Crossroads

Chapter 5: Ralneigh

<~UNSC Carrier Megalodon, drydocked in heavily modified shipyard, receiving repairs~>

Admiral Konrad Volkov stood in front of his private bathroom mirror. A man dressed in a clean pressed white naval uniform decorated with a multitude of brightly colored medals stared back. The aging man rinsed his hands with water and smoothed his finely groomed black hair down, noticing the errant grey hair or two. After drying his hands with a nearby towel, he exited into his private office.

Looking around the spacious room dedicated solely to cater to his needs and fine taste, he spotted the datapad sitting on his spacious oakwood desk. Walking over to his black leather swivel chair that sat behind the desk, he sat down and picked it up, starting where he had left off.It was somewhere around six thirty planetary time when he awoke, shortly before drinking a lukewarm mug of straight-black coffee and compiling information into a slideshow for the monthly meeting later on that evening. Those in attendance would consist of himself, General Grievous and Obi-Wan Kenobi, along with Princess Sparkle and a multitude of other officials.He remembered his first meeting with Grievous, and honestly, Spartans were easier to talk to than a fully cybernetically augmented alien general hellbent on destroying his enemy. Lucky for them that the enemy was the Covenant.Last month’s meeting, the much-easier-to-talk-to Princess Sparkle said something about his race, the Kaleesh or some nonsense, were warriors who never backed down. How she managed to pry that information while keeping her head eluded him. General Grievous struck him as the ‘I will kill you for your insolence’ type of leader.Deciding it was better to stop thinking negatively, Admiral Volkov switched tabs and began to scroll through his datapad. He wished he hadn’t, and groaned at the dwindling resources: low Archer missile and MAC cannon round numbers, a few incidents that made it all the way to his desk involving the Grunts that defected to the Equestrian’s side, scattered reports of Changeling-human relationships, and numerous other problems that were well worth someone else’s time.‘At least the Republic was kind enough to sell us shield technology,’ Volkov thought.‘As a matter of fact,’ Volkov pressed a few buttons on his datapad and a black disk on his desk lit brilliant azure-blue. The disk itself could almost be mistaken in appearance for an ashtray, but it served a far more important purpose.“Hammerhead, what's the sitrep for our new shield generator?”The AI construct that appeared over the disk was dressed in an unzipped brown shark leather jacket while wearing dirty black boots, camouflage cargo pants, and was shirtless under his jacket. He also wore a necklace of shark teeth around his neck. In a cheap Australian accent, he gave a report in laymen's terms, “Our reactors will be able to handle the required energy output, but frankly, its going in like a square peg in a round hole.”“I thought as much with trying to jury-rig in a piece of alien hardware. Also I need you to get Captain Mundy down here. That’s all, Hammerhead.”The AI saluted and winked out.‘This keeps getting crazier by the day. First the Covenant, then we find Equis, and now we have an entire army of clones with better gear than us,’ Volkov thought as he recalled the details ONI had gathered on their allies. Then he recalled the details gathered about their arrival.For lack of a better way to word it, some sort of super slipspace fuckup happened. Point A and point B in the known universe became portals to Equis, while other portals were smashed into other universes. Everyone so happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.And the crazy thing was, with the reality bending effects human built Shaw-Fujikawa drives created, then what would happen if the Covenant’s version suddenly blew a fuse, or maybe an even more advanced version decided to break? The physics-destroying properties could, in theory, tear a hole in space and time.Admiral Volkov was no scientist, so he only had a basic understanding of slipspace. Basically, the Shaw-Fujikawa drive would punch a wormhole in normal space to the plane of slipspace, allowing for faster than light speed via a shortcut through said wormhole.The wormholes themselves seemed to violate normal laws of physics, and if Volkov’s theory was correct, the recently discovered extinct race called the Forerunners version of slipspace drives had something to do with it.

<~UNSC Frigate Frozen Earth’s cafeteria~>

Lucky had joined us shortly after the Republic general stopped by. He looked like he had seen better days. A large majority of his armor was missing.“So, Big Macintosh, tell your cuz how you got that stuff,” Metz said in a fast pace as he seemed to bounce with a bit of excitement.The ODST’s moods seemed all over the place, ranging from casual to sporadic. It was actually disturbing after all the time I had spent alone in the city.Big Mac apparently noticed my reaction, “Are you okay, cousin?”I was brought up to be honest, “No. I spent so long alone, talking with you all seems so strange.”They all nodded in understanding. Rivenbark turned her head to look over to me, “I think you may want some sort of counseling. You’ve been through a lot. Just how long were you out there?”“A little under five months. I kept track and I kept sane,” I snarked. I knew they weren't implying I was crazy, I just didn’t want to lie on a couch and have somepony prescribe me meds I didn’t need.Rivenbark jerked like something had struck her. I knew it was realization of something, and what it was, was revealed in her question, “But how did you survive all alone? I realize you’re a kid, I can hear that you’re young, even though you stand taller than me.”I shrugged both shoulders in a quick motion, not giving an audible response and I quickly looked down.How did I survive? So many days scratched onto the wall in tally marks as the sun rose and fell. The many nights slept underground as the city crumbled around me. The countless scores of patrols I had killed alone after everypony else had died.Even though my vision was to my legs, I could feel the entire group’s stare. I could even feel Lucky had whatever you call his eyes on me. I hated getting those feelings, like I knew everything happening around me without seeing it. Shaking my head I looked up see they indeed were staring like I was a ghost.“I’ve been through a lot. I need a little time alone,” I said suddenly feeling a pit drop into my stomach like a hard rock. I scooted over towards the edge of the seat, my breathing slightly sporadic.“Calm down, cousin,” Big Mac said as he kneeled to my level, looking into my eyes.I felt myself wither at all the stares. I had always been slightly self conscious, and with an entire group suddenly staring at me, I could only let my demeanor crumble like broken stone.“P-p-please stop staring,” I asked, meeker than Fluttershy. Even though I spoke so low, the stares relented, and I heard the click-clank of Lucky’s metal feet carrying him elsewhere.The reason I could compare myself to Fluttershy was that Applebloom had me meet her once. Very nice girl, almost like the dream schoolteacher; never yelling and understanding that even though I hadn’t earned my cutie mark, I still wasn’t any less special.During my visit she had made this some sort of herbal tea she said was from Japon, with these superb little oatmeal cookies on the side that practically exploded with flavor.The thought of food made my stomach grumble. I took off my pack, opened it up, and pulled out the MRE I had saved.They stared only a few seconds before peeling their gaze away and talking amongst themselves.Looking at the brown plastic package I was nearly about to open it before the PA system blared an announcement in untranslated human.“Time to get off this tin can,” Rivenbark said with a laugh.Groaning, I replaced the MRE in my bag and slung it across my shoulder before looking to Big Macintosh as I got up from the booth. He simply nodded in understanding that I wanted to get off this thing as fast as possible. The Covenant have no issues with adding nice neat holes into the hulls of the ships.I froze.

<~Manehattan, Skyfall~>

Explosions rocked all around me, rubble rained from the sky from buildings getting struck by blue spheres straight from Tartarus itself. Purple fighter craft zipped over everypony’s heads as fatter, more blue colored ones dropped wave after wave of aliens with mandibled jaws accompanied by little ones wearing masks hooked to triangle shaped tanks on their backs.I just kept running, not stopping as Mom and Dad held my hands. Dad was in front, I was in the middle, and Mom was in the back. An inseparable chain of ponies linked by clasped hands.Humans fired their guns in vain to try and save us as the tall aliens with mandibles ran dual bladed swords of blue fire through them. I could see gold shields flickering around them, deflecting the human bullets.A loud metal on metal screech paired with explosions rang from the sky, causing me to look up without slowing my run. The curving purple hull of one alien ship ground into another as wisps of golden magic ensnared them, a nearby human ship in flames was untouched by the golden tendrils.As soon as their shields completely failed, a bright flash that hurt my eyes engulfed them. After their burned in image cleared from my eyes, I realized there was nothing there anymore but smoke.As the cloud of black smoke parted, I saw a transparent sphere of gold, and inside the sphere was a magnificent, white dot.Princess Celestia, her eyes aflame with pure white magic.

<~UNSC Frozen Earth~>

I felt a wave of nausea as my sudden flashback ended. I nearly crumpled to the ground as my stomach started twisting into knots, trying to force the non-existent contents of my stomach out.Puking is bad, but when all you puke up is air, it leaves you down right miserable.Big Macintosh and Rivenbark got me back on both my hooves and kept me standing as Powers and Metz watched with concerned expressions.The nausea passed and I soon felt my strength to stand own my own return. Backing away from Big Macintosh I tried to reassure him, “Just a bad memory, no need to worry.”He shook his head, “Nope, ya’d looked mighty green right then, and that ain’t right.”I still felt like crap, but I tried to tell him I was okay, “Big Mac, I was just a little nauseous. No need to fret over me, cuz.”He shook his head, “Nope. As soon as we get to the city, I’m takin’ you to the doctor.”

<~Random rooftop in the middle of the city, ten minutes later~>

“Hey Dave, you ever wonder why we're here?” Miller, a UNSC sniper asked his spotter as he peered through the scope of an SRS 99 anti-material rifle, looking at the crowds of Clones and ponies walking around.His spotter remained silent only a few seconds before giving his reply, “I don’t know. It’s one of life’s great mysteries isn’t it. Are we the product of a coincidence or did some God decided we were supposed to be here at this exact moment in time... like he has a plan for us… anyway, it keeps me up at night.”Miller was stuck between outright confusion and wanting to facepalm, “No,” he said exasperated, “Why are we on this roof in the middle of the city? Shouldn’t we be on the outskirts watching for Covenant?”“Probably,” Dave replied.“What’s all this about God and stuff?” Miller asked, “You want to talk about it?”“No, no,” The spotter replied, his voice jittery all of a sudden. He quickly moved his high powered binoculars to spot a Pelican dropping its ramp shortly after landing, “Hey Miller, check out the legs on that girl.”Miller moved his scope to where his spotter Dave was suggesting.“That’s an Equestrian,” Miller deadpanned. She was a brownish-tan color, wearing black armor and a black helmet that covered her dirty and long, two-tone pink hair. She also wore a homemade cloth backpack. They had no idea they were looking at Babs.“Soooo?” Dave drawled out.“Don’t tell me you’re spending your free time off this damn roof contracting alien STDs.”Dave snorted out a laugh, “You see that orange chick with the skirt, always following that Anakin guy?”“That Jedi girl? Dude, for one she looks like she’s sixteen, second she’s an alien, and third and most important... she will not hesitate to kill you. I saw her go sword to sword with Elites after a whole dropship of them managed to slip in here.”“She’s still a nice piece of tail to stare at. And don’t get me started on the Changelings. The venom in their fangs leaves you hard for hours with nothing but screwing like a horney rabbit on your mind.”Miller rolled his eyes and sighed, “You’re hopeless man, you do realize that?”“So sue me,” Dave chuckled out.

<~Babs POV~>

Big Macintosh, Lucky, and I were the only ones aboard the Pelican. I hadn’t seen Razzcat or Stalks-Prey since getting off the Pelican the first time.When I exited onto the landing platform, I saw the city was just a populated version of Manehattan. Rubble lined the streets along with refugees of every race; Zebra, Griffon, Pony, even a few Diamond Dogs; all of them huddled together around barrels turned fire pits.Seeing the fires reminded me it was cold. With almost all of the weather factories taken offline, Equestria’s weather had begun to return to an untamed state that was unheard of since Celestia’s reign.That got me thinking of the clouds, so I looked skyward. Vaguely triangle shaped ships with greyish-white hulls with a few red accents floated in the sky, unmoving, as darker more sinister looking ships accompanied them.I would later learn that it was Republic and Separatist ships working side by side to defend the city. Enemies turned allies in the presence of a greater, common enemy.Turning my head again I spotted the UNSC Frigate that ferried me here. No other ships like it seemed to populate the sky.Big Mac tapped on my shoulder, drawing my attention out of the clouds. I reluctantly followed him towards my inevitable visit to the doctor, Lucky following us.“So you’re deciding to stick around?” I asked Lucky, emphasizing ‘stick’ heavily.“I detect a high level of sarcasm from that comment and I calculate that was a joke based off my previous predicament. I am unamused,” he stated in all monotone.Great, he’s a royal stick in the mud. Since jokes were out of the question, I decided to go for small talk, “So Lucky, why are you following us?” I asked.“I am not, we just so happen to be going in the same direction.”I raised an eyebrow, he couldn’t see me raise it, so I decided to voice my question, “Oh, and where is the area you want to go?”“The direction you are going.”I rolled my eyes, “So why aren’t you returning to your people to be repaired?”Lucky replied in a voice that almost sounded like it had a touch of sadness in it, “Droids are mass produced to be destroyed in battle. Repairs often cost more than building a new droid, so maintenance is normally not performed. This goes double for the Commando Droids; we normally go on suicide missions deep within enemy territory.”I could see Big Mac shake his head, and after that bit of information, we continued our journey in silence. Walking a little further into the city, conditions improved slightly in terms of structure, but refugees and vehicles still lined the streets.There were destroyed covenant motorcycle style vehicles and Wraith tanks. Six legged Republic tanks missing one or more of their titanic legs. And at least one UNSC tank with the picture of a black scorpion painted on it that was missing its main turret.Accompanying the refugees amongst the wreckages of vehicles were coal-black armored UNSC Marines with their assault rifles, along with men in bone white versions of Razzcat’s armor who were carrying heavy looking rifles. I even saw a few Equestrian Marines wearing tan uniforms covered by black padding and flak jackets. I once heard one of the humans say that Equestrian-made assault rifles look like ‘ancient AK-47s’.With the further inward we traveled, the more cleared up the wreckage and rubble became. Refugees still packed around barrels however, but there were also more and more military personnel; scores of men in white armor on top of fully functional walking tanks, UNSC Marines in Warthogs, Droids of different shapes and sizes on foot, and Grunts?“Big Mac, what in the name of Tartarus is the Covenant doing here?” I whispered lowly so they wouldn’t hear me.Big Macintosh looked towards a group of Grunts throwing stones at a scurrying brown rat, “We captured them. Ta’ half-pints are ferocious, but once unicorns started hittin’em with translation spells, they quickly changed sides. I witnessed them fire on their own kind during battles here, so I have only little doubts of their loyalty.”He then let out a large laugh, “Honestly, they possess lower than average intelligence, but they make up for it with persistence. They pull their weight around ‘ere and aim tah make us proud. From what Twilight says, they need strong leaders to guide them.”I nodded, “So they loyally follow us because were bigger than them?”He nodded, “And we treat ‘em better than the Brutes and Elites. If half the abuse they claim they receive is true, ah almost feel sorry for the ones I kill,” Big Mac smirked, “Almost.”“Big Mac, have they ever gone… suicidal?” At the question memories decided to worm their way back to the surface again. My stomach clenched in a knot and I nearly fell over as Big Macintosh and Lucky caught me.“We’re getting you to the hospital now,” Big Mac said, almost panicking.I wasn’t going to argue as I got lost in another memory.

<~Manehattan, two weeks after Skyfall~>

I barely had time to duck behind a piece of rubble, Silver Bells quickly but silently sliding beside me, panting slightly from our sprint away from the chicken heads the Humans once called Jackals. In front of us was an intersection and we were almost spotted by the inhabitants.“Spotted one squid-lizard, red armor,” I whispered using a nickname I created for the Elites. Peering up, I quickly counting before ducking again, “At least seventeen smaller ones I say around twenty-five hooves away.”Silver nodded, her unkempt silver hair dancing as she did so, “You think we can take them?” She whispered.I looked down at the weapon I held in my right hand. The soldier I met before - Samuel - told me it was a M6 magnum. It recoiled with the force of a freight train and could easily kill whatever I wanted it to - as long as I hit it.“Yeah,” I replied, almost death quiet. Silver was twice my age but I made the decisions. I didn’t know why I took charge over an adult but I did, “You remember how I taught you to use grenades right?”“Pull pin, throw, and don’t miss. That right?”I nodded yes, “I’m going to sneak around, when I shoot, toss the grenade.”She nodded as I stealthily flanked around to another spot of rubble close by. We weren’t that far apart, nearly a straight line between us. I lined the eight hoof tall reptile in my sights as the gas breathers around him paid little to no attention to their surroundings.My last five rounds in the pistol I had rung out in rapid succession. The recoil was massive but manageable, and three of my bullets struck home, energy shield flaring. In that time a little green sphere landed at his cloven feet. Two seconds later, his legs were missing. The aliens the humans had nicknamed ‘Grunts’, were flailing their arms and panicking like children. The image was punctuated by their high pitched whine.Silver Bells leapt from behind her cover, her own pistol in hand. It was an Equestrian-made Colt semi-auto pistol. When she did, I felt a sense of dread wash over me. I could feel in the air something was about to happen.I saw two blue spheres suddenly burning in a Grunt’s hands, so I charged towards Silver who was too focused on firing at other Grunts to notice.“SILVER!” I yelled so loud that my throat went raw straight away.Silver started to turn towards my voice before disappearing in a flash of blue fire and red mist; I was close enough that a spray of crimson stuck to my fur, tingeing my exposed coat with flecks of red.Her body lay in pieces around the intersection we were in, a few Grunts still alive.I felt rage boil in me as my senses sharpened. I saw the curving hilt of the energy blade the ‘Elites’ carried.I swept it up and activated it in one fluid movement. The Grunts around me saw that I had their deaths on my mind and regrouped.The ten that were left standing after the blast and Silver’s pistol barrage lost their heads in quick, scything swipes.When I was finished with the last Grunt, I heard a guttural gurgling sound. I peeled my gaze to the red armored Elite, his shredded legs trailing purple blood as he crawled towards a plasma pistol.I walked over and rolled him over with my left hoof before plunging his own blade into his chest.I walked away crying for my lost friend as the still activated sword slowly burned through the Elite. The sound and smell of sizzling flesh quickly filled the air.

<~Ralneigh Hospital~>

I lay back on the bed above the powder blue covers; my fingers locked together cradling the back of my head as I stared at the cracked, dull-white ceiling of the hospital roof.I was silent as the memories of the months of survival replaying in my mind. Getting rescued gives a mare time to think.Due to the obvious scarcity of medical supplies I wasn’t given an IV or anything, so Big Macintosh and Lucky were out of the room trying to find a nurse. When I was brought in I was visibly fine in my armor so the staff were all busy tending to those who needed care more than I did. Like ponies missing limbs.I knew I was definitely going to be here awhile, but that thought was shattered as a nurse finally walked into my room, Big Macintosh nowhere in sight.“Hello, Ms. Seed, I’m Nurse Sunshine,” She said in a way too chipper voice.“Hello,” I replied, sitting up in bed, “Where is my cousin?” I asked, instinctively reaching for the pistol on my hip in case she tried anything funny.“He’s waiting in the lounge, dearie. The checkup may get a little uncomfortable if any males are present. That being said, I’m going to have to ask you to strip to your undergarments so I can get a good assessment of the damage. You were out there five months according to your cousin.”I blushed, “About that,” I looked around like someone would see me, leaning close I whispered, “I’m only wearing boxer shorts under my clothing.”I had scrapped them from the remains of a male department store. A heck of a lot more comfortable than panties. And to me bras were just another article of clothing to drench in sweat and attempt to wash.I could see the nurse blush, “Okay, I’ll go look for a towel then,”I shook my head, “I just want to get out of here as fast as I can,” I blushed, “Quick question, are you a mare that’s into mares?”The nurse laughed, “No way,” She then pointed out her gold wedding band, “Married to the same stallion for the past five years.”I could tell she was being honest so I hastily stripped down to the pair of simple black boxer shorts. I was glad the button was keeping the fly tightly closed and the cloth covered my blank hips.When I finished removing clothes and allowed the nurse a good look, she gasped and began grabbing my arms and gawking at wounds.“I’m not that bad, am I?” I asked as she prodded a still raw spot on my side. A grazing cut from a needler shard I received a little over a month prior.“What part of you hasn’t been shot, stabbed, burned, or cut?” she asked, looking at the healing talon marks running down my back.“Or bitten, don't forget that,” I joked. But in reality, I was truly a mess and every wound on me told a story.I still had the fur missing from the Mongoose explosion, spike rifle wounds - cuts and spikes - a sadistic Griffon’s talon across my backside, a few bullet wounds from unkind survivors. I was pretty sure I broke a few ribs during my stay. In short, I was probably a chipped nail or hoof away from falling apart.Now that I thought about it, no wonder my mind was replaying bad memories. It wants me back in the constant state of fear for my life so I don’t break down.With that said, getting out anytime soon was out of the equation.“You’re thin as a bone, and covered in new and old scar tissue. From the state you’re in I can tell you’ve been to Tartarus and back.”“Eeyup,” I stated flatly as I nonchalantly lay back in the same hands behind head position while still bare chested. I had already undressed so why not get comfortable.That sounded way less sexual before it became a coherent thought.Thank you puberty for giving me the knowledge to understand the other half of the adults’ jokes.

<~Ralneigh Military HQ~>

Admiral Volkov sat at his chair around the spacious circular table and tugged at his collar nervously. The room he was in was nothing more than a reinforced steel box buried under concrete. The source of his nervousness was that the presence of General Grievous and two Magnaguards had fallen upon the room, dousing all previous conversations like water on fire.However intimidating he was, the cyborg general shared the same thought on why the military HQ should be set up in Ralneigh; it’s a big city that’s not hanging off a fucking cliff by little more than stilts and prayer.Looking to one seat in particular, Volkov noticed General Obi-Wan Kenobi was now officially running fashionably late, not yet arriving back from his ride aboard Frozen Earth which had arrived a little under two hours prior.Volkov swallowed hard and looked around the table; Princess Sparkle was dressed in dark-purple and ebony regalia, along with orange and yellow robes. She was with her personal aide Spike - an honest-to-God dragon that was as big as a human and dressed in blue jeans and a grey shirt - as well as her close friend Applejack Apple, dressed in a red and white checkerboard pattern shirt, stetson, and blue jeans.Also in attendance was Ahsoka Tano - who looked just as nervous around Grievous as himself - with Commander Cody, a clone in white armor accented with bright orange. He would probably be speaking on Kenobi’s behalf.Princess Sparkle spoke first, “Hello. As you know we are here for ou-”“Skip the formalities, Princess,” General Grievous growled out as he stood instead of sitting.Admiral Volkov wished someone else was here, tension between those two could get thick at times, but with the UNSC stretched thin as is, he was acting commander of the armed forces in Equestria since every other admiral and general was scattered around Equis.Volkov could almost literally see steam coming out of Princess Sparkle’s ears as she took a breath to calm herself, “If you have somewhere important to be, send a representative on your behalf. We respect each other in my command center.”“Princess, the longer we spend on formalities, the less time we have until the Covenant strike at us, now if you please,” the cyborg said in a threatening tone.‘If you had seen what Princess Celestia did to the Covenant, you wouldn’t threaten who you’re threatening,’ Volkov thought, remembering the Solar Princess meeting with him shortly before displaying that she did have the power of the sun on her side against the Covenant armada, ‘Which is probably why most of the cities on Equis are still standing.’Princess Sparkle just did her best to ignore him as her assistant visibly shook, “It has come to my attention that General Kenobi is not here, I suspect Padawan Tano and you Mr. Cody, are here on his behalf?”“We are, ma’am. Kenobi is busy dealing with... personal matters,” The clone responded causing Applejack to look at him funny.Volkov knew that was her nervous tic for when she was thinking someone was lying to her. He learned that from firsthand experience and having extensive ONI reports on his desk of every key player they could spy on.After the cover story was said, Commander Cody tapped a few buttons on a datapad that was linked to a holo-projector in the center of the table. Instantly a 3D image of Manehattan appeared.Neat thing about the datapads were that you could rapidly reconfigure them to display any language, as well as translate with nearly one hundred percent accuracy back to another language.Cody narrated the image, “Republic satellites have spotted something the UNSC didn’t. Signs that the Covenant are digging in this region,” A few taps and the image changed to a new location over Manehattan, “I was hoping you could enlighten us as to what resources are in this section of the area.”The image had changed to accommodate new developments within the city. Covenant mining rigs, methane stations for legions of Grunts, large piles of rocks, and a Scarab tank.Twilight shook her head, “When Manehattan was constructed one-hundred and fifty-seven years ago, Princess Celestia had the land surveyed for natural resources and it came up as nothing of value.”Admiral Volkov shook his head and raised his hands to speak, “If I may Princess, I know what they are doing. They are building a temporary underground city to house troops. I can dispatch the Frigate Frozen Earth to drop Helljumper units with a HAVOK tactical nuke.”Princess Sparkle shook her head, “No nukes within the cities. We have more and more radiation burned refugees coming in from New Yoke.”Volkov lost his temper at the Princess denying him the only effective weapon the UNSC had, “What you are suggesting is I drop my men into a Covenant hive to be slaughtered!”Princess Sparkle’s face twisted into a scowl as she flared out her wings to make herself look bigger. It was an intimidation tactic she learned from Celestia, “What I suggest is dropping your men in with a bomb of Equestrian design,” Twilight tapped on her datapad to pull up an image.Admiral Volkov was unimpressed. The displayed weapon was paired with a holographic height chart, showing the rectangular shaped device was no longer than a meter with four by four inch squares making up the forward and back facing ends.The apparent features were the four handles protruded from two of its four one-meter long faces, making it look like some sort of medieval battering ram. The topmost face was covered in runic symbols, obviously some form of ancient Equestrian writing.Grievous seemed intrigued by the device, “How does this bomb work?”Volkov realized she was not hesitant to share the information, “It’s an enchanted block of metal filled with highly explosive material. The metal faces themselves are covered in enchanting runic symbols. When activated by a specially crafted magic crystal, it will explode within thirty minutes. I personally dedicated hours of work into this thing, and I guaranteed to render that dig site into a crater. Its original purpose was to slip onto a Covenant ship.”Admiral Volkov decided to triple circle his mental note of not pissing the Equestrians off. The first two circles were courtesy of Princesses Celestia and Luna; the former for disintegrating the Covenant over Manehattan before serious injury in battle, the latter for the ability to enter one's dreams.Volkov gave a shudder remembering being pulled from a nightmare about a space battle into a lucid dream of being an admiral of a cruise ship fleet with Princess Luna as the captain of the E.S.S Dreamscape. That was a Hell of a weird night, and put in plain view that there was a major security breach regarding dreams.Coming back to the here-and-now, Volkov shook his head. He tried not to come off as rude, but his wording and tone said otherwise, “If it’s your equipment, you will have to drop your men in as well. The ODSTs can drop in to secure the area, but your own people will handle their own bomb.”Cody nodded from across the table, “I respect those men and women. They fight like Clones, never backing down even after taking heavy casualties. I can see if General Kenobi will divert a few LAAT gunships and AT-TE tanks to supplement your lost Pelicans and Scorpions with complimentary crews. My men want to see some action, but we cannot divert any heavier ships due to running the risk of leaving the city under-defended.”Admiral Volkov understood completely, with the combination of all sides’ ships scattered across the planet, moving any one ship from defense could result in the Covenant swooping to any location on planet for a weaker target.“My Helljumpers will secure landing areas for the gunships and Pelicans only, we can’t divert tanks to a sight we’re blowing. Princess Sparkle, will you send your men in?”She frowned, “I have no choice if it will keep you from nuking the site.”Cody decided to voice his opinion, “General Grevious, you seem like you have something to say.”The cyborg nodded, surprisingly calm, “I can ensure this mission gets done. I could spare two battlecruisers from Mareami with Vulture fighter craft and Hyena bombers.”Admiral Volkov shook his head, “With all due respect General, we cannot risk losing Mareami to the Covenant. One should suffice.”“Very well,” he begrudgingly replied.Admiral Volkov then stood up from his chair, tapping on the datapad to reveal his latest news, “The alien you see reveals that we have yet another new player involved.”Before the assembled officials, the hologram of Stalks-Prey stood tall.

<~Ralneigh Hospital~>

Boredom. It was a feeling I hadn’t felt in five months and it was a strange feeling to reconnect with. Scrounging for scraps and means of survival keeps you occupied.Sitting on the bed, completely redressed so my cousin could return, I was slowly coming to terms with how strange it was being back in civilization. So long alone yet I survived. How do I even speak to others now?Before I could explore the thought any longer, I felt the familiar twinge in the back of my mind. Something was about to happen.My room door opened and General Kenobi walked in flanked by two clones.The air of authority emanating off the General permeated the air causing me to sit up and look to him. The clone to his left had a strange air around him as well, I couldn’t quite place it. The clone to his right I recognized as Razzcat since he wasn’t wearing his helmet.“Legion, Razzcat, could you two step outside?” General Kenobi requested with only a quick glance to the two clones.“Yessir,” They both said with the same voice.This was getting real fishy, real fast. I reached for my pistol, but was quickly reminded that the nurse had finally confiscated it from me.“No need to be alarmed youngling, I am General Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Master and a General of the Grand Army of the Galactic Republic,” He said as he splayed his hand and floating the silver cylinder over to me, dropping it onto my black pants, causing me to slightly yelp in surprise at the sudden weight.The reason it surprised me was because I was too transfixed on the strange feeling when he levitated the cylinder. I honestly was at a loss for words even after he ‘handed’ me the cylinder .“You felt my presence when I entered, did you not? I noticed your body language upon my arrival.”I was already caught so I nodded yes and looked at the cylinder on my legs.“Are you wondering what the feelings mean?”Feelings. How he worded it was strange. I instantly recalled the ODSTs talking about his sixth-sense, and felt like a large weight was dropped on me.How could I be so dense?Babs Seed you stupid, stupid filly, you got the same feeling twice around him, felt him move the cylinder through the air without magic, and survived in an occupied city mostly on gut instinct and ‘feelings.’“Somehow in the name of Tartarus I’m connected with you?” I said, connecting all the dots in my head.“You could say that. Care to take a walk? I always find it helps clear the mind.”With my only other option being staying in here and waiting, I agreed. Getting up I noticed I was taller than the general. I held his weapon in my hand, eyeing it suspiciously before it was slowly taken from my grasp by General Kenobi’s powers.“Where is my cousin and Lucky?” I asked before we left.“They were made aware I was visiting you, as well as the possibility that you may be away from your room for a while.”With that, we exited to the hallway and passed by two ponies I actually knew; Mr. and Mrs. Cake from Ponyville. Mrs. Cake was holding their four year old daughter Pumpkin, both of them in tears but otherwise quiet.I heard the doctor speaking to Mr. Cake as Kenobi and I passed. He mentioned something about ‘cancer’ and ‘too quickly’, their son Pound Cake wasn’t with them.The couple had lost a child.We continued walking in silence down the halls of the hospital. General Kenobi had heard the doctor as well. The fact that the two parents lost a child so young obviously weighed heavily on General Kenobi’s mind. I could practically feel his sadness.I on the other hand felt sick.It was sickness directed at myself. I felt nothing after overhearing about Pound Cake’s death. I had actually played with him during the few times I visited Sugarcube Corner with my cousin Applebloom.After all the death I dealt with in Manehattan, I was stoic around death. It was normal to pass by the corpse of a foal in the embrace of a protective mother, both run through by a single Elite energy sword.We continued our silent journey, Kenobi in silent respect, me battling with resurfacing memories.I had enough awareness of my surroundings to be surprised that the halls weren’t lined with sick and injured. With how the Covenant was constantly attacking all our cities, I was sure many would be injured.“General-” he cut me off.“Please, call me Kenobi.” He said with a smile as we exited out the long hallway and into the spacious white tiled lobby of the Hospital.“Sorry, Kenobi,” I answered as I looked quickly around the room. I saw Razzcat and the other Clone talking with Lucky and Big Macintosh around a group of wooden tables and seats. Big Mac saw me and waved, to which I replied by waiving back.Before Kenobi and I exited the building, I made a quick stop by the receptionist’s desk to check myself out and asked for my pistol back. Upon getting my weapon back, I holstered it at my side and followed Kenobi out the two automatic sliding-glass doors that surprisingly still had glass and functioned correctly.Exiting to the outside world once again, I took a good look as I stood on the dull concrete steps of the hospital. Rusted and damaged Equestrian cars mixed with battle damaged Warthogs as battle droids marched in perfect formation down the roads. Their metal feet making a rhythmic clang like a train chugging along, all to the backdrop of a barely alive city.My mind began telling me this was going to turn into another Manehattan. I told it back that I’d be damned to Tartarus before I let it fall.Shaking my head quickly to clear the grisly thought, I looked to my left to see Kenobi waiting patiently. He asked, “I see hope that this place can return to what it was once was. What do you see Babs?”He must have gotten my name from Big Macintosh before speaking with me.As for his question, it seemed like an odd question at the time, but I still gave him an honest answer, “A repeat in history waiting to happen,” I replied, my mood dipping towards the macabre.He nodded like he understood. But it was a slow, reserved nod that screamed that he knew what I was feeling even when he asked me the question. “I’m going to say a few things that may be hard to accept, but please understand that I speak the truth.”He took a deep breath in preparation for a long speech, “You are known in the Republic as ‘Force Sensitive.’ That means you have a connection to something called ‘the Force’. The Force is a great power in the universe, it permeates every living thing, and binds us all together. There are a few who can control this power, like me. I am a Jedi Master, and the Jedi use their affinity to the Force to keep the peace. I serve on the High Council of Jedi based on Coruscant, a planet in my universe. And you, Babs, you have the potential to become a Jedi yourself.”I looked at him like he was crazy, but all his words were true.“But with this great power, comes great responsibility. I can sense the anger and sadness in you. If left unchecked these feelings will destroy your better judgment and lead you down a dark path you may never be able to come back from.”I looked to the cracked and broken pavement beneath my hooves, giving a heavy sigh, “I guess this is one of the reasons why we took this little walk, to clear my head.”I could feel in the air his change in mood, “Yes,” Kenobi said in a low, near somber voice,“There is great good in you, but your heart also holds fear, anger, and the lust for revenge. I can feel that you suffered a great loss.”I clenched my teeth and balled my fists tightly. Five months of bottled up emotions poured out in one moment of anger, “I lost both of my parents during the invasion, my home is rubble as well as the city it was in, I was covered in my best friend’s blood after a Grunt went suicidal, and I recently learned half my family is gone!”I took a few breaths to calm myself, my voice quivering with sadness, “Loss is what I had to deal with for five months straight… every night I lay down on whatever I have to sleep on, pull out the photograph of my family and cry myself to sleep. Tell me I haven’t ‘suffered a great loss’.”I looked to Kenobi, anger burning in my eyes, sadness welling up in his. His face fell into a look of sorrow, “I’m sorry for all that you have had to go through.”His words were genuine, but they fell on deaf ears. I was sad, utterly confused, and my stomach felt like it was going to flip inside out if I didn’t eat anything anytime soon.So, I walked away from the confusion. Mulling over what the strange being from another universe claimed as I searched for a spot to eat my MRE before returning to Big Macintosh.I may have been young, but I didn’t need a foalsitter watching my every move.

<~-~>

Obi-Wan Kenobi watched as Babs walked away. She was force sensitive, but he knew she was too old to train. But still not too much older than Anakin when he discovered him.The only other thing wrong other than her age was that she was going down the path of a Sith with her views towards the Covenant, subconsciously bent on revenge against them.‘But is that not all the more reason to train her in the ways of a Jedi to stop her path of self-destruction?’ Obi-Wan thought in the voice of his long dead master, Qui-Gon Jinn.

<~Babs’ POV~>

I only had to walk a minute before I came across the lit neon light of a bar. That meant there was a hot meal ready to be eaten right away and cold alcohol.I was only old enough to order a few beers, but that would be fine, and lucky for me I still had a few paper bitnotes tucked into my wallet.Entering through the door, my ears tried to bend down in the helmet I wore as they were assaulted by some drunkard singing karaoke… badly. The reek of alcohol wafted to my nose, as well as the smell of food, reassuring me that I could order something that didn’t come in a package.Looking around, I spotted booths running along the wall, each with its own overhead light. The booths were only interrupted by a low wooden stage where a brown stallion in dirty Equestrian Marine fatigues was singing drunkenly. Towards the middle of the room were some tables and chairs, as well as a pool table. On one of the far walls was a sign for bathrooms as well as two doors for mares and stallions respectively. The bar’s counter was a few steps to the left of the bathroom doors. On another wall was a dartboard porcupined by multiple red and blue darts.I looked at the inhabitants; many were Equestrian of course, ranging in all shapes, colors, and sizes. A booth with three undisguised changelings chatting away also caught my eye, as well as a few Clone Troopers who had their helmets on the table.I now realized why they were called Clones: because they literally were clones. They all shared the same eyes and face, with the only differences being scars, tattoos, and hair colors along with styles.After looking over the others, I peeled my gaze to a dark corner booth where the overhead light had blown. There I spotted a thick-muscled human body builder in a grey shirt, but the low light made it hard to make out any other details of his body.I squinted and stared as I tried to make out details and instantly regretted it when the easily seven-hoof tall human got out of the booth.Who I thought was a male bodybuilder, was in fact a female. As she began sauntering my way, she wore something that was a cross of a smile and sneer befitting of Nightmare Moon.She walked closer and I could feel a chill start running through me. I wanted to run, but somehow I couldn’t. I seemed to be rooted in place by the glare of the human one-hoof taller than me.“Hello, Joanna says hi,” The giant human said in a powerful yet feminine voice. As she said that, she turned her head and pointed to what looked like a phone’s wireless earpiece, then to a familiar piece of postcard sized technology attached to a metal necklace.“Hello… and may I ask, who are you?”“Petty Officer First Class Carter 0-9-3, ma’am,” she responded in a quick military manner. I recognized the three digits at the end of the last name.“You’re a Spartan?” I had only seen one, and he was trapped in the cockpit of a Sparrowhawk.“Yes,” She answered casually.I was curious so I asked, “How many confirmed kills do you have?”“Would that be Covenant or Insurrectionists?” She asked like I would know what the latter were.Since I had no idea what Insurrectionists were, I simply said, “Covenant.”“None since I go on missions where confirming kills can’t be done. But unconfirmed, I range in the low thousands. Most of them Grunts though.”I had only one word, and it came out nearly in a whisper, “Damn.”I was going to ask another question, but a low, mournful wail screamed throughout the city and sent chills down my bones.