

Twilight changed the subject. “Hey, isn’t it almost zap apple harvest time?” she asked.

Applejack proudly nodded, “Yessiree! Them zap apples are a-comin’! Granny Smith says they should be good and ready for pickin’ tomorrow.” Out of all of Applejack’s favorite times of the year, zap apple time was one of her favorites. Zap apples are rare commodities that only grow from the strangest circumstances. Perhaps one of the most perplexing things about them is that they are rainbow in coloration when ready to be picked. Any apples still left in their trees after one whole day vanish into thin air. “Once the final storm clouds come them zap apples will be nice and ripe,” the orange cowgirl mare finished.

Twilight briefly looked away in concern as Applejack mentioned the storm clouds, once again thinking about her dreams. Applejack looked at Twilight peculiarly. “Is everythin’ all right, Twi?” the country pony asked. “Ya look a little stressed.”

“She must be,” Spike spoke up. “She’s only been awake nearly all night reading through her hundreds of books.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow and looked at Twilight in surprise. “Ya sure take yer studies far too seriously, sugar cube,” she said in a pitying tone.

Twilight looked back at Applejack and Spike. “I was NOT studying,” she assured them while stomping her hoof for emphasis. “I was looking for information. That’s all.”

“Information on what?” Applejack questioned.

Twilight thought for a moment before answering, “I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Are ya sure? Maybe Ah could help.”

The violet unicorn politely shook her head and said, “Thanks, AJ. But I need to figure this out for myself.”

Applejack gave her a sympathetic smile. “All right then, sugar cube. Ah’ve gotta git on back to the farm. Ah’ll see y’all later.” Applejack trotted down an adjacent street away from Twilight and Spike. The two companions continued to walk through town towards the Everfree Forest. They briefly stopped outside of Sugar Cube Corner. Twilight stared at the delectable-looking confectionery shop for several moments before Spike urged her onwards.

“Why didn’t you want to tell Applejack about these ‘green storm clouds’ of yours?” Spike queried after a few minutes of silence.

Twilight said the first thing that popped in her head, “Because that would be more of Rainbow Dash’s field of expertise. Don’t you think?”

Spike gave her an unconvinced look. “Oh come on, Twilight. You just didn’t want her to tell you what I’ve been saying all morning: There is nothing to worry about. You are getting yourself worked up over nothing,” he criticized.

‘Perhaps I am,’ she mentally agreed. ‘But that doesn’t change my determination to find answers.’ The two continued walking through Ponyville without speaking much. Eventually, they could see the edge of town and the Everfree Forest beyond. Located deep within the spooky forest was Zecora’s hut. The zebra came from a distant land where strange beliefs and bizarre rituals are common practices. Zecora possessed more knowledge about the unknown than anypony Twilight could think of. Several times in the past Twilight found herself seeking Zecora’s wisdom and expertise for all types of problems she, or Ponyville, was having.

They passed by the town’s jewelry shop. A rose-colored earth pony waltzed out covered in an assortment of gems and other expensive pieces of jewelry. The pony was too preoccupied admiring her purchases that she didn’t see Twilight as she walked out the door. The two collided in the street, causing the jewel-covered pony to drop several of her jewelry. “Oh goodness, I’m sorry,” Twilight apologized. “Let me help you get those picked up.” She immediately began to pick up the gems.

The earth pony gave Twilight a severe scowl. “Why don’t you look where you’re going,” she snapped.

Twilight stopped gathering the dropped jewels. She stared back at the mare and was about to protest but Spike beat her to it. “Hey!” Spike shouted. The mare shifted her cold stare to the baby dragon. “She had her eyes open the whole time. Unlike you.”

The mare eyed the challenging dragon. “I don’t believe I was speaking to you, dragon. How about you mind your own business,” the mare countered, her voice threatening.

“What’s your problem?” Spike challenged.

“My problem?” she said in disgust. “My problem is that I had to come all the way from Canterlot to this dump of a town and spend several hundred bits for these fine pieces of jewelry. Only for a careless little pony,” the mare said shoving a hoof in Twilight’s direction, “and their pet to ruin them!”

“PET!?” Spike yelled. “I’ll show you.” Spike snatched one of the larger and more expensive gems – a large sapphire – off the ground in his claw. He narrowed his eyes and waved it back and forth like he was challenging the earth pony to take it.

“Give that here! Now!” the earth pony demanded, holding out her hoof. Spike defiantly shook his head and instead opened his mouth wide. He stuck out his long tongue and wrapped the obviously priceless gem in it. Seeing a little dragon threatening to eat her jewel further aggravated the earth pony. “What on earth do you think you’re doing? Don’t you dare eat my sapphire you insolent cur!”

Spike only continued to taunt her by licking the gemstone all over. As much as Twilight felt that the ill-mannered mare deserved it, she knew better than to provoke a fight. “Spike, just give it back to her,” she said to her assistant. The baby dragon looked at her before reluctantly returning the sapphire to the earth pony. The mare seized the sapphire and disgustedly wiped the off the saliva before storing it in a saddlebag. Twilight attempted to pick up the remaining jewels but the rose earth pony brushed her off. She hastily picked up all the gems and other jewelry before arrogantly trotting away with her head held high. She bumped into another pony and hollered at them for not paying attention. ‘Maybe I should have let Spike eat that sapphire,’ Twilight thought.

“I absolutely do NOT like Canterlot ponies,” Spike growled once the earth pony was out of earshot. “They think they are so much better than everpony else.”

“Uh, Spike. We’re from Canterlot. Remember?” Twilight reminded him.

“Oh, right,” Spike admitted sheepishly. “What I meant was: I don’t like snobbish Canterlot ponies. You know, ponies like her.”

“Yeah, the feeling’s mutual,” Twilight added. She may have been a resident of Ponyville for quite some time but she was still a Canterlot pony. Growing up in Canterlot she came to know that there were plenty of elitist ponies who considered themselves above virtually every non-Canterlot pony. There were even those who believed they were superior to other Canterlot ponies. Most of those ponies label places like Ponyville as backwoods towns they should never associate with. Twilight wondered why a stuck-up pony like her would come all the way to Ponyville just to buy some jewels she could surely get in Canterlot.

A second pony trotted out of the jewelry store and hurried down the street in the direction of the train station. “What?” a very sophisticated – and quite heated – voice cried from the shop. “What do you mean you have no more gems?” Twilight instantaneously recognized the voice. “This is an outrage! What kind of jewelry shop has no jewels?” After a brief argument, an ivory coated unicorn with a curled purple mane and tail angrily barged out of the shop. She turned around and pointed an angry hoof at the shop. “You can say ‘adieu’ to my patronage with your establishment!”

Rarity began to ramble incoherently to herself and did not seem to take notice of Twilight or Spike. “Hello, Rarity,” Twilight greeted. “Is there something wrong?”

“I need to get more gems or my ensemble will not be finished by tomorrow,” Rarity said aloud, not hearing Twilight. She began to pace back and forth in front of the shop – and in front of Twilight and Spike – with her head lowered.

“Umm… Rarity… Hello,” Twilight tried to get her attention again. Twilight waved at the distraught unicorn. Again, Rarity did not notice Twilight. A common occurrence for Rarity is that she has a tendency to not take notice of things around her when she’s upset over something, despite how insignificant the problem is. Rarity can turn any small inconvenience into a huge problem.

“I know,” Rarity said lifting her head up, still not acknowledging Twilight or Spike. “If I can’t purchase any gems then I’ll find some.”

“Rarity?” Twilight asked. She was becoming annoyed by the ivory unicorn ignoring her.

“But I’ll need help in recovering a sufficient amount of bedazzling gems,” Rarity continued, ignoring Twilight further.

Twilight had had it. “RARITY!” she shouted.

Rarity finally looked at Twilight. “Twilight, darling, it’s rude to shout,” she scolded. “If you want somepony’s attention, all you need do is ask.” Twilight sighed and facehoofed.

“Hi, Rarity,” Spike happily greeted.

Rarity’s blue eyes widened upon seeing Spike. “Ah, Spikey,” she excitedly said, fluttering her eyelashes. “Thank goodness you’re here! I need a favor from you.”

Spike’s irises practically turned into hearts as soon as Rarity spoke to him. “Sure, Rarity. I’d do anything for you,” he swiftly agreed. Spike has had a crush on Rarity since first laying eyes on her on his first day in Ponyville. Though it is well known around town, Spike still likes to consider it a secret.

“Hold on,” Twilight interrupted before Rarity lead Spike away. “What exactly do you need help with, Rarity?”

“Oh, Twilight. It’s horrible! The worst possible thing has happened,” Rarity exclaimed in a melodramatic tone. Rarity threw her hoof across her forehead in a clichéd damsel in distress fashion. Another one of Rarity’s classic behaviors: she’s a total drama queen.

‘If I had a bit for every time she’s said that…’ Twilight sarcastically thought. “And what’s so horrible this time?” Twilight knew she needn’t ask it was pretty obvious what was troubling her this time.

“The jewelry shop has run out of gems!” the ivory unicorn exclaimed. “I can’t complete my latest designs without more gems!”

“How did they run out?” Twilight asked.

Rarity’s pitiful attitude suddenly changed; she became enraged again. “It was those two Canterlot INGRATES who took the last gems!” the ivory unicorn erupted. Twilight and Spike both took a cautious step away from her. “I was standing in line at the jeweler’s for what seemed like an eternity! I normally envy every pony from Canterlot, but I now DESPISE TWO OF THEM! The front one whined and complained the entire time in the shop! She kept saying, ‘That one’s not the right color! This one’s not shiny enough! That’s too shiny! This one’s too hard!’ ” Rarity said in a mock accent of the jewel encrusted pony who bumped into Twilight. “Too hard? It’s a stone for goodness sakes! OF COURSE IT’S HARD!”

A third trait of Rarity’s: she can turn volatile when she’s irate. In those situations, it was usually best to give her a wide berth. Rarity continued her rant. “Each and every gem the jeweler brought for her was just not enough in some way! They all had to be perfect for her to accept them! There wasn’t even a second line today! Of all the days the jeweler’s assistant had to be out of town, he chose TODAY! I know they must’ve planned this! They don’t want me to finish my fabulous dresses!”

Twilight was unsure if she should interrupt Rarity. “Eventually,” Rarity continued, calming down in the process, “she made her decision and took all the best gems. AND THEN THAT OTHER PONY TOOK ALL THE REST IN THE STORE!” she whined and shouted again. “I only needed a few, but they took them all!”

As soon as Twilight was sure Rarity had finished she unemotionally remarked, “That sounds horrible.”

“It was! Those were the worst hours of my entire life!” Rarity exaggerated. Twilight slightly chuckled at the thought of Rarity standing there for several hours listening to that Canterlot pony gripe over every single gem in the jewelry store. She could somewhat understand that pony only taking the best of the gems. She then thought of what possible reason the second pony would need to take all the rest of the gems.

“Do you know why they needed all of them?” Twilight queried.

“No,” the ivory unicorn grumbled. “I don’t know. But now the store’s empty! And I need more gems before the end of the day! So, Spikey,” she said rather seductively, shifting her attention to the love-struck dragon, “that’s why I want your help.” Spike straightened himself up expectantly. “Could you be a dear and help me find more in the nearby valley? I’ll let you have the biggest one we find.”

Rarity didn’t need to offer Spike a reward. He would do anything for her. “Oh yes, Rarity! I’ll gladly help!” he eagerly agreed once more.

“Now wait a minute,” Twilight interrupted again. “You plan on getting these gems from the valley?” Rarity nodded. “Have you forgotten what happened last time you did that?”

“Oh, right,” Rarity slowly said remembering her hostage experience. “Well, I’m sure the Diamond Dogs won’t be a bother. If they try to hassle us I’ll just have to remind them of who I am,” she proudly declared. By “reminding” them, she undoubtedly meant she would start whining and complaining. That was the only reason the Diamond Dogs released her in the first place. “So, do you mind if I borrow Spikey-Wikey for help,” Rarity asked.

“Oh, all right,” Twilight accepted. In truth, she did not need Spike’s assistance for today. Twilight’s only intentions were to visit Zecora and make sense of her nightmares. “Just be careful you two,” she urged. With that, Rarity lead Spike away leaving Twilight alone in the street. ‘Okay, Twilight. Let’s get to Zecora’s now.’

Twilight walked onwards and reached the outskirts of Ponyville on the edge of the Everfree Forest. Glancing several hundred yards away she saw Fluttershy’s cottage. Plenty of Fluttershy’s woodland friends were gathered around the small bungalow. There was no sign of the Pegasus, however. Twilight concluded that she was probably still grocery shopping. Taking a few steps in the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage, she was stopped in her tracks by an approaching voice. “Twilight, Twilight, Twilight, Twilight, Twilight, Twilight, Twilight,” the voice repeatedly recited her name.

Giving an about-face, the violet unicorn could see Pinkie Pie bounding her way in a hurry. Twilight sighed, “I’m never going to get to Zecora’s hut, am I?”

Pinkie came to a sudden halt a foot in front of Twilight. “Twiiiiiiilight! Can I use your techno-thingamajigs?” Pinkie requested.

Twilight gave her a confused look. “My what?” she questioned.

“Your electronic doohickeys! You know the ones that go BEEP-BEEP-BEEP and BLEEP-BLOOP and VZOOOOOM!” the ecstatic pink pony clarified.

Twilight, still perplexed, scratched the back of her head. “Huh? Do you mean my laboratory equipment?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!” Pinkie enthusiastically hopped up and down.

“Why do you need to use my lab?” Knowing Pinkie Pie, she could want her lab equipment for any reason.

“I need to help Vergil. Duuuuuhhhhhh,” Pinkie explained as if it were common knowledge. “I need to use your whatchamacallits to help him.”

Twilight just stared at the strange pink pony. Pinkie impatiently stared back at her with her big blue eyes. After a moment Twilight asked again, “Who is Vergil?”

“He’s my newest best friend! Or at least he will be!” Pinkie joyfully replied.

Twilight thought, ‘That doesn’t answer my question, Pinkie.’ “Could you be a little more specific,” she said aloud.

“He’ll be my newest best friend after I help him!” the pink earth pony answered.

The violet unicorn shook her head, “No. I mean could you be more specific about whom Vergil is?”

“Oh, well why didn’t you say so? He’s like a big floating purple and pink octopus from outer space.”

Twilight stared confounded at Pinkie yet again. Pinkie hopped into the air – somehow remaining afloat – and wiggled her legs about like they were “tentacles”. She reasoned it was her imitation of Vergil’s appearance. She did not give a decent impression of any type of octopus. ‘A floating octopus from outer space? That’s preposterous!’ Twilight frowned as she began to lose her patience with the energetic pony. “Fine, Pinkie Pie. Don’t tell me who he is.” Pinkie opened her mouth to say something but Twilight cut her off. “How do you know this ‘Vergil’? I thought you said you were going to meet him today.”

“I am going to meet him, silly,” Pinkie re-clarified.

“Then how could you possibly know somepony that you haven’t…” Twilight trailed off as she remembered who she was speaking to. She sighed, “Never mind. There’s no point in trying to understand your logic, Pinkie Pie.” Again, she recalled the pain from attempting to disprove the existence of “Pinkie Sense.” She rubbed her forehead feeling a headache coming on. “Okay, what do you need?”

“I need to use your techno doohickeys in your lab! Were you not listening?” Pinkie restated.

“Pinkie, now is not the best time. I need to get to the Everfree Forest and I can’t just leave you unsupervised in my lab,” Twilight serenely refuted.

“Aww. Please?” Pinkie pleaded while dropping to her knees.

“Pinkie, I said…” Twilight tried to respond.

“Pretty please?” the earth pony begged. Her eyes widened hopefully.

Twilight was beginning to find it hard to refuse. She knew Pinkie Pie would not give up easily. “Well…” she said.

“Pretty please with sugar on top? And ice cream in the middle?” Pinkie leaped to her feet and got a big grin on her face. “Oh, and top of the ice cream will be chocolate fudge and a cherry! Oh, and then there’s a big banana! And next to the banana is a big apple! Or maybe a kumquat! Yes, a kumquat! I just love saying kumquat! Kumquat! Kumquat! Kumquat! Kumquat! Kumquat! Kumquat! What was I saying?” Pinkie stopped briefly and held a hoof under her chin. “Oh, that’s right! Pretty please with sugar on top, and ice cream in the middle with a big kumquat and…”

Twilight slapped her hooves over her ears and shut her eyes as Pinkie continued to ramble about other ingredients added to her “pretty please”. “Ugh! I can’t take it! Fine, Pinkie!” Twilight nearly shouted. Pinkie stopped talking and widened her eyes and grin further. “I’ll let you use my lab,” Twilight relented.

“Yippee!” Pinkie cheered, hopping up and down once more. “Don’t worry, Vergil. Your newest best friends Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle are coming to save you!” she said in a heroic sounding voice.

‘Save? What an overactive imagination you have, Pinkie.’ Twilight lead Pinkie back towards Golden Oak Library. The violet unicorn frowned the whole way; this was not how she planned on spending the day. Along the short, yet annoying, walk back to the library they passed through the market. Surprisingly, Derpy was still debating with the lettuce merchant about the existence of his “muffins”. The merchant looked even more annoyed than when Twilight first happened by a short while ago. Fluttershy was still patiently waiting behind the clearly confused Pegasus. Twilight didn’t know who to feel sorry more for: Fluttershy for having to wait on Derpy’s inane shopping, or the merchant for having to put up with Derpy.

“Derpy!” the merchant yelled. “These are not muffins! They’re lettuce! Get it through your head!”

Derpy picked up one head of lettuce and held it up to her ear. Amusingly, she tried to shove it into her ear for several seconds before giving up. “It can’t fit inside my head,” the weird Pegasus proudly established. The merchant slammed his head against his stand.

Turning away from the merchant stand, Twilight and Pinkie quickly walked through the marketplace and reached the library. This was taking far longer than she like. She set off to the Everfree Forest a few hours ago and she still hasn’t accomplished anything of importance. ‘Let’s just get this over with,’ she said to herself.

Twilight proceeded down the stairs into her basement where her laboratory was set up. Pinkie joyfully bounded down the stairs. The lab was full of all sorts of equipment: monitors that took all sorts of graphical data, scanners for brainwave functions, and virtually everything else that a unicorn could need. Twilight was no scientist and so therefore she did not have much use for her laboratory. The only time she could think of when she took much interest in her equipment was when she tried to study “Pinkie Sense”; a task which only resulted in being a complete waste of time and adding further injury to Twilight.

Pinkie trotted over to one of the lab’s monitors. She began to sing – at least Twilight assumed it was singing – some sort of song that Twilight’s never heard before. It almost sounded like a melody that pious monks would chant in a monastery somewhere. “That’s an interesting tune, Pinkie. What are you singing?” Twilight asked.

Pinkie stopped “singing” and shrugged, “I don’t know. It just sort of came to me all of a sudden.”

“Hmm. If you say so, Pinkie,” Twilight said. She powered on the laboratory equipment. The monitors whirred to life; the containers and tube of liquids began to bubble in their beakers; the multiple colored light bulbs aligning several pieces of equipment flashed on and off. Without hesitating, Pinkie Pie set upon the tech, fiddling with several of the instruments. The pink earth pony pulled several wires out of the largest monitor with her mouth. Twilight’s mouth dropped in shock. She held her hoof out to block Pinkie. “Hey, what are you doing?”

Pinkie dropped the wires out of her mouth. “I’m helping Vergil, silly. Did you forget why we’re here?” Pinkie needlessly reminded Twilight.

“How is pulling out wires ‘helping’?” Twilight demanded. Pinkie stopped to think about that one. ‘Please, Pinkie Pie, don’t say…’

“I have no idea,” Pinkie happily explained.

‘… And you said exactly as I feared,’ Twilight internally affirmed. “Pinkie, I can’t just let you destroy my lab equipment,” Twilight lectured.

“But Twilight,” Pinkie pleaded, her blue eyes growing wider in a look of sorrow. “I have to help Vergil.”

‘WHO IS BUCKING VERGIL?’ Twilight psychologically snapped. Sensing that she was becoming too stressed, Twilight held a forehoof up to snout level and took a deep breath. Slowly, she extended her hoof in front of her while exhaling. “Okay, Pinkie Pie. I’ll leave you to whatever it is you plan to do.” The pink earth pony became jubilant once more. “Just promise me you’ll be careful with my equipment.”

“Okey dokey lokey! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Pinkie promised, covering her eye with a hoof. Twilight knew she could trust Pinkie once she’s made a “Pinkie Promise”. Of all ponies, Pinkie takes those promises very, very seriously. Oddly enough, Pinkie has strange ways of checking on individuals who’ve made a “Pinkie Promise”, just to make sure they aren’t doing anything to break it.

Twilight slowly walked up the stairs leading out of the basement. She took one last look at Pinkie Pie who was rapidly removing wires and cables and reattaching them elsewhere. In mere seconds, Twilight’s lab had become a jumbled mess of eviscerated monitors. ‘I just know I am going to regret this,’ she complained to herself. ‘Pinkie had better not destroy anything important.’ Twilight returned to the first floor of the library and exited the hollow tree back out into Ponyville.

A short and brisk trot brought her back through the marketplace. She looked at the lettuce merchant and noticed that both Derpy and Fluttershy had moved on. She immediately wondered how long it took Derpy to finally accept the fact that the merchant wasn’t selling muffins. Then she wondered if the salespony had sold her some lettuce and said it was a muffin just to get her to leave. Putting aside that thought, she hurried on towards the Everfree Forest.

Several minutes later the violet unicorn once again reached the edge of town near Fluttershy’s cottage. The Everfree Forest was just past the small hut. The massive forest borders the western edge of Ponyville. The primary entrance is just past Fluttershy’s cottage, though it is possible to enter from other locations as well. Twilight usually does not like to enter the forest do the abundance of dangers within. Zecora’s hut was located along a fixed path deep within the forest. Twilight could not imagine why anypony – or zebra – would want to live in such a hostile place.

As Twilight approached the entrance to the Everfree Forest, she spotted a small cloud hovering a dozen yards overhead. Relaxing on it was Ponyville’s weather mare, Rainbow Dash. At first Twilight thought she may be napping, as she often does while off duty. The look of the cloud reminded Twilight of her lack of sleep. She often wondered what it felt like to sleep on a cloud, something only Pegasi could do. The cyan Pegasus shifted her position on the cloud and Twilight saw she was actually reading a book. “Hey, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight called.

Rainbow leaned over the side of the cloud and waved. “Hey, Twilight,” she called back.

“What are you up to?” Twilight called.

Rainbow Dash silently stared at her for a moment. “Was that supposed to be a joke?” she chuckled.

Twilight scratched her head. “No. Why do you ask?” Then it hit it her. ‘What are you up to... No pun intended.’

“Because if it was, you could’ve said something like, ‘How’s the weather up there?’” Rainbow cited.

“No, it wasn’t intended to be a joke,” Twilight stated. “So what are you doing?” she asked again.

Rainbow waved the book she was reading back and forth over the side of the cloud. “I’m just reading the latest ‘Daring Doo’. This one is ten times cooler than the last one. Not that I’m saying the last one was bad or anything,” she added. That reminded Twilight that she has yet to purchase a copy of the book. As soon as she was done at Zecora’s she’d head right over to the bookstore and pick up a copy.

“Oh, yeah. That came out just today, right?” Twilight inquired. Rainbow Dash excitedly nodded. “Well I haven’t gotten my copy yet. So no spoilers!”

Rainbow gasped. “What? How could you not have one yet?”

“Well, I have a lot on my mind at the moment,” she reasoned, conjuring up images of the bipedal beasts and flying objects.

“Seriously? On something other than Daring Doo?” Rainbow said aghast. “So what is it then?”

“Oh, I’m just going to see Zecora. That’s all,” Twilight answered half-truthfully.

“That’s it?” Rainbow probed. “What are you going there for?”

“I just need her opinion on…” Twilight trailed off. Her eyes glanced down to her hooves and more specifically her shadow being cast by the sun. It was much larger than it should have been. She then realized that her shadow only appeared to have two enormous legs. The rest of the body extended several feet away from her. Twilight looked over her shoulders to see the hideous bronze-covered beast. It clutched the magical “hammer” in its two paws. Wickedly smiling, it lifted the colossal instrument and swung it right at her. Twilight threw her forehooves in front of her in defense. Shutting her eyes and tumbling to the ground she shrieked.

“Twilight, what’s wrong?” Rainbow called in alarm.

The violet unicorn opened her eyes. The beast was gone once again. ‘Why do I keep seeing it?’ she asked herself. ‘What is the reason for its presence?’ Twilight slowly got back on her hooves and brushed herself off. She looked around for any sign of the creature though she knew she’d find none.

“Twilight?” Rainbow called down to her. “Is everything all right?”

“Y-y-yes,” Twilight stuttered in response. “It’s nothing.”

Rainbow Dash stood up from her cloud and flew to the ground, landing next to Twilight. The cyan Pegasus gave Twilight a suspicious look. “Are you sure? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

‘I just might have,’ Twilight mentally conceded. Rainbow Dash was still giving her an impatient look awaiting a response. “Yes, I’m fine Rainbow. Don’t worry.”

Rainbow narrowed her rose-colored eyes in further doubt. “If everything is fine, then why in the world of Equestria did you just scream?” she interrogated.

Twilight nervously looked away. “I screamed because I fell,” she lied for the third time. “I tripped and fell. It took me by surprise, okay?”

Rainbow shook her head unconvinced. “Has anypony ever told you what a bad liar you are?” Twilight flushed as she turned back to the Pegasus. “Did you forget that I was watching you from up there?” Rainbow asked while pointing a hoof at the cloud above.

“Oh… right,” Twilight sheepishly admitted.

“You looked like you were trying to protect yourself from something. But I didn’t see anything. So what happened?” Rainbow further questioned. Twilight scratched the back of her head thinking of the best answer to give. She knew Rainbow Dash would only mock her if she said she saw a huge gold or bronze-covered beast swinging a giant “hammer”. “Are you feeling all right? You look beat,” the cyan Pegasus commented on her overall appearance.

Twilight finally responded, “I am beat. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Were you studying all night again?” Rainbow asked akin to Applejack. “You really need to take it easy with your books. Don’t be such an egghead.”

“I was NOT studying,” she told Rainbow as she told Applejack earlier. “I just couldn’t sleep, that’s all.”

“Then maybe you should consider taking a nap,” Rainbow Dash recommended.

The violet unicorn considered that option once again. But as tempting as that was, she had her priorities set. “Maybe later. For now I’ve got more important things to do.”

“Okay, then. I’m gonna get back to reading,” Rainbow said. She flapped her wings and began to ascend to the hovering cloud. Midway there she stopped and gained an excited expression. “This book is so awesome! Daring Doo was just captured by the dreaded…!” she began to explain.

“Hey, what did I say about spoilers!” Twilight scolded and pointed a hoof at the Pegasus.

“Oops! Sorry!” Rainbow Dash apologized. “It’s just getting so intense with all the ponies trying to get Daring Doo and then…” she went on again.

“RAINBOW!” Twilight shouted. The Pegasus apologized for a second time before returning to her cloud. Settling into the cozy looking cloud, Rainbow picked up her book and resumed reading. Twilight began to walk away. She stopped in her tracks as she remembered something she had wanted to ask. “I got a question for you, Rainbow Dash,” she called to her friend.

Without looking down, Rainbow replied, “Shoot.”

“You don’t have any storms expected in the weather schedule, do you?” Twilight hesitantly asked.

“Let me see,” Rainbow said. She set down her book and pulled out a weather schedule. She started flipping through the sheets on a clipboard. After a brief moment she said, “Not until a week from next Tuesday.”

“Okay that’s all I wanted to know. Thanks.” Rainbow Dash waved goodbye as Twilight proceeded to the entrance of the Everfree Forest. That gave her some respite knowing that no storms were scheduled in the near future. Still, Twilight felt apprehensive about the possibility that things could change within the next two weeks. She concluded that the beast with the “hammer” had to be controlling the weather in her nightmares. If it was real and was to reveal its existence in Equestria then it would almost assuredly manipulate the weather and bring forth the green storm clouds. ‘But what reason would it have to create such bizarre weather? Could the storm somehow act as a means of summoning great power?’ she pondered.

Twilight trotted past Fluttershy’s cottage. The yellow Pegasus had finally returned to her home with a saddlebag full of produce and other treats; all of which were most likely for Angel. Twilight came to a halt in front of the Everfree Forest. She felt herself tense up as she took a step towards the dangerous forest. This was a new sensation for her; she’s never felt so anxious about entering the Everfree Forest. Trekking along the path to Zecora’s hut was an almost frequent occurrence and it wasn’t like there was necessarily anything to fear as long as she remained on the pathway. She felt her hair stand on end like there was a static current flowing through her mane. She sensed an unseen presence.

The wind began to howl and blow in strong gusts. The trees of the Everfree Forest swayed in the strong breeze; leaves and branches broke free and hurled through the air. Several trees immediately toppled to the ground, their roots ripping through the soil. As Twilight struggled to remain on her hooves in the intense wind she could hear panicked calls of animals dwelling in the forest. Sticks and twigs from the trees came hurling in Twilight’s direction. She held a hoof in front of her face only for the small branches to scrape and scratch her foreleg.

Twilight turned and ran from the Everfree Forest’s entrance. Seconds later, the sky darkened as thick clouds materialized from thin air. Twilight halted and stared in horror as the clouds turned into an eerie shade of green. Thunder boomed and lightning arced across the sky. ‘This is how it begins,’ the monster had said in her first nightmare.

“No,” Twilight cried. “No! This can’t be happening!” Twilight spotted Rainbow Dash’s cloud a short distance away. The Pegasus was frantically zipping around in the sky as the storm became more severe. Twilight dashed towards the cloud where Rainbow had been. “RAINBOW DASH!” she shouted over the howling wind. The cyan Pegasus quickly lowered towards the ground. She came to a stop a few feet above Twilight, struggling to flap her wings; the wind was incredibly strong. “WHAT’S HAPPENING?” Twilight yelled. “I THOUGHT YOU SAID THERE WOULD BE NO STORMS!”

Rainbow Dash shouted, “I DON’T KNOW! I’VE NEVER SEEN WEATHER LIKE THIS! IT DOESN’T EVEN LOOK LIKE EVERFREE FOREST WEATHER!” Lightning arced across the sky followed by a loud boom of thunder. The green storm clouds completely enveloped the sky, totally blocking out the sun. The wind picked up speed nearly blowing Rainbow Dash away and knocking Twilight to the ground. “I’LL FLY TO CLOUDSDALE AND SEE IF THEY KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS!” Rainbow screeched.

“BE CAREFUL!” Twilight cautioned. The cyan Pegasus flapped her wings as fast as she could and dashed across the sky. Despite being one of the fastest – and possibly strongest – flyers in Equestria, Rainbow Dash struggled against the unnatural storm. Twilight galloped back into Ponyville. Several townsponies were staring in scared awe at the storm; nopony has ever seen such weather in Equestria before. Most residents were scurrying to find shelter.

Twilight cut through the now deserted marketplace to get back to the library. Merchant stands were toppled over, goods and other products spilled all over the ground; none of the merchants cared to save their wares from the storm. The only positive thing about the storm that Twilight could think of was the fact that it wasn’t raining. Still, she did not want to remain outside for long.

She exited the market and sprinted to her library. She reached out with her magic and opened the door several yards away from it. The wind picked up again and lifted the violet unicorn off her hooves. A second later, the strong gust propelled her through the door and into the hollow tree. Books, scrolls, and other papers flew in every direction in the library. Twilight quickly slammed the door shut behind her with her magic. The room fell still.

Twilight took a deep breath and slowly exhaled in a sigh of relief. Outside, the wind continued to howl followed by the crash of lightning and thunder. She looked around her disorganized room. It almost looked like a twister had come through, which, in a manner of speaking, did happen. She’d worry about reorganizing the library later. “Spike,” she called. “Are you home?” She got no reply. She felt worried and hoped that Spike and Rarity had managed to find shelter from the storm. Out in the valley there wasn’t much that could provide protection with perhaps the exception of the Diamond Dogs’ tunnels, and they would undoubtedly not provide Rarity or Spike refuge.

She heard a loud sound coming from the basement. Twilight remembered that she had left Pinkie Pie to work with her equipment. She swiftly opened the door to the basement and trotted down the stairs. Twilight froze in her tracks at the mangled mess that the pink pony had made of her laboratory. All her monitors had been stripped clean and reassembled into what looked like an electronic scrap heap in the center. Wires crisscrossed the room connecting the pile of computer parts to the few pieces of equipment that Pinkie neglected to touch. A white field was pulsating around the scrap heap. Brief bursts of static electricity emanated from Pinkie’s “creation”.

Pinkie Pie was joyfully hopping up and down and watching in absolute amazement at the computer parts. Each time a volt of static electricity shot out of the pile Pinkie’s grin grew wider. The pulsating light increased from the pile of scrap. The pink earth pony only took further delight from the spectacle.

“Pinkie Pie!” Twilight shouted. Pinkie looked up at Twilight still standing on the staircase. Her expression grew even more joyful. “What’s happening?” Twilight shouted again.

“It’s working, Twilight!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “I’m saving them! Vergil and his friends are coming!” The pulsating light intensified in the room. Outside the library the sounds of the storm became much more intense.

“What? What do you mean?” Twilight panicked. Pinkie Pie gave no reply; she only continued to hop up and down in anticipation. As the light grew brighter Twilight was forced to shield her eyes. Pinkie merely pulled out a pair of sunglasses and placed them over her eyes. More electricity burst from Pinkie’s “invention” just as thunder boomed outside. The light grew brighter. Twilight could see an object begin to materialize near the center of the room. She felt the room go cold at the thought of what was appearing. The light slowly began to dim. Twilight opened her eyes wide as the object began to take shape.

It hovered in the air briefly before falling to the floor. Pinkie Pie stopped hopping and removed the sunglasses. Her expression became one of complete awe and surprise. The thing wasn’t the bipedal beast Twilight feared it was. She didn’t know what it was. As far as she could tell, it was covered in some sort of black and dark gray carapace. It had four appendages sticking out from it; Twilight could only assume they were either arms, legs, or a combination of both. She cautiously stepped down the stairs to get a closer look at the creature. She stopped a few feet from it. “What is it?” she asked, fearing she would not like the answer.

The creature shifted on the ground. Twilight jumped away from it. Pinkie Pie remained where she stood. The creature sat up and seemed to look around. Its “head” was unlike anything Twilight expected. It was round-shaped with a slight indentation near the top. Its “face” was far more mysterious. She could not see any indication of eyes, snout, or mouth. In fact, the entire front of the creature’s “head” was a shade of bluish-silver. As Twilight stared intently at the strange life form before her, it raised one of its appendages and planted what looked like a hairless paw on the back of its “head”.

Twilight hesitated before asking, “What are you?”

The creature shook its “head”. “That’s an odd question,” it said back to her in a perfect dialect. Twilight and Pinkie both took a step back. “Haven’t you ever seen an ODST?”

Chapter 4: Arrival

Unknown Location
Unknown Time

Darkness. That’s all the Rookie could see. Total darkness. He could not see anything else not even his own hand in front of his visor. In fact, he couldn’t even feel his hand. Nor could he feel the rest of his body for that matter. Panicking, he thought back to his previous engagement. His squad had been defeated by the Covenant in attempt to defend Vergil, the Engineer. ‘The Covenant got us, didn’t they?’ he asked himself. ‘They killed us all. They must have. But if I’m dead, how am I still thinking?’ His whole life he always hoped that there’d be an afterlife, was this it? Was all that was waiting for him – for everyone – an empty black void? Was he to remain in a vast emptiness as nothing more than a mere conscience?

The Rookie returned his thoughts to the last thing he could remember. He recalled a white light and loud humming. ‘Where did they come from?’ He struggled to remind himself; it was as if his collective conscience was dissolving into the blackness. ‘A machine? Yes, a machine! It was a Slipspace drive! The Engineer was doing something with a Slipspace drive. It behaved erratically and then… nothing.’ The Rookie couldn’t remember anything that could logically explain his situation.

Suddenly, he felt his body returning from the void. He could feel his arms and legs and everything in between. He never felt such relief to have his sense of touch back, despite it only being gone for – how long? – a short while, he assumed. A new sensation coursed over his body. It felt like a large fan was blowing on him from below. He opened his eyes but could still see nothing. ‘Did that strange light blind me?’ He could not remember the light being intense enough to cause blindness. The wind seemed to grow stronger; the Rookie felt himself being jerked around even flipping end over end.

‘What the hell is happening?’ Slowly his vision began to return. First all he could see was white; an improvement over the blackness but only just. He brought his hands in front of himself and smiled that he could see them clearly again. A gust of wind blew against the Rookie’s stomach causing to flip onto his back. He ended up staring into a blue sky. Tilting his head slightly to the left, he spotted the sun. It burned brighter than he remembered it. ‘Wait a minute. Blue sky… the sun… that could only mean…’ The Rookie’s vision of the sun ended as he passed through the white that he saw earlier. Another gust of wind flipped the Rookie back over onto his stomach. The next thing the ODST saw was a vast landscape beneath him covered in rolling green fields, mountain ranges, and what looked like small towns or villages.

This sight confirmed his suspicion and his fears: he was in freefall. The wind was the atmosphere pushing against his falling body; the layer of white was undoubtedly a cloud layer. How had he gotten off the station and more importantly how he had managed to end up in this situation was a complete mystery to him. But this was not the time to think about it. From his perspective, the ground was still several miles beneath him; that would all change in a matter of seconds.

The Rookie screamed as he looked around for something – anything – that could help him. Suddenly he heard another deep-throated shriek. The Rookie looked to his right and to his surprise he saw a gold-armored Brute Captain Major had also found himself in the same horrible predicament. The beast either didn’t see the human or it didn’t care as it was too busy flailing its arms and legs and howling at the top of its lungs.

This was the Rookie’s only chance. He shifted his body through the air until he was perpendicular to the Brute Captain. He reached for his weapon holster only to discover he had no weapons. Regardless, he declared that the Brute would be his lifeline and he would not pass the opportunity up. The Rookie extended his arms and legs out wide to slightly slow his descent. The Brute began to drift below him. Satisfied that he had the better altitude, the Rookie brought his arms and legs to his sides in a traditional skydiver’s fashion thereby gaining more speed.

The Brute had his back to the human and therefore did not see the Rookie quickly plummeting right up behind him. Once in range of the Brute, the ODST reached out and grasped the beast’s back. The Brute immediately looked over his shoulder. Upon seeing the Rookie, it snarled and tried to grab him. The Rookie immediately retaliated by seizing the beast’s holstered sidearm, a mauler. A second later the ODST emptied the entire the clip into the Brute’s head.

With the Brute dead the Rookie peered around the side of the body and back down towards the earth. The green landscape increased in size as he drew nearer and nearer to the ground, and his certain death. Looking more closely, he could see a large forest directly beneath him. With no other options, he held tightly around the dead Brute’s waist and awaited the inevitable.

A mere thirty seconds later he felt the collision with the first tree branch in the forest. Branches broke beneath the plunging ODST and Brute. Eventually, the two struck a large branch causing the Rookie to lose his grip on the Brute. The Rookie fell over backwards, landing hard on the branch directly beneath him. The wind was knocked out of him instantly. His collision through the tree limbs only increased as he fell like a ragdoll through each and every branch in the tree. Pain shot through his body with each and every branch he struck. Striking another branch just under the chin, the Rookie’s helmet dislodged and fell away from him. Without any protection, his head immediately smashed into another thick branch knocking him out cold. The Rookie would never know when he finally hit the ground.

The Everfree Forest
9 hours later…

The Rookie awoke to the sounds of chirping crickets. Slowly, he opened his eyes and gazed at the dark sky above. He had landed flat on his back and, based on the night sky, he assumed that he’d been knocked unconscious for quite a while. Not that it would’ve been the first time he was knocked out from a “drop”. The first thing he had to do was check that he was still in one piece. A quick clench of his fists and wiggling of his toes and he knew that he hadn’t been paralyzed from the fall. ‘I can’t believe I survived that unscathed,’ he said to himself rather optimistically.

While lying down, he looked around to assess his situation. It was too dark to really see anything. Several tree branches had landed on top of him and, likewise, he felt many more were wedged underneath him. Returning his gaze skywards the Rookie looked for the stars in hopes of discovering where on Earth he landed. However, the trees obscured most of the sky; he could barely see the moon let alone any stars.

Knowing he wouldn’t find anything helpful, the Rookie decided to get moving. He threw the branches and twigs off him. As he attempted to push himself into a sitting position pain coursed through him, forcing him back down. Quickly, he comprehended that he had taken quite a beating while falling through the tree limbs. He wasn’t about to give up so easily. He pulled out his dog tag and inserted it into his mouth, biting hard on the metal. Again he sluggishly pushed himself off the ground. The Rookie intensified his grip on the dog tag as the pain returned. Despite what people may say, biting on an object while undergoing horrific pain does NOT make it any less excruciating.

Eventually, he was able to sit up. The Rookie stopped momentarily to allow his sore body to recuperate. He noticed that he actually began to sweat from that attempt. He wiped the moisture from his head and reminded himself that he’d need to find his missing helmet. He did a quick sweep of his surrounding before giving up; it was still far too dark to see. For all he knew it could’ve gotten stuck on one of the trees. A cool, gentle breeze blew across his face. The Rookie closed his eyes and enjoyed the momentary respite.

More sweat dripped down his forehead. Once more he wiped the perspiration from his face. This time, however, his focus drifted towards his hand. In spite of the darkness he could just make out his hand was covered in something dark and sticky. ‘Oh no,’ he moaned. He planted his opposite hand on the back of his head and winced from another influx of torment. He looked at his opposite hand; it too was covered in the same sticky substance. His only conclusion: his head was split open and he’d been bleeding profusely.

Almost immediately after, his head started throbbing. He held the sides of his head in a vain attempt to end his suffering. The only medical aid the Rookie had was a single bio-foam canister, which is insufficient for the head injury he sustained. He had to find help, and fast. Without his helmet there was no way he’d be able to contact any possible nearby forces. He could not just sit and hope that a UNSC patrol would happen by and find him… he didn’t even know where the hell he was.

The Rookie returned his attention on getting up to his feet. He put his dog tag back into his mouth anticipating that this would hurt. His fears were dead-on. As he struggled to pull himself to his feet he was overcome by even more agony. After a brief struggle he was standing upright, albeit with a limp. His right leg felt swollen and may have been sprained or worse, suffered a fracture.

The Rookie took a step forward with his right leg and almost fell back to the ground. He caught himself on a tree trunk before he could do so. ‘Damn!’ he cursed. Sluggishly, he regained his footing and tried to walk again. Each consecutive step with his right leg nearly yielded the same results. The Rookie ultimately was forced to apply as little pressure as possible on his injured leg.

He came to a halt as he examined his desired route ahead. The forest was pitch-black making it impossible to see anything. The Rookie had never been in a forest so dense that it was incredibly difficult to see. If he had his helmet he could use its VISR to see in the lowlight. He got to thinking about his location. These trees were not any type one would find in Africa. He considered that he may have landed somewhere in the Americas. ‘North America perhaps?’ he speculated. ‘It doesn’t matter where I am. I just need to find out how I got here and where the nearest friendly forces are.’

As he limped away from his landing site he spotted a small glimmer in a large patch of grass. Curiosity getting the better of him, the Rookie gradually hobbled over to it. Reaching down into the grass he found his helmet. ‘Thank God!’ The glimmer had been a reflection of the little moonlight that managed to penetrate the forest canopy off the helmet’s visor.

Overjoyed from finding his helmet, the Rookie quickly scooped it up and proceeded to inspect it of damage. The back of the helmet had suffered a few small dents and scratches, nothing he needed to worry about. His hope faded when he examined the faceplate; a long crack ran diagonally across the visor. Frantically he slipped the damaged helmet over his head and prayed that it remained fully functional. Upon linking up with the rest of his suit, the Rookie’s helmet immediately flashed a warning across the heads-up display: his vitals were perilously low. The HUD displayed a 2-D image of his body and highlighted multiple areas in red, indicating significant damage had been done. Unsurprisingly to him his head and right leg were among those highlighted. Despite the troubling news about his condition, the Rookie felt comforted to know his helmet was still fully functional. He took a moment to check his helmet’s other systems.

The first component he checked was the COM. Activating it, he received nothing but static. ‘COM’s dead. Figures.’ Next he tried the VISR mode. Instantly, the surrounding environment was highlighted in a light shade of orange. Every tree, rock and twig within the dark forest suddenly became visible. The Rookie breathed a sigh of relief. Even though he didn’t have a COM he could at least see where he was going now. In the lowlight the long crack was hardly noticeable.

The ODST continued to hobble through the dark woods. The tree canopy above grew thicker and thicker with each passing minute. The Rookie finally reached a point in the forest where he could no longer see the sky at all. His VISR was having no difficulty in highlighting his surroundings in spite of the lack of any light.

As he limped along in the black woodland his thoughts drifted back to his near death experience by gravity. It is every Helljumper’s nightmare to die while dropping in a pod. That goes for the Rookie too, but now he can add falling without a pod to his list of fears. It felt like he had awoken from a nightmare only to find it wasn’t a dream. There is no way any man could live after falling from such high altitudes. If it hadn’t been for that Brute he would be sitting in his own grave. ‘Using a Brute as a shield to survive a 20,000-foot fall that would have been fatal… That will be a hell of a story to tell. I can’t imagine anyone else doing something even remotely similar.’

One thing the Rookie noticed was how quiet it was in the forest. A short while ago he had heard crickets but now he could he hear nothing but his own sounds. It was like the entire forest of devoid of life. The unnerving lack of life forms made him feel utterly alone. In his last deployment, the Rookie had been separated from the rest of his squad in the streets of New Mombasa. Stranded in the seemingly deserted city, he was left to fend for himself against the Covenant occupation until he reunited with his squad. However, despite it all, he was not actually alone. The city’s Superintendent-class A.I. Vergil was “watching out" for him.

Whenever the Rookie was near something of importance to him, Vergil would give him a heads-up about it: roadblocks would rise from the streets or street signs would change giving a direction he should go. Vergil even was able to provide him with logistical support by means of marking nearby enemy presences on his digital city map and by revealing hidden UNSC weapons caches. Throughout his short stay in New Mombasa the Rookie felt relieved to have his own personal “guardian angel”. However, this time things were very different. He had no one watching his back. He had no logistics. He had no weapon. All the Rookie had with him were essentially the clothes on his back. Wounded and alone in the middle of God knows where, he’s never felt so powerless.

His VISR outlined an object in blue several yards ahead of him. Stepping over to it he was surprised to find an M6S automag on the ground. ‘How did this get here?’ he wondered. He struggled as he bent over to retrieve the weapon; he did not want to kneel down in fear that he’d hurt his inflamed leg. Plucking the magnum off the ground he ejected the magazine and counted twelve rounds still in it. It wasn’t much, but at least he was armed again. He’d need to conserve each round.

Holstering the automag, he limped further into the forest. Several minutes later he reached a portion of forest where the trees were more spread out allowing additional moonlight to reach the ground. Deciding to take a break, the Rookie came to a rest against a tree. He closed his eyes and massaged his swollen leg which didn’t help due to the armor. Under normal circumstances he wouldn’t exert this much energy walking on a possible broken leg as that only made it feel worse. His vitals-status on the HUD reminded him that a broken leg could be the least of his problems; he still had his head injury to deal with.

A sudden noise caught his attention. A low humming echoed across the treetops. The Rookie righted himself up onto his left leg. Scanning the canopy above, he spotted a Phantom dropship gradually flying overhead. A searchlight was mounted to its forward plasma auto-cannon. The Phantom hovered in the air and swept the searchlight along the ground. Without hesitating, the Rookie dove into some bushes behind the tree. The light leisurely illuminated the tree. After a moment, the Phantom flew off still searching the forest floor.

The ODST remained prone behind the tree just in case the Phantom had spotted him. He heard another noise somewhere behind him. Glancing over his shoulder his VISR outlined several targets in red. It was a Covenant patrol. He counted six aliens: two Brutes, one Jackal, and three Grunts. The Brutes were each carrying a brute slung across their backs. The Grunts appeared to be brandishing needlers. The Jackal was wielding a Covenant carbine. The aliens were speaking to one another and did not seem to notice the Rookie. Even if he were better armed, the Rookie was in no condition to take them all on by himself. He chose to play this one safe. The ODST remained motionless in the bushes as they marched past.

One of the Brutes barked, “Stay alert! Keep your eyes peeled! Any one of those ponies could be hiding out here in the woods.” The other Covenant acknowledged the order.

‘Did I hear that right?’ the Rookie asked himself in disbelief. ‘Did he just say “ponies”?’ The Rookie kept his eyes on the Covenant patrol until they disappeared into the darkness. He remained where he was for several more moments before rising to his feet, and shaking off the pain at the same time. The Rookie was perplexed by what the Brute had said. ‘The Covies are hunting some stray farmyard animals? What the hell is going on?’ He checked his automag and loaded a round into the chamber expecting a fight in the near future.

Continuing along his determined route the ODST remained vigilant for any more Covenant patrols. Surprisingly, he did not encounter nearly as many Covenant as he thought he would. Just as he had said to himself earlier, the forest seemed mostly empty. The single Phantom and Brute patrol were the only signs of hostiles he’d seen for the last hour. Once again he felt disturbed by the eerie loneliness. The Covenant were hardly the companions he sought, but at least they told him he wasn’t alone in the woods.

The Rookie came to a halt. He heard the sounds of shuffling shrubbery. He glanced around but the VISR picked up no signs of life. He snatched the automag from his holster and looked around. All he saw were trees and the occasional rock outlined in orange within his vicinity. The scuffling of bushes ended abruptly. He decided it was most likely just an animal; had it been Covenant he’d be dead already. The Rookie holstered his weapon again and pushed onward.

Overhead he overheard the characteristic hum of another passing Phantom dropship. However, the forest canopy was too thick for it to spot him. His VISR could not detect the Covenant troop carrier either. A few seconds later the Phantom was no longer in earshot. The sounds of bushes rustling caught his attention again. Could it have been another animal? He moved his hand over his holstered magnum. Before he could reach it, the rustling stopped once again. That confirmed to him that someone, or more likely something, was watching him.

The Rookie became stiff as a statue not moving his hand away from his magnum. Without turning his head he moved his eyes corner to corner expecting something to jump him. The forest around him was absolutely silent. Gradually he loosened his posture. SNAP! Something broke a twig broke in the bushes next to him. The Rookie grabbed his magnum and sharply turned to his right. A shadowy object dashed out of the bushes and away from the trooper. He didn’t get a good look at it but the life form was roughly the size of a Grunt. His fears were that it could’ve been a highly trained SpecOps unit and if it was, he could not allow it to report his position.

Ignoring the agonizing pain in his leg, the Rookie pursued the fleeing target. The target was several yards in front of him; too far away for his VISR to properly identify it. It dashed between trees and leaped over large rocks in a single bound. It was clearly well acquainted with the terrain and proved to be quite agile, something a lowly Grunt could never hope to be. Still, the Rookie was determined to catch it.

Each step the ODST took in his haste felt like someone was stabbing his right leg with knives; he did his best to brush it off. He noticed the unknown contact leap behind a huge boulder several yards away. The boulder was wedged right up against a tall cliff; the Rookie had it trapped now. He slowed his pace taking deep breaths; the chase had left him winded. Limping up to the boulder he braced his back against it like he was about to execute a door breach. Taking a deep breath he lunged around the boulder and aimed his automag.

There was nothing behind the rock. His target was gone. ‘What the hell? Where is it?’ he demanded. He knew that it, whatever it was, had maneuvered around the boulder. He didn’t exactly see it, but he saw its shadow and more importantly he had heard it. The Rookie was certain he wasn’t chasing his imagination. What if he was merely chasing some animal? The ODST holstered his weapon and swore. He angrily kicked the rock with his good foot. He had completely wasted his time and effort chasing nothing. Not to mention the hell he put on his wounded leg during the pursuit.

Feeling beaten, he sat on the ground and leaned against the boulder. He pulled off his helmet and set it beside him. He dropped his injured head into his hands. “This is hopeless,” he whimpered miserably. “I’m lost in the middle of a goddamned forest with a broken leg and cracked skull and I have absolutely no way of calling for help. Things can’t possibly get any worse.” As if fate objected to his assertion, the Rookie’s situation deteriorated further. A Phantom dropship emerged over the treetops. The Rookie instantly found himself enveloped in its searchlight. He frantically grabbed his helmet and jumped to his feet just as the dropship opened fire with its auto-cannon. Streaks of blue plasma fire melted a chunk out of the rock.

The plasma turret continued to track him as he bolted to the back the way he’d come. The Phantom ceased firing and hovered over the Rookie to cut off his escape. The dropship turned sideways, giving an opportunity for a Grunt manning the starboard side plasma cannon to take aim on the trooper. The Rookie skidded to a stop – nearly falling in the process – just as stream of blue plasma fire hurled his way. He had no cover to return fire, he had to escape. He turned around and darted the other direction. The Phantom’s troop bay doors opened. A pair of Jackals armed with beam rifles took up position next to the Grunt gunner. The bird-like aliens took aim and unleashed their marksman rifles.

The Rookie didn’t take a moment to look behind him and therefore didn’t know about the snipers. Once the first blue beam sped past him he knew he was in trouble. Training instincts took in for the ODST as he zigzagged to throw off the Covenant marksmen. Streaks of blue zipped all around him combined with wild gobbets from the plasma cannon gunner. All at once the plasma fire ended. The Rookie sprinted as fast as possible not slowing down until he was certain he was beyond their range.

Cautiously, he glanced over his shoulder but could no longer see the Phantom or its occupants in his VISR; he had lost them. Suddenly he no longer felt the ground beneath his feet. He returned his attention to his twelve and saw nothing in front of him; he had run right off a cliff. He plummeted more than a dozen feet flailing his arms and legs. Landing feet first on a steep incline directly beneath, he fell forward into a somersault. Flipping and rolling end over end down the rock hard slope, the Rookie was unable to stop himself. His body smashed against every inanimate object in his path: rocks, shrubs, etc. The Rookie’s crippled limb collided with a large rock in his path, snapping his bone. He nearly passed out from the trauma. Finally, his tumbling body came to a rest at the base of the slope.

He laid face first in the dirt, too injured to move; his entire body hurt like hell. His HUD flashed red signifying his health was now in life-threatening condition. The Rookie limply flipped himself onto his back. Rolling over his right leg he felt an excruciating CRACK! He grasped his leg and screamed in unbearable anguish. Any doubts he may have had about his leg being broken were long gone. He loudly moaned while clutching his leg and nearly felt like crying.

This was no time to lament on his pitiful situation. The Rookie was out in the open at the base of the hill. He had to find cover before another Covenant patrol spotted him. Lying crippled on the ground would only make him a sitting duck. Once again, he slipped his dog tag in mouth and braced himself for the worst experience of his life. He rolled over onto his stomach – this time opting to go over his left side – and nearly bit his dog tag in half. Each slight movement put further hell on his leg.

He looked ahead and saw the tree line about a dozen yards away. Very slothfully, he dragged himself across the dirt, putting even more teeth marks in the dog tag. This was almost too much for him; he’d rather go through ODST training again than take this hell. He was forced to stop and rest every few inches. After the longest – and most painful – twenty minutes of his life, the Rookie was safe beneath the forest canopy again. Just like earlier, the canopy here was very dense; no Covy dropship would be able to spot him.

The Rookie delicately dragged himself beneath a tall tree to rest. He took several deep breaths and did his best to ignore his right leg. ‘I suppose I asked for this,’ he declared to himself. ‘I said there was no way things could get any worse.’ One of Murphy’s Laws instantaneously popped in his mind: If there is a worse time for something to go wrong, it will happen then. The Rookie has been in hopeless situations in the past but nothing at all this severe. The streets of New Mombasa provided all the first aid he needed primarily from the civilian medical stands. What he wouldn’t give for a conveniently placed Optican kiosk right now; although, it wouldn’t be able to mend a broken leg.

The Rookie dropped his head into the dirt and groaned. ‘I’m going to die here. I’m going to die a slow, painful death. Why couldn’t I have just died on that space station? At least that would have been quick.’ A loud howl broke the silence of the peaceful forest. The Rookie lifted his head up. A second howl followed the first, echoing much louder across the woods. ‘Wolves? That can’t be good.’ A third wolf howl followed in suit; this one sounding much closer. The Rookie’s eyes darted around the forest. Another howl. Then another, and another, and another. The Rookie steadily pushed his upper torso off the ground. “That’s not good at all,” he whispered aloud.

A large bush shuddered a few feet away. The Rookie fearfully gazed in its direction. A quick, loud snarl emanated from the foliage. A pair of ghostly green eyes glowed from behind the leaves. A wolf had found the Rookie. Weak, helpless and injured he knew he would be no match for a ravenous wolf. The bush shook some more as the beast lurking within crawled its way out. The Rookie’s eyes widened in absolute shock. It wasn’t a wolf.

The monstrosity staring him down was wolf-like in appearance. The Rookie’s VISR instantly outlined it in orange, depicting it as part of the environment. The beast fully emerged from the foliage and loudly roared. Looking more closely at the beast before him, the Rookie realized what threw off his VISR: the wolf-like creature’s body was comprised completely of logs, sticks and other forest timber. It wasn’t part of the environment; it was made of the environment. The ODST had no idea what he was looking at; its very existence was impossible.

The wolf-thing roared once more and charged the Rookie. The Rookie frantically pushed himself further up off the ground and reached for his holstered automag. The abomination rammed its wooden head into the Rookie’s chest with the force of a Warthog LRV, hurling him against the tree. The Rookie felt blood begin to drip down his forehead. Immediately after, it pounced upon the stunned trooper raring for the kill. The Rookie caught the beast’s jaws in his hands and struggled to push it back. The pseudo-wolf repeatedly snapped its jaws and nearly bit the Rookie’s hands clean off.

The more the beast thrashed in his grasp, the faster the Rookie’s resistance depleted. Each passing second brought the bloodthirsty wolf-creature’s serrated, wooden teeth closer and closer to him. His head tilted down to his side where his automag remained holstered. He couldn’t afford to reach for it now; if he loosened his grip on the beast nothing would stop it from tearing him apart. The creature roared again yet, green mist flowed from its mouth. It quickly followed up with a swift swipe from one of its wooden paws across the Rookie’s chest leaving three deep scratches on the chest plate. Over and over again it swiped its paw at the helpless ODST. As it did so, the Rookie noticed it took focus away from its attempt to bite him. With all the strength he had left, the Rookie gave one final push, driving the menacing creature’s head to its side. He instantly took advantage of the opening he created and snatched his automag.

Not even a meager second after clutching the magnum, the wolf-thing slammed its paw on the Rookie’s hand, pinning it to the ground. Alarmed, the Rookie glanced back in time to see the animal lunge forward with its mouth opened wide. The Rookie quickly turned sideways and yelped as the monstrous life form sunk its sharpened teeth through his armor and into his left shoulder. It then violently shook its head around in an attempt to rip his arm from his body. Blood spattered against the interior of his visor. It still held the Rookie’s hand against the ground. The Rookie sensed he still had a grip on the automag’s trigger. Out of options, he squeezed it hard.

PHT! The 12.7x40mm round ejected from the gun’s barrel and tore through the wolf-creature’s tree-like paw. The creature released the Rookie and reared back, howling into the sky. The Rookie brought his automag to bear and aimed it right at the monster’s head. Its glowing green eyes looked right back at the trooper. It uttered a loud growl and lunged forward again. The Rookie fired several more times. PHT! PHT! PHT! Each round tore through the wolf-thing’s head scattering wood shavings and splinters everywhere. However, the creature did not stop.

Plowing into the Rookie for a second time, it knocked the automag right out of his hand. Horrified, he watched as it flew through the air and landed several feet away; his VISR highlighted it in blue, showing him exactly where it had landed in the dark forest. The beast slowly and intimidatingly backed up from the ODST to charge him again. Out of complete desperation, the Rookie dove onto his stomach as yet another tidal wave of agony washed over him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the monster sprint his way. The Rookie pulled himself as fast as humanly possible to his gun.

Just when his fingertips touched the magnum, the wolf-thing clamped its jaws around the ODST’s side. Just like before, its teeth easily penetrated the armor and pierced his flesh. The monstrosity proceeded to drag the Rookie away from the gun. The Rookie tried to dig his fingers into the dirt to no avail. Feeling his fingers brush against a large rock, he seized the heavy object and smashed the beast across its head. The impact caved in a large portion of the right side of its wooden cranium.

The monster released the Rookie again and stumbled backwards from the injury. Half of its head crumpled into wood fragments. The Rookie did not hesitate to scurry to his dropped weapon. He swiftly snatched it and flipped onto his back firing more rounds before the creature could react. PHT! PHT! PHT! PHT! More pieces of wood broke free from the abomination as each round effortlessly punched holes right through it. The Rookie ceased firing and glared at the demon through his blood-splattered visor.

It staggered about aimlessly and appeared to be suffering from the multiple gunshots. PHT! The Rookie put another round through its skull. The wolf-like monster howled once more before its head broke into a dozen pieces of kindling. Seconds later, each twig, leaf and log from which its body was made fell apart right before the Rookie’s eyes. Green smoke rose from the “remains”. The Rookie lowered the automag taking deep breaths. ‘What the hell was that thing?’

His HUD continued to pulse red, now highlighting virtually every square inch of his body. He lowered back onto the ground and closed his eyes in intense pain. Truly, he had no idea why he was still alive, let alone conscious, from the massive trauma he sustained in such a short time. His head was throbbing; he could feel blood dripping through his hair. The pain in his right leg was so severe that he was beginning to consider that it should be amputated just to end his misery.

There was no way he was going to find help. He could not sustain himself with those wounds in perhaps the most hellish forest he’s ever seen. ‘There is a way to end all the pain,’ his conscience told him. He held the automag above him and studied the weapon. Ejecting the magazine he counted the last three bullets he still had. ‘All it takes is just one,’ his mind explained. He slapped the magazine back into the magnum and loaded one of the rounds into the chamber. The Rookie contemplated the choices that fate forced on him. He could try to survive for as long as possible while living through the worst torment of his life. Or he could just end it. “No,” he loudly declared. He did not survive an encounter with the strangest “wolf” ever only to shoot himself. “I will NOT take the easy way out. I am ODST. I will never give up. Not even on death's doorstep.”

The Rookie decided that he’d spent enough time crawling; it was time to get back on his feet. After about a minute of physical exertion he was back in the sitting position. He took several deep breaths and readied to try and stand. Something shifted in the bushes around him. The Rookie slowly examined his surroundings and counted a dozen green glowing eyes. The ODST felt a chill run down his spine. In an instant six of the wolf-things leaped out of the foliage howling and snarling. The rest of the pack had finally arrived and they looked pissed about their fallen pack mate. His VISR outlined them in red, finally indicating they were hostiles.

The Rookie felt himself backing up against another tree. The six “wolves” formed a semi-circle around trapped trooper. He gazed at his automag and then back at the advancing demons. ‘Three bullets for six of them… not very good odds.’ The Rookie sighed and holstered the weapon. There was no use in fighting: he was out of ammo, out of energy, and out of options. He straightened himself up against the tree. “All right you bastards,” he growled. “Do your worst.”

Each of the “wolves” roared in unison and lunged for the Rookie. The Rookie fearlessly stared down his assailants. All of a sudden, an object descended between the Rookie and the wolf-creatures. The “wolves” halted in their tracks; their eerie green eyes widening in shock over the unexpected arrival. The Rookie, likewise, was taken by complete shock by what had suddenly appeared. He could not believe what he was looking at.

It was a little horse. The Rookie blinked. A small horse with a very long mane and tail stood defiantly between him and the wooden beasts. A pair of appendages was fixed on opposite sides of the horse’s back. The Rookie thought it may have been a bizarre mutation. After looking more closely, his VISR clearly revealed the additional attachments were covered in feathers. Were they wings? Was this a flying horse? The VISR outlined it in orange just like it had done with the first wolf-like creature.

“How dare you!” a soft, angry, feminine voice shouted. The Rookie looked around believing another person was in the area. “How dare you try to harm a poor, defenseless creature!” the voice scolded. The Rookie looked back at the equine before him and blinked, coming to a realization. Not only was a small horse, no bigger than a Grunt, standing up to creatures twice its size but it was also talking? The little horse stepped towards the bewildered “wolves” and shoved a hoof in their direction. “You should all be ashamed of yourselves! You’re acting like nothing but a bunch of big bullies!” The winged-horse appeared to angrily glare at each one of the wolf-like creatures. Each of the “wolves” recoiled in intimidation.

The Rookie was astonished by the event transpiring in front of him; he was at a complete loss for words. One of the wolf-creatures narrowed its glowing green eyes and growled at the horse, green mist flowing through its clenched teeth. The horse responded by shifting its glare at the beast. Its vicious expression instantly changed to one of fear. The equine continued berating the beasts, “Now I want you leave and never bother this poor thing again! Now GO!” The wolf-like creatures quickly turned tail and sprinted off into the dark forest squealing like puppies.

Slowly, the little horse turned to face the Rookie. It – she? – had the most adorable eyes the Rookie had ever seen. The Rookie reached to pull off his helmet to get a better look at the little horse. The horse flinched at his sudden movement, jumping a foot away from him. The ODST stopped and held his hands palm out to show her that he meant no harm. Whether or not the horse understood the gesture was unclear to the Rookie. He placed his hands on the sides of the helmet and gently lifted it off his head. Without the aid of the VISR, it became more difficult to see the horse. The Rookie wondered if this horse was one of the “ponies” that the Brute had spoken about earlier.

The pony pushed her long mane in front of her face to hide, still keeping one fear-filled eye on the ODST. The Rookie wiped blood away from his eyes. The little winged-pony continued to silently stare at him behind her mane. Finally, the Rookie said, “You can talk?” The pony hesitated before nodding back. “What’s your name? Do you live around here?” The bashful pony looked away and muttered something that the Rookie couldn’t hear. “I’m sorry, what?” The pony mumbled very quietly again, only slightly increasing the pitch of her voice. The Rookie was certain she said something beginning with an “F”. He started to feel lightheaded. “Could you repeat that?” he asked.

The pony spoke a little more audibly this time. “I’m Fluttershy,” she barely whispered.

“Fluttershy?” the Rookie asked, making sure he heard her right. The winged-pony nodded once in confirmation. ‘That name sure suits her,’ the Rookie thought. The ODST began to gasp for breath. “That’s… a very… pretty…” the Rookie trailed off. He fell onto his side and lost consciousness.

Chapter 5: Strangers

Earlier that day…

Golden Oak Library, Ponyville
Day 1
13:33 hours

Mickey found himself surrounded by the strange pulsating light. Every direction he looked, he could see only an empty white void and nothing more. The humming sound from earlier left a loud ringing noise in his ears. He felt strange. He couldn’t feel the floor of the laboratory beneath him. He blindly waved his hand and felt nothing below him. Was he hovering in midair? He received his answer when he abruptly landed on something flat on his stomach. Multiple objects broke and crushed under him. He brushed his hands through the things he landed on. It felt like he was on top of a pile of scrap metal and wires.

The white field around him slowly began to dim, though he could still see nothing. The ringing continued to buzz in ears. ‘What happened?’ he asked himself. He sat up and tried to look around. As he expected, he couldn’t see anything. He put his hand on the back of his helmet and tried to think about the last thing he remembered. The Hunters had entered the laboratory and blew the hell out of the place. One of their fuel pods exploded near him which sent him flying at least ten feet away from where he stood. After that, more Covies stormed the room. Some Grunts were watching him on the trigger ends of their plasma pistols. He had been just about to grab the maulers and shoot his way out when the light and hum emerged from nowhere. After that, he wasn’t sure what had ensued.

Slowly the ringing faded away. “What are you?” someone suddenly asked. Mickey jerked where he sat; the unexpected voice startling him. He didn’t recognize the voice; it did not belong to any member of his squad. In fact, the speaker was definitively female. He could not recall there being any women aboard the ONI station. Was it possible that he and his squad received reinforcements?

Mickey still could not see anything and so he was about to ask whom he was speaking to, when the nature of the woman’s query suddenly struck him. He just realized that she – whoever she was – had asked what he was, rather than who he was. ‘Did she really ask me what I am? What kind of question is that?’ He chose not to say something rude just in case he was speaking to a confused superior. The last thing he wanted to do was insult an officer. “That’s an odd question,” he warily said. “Haven’t you ever seen an ODST?” Asking a question like that was like asking someone if they knew who the Master Chief is.

“Odyessty?” the voice asked like it was one word. “I’ve never heard of that species before.”

‘Species?’ Mickey asked himself dumbfound. ‘Are you serious? You really can’t tell what I am?’ Mickey sightlessly rose to his feet and heard more components crack and break beneath his boots.

“Umm... Is this Vergil?” the woman whispered, apparently to someone else.

‘Vergil? Does she mean the Engineer? Is she asking me that?’ The white field in Mickey’s eyes dimmed to a jet black. He began to wonder if he’d gone blind.

“No silly. That’s not Vergil,” a second high-pitched female voice answered the former. “Are you one of Vergil’s friends?” the second voice loudly asked Mickey in anticipation.

“Be quiet, Pinkie Pie. I’m trying to carefully ascertain what this thing is,” the first woman quietly commanded.

‘Now they’re calling me a thing?’ Mickey decided to address the people around him. “Okay, that’s it. Who are you and what is going on here?”

There was a moment of silence before the former woman answered, “I think I can ask you the same question.”

Mickey tried a different approach. “What is your rank, soldier?” he demanded.

“Soldier?” the woman gasped, sounding a little offended. “I’m not a soldier. I’d like to consider myself a student. A diligent, hardworking student studying the magic of friendship I might add.”

“And I am a party-thrower extraordinaire,” the second woman eagerly added.

‘Some college student…? A party planner…? What the hell are these people doing on an ONI station?’ he asked himself. These two unknown people were not getting him anywhere with their strange answers. He really wished his vision would come back. He shifted his head in the direction he thought the first voice came from. “Okay then, ‘student’, how did the two of you get on this station?”

“Station? What are you talking about?” the second woman responded in place of the former. “We are nowhere near the train station. Duh!”

“Don’t be rude, Pinkie Pie. Can’t you see it’s clearly confused,” the first woman told the latter.

“Hold on a second,” Mickey said holding his hand out towards nothing. “Just what is going on here? Where am I?”

“You are in my library. Well, actually, you’re in my library’s laboratory,” the first voice explained.

“How did I get here? Did one of you bring me in here,” the ODST demanded pointing his finger in their general direction.

“Yes! I did!” the second woman happily cheered. Mickey tilted his head in her direction awaiting an elaboration. When the woman said nothing more he rotated his palm in a circle to get her to keep going. It took the first voice to explain what Mickey was trying to convey. Once the latter realized his intentions she explained, “I put together all these techno-jiggers and other doohickeys and PRESTO! here you are!”

Mickey fell silent. That was not the explanation he was expecting, nor one that told him how he made it from the ONI laboratory to someone else’s laboratory. These two were obviously toying with him, and he was not amused. “I need a real answer,” he demanded.

“But it’s…” the anonymous woman began to protest.

“Never mind,” Mickey interrupted, “I don’t want to hear excuses.” The two women fell silent. Though he still couldn’t see them, Mickey assumed that they may have been giving him dirty looks. He reached his hands out and tried to get a “feeling” of the place he was in. He couldn’t feel any walls or any type of support. Cautiously, he took a step forward and instantly tripped over a cord he didn’t see and landed face first on the pile of scrap with a loud CRUNCH!

“Are you okay?” the first voice casually asked him.

Mickey steadily pushed himself up. “Yes, I’m fine,” he replied. All at once, his vision returned. The first thing he saw was a strange silhouette inches in front of his visor. A moment later it materialized into a purplish blur. A second after that, Mickey’s eyes enlarged at what was staring into his visor: a purple horse. It had large violet eyes and was giving him a very curious, confused look. Atop its head was a dark purple-colored mane with a single pink streak running through it. Some of the mane was drooped over the horse’s forehead like they were bangs. But the single feature that stood out the most to him was the horn protruding from the strangely colored equine’s forehead. Mickey blinked, making sure he wasn’t just seeing things. He then got curious as to who was speaking to him. “That’s funny. I could’ve just sworn that that purple horse was talking to me,” he said aloud.

The purple horse pulled its head back and gave an apparent offended expression. “Hey! Who are you calling a horse?” it demanded in the same voice that Mickey had first heard. Mickey’s jaw dropped, unable to comprehend what he had just heard. “I’m a pony,” the equine corrected. “And I’m a unicorn for that matter.”

Mickey jumped up to his feet in shock. The purple unicorn gazed up at him as he towered a foot or two above her. “Y-y-y-y-you just talked!” he stuttered.

“Well, of course I talked,” the violet pony said rationally. “I’ve been talking to you this whole time.”

“Me too!” a second pony – the other female voice – eagerly said. Mickey shifted his focus to second pony in the room. This one looked a little odder than the unicorn. She was covered in a bright pink coat and had a dark pink, puffy mane and tail. This pony was staring attentively at him with bulging blue eyes.

Mickey was still stunned. “But… But that’s not possible. You can’t be talking. It’s just not possible,” he exclaimed.

“And how is that not possible,” the unicorn probed.

“For starters, ponies cannot talk… period,” Mickey bluntly simplified. The two ponies looked at one another like he was crazy. “And,” he said pointing a finger at the violet unicorn, “unicorns do not even exist!”

The unicorn gave him another insulted look. “What? Of course unicorns are real. I’m here after all,” she scolded.

Mickey shook his head and looked away. “This isn’t really happening. I’ve got to be dreaming. That’s it! This is all just a bizarre dream,” he concluded.

“You silly. If this was a dream, then really weird things would be happening,” the pink pony reasoned. Mickey glanced back at the pony wondering what could possibly be weirder than a talking pony. “You know like if the grass was made of cotton candy! Or maybe it started raining cupcakes and donuts! Oh. Oh. Oh. And all the houses in Ponyville were made of ice cream covered in hot fudge! Mmmm! Hot fudge,” the pink pony lazily licked her lips evidently enjoying the fantasy she just conjured.

The violet unicorn looked at the drooling pony. “Did you happen to dream that last night, Pinkie?”

“I sure did,” the pink pony leisurely affirmed. She continued to lick her lips, imagining she was in a pastry heaven. Mickey only stared in absolute wonder.

The unicorn returned her gaze to the ODST. “Anyways. I can assure you that this is not a dream. I’m real. Pinkie Pie is real. You. Are. Awake,” she simply stated.

Mickey sighed. “I guess you’re right,” he relented. He knew the futility in trying to argue with the unicorn. Strange as it may be, Mickey knew that she was correct. This did not seem like any kind of dream he’d have and he undoubtedly did not feel like he was sleeping. “You’ve just got to see things from my perspective, okay? This is obviously quite new to me. I’m clearly not supposed to be here, wherever here is.”

The unicorn took a step towards him. “Who are you, stranger? Where did you come from?”

Mickey took a breath and prepared to explain. “Your-name-is-Michael-Crespo-but-your-friends-call-you-Mickey-you-are-a-human-soldier-ranked-Private-First-Class-from-Crisium-City-Naniwa-Luna-in-orbit-over-the-planet-Earth-and-you-and-your-squad-were-just-in-a-battle-with-a-bunch-of-evil-aliens-on-a-space-station-orbiting-the-earth-while-protecting-Vergil!” the pink pony rapidly declared in one breath.

Mickey’s jaw dropped; he was completely speechless. The unicorn rolled her eyes. “Yeah, Pinkie,” she said sarcastically, “I’m pretty sure that that is not true.”

“Actually, your friend there is dead-on. More or less,” Mickey affirmed in bewilderment. How did this odd pink pony know so much about him? He’d only been in their presence for a brief time. And yet she knew his name, where he was born, even about the battle on the ONI station. Mickey was truly amazed. “How did you know?” he asked the pink pony.

“Call it a hunch,” she shrugged.

The violet unicorn looked back at Mickey, eyes spreading. “So you really are from another world?” Mickey nodded. “That’s remarkable! I’ve never met an alien before. Then again, I never believed that aliens even existed. What is it like where you’re from? Are there others just like you? Is your planet different from ours? Are you more technologically advanced than us? I have so many questions!”

‘Yeah. I’ve got plenty of questions for you, too,’ Mickey said to himself. It felt kind of odd for the unicorn to call him an alien. He certainly never thought of himself as an alien, after all. If anything, she was the alien.

The unicorn walked right up to him and tapped on Mickey’s armor with a hoof. “Are you some kind of arthropod? You’re covered in this exoskeleton.”

Mickey shook his head and chuckled. “No. Humans are not insects. This is armor, not an exoskeleton,” he clarified. He depolarized his visor to show them his face. “See? Underneath this armor I’m all skin and bones, as you might say. All humans are like this.” Mickey knocked on the side of his helmet and said, “This is just a helmet I’m wearing, in case you thought it was my actual head.”

The pink pony’s eyes widened in further awe. “Cool,” she whispered. “I wish I had a helmet like that.”

“So you’re a human, huh? I thought you called yourself an Odyessty,” the unicorn stated still examining Mickey.

Mickey laughed again. “No, ma’am. I said Oh Dee Ess Tee. It stands for Orbital Drop Shock Trooper. That’s my profession. I’m a soldier, just as your friend there said a moment ago. That is also why I’m wearing this armor,” he further explained. “Have you never seen a human before?”

“No,” the unicorn shook her head. “We don’t have humans in Equestria, or anywhere on our world. I think you are the first human to ever set hoof in Equestria.”

“Equestria? What’s that?”

“Oh, that’s the name of this land. We ponies have called Equestria home for centuries. I could tell you all about it if you want,” the unicorn eagerly suggested.

“That’d be great. But maybe later. For now I need to assess my situation,” Mickey said. The pink pony asked him what he meant by that. He explained that he needed to find out where he was and if he could contact friendly forces to come get him. Although, he considered that the possibility of calling for help on a planet he’d never heard of was slim to none. He tried to activate his helmet’s built-in COM but only received white noise. With no COM available, Mickey would need to learn more about how he ended up in this “Equestria”. If anything, the pile of crap that brought him here might also be able to send him back to Earth. “By the way, who are you two? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”

“Sorry, where are my manners? My name is Twilight Sparkle,” the violet unicorn introduced herself, placing a hoof on her chest.

“And I’m Pinkie Pie!” the pink pony energetically indicated while leaping high into the air.

‘Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie… Okay, those aren’t the strangest names I’ve ever heard before,’ thought Mickey. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. As Pinkie here said, my name is Michael Crespo. But you can call me Mickey.”

“Okey dokey lokey, Mickey! Welcome to Ponyville, newest friend,” Pinkie Pie said. She jumped into Mickey, wrapping her forelegs around him in a big hug. Mickey was overwhelmed. He awkwardly looked down at Pinkie Pie and then glanced at Twilight Sparkle and gave a “Now what do I do?” look. The unicorn grinned and shrugged implying that she couldn’t do anything about it. Mickey mildly patted Pinkie on the head, his fingers slipping through her puffy pink mane. He didn’t know if it would have been insulting to her, petting her like an animal. But Pinkie didn’t seem to mind; in fact she only tightened her embrace.

As Pinkie continued to hug Mickey – with him still patting her head – he got a good look around the room he was in for the first time. Just as Twilight had said, he was in some sort of laboratory; though it utterly failed in comparison to the labs on the ONI station or any human lab in fact. Most of what had been monitors had been stripped apart and the wires ripped free. Behind Twilight was a staircase that led up to a doorway. Mickey assumed that it lead to the library she had mentioned earlier. Extending from the walls and ceiling were what appeared to be large roots. Was he beneath a tree?

“Ahem,” Twilight coughed. Pinkie Pie looked over at the violet unicorn. “Pinkie, I think Mr. Crespo gets the idea.” Pinkie Pie immediately released Mickey.

Mickey rubbed the back of his helmet in embarrassment. It was not that he didn’t mind being hugged; it just felt awkward that he was randomly hugged by a pony. He looked down at the pile of scrap metal and wires he’d been standing on, most of which looked like the stripped monitors in Twilight’s lab. Mickey stepped off the pile to get a better look at it. He was no scientist, but even he could see the implausibility of this jumbled mess being able to teleport him here. “So, Pinkie Pie,” he started, “you say that this pile of junk brought me here?”

“Hey. Don’t call it junk. This is my lab equipment you’re talking about,” Twilight disputed. “Or at least it was my laboratory equipment.” She gave Pinkie a stern look. Mickey was under the impression that the pink pony may not have been permitted to destroy Twilight’s laboratory.

“How does this junk… uh… I mean very important ‘contraption’ work?” Mickey asked Pinkie. Twilight shot him a look for his sarcastic remark.

Pinkie Pie was quick to respond. “I have no idea!” she expressed.

Mickey gave her a blank look. “You don’t know how this thing works?”

“Yes!” Pinkie replied.

“So then you do know how it works,” Mickey reasoned.

“Of course not.”

“Didn’t you say that you made this thing?”

“Yes!”

“But, you don’t know what makes it work.”

“No!”

Mickey threw his hands in the air and groaned. “Well that sure helps,” he sarcastically complained. “If I can’t call for an extraction then this thing could be my only other way of leaving. And you don’t have any kind of instruction manual?”

Pinkie Pie held a hoof over her mouth and gasped. “What? Why would you want to leave? We haven’t shown you to Ponyville… or even introduced you to our other friends… or had a party yet… or met the Princesses… or visited Canterlot… or…” Pinkie rambled.

As Pinkie continued adding things to her list of stuff for Mickey to do, the ODST stepped over to Twilight. He knelt in front of her so they were eyelevel. “You don’t happen to know how to work that mess in reverse, do you?” Mickey asked hopefully. Twilight solemnly shook her head. Mickey lowered his head and sighed. “Well, that’s just great.”

“… then we’ll need to go visit Sweet Apple Acres. After that we can take a hot air balloon ride to Cloudsdale. We can probably skip a trip to the Everfree Forest, but I must introduce you to Zecora. Oh, and then we…” Pinkie continued to ramble on. She had started pacing in a circle around the small laboratory, staring at the ceiling like she was in a trance. It was impossible to tell if she knew Mickey wasn’t listening. Mickey for one had no idea what she was talking about though he suspected he’d learn soon enough.

“She’s a strange on, isn’t she,” Mickey said in aside to Twilight.

“That’s a serious understatement,” Twilight commented. “Once you’ve been in Ponyville for a while you’ll start to somewhat understand her. Even I still don’t comprehend her much.”

“How can anyone create some kind of teleportation device and not know how it works?” Mickey asked in disbelief.

Twilight shrugged and said, “Pinkie Pie, evidently.”

Mickey looked at the pile of scrap metal and electronics and then back at Twilight. “So, did you still want to tell me about this world? I think I may be here longer than I thought,” Mickey said.

“That actually could take a while. How about I just lend you this,” Twilight suggested. Her horn oddly began glowing a shade of pink catching Mickey’s attention. A second after a book on a nearby shelf became enveloped in the same pink glow. In an instant, the book lifted up off the shelf and hovered several feet into Mickey’s hands.

“Whoa,” the private gasped. He watched as the pink field enveloping the book vanished. He looked at Twilight and saw that the pink glow around her horn had also faded. “How did you do that?”

“Magic,” Twilight said. “Levitation, to be exact. It’s one of the basic spells that every unicorn learns at an early age.”

“That’s incredible,” Mickey commended the unicorn. “Can Pinkie Pie conjure magic, too?” Twilight shook her head and told him only unicorns can cast spells, earth ponies like Pinkie Pie cannot. ‘I’m learning more and more about this place by the minute.’ “What other magic can you do?”

“Well, I’m not one for boasting but I am capable of casting all sorts of spells. Basic spells like levitation and illumination. Even more complex spells like teleportation,” Twilight said.

“You can teleport? Could you show me?” Mickey requested.

“Okay, if you insist,” Twilight agreed. Her horn glowed a shade of pink once more and half a second later she vanished in a flash. Mickey looked around the laboratory and spotted the violet unicorn at the top of the staircase. She waved at him before disappearing and reappearing in front of him.

“That was amazing!” Mickey cheered. “I’ve never seen anything like that before. You’re pretty incredible, Twilight!” Twilight blushed at the compliment and timidly looked away from Mickey.

“Oh, I’m sure you’re just saying that,” Twilight modestly said. “Surely there must be magic where you come from.”

Mickey shook his head. “No, there isn’t. Not that kind of magic anyway,” he said. Twilight looked surprised at the knowledge of there being no magic back at Earth, or any human planet. “Where I come from magic is just an elaborate trick or an illusion. While they can be amazing, they are not real.” Mickey examined the book Twilight had floated to him. It was titled ‘A Brief History of Equestria’. He tossed it into his pack to read later.

Mickey briefly glanced over his shoulder at Pinkie Pie who was still listing off activities to no one. Pinkie slowly paced past him still naming off a series of different activities. Mickey noticed that she had an interesting tattoo of balloons on her hip. When Pinkie turned the other direction he observed a mirror reflection of the balloon tattoo on her opposite hip. “Why does she have those tattoos on her hips?” he asked Twilight. “It’s not exactly the place I’d put them.”

“That’s her cutie mark,” Twilight said.

Mickey looked back at her and raised an eyebrow. “What’s a ‘cutie mark’?”

“A cutie mark is a symbol that represents a pony’s special talent. Once we’ve discovered what makes us unique, an image or icon appears on our flanks for the world to see,” Twilight explained. “Pinkie’s balloons indicate she’s an excellent party thrower and loves to have lots of fun.” Twilight designated her own cutie mark: a large pink six-pointed star surrounded by five smaller white stars. Mickey found hers to be more unique than Pinkie Pie’s. “My cutie mark represents my love of magic and fascination with astrology. Every pony in Equestria gets a cutie mark at some point in their lives.”

‘If I had a cutie mark what would it be?’ Mickey wondered. ‘Maybe a pilot’s badge or even an explosion. That would be cool. Although, I don’t think I’d want everyone to see some colorful picture on my ass.’

“Since I’ve told you more about us,” Twilight started, “could you tell me more about you? Or maybe what your world is like?”

“… and then we will wrap things up with one final party,” Pinkie Pie finished her mental list. She happily hopped up and down after “determining” what she and Mickey were going to do. Mickey and Twilight both turned to her. “That means we’ve got 75 things to do before you can leave! We don’t have much time Mickey! If we get started now we might just be done by next Wednesday.”

Mickey rolled his eyes and smirked; Pinkie Pie certainly was the most interesting pony he’d ever met. Of course, that being said, he’d never met any ponies prior to today. “I’ll tell you everything I can and am able to while I take this ‘tour’ of Pinkie Pie’s,” Mickey said to Twilight Sparkle.

“Do you Pinkie Pie Promise?” the odd pink pony asked.

“Uh, do you mean pinky swear?” Mickey questioned, extending his right pinky finger towards Pinkie.

Pinkie Pie’s eyes widened once again. “You have your own Pinkie Pie Promise, too? Whoo-Hoo!” she shouted in joy. “Show me! Show me! Show me!”

“Sure. First you extend your pinky finger like this and…” Mickey started to demonstrate.

“Uh, Mr. Crespo,” Twilight interrupted. Mickey looked back at her and asked “What?” Twilight directed his attention towards her hooves. Mickey was initially confused by her intentions. Finally it donned on him: ponies don’t have fingers. Therefore, it would be useless to demonstrate something as simple and childish as a pinky swear.

“Oh right,” the ODST admitted. “Sorry, Pinkie Pie. I guess I can’t show you that.”

“Aww,” Pinkie whined. “Oh well. I’ll just have to show you my Pinkie Pie Promise.” Pinkie Pie recited the outlandish promise in front of the amused human, concluding it by shoving a cupcake – which she pulled out of nowhere – into her eye. “Now you,” she instructed. Mickey asked if he would have to put a cupcake into his own eye and felt relieved that he could just put his hand over his eye. He removed his helmet and recited the promise back to Pinkie Pie.

After concluding the promise, Mickey slipped his helmet back on. Pinkie Pie resumed happily hopping up and down. “You better make sure you keep your promise, Mr. Crespo. Pinkie Pie will be watching,” Twilight wryly warned. She stepped next to Mickey and whispered, “She has ways of keeping tabs on those who make a Pinkie Pie Promise. And you do not want to see her get angry over a broken promise.” Somehow, Mickey knew she wasn’t kidding.

Unexpectedly, Pinkie Pie stopped hopping and stared intently at her tail. Mickey looked at her tail too which was erratically jerking back and forth. “Uh-oh. My tail is twitching.”

Mickey brushed off Pinkie’s apparent worries. “So? I get body spasms occasionally, too. I remember this one time I had a spasm behind my eyeball which lasted for the better part of a whole day! They can be annoying yes, but they’re nothing to worry about,” he said. “Right, Twilight?” The ODST looked back at Twilight who had ducked underneath a table in the corner of the room. “Uh, is everything alright, Miss Sparkle?” Suddenly, a large, heavy object landed on top of Mickey’s helmet with a loud CRASH! The ODST jumped into the air, having been taken by complete surprise. He grabbed the top of his helmet but felt nothing there. “What the…? What was that?”

“A flower pot,” Pinkie said.

“A flower pot?” Mickey asked confused. He looked down at his boots and sure enough saw shattered pottery, clumps of soil and several crushed flowers.

“Yes. A flower pot,” Pinkie repeated. She looked up at the ceiling and asked, “Where did that even come from?”

Mickey looked up at the ceiling as well, unable to fathom that a random flower pot could have just fallen from out of the blue. He eventually gave up and said, “It was just as well that I was wearing my helmet. That would have really hurt if I wasn’t.”

Twilight emerged from her cover and rejoined Mickey and Pinkie Pie. “I wish I had been wearing a helmet,” she said while rubbing her forehead. “It certainly would have saved me the headache. Literally,” she quietly whispered to herself.

“Don’t tell me a second flower pot somehow landed on you under there,” Mickey said to her.

“No,” Twilight shook her head. “I mean I wish I had a helmet the other times that has happened.”

Mickey didn’t understand what she meant by that. “Why did you dive for cover then? Did you know that there was a falling flower pot, Twilight?”

“No, silly. She was hiding because of my ‘Pinkie Sense’,” Pinkie Pie answered for Twilight. Before Mickey could inquire what “Pinkie Sense” was, Twilight explained it for him. She told him that Pinkie’s bizarre body twitches and spasms were vague predictions of the immediate future. For example, a twitchy tail indicated that something is about to fall. She neglected to tell him about the time she tried to disprove its existence and what had transpired as a result.

“‘Pinkie Sense’, huh? Well, I guess that makes as much sense as everything else,” Mickey said.

Twilight looked at him like she was unsure she had heard him right. “Seriously? You believe in ‘Pinkie Sense’ just like that?” she asked surprised.

“Yeah. Is that a problem?” Mickey asked her in return.

“No. It’s just that I assumed you’d be more of a skeptic at first like I was,” Twilight elucidated.

“Listen, Twilight. I’ve just ended up on a planet inhabited by magical talking ponies. At this point, nothing would surprise me about this world. You could tell me that you could physically manipulate the moon and sun here and I’d probably believe you,” said Mickey. Twilight grinned and humorously shook her head, giggling to herself. ‘And just what’s so funny, Miss Sparkle?’ Mickey thought. He didn’t care. “Was it your ‘Pinkie Sense’ that told you who I am?” he asked Pinkie Pie.

“Nope. My ‘Pinkie Sense’ does not tell me things like that,” Pinkie declared.

“Then how did you…? Never mind,” Mickey rejected the idea of asking her to explain herself further; he’d probably find out sooner or later how Pinkie Pie knew so much about him. “All right, then. Could we step out of this laboratory now,” Mickey asked Twilight.

“Of course we can. I can show you the rest of my library upstairs,” she insisted.

“That would be nice, but I meant could we step outside?” the ODST said.

“I didn’t say it earlier, but there’s a severe thunder storm raging outside right now. It might be best that we wait until it blows over,” Twilight explained.

Mickey listened attentively but heard neither howling wind nor thunder booming. “Are you sure? I don’t hear anything,” he mentioned.

Pinkie Pie held a hoof up to her ear and said, “Me neither.”

“Maybe it already passed,” Mickey suggested. “In that case, may we go outside?”

Twilight hesitated before agreeing. “Okay, I suppose we can show you around Ponyville. But you’d better let me do the talking to any of the townsponies. You might scare some of them if I don’t first introduce you,” the violet unicorn instructed.

“After you, ma’am,” Mickey held his hand palm out towards the stairs. Twilight started up the steps followed by Mickey and then Pinkie Pie. As they approached the top of the stairs, Mickey’s head came close to hitting the ceiling. He was forced to duck down until he was about the ponies’ height. His visor instantly came within inches of Twilight’s backside. He couldn’t help but eye her cutie mark. ‘If you really want others to look at your ass, a cutie mark is the best way to do it,’ he commented to himself. He looked away in discomfiture when he realized he’d been staring for one second too long. The ODST slapped his helmet and mentally criticized himself. ‘I can’t believe I was actually admiring her ass. Talk about creepy.’

Pinkie Pie stopped in her tracks and lifted her foreleg. “Uh-oh,” she freaked. “My knee is pinchy! My knee is pinchy!”

“Is that your ‘Pinkie Sense’ again? What does a pinchy knee mean?” Mickey inquired.

“It means something scary is about to happen!” Pinkie said in a panicked tone.

“What could possibly be scary in here?” Mickey questioned aloud. Twilight opened the door in front of him and entered the library. Mickey ducked through – literally – the small doorway and immediately ran right into Twilight’s backside. Mickey stared at Twilight who was virtually frozen in place staring straight ahead. “Miss Sparkle, is something wrong?” Mickey looked past her and saw what had clearly frightened her, and what Pinkie Pie’s “Pinkie Sense” had detected. Ripping through piles of books and papers was a violet-colored Brute Ultra. “Okay, I guess that can be a little scary.”

The Brute was crouched down on one knee and was tossing books all around Twilight’s library and didn’t notice Mickey and the ponies; it appeared to be looking for something. Mickey froze in place and fell as silent as Twilight had, not wanting to attract its attention. Pinkie Pie brushed past Mickey and loudly screamed when she saw the Brute. The beast swiftly glared at the trio and snarled, revealing its razor sharp teeth. “What is that thing?” Pinkie Pie shrieked. The Brute Ultra rose to its two feet and spread its arms like it was about to berserk.

“Remember what Pinkie said about ‘evil aliens’?” Mickey reminded the terrified ponies.

Pinkie ran around Mickey and Twilight in circles multiple times screaming at the top of her lungs. Eventually she stopped and calmly said, “Mickey? Twilight? Either of you want to panic with me?” They both said nothing to Pinkie. “No?” Pinkie screamed and resumed her senseless running around in circles. It would have been comical to watch Pinkie in her “state of panic” had it not been for the Brute. The Brute completely ignored her; it only fixed its rage-filled eyes on its human adversary.

“Twilight, you and Pinkie get somewhere safe. Now!” Mickey ordered.

Twilight and Pinkie Pie didn’t need to be told twice; they both quickly sprinted into the room and galloped up another set of stairs. The Brute briefly watched the two run for cover but primarily kept its attention on Mickey. The ODST sized up the Brute and noticed it did not have any weapon on it. However, Brutes did not get their names for nothing. They brutalize and mutilate their victims with a passion and they don’t need weapons to accomplish it. Even if unarmed, a Brute can easily rip apart any human with just its paws.

The Brute roared and charged the ODST. Mickey reached for his holstered maulers only to discover that he no longer had them. He looked up just in time for the Brute to body slam him into the wall. Mickey struck a bookshelf built into the wall and slumped to the floor; several books fell from their shelves. The Brute leaped over to him and lifted its foot in an attempt to stomp on him. Mickey rolled onto his side just as the Brute smashed the floor where his head had been.

Mickey snatched a book off the floor and chucked it at the Brute. The Brute caught the book in its paws and proceeded to tear it in half down the bindings. It tossed the two halves to the floor and grinned at Mickey’s foolish attempt. It reached down and seized Mickey in its paws. It lifted him over its head and pitched him against another bookshelf on the opposite side of the room.

The Brute Ultra casually marched over to him, kicking its way through the piles of torn papers and books. The ODST shot to his feet and dove into a somersault past the Brute Ultra. Mickey got back up and sprinted around the circular library, the Ultra hot on his heels. Mickey skidded to a stop and clenched his fist. Promptly, he spun around and punched the Brute across the face. Its head shot to the side from the impact. Menacingly, it turned back to him narrowing its eyes.

The Brute Ultra chuckled in its alien language right before swinging its fist at the ODST. Mickey ducked only to have the Brute bring its knee into his chest. Mickey’s chest armor absorbed the blow but it still knocked him to the ground. The Brute lifted its leg once again to crush him beneath its foot. Mickey rolled over and dodged the Brute’s colossal foot. Not stopping there, it proceeded to stomp the floor repeatedly. Mickey continued to roll and dive across the floor of the library pushing multiple books and assortments of paper out of the way.

Eventually, the Brute surrendered in trying to stamp Mickey out of existence. Instead, it reached down and seized him up around the neck with one of its massive paws. It held him a full three feet off the ground and maliciously stared into his visor. Mickey clutched the Brute’s paws, choking and coughing as it began to slowly and leisurely squeeze the life out of him. The Brute laughed at Mickey’s anguish, enjoying every second of his suffering. Mickey tried to call out for help but found himself unable to produce any sounds.

A sudden burst of energy struck the Brute Ultra’s back. It released Mickey who immediately dropped to his knees, gasping for breath. The Brute turned around, its shields flickering from the burst. Mickey looked between the beast’s legs to see Twilight standing on the bottom step of the stairs. Her horn was glowing pink. The Brute roared and charged at Twilight in frenzy. Right as the Brute was about to seize Twilight in its grasp, the unicorn vanished in flash. The Brute looked around baffled.

Mickey rose to his feet. ‘Thanks, Twilight,’ he said to himself. The violet unicorn had provided just the distraction the ODST needed. While the Brute Ultra looked for where Twilight had vanished to, Mickey took a step back and nearly tripped over a large object buried underneath a pile of shredded papers. He pushed the papers and other books aside and found a Covenant carbine. He realized the Brute must have been looking for its dropped weapon when he and the others entered the library.

Mickey picked up the heavy marksman rifle and took aim on the Brute. The Brute Ultra turned to face the ODST; its angry look turned to one of surprise upon seeing Mickey with its carbine. Mickey squeezed the trigger and the first green radioactive projectile traveled through the air and struck the Brute. The Brute’s shield flickered from the round. It roared and rushed at Mickey again. The ODST fired the carbine several more times; each round flaring the Brute’s shields.

The Brute came within arm’s reach of Mickey and brought its arm back to strike the human down. Mickey dropped to one knee and fired another projectile into the Brute’s chest. Its shields failed, greatly stunning the alien. It looked down at Mickey with what looked like fear in its eyes. Despite its rank, the Brute Ultra was still classified as being an infantry unit and thus had little protection for its head and face. Mickey curled the corner of his lip into a half grin and pointed the carbine’s barrel in the Brute’s face. He squeezed the trigger once more and the lifeless alien collapsed onto its back.

Mickey rose to his feet and searched the dead Brute’s body for anything useful. He looted five carbine magazines and two plasma grenades from its corpse. He reloaded the carbine and called, “Twilight. Pinkie. You can come down now. It’s safe.”

Twilight cautiously crept back down the stairs. Pinkie Pie, strangely, poked her head out of a vase a few feet away from the trooper. How had she gotten in there Mickey would never know. The pink pony pulled herself free from the vase and bounded over to Mickey. Twilight stopped at the base of the stairs and stared at the Brute Ultra. Her violet eyes were full of terror. Judging from the way she was eyeing the alien, Mickey assumed that she had seen one before. Twilight shifted her shocked gaze to Mickey. “Did you…” she hesitated, “… kill it?” Mickey put another carbine round through the Brute’s forehead; red-and-blue blood splattered the floor around its head. Twilight and Pinkie Pie both recoiled from the sound. Mickey looked back at Twilight and nodded.

“What is it?” Pinkie Pie inquired, leaning in to get a closer look at the Brute.

“That is a Covenant Brute. One of the aliens that you mentioned earlier,” Mickey answered.

“It’s ugly!” Pinkie Pie giggled. She proceeded to make silly faces at the Brute.

“It sure is. They’re even uglier when they’re dead,” Mickey joked. Reluctantly, Twilight took a closer step closer to fallen beast before sadly scanning her messed up library. Mickey felt bad about her library being wrecked. Once time allowed it, he would help her clean the place up. “You have my thanks, Twilight, for coming to my aid. The Brute would’ve killed me if you hadn’t distracted it,” Mickey said grateful.

“Hey, you looked like you needed it. But I wasn’t sure how I would have been able to further help, so I fled back to my room. I’m sorry,” Twilight apologized. Mickey told her not to worry about it. “I think you’ve got a lot of explaining to do, Mr. Crespo. Like why was this ‘Brute’ trying to kill you?”

“I’ll explain it later, I promise. We may have bigger problems right now,” Mickey declared.

“Such as,” Twilight probed.

“Pinkie Pie’s ‘invention’,” Mickey said. The pink pony stopped making faces at the Brute and looked curiously at the ODST. “If it was what brought me here, then it must have brought this Brute, too.”

“But if it did, why didn’t the Brute appear in the laboratory with you,” Twilight wondered.

“I don’t know. But if one Brute was teleported here, then there could be more,” Mickey theorized.

“More?” Twilight asked horrified.

“Yes. I was in a battle with dozens of aliens prior to arriving here. If that ‘teleportation device’ dragged me from my world, then it may have brought all the other aliens as well.”

“But if more aliens have ended up in Equestria, where are they?” Twilight wondered.

“EEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!!!!!!! MONSTERS!!!!” voices shouted from outside. Mickey, Twilight and Pinkie bolted for the front door. The two ponies ran out the door first followed by Mickey, who had to duck again due to his size. Outside, things were in absolute chaos. Smoke was rising in the air from nearby structures. Ponies of all colors were running and screaming in every direction. Horrifically, several of them were bleeding from horrid wounds; many were coated in blood. Mickey recognized the injuries having come from plasma weaponry.

Twilight stopped a passing pony and asked what was happening. “Monsters! Monsters are invading Ponyville!” she hysterically screamed. “They’re attacking everypony!” The pony fearfully gazed at Mickey before screaming again; unmistakably, she thought he was one of these “monsters”. Before Twilight could reason with the pony, she galloped away in the initial direction she’d been running.

BOOOM!!! A small building nearby exploded into confetti of wood and debris. More ponies dashed down the street towards the library and points beyond. The sounds of plasma fire and subsequent explosions added to the panicked screams. Mickey focused his attention in the direction a vast majority of the ponies were running from. Before he even saw them, he saw the shadows of multiple tangos stretch across a building down the street. A second later, a squad of heavily armed Grunts and Brutes emerged around the corner.

A cyan-colored Brute Captain Ultra, the highest officer rank for Brutes, stepped in front of the squad and lifted his fist into the air. “Leave no survivors! Kill them all! The Chieftain commands it!” the Captain Ultra barked. Following his orders, the Covenant squad broke apart and fired a salvo of plasma, needles, fuel pods and spikes at the fleeing ponies. Ponies who were unable to get clear in time were mercilessly cut down by the aliens. Most of those unfortunate to not find cover were blown to bloody giblets by the explosive projectiles.

A green-armored Grunt Heavy hefting a fuel rod cannon spotted Mickey, Twilight and Pinkie Pie. It aimed the ordnance launcher and fired a barrage of fuel pods. Mickey grabbed the two ponies and shoved them around the side of the tree-shaped library. The fuel pods detonated against the library door, blowing it to pieces. Mickey drew the carbine and spun around. The Grunt Heavy waddled around the tree. Mickey put a radioactive round through its skull before it could discharge another projectile. In an instant, more Covenant charged their direction.

Mickey turned and shoved Twilight and Pinkie away from the library. “Run!” he shouted. “We have to get the hell out of here!” Twilight and Pinkie both nodded, fear filling their eyes. The trio fled further into town pursued by the aliens.