In The Darkness The Lone Blades Light The Wayby New Lunar EclipseChaptersChapter One: Fall From the HeavensChapter Two: First ContactChapter Three: We Move UnseenChapter One: Fall From the Heavens*Italics signify that this text is the closest possible translation of what they say in their native tongue. The Elite Ultra was sitting in the back of the Phantom along with two other of his kind, Sangheili to be precise. Alongside them were three orange Unggoy and two Kig-Yar snipers. The Ultra looked at the assortment around him, and then to his closer brothers. Both were in Spec Ops armor, and he was equipped with the charcoal black Spec Ops version of the Ultra armor. The one closest to him, a crimson red, was a Stealth Minor. The other, colored a dark watery blue, a Stealth Major. What confused the Ultra about his team's colors was that the Stealth colors were different from the everyday Major or Minor colors. The difference could be anything from a small shading difference to complete opposites in the armor color itself. The Ultra sat back and relaxed somewhat. He had spent the entirety of his deployment on the human planet on his feet, always moving, either on the run or hunting down his prey. He managed to take out a few of their soldiers and civilians, even steal some primitive TacPads from two of the soldiers they killed…but then the humans in armor came. The Demons. They came from the sky in their horribly loud ‘falcons,’ as they call them. There were six Demons in total, though two of them stayed on one of the vehicles as they took off. One of his comrades, a young and newly promoted Stealth Minor, ran off to distract them from the group. And it worked…somewhat. One of the Demons, obviously seeing him move despite his cloak, gave chase and hunted him down, ending his life with five well placed shots to the head. But the young Minor did distract them enough for the group to camouflage themselves and slink away from a nearby ‘warthog’ they had destroyed earlier in the day. Later during that deployment on the planet ‘Reach,’ the Ultra had faced down a Demon while his own comrades dealt with a small squad of marines and two or three ODSTs. They were finally being recalled to a Corvette called Glory Upon Salvation floating above the planet's outer atmosphere. It strangely stopped communicating to the ships around it as it went for more fuel from one of the larger ships. The large Elite closed his eyes, enjoying the small amount of relief from his legs. *“Ultra.” The large, armored Sangheili heard the throaty deep voice of another Elite coming from the front of the Phantom. *“Yes, Major?” The Ultra turned his head to the cockpit, where another Major was flying. *“You may want to come look at this.” The armored beast sighed as he picked himself up and shook his head from side to side, loosening his sore jaws a little to wake himself up. He made his way to the front of the Phantom and looked at the 360 degree circle of holographic screens. The screens zoomed in on the side of the Corvette, and they saw a Demon being tossed out of one of the landing bays by an unknown assailant. *Whatever problem there was, there is no more. Honor and glory to you! the Ultra thought as he watched the Demon fall from the hologram’s view. The Elite Ultra looked to the pilot, and the Major manipulated the controls to zoom out. The Phantom flew off to the side of the bay doors and the cameras zoomed in again... onto another Demon, a very large one with a very large weapon. There with it was one of the human ‘Pelicans.’ There was a large contraption on the back of the vehicle and… the Ultra's blood froze. The Demon was pressing buttons on the large object. It suddenly occurred to the Ultra that this Demon tossed out the other and is staying back to die. Honorable, but pointless. Any second now, Zealots would burst through the doors and kill it... Only none arrived. *”Major... what is that, and what is it doing?” *”It looks to be a human slip-space engine, as to what he is doing, I do not know.” *”Turn around.” *”Ultra?” *”Circle around, do not go in and engage and do not leave the battle.” *”But what about honor and-” *”I will gladly slay you here for you to keep your honor, but blindly running in without information? There is no honor in dying without a fight.” The Major contemplated his choices and looked down sadly. His fingers moved over the controls and the view moved left as the Phantom turned around. There was only a small quake within the Phantom that signified it racing away at top speed. *I may have lost honor by running... but I will take the blame, and not my comrades. The Ultra walked out of the cockpit and noticed his two remaining brothers looking back at him. They both nodded, knowing what they would have to do if he didn't do it himself. The Ultra looked down at his wrists and the hilt of his energy sword. He took the cool hilt in his large hand and ignited it with a loud sizzle. It was hungry for blood. His blood, the enemies’ blood, it was the essence of life. The essence of Honor. All blood was the same to the blade. The Unggoy looked away, as did the pair of Kig-Yar, knowing what was going to happen next. He slowly brought the blade up, above his wrist. *I must scar my dishonor and shame into my skin. He was about to cut when the entire craft violently pitched forward, causing him to lose his balance and hit the ceiling of the Phantom with his helmeted head hard enough to knock him out. The purple unicorn had finally gotten the telescope up the steep hill in Sweet Apple Acres. She sighed heavily as she planted it into the ground before aiming it in no particular direction. She looked to her five friends and her number one assistant, Spike. “Okay girls, finally. Now we can watch the meteor shower in full detail! I wonder what Princess Luna has planned this time? She usually has some big finale when it’s over.” The purple unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, realized she was rambling and decided to not talk for a while. “I’m sure it’s going to be spectacular, dear!” replied Rarity, the white unicorn. “Without a doubt! It’ll be twice as cool as last year!” Rainbow Dash said, hovering about two feet above the ground, pumping her right hoof into the air. She laid back and landed softly on the ground staring up into the starlit sky, waiting for the awesome. The others just stayed silent and looked to the sky, waiting for the streaks of light to shoot across the heavens. And they were rewarded with just that. There were bright streaks of light shooting across the sky. Some fast, others slow enough to get a good look at on the telescope. The shower went on for two hours, before it finally stopped, pausing. Then, there was a sudden rush of meteors shooting, thousands of them, some big and others small. They all went different speeds, and formed a single word in the sky. ‘Friends.’ The six mares and dragon smiled, knowing why she put that in the sky. Suddenly, a huge hole erupted in the middle of the word, pitch black but with a bluish hue surrounding the outside of it. It grew bigger and bigger, sending extremely large purple fireballs careening through the sky. There was one fireball so big, Twilight was sure it was bigger than Canterlot itself! It seemed to emit sparks here and there, but then the fire disappeared, leaving a large and dark object looming ominously in the sky. The only thing getting within 20,000 feet of the surface was a lone, blue flame. It was moving at an alarming rate, falling almost straight down from the sky. The seven watched it closely as it continued to fall…and fall…and fall…until they saw it head into the Everfree forest, where there was a dull purplish/blue light and a faint, echoing boom. Chapter Two: First Contact*Italics signify that this text is the closest possible translation of what they say in their native tongue. The Elite Ultra was lying on the ground, his large eight-foot tall body facing the heavens. The sounds of his surroundings slowly brought him back to his senses as they resonated through his helmet's speakers. The crackling of flames as the Phantom was burning, the chattering of his squad mates, and the hum of his armor recharging its shields all came through to him, though the sounds were muffled as if he were shell-shocked. He opened his eyes, slowly looking through his HUD at his surroundings. He first saw the night sky in all its glory. Constellations that he didn't recognize were strewn about perfectly, not unlike an artist's canvas. He rotated his head, first to make sure nothing was broken and then to look around at his immediate vicinity. Towering trees took up most of his vision, save for a few shrubs and weird blue flowers. The bluish-purple fire of the Phantom illuminated his armor, dancing around happily thanks to the fuel it was receiving. The forest he observed reminded him of the ancient forests on Sanghelios by his Keep, both lush and green while at the same time dark and forbidding. He got up slowly due to a painful throb of protest in his head. He started testing his limbs to make sure they were in working order, and then the rest of his body. Everything was functional, save for his right ankle, which must have been injured and subsequently treated. He turned around to face what remained of his squad, whose members were looking at him and waiting for his orders and guidance. A quick head count revealed that only a single Kig-Yar, one Unggoy, and one of his brothers remained. He stood up tall, despite his headache's protests, and mandated: *”Activate your cloaking. I do not want any natives to find us until proven friendly. Leave the bodies where they lay.” He thought for a moment before adding, *"if they are human let them into the camp, then kill them in a crossfire." The Unggoy and Kig-Yar nodded, the grunt becoming invisible as the Kig-Yar jumped into the nearest tree. The Minor looked at the higher ranking Elite and stretched his jaws in hesitant acceptance before slowly blending in to his surroundings. The Ultra did so as well, taking into account his hurt ankle. The group showed up as yellow dots on his seventy-five yard motion sensor. He spoke into the radio that connected all of their comms to each other. *”Head into the forest and make a perimeter, but do not engage anything.” The Elite watched his sensor as the yellow dots slowly moved away, careful to not give away their positions through unnecessary movement. They waited for hours but nothing came, save for a few animals which made great meals for the Kig-Yar and the two Elites. The Ultra had been forbidden to uncloak with a death sentence, but he was in command and could override it. It was time for a change of plans. Hoping to lure any potential enemies into a false sense of bravado, the Ultra allowed his cloak to drop to half power, leaving most of his body concealed but allowing the lights on his armor to glow ominously. The large Elite sat at the crash site, sifting through what was left and taking anything of value such as weapons and ammo...until he heard the crackling of the radio. He listened closely to the chatter of the single speaker. *“Any..... out there? ...Life.... not human.... unknown aff... not human....... no honor..... save the..... ship... injured.... tell... death honorable.” The comm turned to static. The most the Ultra could decipher was that there had been another survivor, and that there was sentient life around. The life wasn’t human, and had no known side in the war. There was no honor to be gained by killing them because of this. The one talking wanted whoever was able to listen to save the ship if possible. He was also gravely injured, and wanted others to know his death was honorable. He stood up and looked at his radar. He still saw the yellow dots of his squad, but then there was suddenly red. At least ten red dots were all converging onto his location. Onto him. He half-turned his cloak on, allowing only the lights of his armor to be visible. The red dots remained on the outside of the small clearing, a collection of glowing yellow eyes being the only indication they were there. He grabbed the hilt of his energy sword and waited. As the ten pairs of yellow eyes stared directly at him, he slowly lifted the hilt up and held it in front of himself. He was so focused on the eyes that he did not notice the three white dots on his radar slowly creeping up behind him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The six mares and baby dragon on the hill were not the only ones watching the meteor shower that night. On the complete opposite side of Sweet Apple Acres, and closer to the forest, were three small fillies in a club house. They had watched the entire ordeal with awe and fascination. As the flaming ball hit the forest, one idea entered their minds, and as one they belted out their newest objective: “Cutie Mark Crusaders Meteorite Recovery! Yay!!” They promptly ran into the forest in the direction of the purple lights, completely disregarding any supplies they may need or any danger they may face. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What’re those glowing lights over there?” The Elite heard a soft English-speaking voice behind him. Thinking it to be a human, he immediately activated his energy sword with a soft sizzle. He turned around, expecting a primitive assault rifle to be aimed at his head, but found only three small equines. His radar was suddenly engulfed by the red dots moving towards him, closing in fast. He turned back around to find a different quadruped jumping through the air and landing on his chest with a powerful thud, knocking the wind out of the Elite as he fell to the ground. The Elite gasped for air while the creature tried to bite at him, only being stopped a couple inches from his target. The predator let out a wail of frustration that was cut short by a blade bisecting it. The energy in the sword caught its carapace on fire, and it exploded into brilliant golden flames. The other creatures were appalled at this and took a few steps away. The now uncloaked Ultra got off the ground, swinging his energy sword to his side. He bellowed a battle cry as he charged. Three of the wolves howled and charged to him as well. The first two jumped at the same time, prompting the Elite to swing his sword upwards, catching one of them and causing it to burst into flames. The other crashed into the Elite again, but he was prepared. His wrist sprouted a smaller blade and he sunk it into the creature's neck. He let loose a small chuckle as he pulled it out, watching the subsequent flames with satisfaction. The last one had circled around him and pounced towards the three fillies, clearly eager for an easier target. The Elite kicked his foot out and hit it in mid air, sending it flying into a tree. He slowly walked towards it and sunk his energy sword into its body. He turned and approached the rest of the group, as did the other cloaked elite from behind, wrist blade engaged. Both swung their swords in unison, causing all but three to erupt into violent balls of flame in just a couple of seconds. Two more were taken out by a sudden blast of highly concentrated plasma from the Unggoy and an instantaneous stream from the Kig-Yar’s Focus Rifle, prompting the final adversary to run away, whining pathetically. The uncloaked Elite looked back to the three equines, who were now quivering in terror. How did the large monster just kill ten Timberwolves on his own, with most being farther away than the weapon he carried could reach? What was with all those funny lights and noises? How could this creature, who towers so high above them, turn invisible? Could he possibly be the infamous Slenderpony? Why was it on two legs and not four? How... The Elite looked to his invisible comrades, and spoke in a language the trio couldn’t understand. “Fou loush auskeion finoulso.” Behind him, two more forms appeared. One was a small creature with a curved triangular bump protruding from its back. It was orange, much like the color of Apple Bloom’s sister, Applejack. The other looked just like the first eight-foot tall bipedal creature, but colored a deep crimson with another sword-like weapon supposedly deployed from its wrist. Its face was not covered up, and all four jaws were visible, each bristling with very sharp teeth. Its eyes were a pitch black, and shone maliciously in the purple fire of the crashed Phantom. There was a sudden rustling in the trees behind the fillies, and a dark form suddenly landed on the ground in front of them, but behind the first monster. It turned around, both of its wrists glowing with light bluish-white orbs. It was strangely bird-like, the crest of feathers on its head a dark black with a sheen of magenta. The monsters each lowered their weapons, the blades sizzling out of existence. The smaller two kept theirs out, looking at their surroundings and watching, listening. They kept an even closer eye on the small fillies. “Akoon shkichts valkonis?” The big Elite, the one whose face wasn’t showing, spoke in the strange tongue of his. “Who did th’ what now?” Apple Bloom said, being the first to regain her composure enough to speak. The biped looked away, as if contemplating what to do. It finally spoke again, “is English the only language you can speak?” Its unnatural throaty voice made them wish it didn't speak, and they shuddered in fright. “Ah don’t see us speakin’ whatever th’ hay ya said before. But Ah’ve never heard of English, is that th’ same as Equuish?” Apple Bloom replied, steadily regaining her composure. The Elite was taken aback by the ‘Equuish’ comment, but decided to ignore it. “I see.” The lights where its eyes were blinked on and off once. “Though this may be blunt and too early to ask…have you heard of the Holy War? The Great Journey?” “Th’ who and what now?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Ultra did not understand. How did these little equines not know about the galactic war that was going on? The blasphemy that the Humans committed, desecrating all Forerunner technology and trying to impede the Great Journey? Did they honestly not know who the Covenant were, what it was made out of? The Great Journey itself? Maybe... The elite Minor spoke. “Do you have honor, *Ninshin?^” “Ah guess...” “Do you...have anyone else that we can talk to?” the Ultra inquired. “O’ course we do! There’s mah sister Applejack and her friends!” The Ultra looked back to his squad. *”Turn on your cloaks. Kig-Yar, take to the roofs of any buildings there are. Do not be spotted. I see this one has wings, so there must be others. One has a horn. Do not make assumptions, but stay on your guard, all of you. Let’s go.” “Do you have a name? What was that you just spoke?” the small white one asked. “Ultra. That will suffice for now.” The Elite blew off the last question with an air of nonchalance. “Lead, and we will follow. We walk beside you, but you may not see us,” he said as they all slowly disappeared into their surroundings once again. The Kig-Yar jumped into the air and landed on a large branch. It turned to look at the three, waiting for the young fillies to show him the way. Edited by Shanenator (now the new co-writer / editor/ commander in chief!) Author’s notes: Ninshin in Sangheili is along the lines of worm, maggot, welp. Chapter Three: We Move Unseen*Italics signify that this text is the closest possible translation of what they say in their native tongue. The Ultra looked back at his lone cloaked brother and said softly to him, *“stay here and search the remaining wreckage. Find what you can salvage, and do so.” Then even softer and under his breath added, *“Prophets know how useful a Huragok would be right now…” The Minor shook his jaws somewhat violently, causing the light that was being bent around the cloak to move and reshape itself again. The Ultra turned back around to see the three young equines had disappeared. His eyes moved to the bottom left of his HUD and saw three small white dots alongside two yellow ones about fifteen meters away. The Ultra started off after them, but upon reflection came up with a better plan. He moved off to the left a little ways and was soon moving parallel to the group, all the while keeping them on his radar. He pushed through the dense underbrush of the forest, taking care to keep pace with the group for a couple of minutes. Finally, they hit the edge of the forest. The Ultra looked out, still cloaked, and noticed a large village or town. He couldn’t estimate the size of it from his position, but he was confident in the Kig-Yar’s ability to traverse it undetected. After all, he’d much rather have the sniper watching his back than his Sangheili brother. The Ultra shook his head in an attempt to forget some unpleasant memories concerning the Minor. The Kig-Yar, Bok, stood atop an elevated branch in one of the trees along the edge of the forest. The small (and tasty looking!) four-legged creatures were underneath him, along with the stupid Unggoy. His gaze shifted from the ground to the scene before him. Sprawling across the horizon was what appeared to be a small town consisting of about a hundred structures or so, none of which looked the same. Already his sensitive nose was going to work, splitting the smells into ‘tasty’ and ‘not tasty’ categories. *No. Need to follow orders. No time for food. He looked back to the small group, which was starting to move forward again. His gaze traveled to the nearest building, located a good thirty feet away. He took a small step back on his large branch and tensed his legs. Taking a brief running start up the branch, he leaped into the air, thrusting his right foot forward and using his left to propel himself. His right foot landed solidly on the rooftop, but his left fell short, causing his body to hit the roof with a soft thud. He pulled himself over the edge slowly, so as to not gain any more attention. He perched on the chimney, his Focus Rifle at the ready. Looking around, he saw the three multicolored four-legs and the cloaked Unggoy moving along a nearby street that was surprisingly crowded. Bok jumped off the chimney and onto the roof of another home, flattening himself against it in an effort to avoid detection. He aimed down his rifle sights, zooming in a little to better observe the situation. He saw them take a right around a corner. Lowering his Focus Rifle, Bok looked towards the building closest to the group. It was only across the street, a distance of twenty feet at most. Looking back to the ground to make sure none of the larger four-legs were watching, he leaped across the gap with ease. Bok landed with a soft thud on the roof of the building. With his sensitive ears, he heard the beating of wings…*wait, wings? He dived into the shadow of the chimney and looked up. In the air floated one of the larger four-legs. It was a greyish sort of color with a yellow crest on its head. He readied his rifle, but didn’t look down the sights, waiting to see if the creature made any sudden movements. Finally, the flying one turned and slowly flew away, swerving somewhat and diving by accident every now and again. They had wings and could fly? The sniper looked back to the square, taking note of the different types there were. He counted three separate kinds: those with wings, those with a horn, and those with neither. This was going to make a very interesting report to the higher ranking Sangheili. The ones with wings had the ability to fly while the other two didn’t. Could the horned ones do something special? What about the third kind? He turned back to the small group only to see the tail of the winged one disappear behind another corner. He jumped onto three different buildings in quick succession before he saw them heading into an organized looking forest. The smell of it was driving him crazy! It smelled like…apples. His memory cast back to the first time he was on a human ship. He had eaten some of their food, and apples had been his favorite. The small fillies were happy they found some new friends (and tough ones at that! Or in Scootaloo’s terms: ‘cool’). They trotted down the roads and alleys without a care in the world. Or at least until they saw a dark shadow jump over them, followed by a very salty smell. They had a feeling it was one of their new friends, but they still felt uneasy. It was as if it was not only following them, but hunting them, while at the same time just playing. When they finally made it to Sweet Apple Acres, the presence was gone but the smaller invisible one was still beside them. They began the long trek back to Apple Bloom’s house, but met Applejack and her friends halfway there. “Heya little ones. Didja watch th’ meteor shower?” Applejack asked, putting down a small basket of apples she had brought to the hilltop. Sweetie Belle was the first to reply. “Sure did! We also found some new friends!” “You did? Where are they? This would make a great report to Celestia!” Twilight Sparkle said, excitement growing on her face as she anticipated the upcoming report that was due that night. “Well…we’re not quite sure,” replied Apple Bloom. “We saw ‘em a couple minutes ago, they shoulda been followin’ us.” “Well, where did you last see them?” “Promise ya won’t be mad?” “I promise.” Twilight stated professionally, as if she did it all the time. “Weeeelll…we kinda met them…in th’ Everfree.” Twilight’s eye twitched, Rarity and Applejack following suit. “…At the meteorite crash.” “You met friends…in the Everfree Forest…at the site of a crashed meteor?” Twilight asked, taking a very long time to choose her words. A single strand of mane hair twitched itself out of place. “Yep!” replied Scootaloo happily. “What th’ hay were y’all doin’ in th’ Everfree?” Applejack asked, controlling her temper to the best of her abilities. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS METEORITE RECOVERY! YAY!!!” all three yelled in unison, the force of their outburst blowing Applejack’s hat right off her head. “Don’t y’all have any idea what coulda-” Applejack started, only to be interrupted by Rarity. Applejack harrumphed loudly and stooped to retrieve her hat. “Well, what do your new friends look like?” “Well…they all stood on two legs, and two of them were huge! They could’ve been taller than Celestia herself! One was a dark black and the other a dark red. There was a shorter brown one, about half the size of the larger two with glowing wrists and an almost bird-like appearance. Then there was this cute little one that was orange, and he followed us here! Although, I can’t see him right now…” answered Sweetie Belle, looking around in confusion at the end of her explanation. Twilight had been trying her best to not freak out about the Everfree, but now she had to put up with the fact that the three small fillies found LIFE she had never heard of and somehow BEFRIENDED these life forms! “The large black one saved us…there were at least a bazillion Timberwolves coming at us, and he made all but one burst into fire! It was totally awesome!!” Scootaloo enthused. That shook Twilight to her core. The creature defended the fillies from harm, but at the cost of Timberwolf lives? What did these new creatures have that the ponies didn’t, and vice-versa? Could they use magic, and if so why didn’t they teleport them all out? “Hmm...those don’t sound like any Everfree creatures I’ve ever heard of. Have you ever heard your animal friends mention anything like this, Fluttershy?” The butter pegasus ‘eeped’ in surprise at being addressed, but soon recovered and shook her head demurely. “No, I haven’t. I’m sorry Twi, but I don’t know what they’re talking about either.” Suddenly, there was a loud gasp heard from within the group, it’s source soon revealed to be a wildly bouncing ball of pink energy. “OMIGOSH!! Do you guys know what this means?? There are new friends in Ponyville, and that means I have to throw a super-awesome-fun Pinkie Pie Welcome to Ponyville PAAARRRTYY!! *GASP* OMIGOSH!! And because they’re new life forms we’ve never ever ever ever ever ever heard of I’ll have to throw a party for that too!! It’s going to be a WELCOME TO PONYVILLE NEW CREATURE FRIENDS PARTY!! WOOHOO!!” Reaching down to her basket, Applejack deftly picked an apple and stuffed it into Pinkie’s mouth. “Now hold yer horses, sugarcube. We don’t know nothin’ ‘bout these fellers, and until we do Ah don’t want ya scarin’ ‘em off, ya hear?” Pinkie chomped down on the apple in one bite and swallowed. “Fine,” she pouted slightly, folding her forelegs and sitting heavily on the ground. “I still think we should throw them a surprise party...” Spike rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Hehe, yeah sure Pinkie. I’m sure that’ll work out just fine.” Rainbow Dash, ever the bold one, asked the next question, one that was on everypony’s mind. “So, where is the large black one now?” “Right behind you,” replied a very deep and heavy sounding voice from directly behind the group of mares. The resulting chaos was quite amusing to the Ultra, who looked on as the larger six equines and smaller bipedal creature turned around, searching frantically for the source of the voice. The rainbow colored one was yelling out, “show yourself! I’m not scared!” “As you wish. But heed this warning: do not attack me. The little ones told you already; I’ve slain many of these ‘Timberwolves’.” “I bet you’re not nearly as tough as they say you are! If you’re too cowardly to show yourself then there’s no way you could’ve fought off even three Timberwolves!” Rainbow Dash called out brashly. Under her breath she added, “and don’t even think about hurting my friends.” “Me? A coward? Many have thrown that insult, and few of them still draw breath,” the Ultra replied, somewhat amused. He slowly let his concealment drop, allowing the lights to show themselves before the rest of his armored form came into view. Ignoring the startled gasps (and eeps) from the equines, he grabbed an apple from Applejack’s basket and tossed it high into the air. A low whine sounded from across the orchard and intensified as a blue-gold beam of energy shot out and incinerated the thrown apple. The mares gaped when they saw there was not even a single speck of the original apple left to float down while the Ultra casually shifted his gaze to the source of the Focus Rifle beam. On the other side of the farm itself was the dark outline of a Kig-Yar. The Ultra stared unamusedly at the rainbow colored one before finishing what he had been saying. “I had my own allies to help me fight. As for hurting your friends, if I had to do so it would have been done.” There was a tense silence, so tense it was almost tangible. Finally, the purple one with a horn spoke up. “So, err…what’s your name?” “You may refer to me as Ultra for now.” The Minor couldn't believe it! Here they were, stranded on an unknown world with equines that could speak, let alone speak as HUMANS do! Releasing a roar of rage, he violently punched the wreckage that used to be their Phantom. They should be fighting on the front, not retreating to the Glory Upon Salvation! They should be fighting the honorable war, gaining honor with each kill! His nostrils ached for the smell of humans alight with plasma fire, his ears for the screams of their pain, his eyes for their pathetic lack of honor and skill. He may only be a Minor, but war was his life. Who was the Ultra to command him to stay behind and watch the clearly useless burning Phantom? Who was the Ultra to command him at all? He lost his honor when he was too cowardly to board the ship; too cowardly to stop the Demon from activating the device. Instead he had retreated like a wretched Unggoy. He needed to be slain. There needed to be a new Commanding Officer. But alas. He was only a Minor, and did not have the experience needed to even consider challenging the Ultra…not yet, anyways. He let out another roar of frustration and slammed his fist into one of the few segments of the Phantom’s hull that wasn’t burning merrily, the flames almost mocking him with their jubilance. The resulting sound was a residual, hollow ringing. He stepped back for a moment, eager to confirm his suspicions. He examined the hull more closely and saw a latch that was barely noticeable in the firelight. He wrapped his large hand around the latch and pulled, taking a large square of the hull with it. Of course, he knew of the weapons locker, but what this one yielded was of great fortune. *Not so useless after all. There were two energy swords and a plasma battery capable of charging both those and all the other weapons they had. But two energy swords…he picked one up and looked at it closely. It fit in his hand perfectly. He quickly opened up a small compartment in his armor and stashed it inside, and then grabbed the other and held it tightly. *My own blades…I will find my honor on this pitiful world yet. His thoughts were interrupted by the voices of equines steadily drawing closer. He cloaked quickly, and watched the sources of the voices from the shadows. There were seven of them, all donning eloquent golden armor, with four possessing wings and three with horns. They seemed to be military, their armor not unlike that of the Prophet’s Honor Guards, minus the prominent pauldrons. They seemed organized enough, with the winged ones floating while the horned ones were somehow carrying crossbows, weapons even more primitive than those of the pitiful humans. *Too easy. With a devious smirk, the Minor ignited his blade. Edited by Shanenator. Written by Poptard and Solar Eclipse. A/N: Huragok is an Engineer in the Halo universe.
Chapter One: Fall From the Heavens*Italics signify that this text is the closest possible translation of what they say in their native tongue. The Elite Ultra was sitting in the back of the Phantom along with two other of his kind, Sangheili to be precise. Alongside them were three orange Unggoy and two Kig-Yar snipers. The Ultra looked at the assortment around him, and then to his closer brothers. Both were in Spec Ops armor, and he was equipped with the charcoal black Spec Ops version of the Ultra armor. The one closest to him, a crimson red, was a Stealth Minor. The other, colored a dark watery blue, a Stealth Major. What confused the Ultra about his team's colors was that the Stealth colors were different from the everyday Major or Minor colors. The difference could be anything from a small shading difference to complete opposites in the armor color itself. The Ultra sat back and relaxed somewhat. He had spent the entirety of his deployment on the human planet on his feet, always moving, either on the run or hunting down his prey. He managed to take out a few of their soldiers and civilians, even steal some primitive TacPads from two of the soldiers they killed…but then the humans in armor came. The Demons. They came from the sky in their horribly loud ‘falcons,’ as they call them. There were six Demons in total, though two of them stayed on one of the vehicles as they took off. One of his comrades, a young and newly promoted Stealth Minor, ran off to distract them from the group. And it worked…somewhat. One of the Demons, obviously seeing him move despite his cloak, gave chase and hunted him down, ending his life with five well placed shots to the head. But the young Minor did distract them enough for the group to camouflage themselves and slink away from a nearby ‘warthog’ they had destroyed earlier in the day. Later during that deployment on the planet ‘Reach,’ the Ultra had faced down a Demon while his own comrades dealt with a small squad of marines and two or three ODSTs. They were finally being recalled to a Corvette called Glory Upon Salvation floating above the planet's outer atmosphere. It strangely stopped communicating to the ships around it as it went for more fuel from one of the larger ships. The large Elite closed his eyes, enjoying the small amount of relief from his legs. *“Ultra.” The large, armored Sangheili heard the throaty deep voice of another Elite coming from the front of the Phantom. *“Yes, Major?” The Ultra turned his head to the cockpit, where another Major was flying. *“You may want to come look at this.” The armored beast sighed as he picked himself up and shook his head from side to side, loosening his sore jaws a little to wake himself up. He made his way to the front of the Phantom and looked at the 360 degree circle of holographic screens. The screens zoomed in on the side of the Corvette, and they saw a Demon being tossed out of one of the landing bays by an unknown assailant. *Whatever problem there was, there is no more. Honor and glory to you! the Ultra thought as he watched the Demon fall from the hologram’s view. The Elite Ultra looked to the pilot, and the Major manipulated the controls to zoom out. The Phantom flew off to the side of the bay doors and the cameras zoomed in again... onto another Demon, a very large one with a very large weapon. There with it was one of the human ‘Pelicans.’ There was a large contraption on the back of the vehicle and… the Ultra's blood froze. The Demon was pressing buttons on the large object. It suddenly occurred to the Ultra that this Demon tossed out the other and is staying back to die. Honorable, but pointless. Any second now, Zealots would burst through the doors and kill it... Only none arrived. *”Major... what is that, and what is it doing?” *”It looks to be a human slip-space engine, as to what he is doing, I do not know.” *”Turn around.” *”Ultra?” *”Circle around, do not go in and engage and do not leave the battle.” *”But what about honor and-” *”I will gladly slay you here for you to keep your honor, but blindly running in without information? There is no honor in dying without a fight.” The Major contemplated his choices and looked down sadly. His fingers moved over the controls and the view moved left as the Phantom turned around. There was only a small quake within the Phantom that signified it racing away at top speed. *I may have lost honor by running... but I will take the blame, and not my comrades. The Ultra walked out of the cockpit and noticed his two remaining brothers looking back at him. They both nodded, knowing what they would have to do if he didn't do it himself. The Ultra looked down at his wrists and the hilt of his energy sword. He took the cool hilt in his large hand and ignited it with a loud sizzle. It was hungry for blood. His blood, the enemies’ blood, it was the essence of life. The essence of Honor. All blood was the same to the blade. The Unggoy looked away, as did the pair of Kig-Yar, knowing what was going to happen next. He slowly brought the blade up, above his wrist. *I must scar my dishonor and shame into my skin. He was about to cut when the entire craft violently pitched forward, causing him to lose his balance and hit the ceiling of the Phantom with his helmeted head hard enough to knock him out. The purple unicorn had finally gotten the telescope up the steep hill in Sweet Apple Acres. She sighed heavily as she planted it into the ground before aiming it in no particular direction. She looked to her five friends and her number one assistant, Spike. “Okay girls, finally. Now we can watch the meteor shower in full detail! I wonder what Princess Luna has planned this time? She usually has some big finale when it’s over.” The purple unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, realized she was rambling and decided to not talk for a while. “I’m sure it’s going to be spectacular, dear!” replied Rarity, the white unicorn. “Without a doubt! It’ll be twice as cool as last year!” Rainbow Dash said, hovering about two feet above the ground, pumping her right hoof into the air. She laid back and landed softly on the ground staring up into the starlit sky, waiting for the awesome. The others just stayed silent and looked to the sky, waiting for the streaks of light to shoot across the heavens. And they were rewarded with just that. There were bright streaks of light shooting across the sky. Some fast, others slow enough to get a good look at on the telescope. The shower went on for two hours, before it finally stopped, pausing. Then, there was a sudden rush of meteors shooting, thousands of them, some big and others small. They all went different speeds, and formed a single word in the sky. ‘Friends.’ The six mares and dragon smiled, knowing why she put that in the sky. Suddenly, a huge hole erupted in the middle of the word, pitch black but with a bluish hue surrounding the outside of it. It grew bigger and bigger, sending extremely large purple fireballs careening through the sky. There was one fireball so big, Twilight was sure it was bigger than Canterlot itself! It seemed to emit sparks here and there, but then the fire disappeared, leaving a large and dark object looming ominously in the sky. The only thing getting within 20,000 feet of the surface was a lone, blue flame. It was moving at an alarming rate, falling almost straight down from the sky. The seven watched it closely as it continued to fall…and fall…and fall…until they saw it head into the Everfree forest, where there was a dull purplish/blue light and a faint, echoing boom.
Chapter Two: First Contact*Italics signify that this text is the closest possible translation of what they say in their native tongue. The Elite Ultra was lying on the ground, his large eight-foot tall body facing the heavens. The sounds of his surroundings slowly brought him back to his senses as they resonated through his helmet's speakers. The crackling of flames as the Phantom was burning, the chattering of his squad mates, and the hum of his armor recharging its shields all came through to him, though the sounds were muffled as if he were shell-shocked. He opened his eyes, slowly looking through his HUD at his surroundings. He first saw the night sky in all its glory. Constellations that he didn't recognize were strewn about perfectly, not unlike an artist's canvas. He rotated his head, first to make sure nothing was broken and then to look around at his immediate vicinity. Towering trees took up most of his vision, save for a few shrubs and weird blue flowers. The bluish-purple fire of the Phantom illuminated his armor, dancing around happily thanks to the fuel it was receiving. The forest he observed reminded him of the ancient forests on Sanghelios by his Keep, both lush and green while at the same time dark and forbidding. He got up slowly due to a painful throb of protest in his head. He started testing his limbs to make sure they were in working order, and then the rest of his body. Everything was functional, save for his right ankle, which must have been injured and subsequently treated. He turned around to face what remained of his squad, whose members were looking at him and waiting for his orders and guidance. A quick head count revealed that only a single Kig-Yar, one Unggoy, and one of his brothers remained. He stood up tall, despite his headache's protests, and mandated: *”Activate your cloaking. I do not want any natives to find us until proven friendly. Leave the bodies where they lay.” He thought for a moment before adding, *"if they are human let them into the camp, then kill them in a crossfire." The Unggoy and Kig-Yar nodded, the grunt becoming invisible as the Kig-Yar jumped into the nearest tree. The Minor looked at the higher ranking Elite and stretched his jaws in hesitant acceptance before slowly blending in to his surroundings. The Ultra did so as well, taking into account his hurt ankle. The group showed up as yellow dots on his seventy-five yard motion sensor. He spoke into the radio that connected all of their comms to each other. *”Head into the forest and make a perimeter, but do not engage anything.” The Elite watched his sensor as the yellow dots slowly moved away, careful to not give away their positions through unnecessary movement. They waited for hours but nothing came, save for a few animals which made great meals for the Kig-Yar and the two Elites. The Ultra had been forbidden to uncloak with a death sentence, but he was in command and could override it. It was time for a change of plans. Hoping to lure any potential enemies into a false sense of bravado, the Ultra allowed his cloak to drop to half power, leaving most of his body concealed but allowing the lights on his armor to glow ominously. The large Elite sat at the crash site, sifting through what was left and taking anything of value such as weapons and ammo...until he heard the crackling of the radio. He listened closely to the chatter of the single speaker. *“Any..... out there? ...Life.... not human.... unknown aff... not human....... no honor..... save the..... ship... injured.... tell... death honorable.” The comm turned to static. The most the Ultra could decipher was that there had been another survivor, and that there was sentient life around. The life wasn’t human, and had no known side in the war. There was no honor to be gained by killing them because of this. The one talking wanted whoever was able to listen to save the ship if possible. He was also gravely injured, and wanted others to know his death was honorable. He stood up and looked at his radar. He still saw the yellow dots of his squad, but then there was suddenly red. At least ten red dots were all converging onto his location. Onto him. He half-turned his cloak on, allowing only the lights of his armor to be visible. The red dots remained on the outside of the small clearing, a collection of glowing yellow eyes being the only indication they were there. He grabbed the hilt of his energy sword and waited. As the ten pairs of yellow eyes stared directly at him, he slowly lifted the hilt up and held it in front of himself. He was so focused on the eyes that he did not notice the three white dots on his radar slowly creeping up behind him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The six mares and baby dragon on the hill were not the only ones watching the meteor shower that night. On the complete opposite side of Sweet Apple Acres, and closer to the forest, were three small fillies in a club house. They had watched the entire ordeal with awe and fascination. As the flaming ball hit the forest, one idea entered their minds, and as one they belted out their newest objective: “Cutie Mark Crusaders Meteorite Recovery! Yay!!” They promptly ran into the forest in the direction of the purple lights, completely disregarding any supplies they may need or any danger they may face. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What’re those glowing lights over there?” The Elite heard a soft English-speaking voice behind him. Thinking it to be a human, he immediately activated his energy sword with a soft sizzle. He turned around, expecting a primitive assault rifle to be aimed at his head, but found only three small equines. His radar was suddenly engulfed by the red dots moving towards him, closing in fast. He turned back around to find a different quadruped jumping through the air and landing on his chest with a powerful thud, knocking the wind out of the Elite as he fell to the ground. The Elite gasped for air while the creature tried to bite at him, only being stopped a couple inches from his target. The predator let out a wail of frustration that was cut short by a blade bisecting it. The energy in the sword caught its carapace on fire, and it exploded into brilliant golden flames. The other creatures were appalled at this and took a few steps away. The now uncloaked Ultra got off the ground, swinging his energy sword to his side. He bellowed a battle cry as he charged. Three of the wolves howled and charged to him as well. The first two jumped at the same time, prompting the Elite to swing his sword upwards, catching one of them and causing it to burst into flames. The other crashed into the Elite again, but he was prepared. His wrist sprouted a smaller blade and he sunk it into the creature's neck. He let loose a small chuckle as he pulled it out, watching the subsequent flames with satisfaction. The last one had circled around him and pounced towards the three fillies, clearly eager for an easier target. The Elite kicked his foot out and hit it in mid air, sending it flying into a tree. He slowly walked towards it and sunk his energy sword into its body. He turned and approached the rest of the group, as did the other cloaked elite from behind, wrist blade engaged. Both swung their swords in unison, causing all but three to erupt into violent balls of flame in just a couple of seconds. Two more were taken out by a sudden blast of highly concentrated plasma from the Unggoy and an instantaneous stream from the Kig-Yar’s Focus Rifle, prompting the final adversary to run away, whining pathetically. The uncloaked Elite looked back to the three equines, who were now quivering in terror. How did the large monster just kill ten Timberwolves on his own, with most being farther away than the weapon he carried could reach? What was with all those funny lights and noises? How could this creature, who towers so high above them, turn invisible? Could he possibly be the infamous Slenderpony? Why was it on two legs and not four? How... The Elite looked to his invisible comrades, and spoke in a language the trio couldn’t understand. “Fou loush auskeion finoulso.” Behind him, two more forms appeared. One was a small creature with a curved triangular bump protruding from its back. It was orange, much like the color of Apple Bloom’s sister, Applejack. The other looked just like the first eight-foot tall bipedal creature, but colored a deep crimson with another sword-like weapon supposedly deployed from its wrist. Its face was not covered up, and all four jaws were visible, each bristling with very sharp teeth. Its eyes were a pitch black, and shone maliciously in the purple fire of the crashed Phantom. There was a sudden rustling in the trees behind the fillies, and a dark form suddenly landed on the ground in front of them, but behind the first monster. It turned around, both of its wrists glowing with light bluish-white orbs. It was strangely bird-like, the crest of feathers on its head a dark black with a sheen of magenta. The monsters each lowered their weapons, the blades sizzling out of existence. The smaller two kept theirs out, looking at their surroundings and watching, listening. They kept an even closer eye on the small fillies. “Akoon shkichts valkonis?” The big Elite, the one whose face wasn’t showing, spoke in the strange tongue of his. “Who did th’ what now?” Apple Bloom said, being the first to regain her composure enough to speak. The biped looked away, as if contemplating what to do. It finally spoke again, “is English the only language you can speak?” Its unnatural throaty voice made them wish it didn't speak, and they shuddered in fright. “Ah don’t see us speakin’ whatever th’ hay ya said before. But Ah’ve never heard of English, is that th’ same as Equuish?” Apple Bloom replied, steadily regaining her composure. The Elite was taken aback by the ‘Equuish’ comment, but decided to ignore it. “I see.” The lights where its eyes were blinked on and off once. “Though this may be blunt and too early to ask…have you heard of the Holy War? The Great Journey?” “Th’ who and what now?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Ultra did not understand. How did these little equines not know about the galactic war that was going on? The blasphemy that the Humans committed, desecrating all Forerunner technology and trying to impede the Great Journey? Did they honestly not know who the Covenant were, what it was made out of? The Great Journey itself? Maybe... The elite Minor spoke. “Do you have honor, *Ninshin?^” “Ah guess...” “Do you...have anyone else that we can talk to?” the Ultra inquired. “O’ course we do! There’s mah sister Applejack and her friends!” The Ultra looked back to his squad. *”Turn on your cloaks. Kig-Yar, take to the roofs of any buildings there are. Do not be spotted. I see this one has wings, so there must be others. One has a horn. Do not make assumptions, but stay on your guard, all of you. Let’s go.” “Do you have a name? What was that you just spoke?” the small white one asked. “Ultra. That will suffice for now.” The Elite blew off the last question with an air of nonchalance. “Lead, and we will follow. We walk beside you, but you may not see us,” he said as they all slowly disappeared into their surroundings once again. The Kig-Yar jumped into the air and landed on a large branch. It turned to look at the three, waiting for the young fillies to show him the way. Edited by Shanenator (now the new co-writer / editor/ commander in chief!) Author’s notes: Ninshin in Sangheili is along the lines of worm, maggot, welp.
Chapter Three: We Move Unseen*Italics signify that this text is the closest possible translation of what they say in their native tongue. The Ultra looked back at his lone cloaked brother and said softly to him, *“stay here and search the remaining wreckage. Find what you can salvage, and do so.” Then even softer and under his breath added, *“Prophets know how useful a Huragok would be right now…” The Minor shook his jaws somewhat violently, causing the light that was being bent around the cloak to move and reshape itself again. The Ultra turned back around to see the three young equines had disappeared. His eyes moved to the bottom left of his HUD and saw three small white dots alongside two yellow ones about fifteen meters away. The Ultra started off after them, but upon reflection came up with a better plan. He moved off to the left a little ways and was soon moving parallel to the group, all the while keeping them on his radar. He pushed through the dense underbrush of the forest, taking care to keep pace with the group for a couple of minutes. Finally, they hit the edge of the forest. The Ultra looked out, still cloaked, and noticed a large village or town. He couldn’t estimate the size of it from his position, but he was confident in the Kig-Yar’s ability to traverse it undetected. After all, he’d much rather have the sniper watching his back than his Sangheili brother. The Ultra shook his head in an attempt to forget some unpleasant memories concerning the Minor. The Kig-Yar, Bok, stood atop an elevated branch in one of the trees along the edge of the forest. The small (and tasty looking!) four-legged creatures were underneath him, along with the stupid Unggoy. His gaze shifted from the ground to the scene before him. Sprawling across the horizon was what appeared to be a small town consisting of about a hundred structures or so, none of which looked the same. Already his sensitive nose was going to work, splitting the smells into ‘tasty’ and ‘not tasty’ categories. *No. Need to follow orders. No time for food. He looked back to the small group, which was starting to move forward again. His gaze traveled to the nearest building, located a good thirty feet away. He took a small step back on his large branch and tensed his legs. Taking a brief running start up the branch, he leaped into the air, thrusting his right foot forward and using his left to propel himself. His right foot landed solidly on the rooftop, but his left fell short, causing his body to hit the roof with a soft thud. He pulled himself over the edge slowly, so as to not gain any more attention. He perched on the chimney, his Focus Rifle at the ready. Looking around, he saw the three multicolored four-legs and the cloaked Unggoy moving along a nearby street that was surprisingly crowded. Bok jumped off the chimney and onto the roof of another home, flattening himself against it in an effort to avoid detection. He aimed down his rifle sights, zooming in a little to better observe the situation. He saw them take a right around a corner. Lowering his Focus Rifle, Bok looked towards the building closest to the group. It was only across the street, a distance of twenty feet at most. Looking back to the ground to make sure none of the larger four-legs were watching, he leaped across the gap with ease. Bok landed with a soft thud on the roof of the building. With his sensitive ears, he heard the beating of wings…*wait, wings? He dived into the shadow of the chimney and looked up. In the air floated one of the larger four-legs. It was a greyish sort of color with a yellow crest on its head. He readied his rifle, but didn’t look down the sights, waiting to see if the creature made any sudden movements. Finally, the flying one turned and slowly flew away, swerving somewhat and diving by accident every now and again. They had wings and could fly? The sniper looked back to the square, taking note of the different types there were. He counted three separate kinds: those with wings, those with a horn, and those with neither. This was going to make a very interesting report to the higher ranking Sangheili. The ones with wings had the ability to fly while the other two didn’t. Could the horned ones do something special? What about the third kind? He turned back to the small group only to see the tail of the winged one disappear behind another corner. He jumped onto three different buildings in quick succession before he saw them heading into an organized looking forest. The smell of it was driving him crazy! It smelled like…apples. His memory cast back to the first time he was on a human ship. He had eaten some of their food, and apples had been his favorite. The small fillies were happy they found some new friends (and tough ones at that! Or in Scootaloo’s terms: ‘cool’). They trotted down the roads and alleys without a care in the world. Or at least until they saw a dark shadow jump over them, followed by a very salty smell. They had a feeling it was one of their new friends, but they still felt uneasy. It was as if it was not only following them, but hunting them, while at the same time just playing. When they finally made it to Sweet Apple Acres, the presence was gone but the smaller invisible one was still beside them. They began the long trek back to Apple Bloom’s house, but met Applejack and her friends halfway there. “Heya little ones. Didja watch th’ meteor shower?” Applejack asked, putting down a small basket of apples she had brought to the hilltop. Sweetie Belle was the first to reply. “Sure did! We also found some new friends!” “You did? Where are they? This would make a great report to Celestia!” Twilight Sparkle said, excitement growing on her face as she anticipated the upcoming report that was due that night. “Well…we’re not quite sure,” replied Apple Bloom. “We saw ‘em a couple minutes ago, they shoulda been followin’ us.” “Well, where did you last see them?” “Promise ya won’t be mad?” “I promise.” Twilight stated professionally, as if she did it all the time. “Weeeelll…we kinda met them…in th’ Everfree.” Twilight’s eye twitched, Rarity and Applejack following suit. “…At the meteorite crash.” “You met friends…in the Everfree Forest…at the site of a crashed meteor?” Twilight asked, taking a very long time to choose her words. A single strand of mane hair twitched itself out of place. “Yep!” replied Scootaloo happily. “What th’ hay were y’all doin’ in th’ Everfree?” Applejack asked, controlling her temper to the best of her abilities. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS METEORITE RECOVERY! YAY!!!” all three yelled in unison, the force of their outburst blowing Applejack’s hat right off her head. “Don’t y’all have any idea what coulda-” Applejack started, only to be interrupted by Rarity. Applejack harrumphed loudly and stooped to retrieve her hat. “Well, what do your new friends look like?” “Well…they all stood on two legs, and two of them were huge! They could’ve been taller than Celestia herself! One was a dark black and the other a dark red. There was a shorter brown one, about half the size of the larger two with glowing wrists and an almost bird-like appearance. Then there was this cute little one that was orange, and he followed us here! Although, I can’t see him right now…” answered Sweetie Belle, looking around in confusion at the end of her explanation. Twilight had been trying her best to not freak out about the Everfree, but now she had to put up with the fact that the three small fillies found LIFE she had never heard of and somehow BEFRIENDED these life forms! “The large black one saved us…there were at least a bazillion Timberwolves coming at us, and he made all but one burst into fire! It was totally awesome!!” Scootaloo enthused. That shook Twilight to her core. The creature defended the fillies from harm, but at the cost of Timberwolf lives? What did these new creatures have that the ponies didn’t, and vice-versa? Could they use magic, and if so why didn’t they teleport them all out? “Hmm...those don’t sound like any Everfree creatures I’ve ever heard of. Have you ever heard your animal friends mention anything like this, Fluttershy?” The butter pegasus ‘eeped’ in surprise at being addressed, but soon recovered and shook her head demurely. “No, I haven’t. I’m sorry Twi, but I don’t know what they’re talking about either.” Suddenly, there was a loud gasp heard from within the group, it’s source soon revealed to be a wildly bouncing ball of pink energy. “OMIGOSH!! Do you guys know what this means?? There are new friends in Ponyville, and that means I have to throw a super-awesome-fun Pinkie Pie Welcome to Ponyville PAAARRRTYY!! *GASP* OMIGOSH!! And because they’re new life forms we’ve never ever ever ever ever ever heard of I’ll have to throw a party for that too!! It’s going to be a WELCOME TO PONYVILLE NEW CREATURE FRIENDS PARTY!! WOOHOO!!” Reaching down to her basket, Applejack deftly picked an apple and stuffed it into Pinkie’s mouth. “Now hold yer horses, sugarcube. We don’t know nothin’ ‘bout these fellers, and until we do Ah don’t want ya scarin’ ‘em off, ya hear?” Pinkie chomped down on the apple in one bite and swallowed. “Fine,” she pouted slightly, folding her forelegs and sitting heavily on the ground. “I still think we should throw them a surprise party...” Spike rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Hehe, yeah sure Pinkie. I’m sure that’ll work out just fine.” Rainbow Dash, ever the bold one, asked the next question, one that was on everypony’s mind. “So, where is the large black one now?” “Right behind you,” replied a very deep and heavy sounding voice from directly behind the group of mares. The resulting chaos was quite amusing to the Ultra, who looked on as the larger six equines and smaller bipedal creature turned around, searching frantically for the source of the voice. The rainbow colored one was yelling out, “show yourself! I’m not scared!” “As you wish. But heed this warning: do not attack me. The little ones told you already; I’ve slain many of these ‘Timberwolves’.” “I bet you’re not nearly as tough as they say you are! If you’re too cowardly to show yourself then there’s no way you could’ve fought off even three Timberwolves!” Rainbow Dash called out brashly. Under her breath she added, “and don’t even think about hurting my friends.” “Me? A coward? Many have thrown that insult, and few of them still draw breath,” the Ultra replied, somewhat amused. He slowly let his concealment drop, allowing the lights to show themselves before the rest of his armored form came into view. Ignoring the startled gasps (and eeps) from the equines, he grabbed an apple from Applejack’s basket and tossed it high into the air. A low whine sounded from across the orchard and intensified as a blue-gold beam of energy shot out and incinerated the thrown apple. The mares gaped when they saw there was not even a single speck of the original apple left to float down while the Ultra casually shifted his gaze to the source of the Focus Rifle beam. On the other side of the farm itself was the dark outline of a Kig-Yar. The Ultra stared unamusedly at the rainbow colored one before finishing what he had been saying. “I had my own allies to help me fight. As for hurting your friends, if I had to do so it would have been done.” There was a tense silence, so tense it was almost tangible. Finally, the purple one with a horn spoke up. “So, err…what’s your name?” “You may refer to me as Ultra for now.” The Minor couldn't believe it! Here they were, stranded on an unknown world with equines that could speak, let alone speak as HUMANS do! Releasing a roar of rage, he violently punched the wreckage that used to be their Phantom. They should be fighting on the front, not retreating to the Glory Upon Salvation! They should be fighting the honorable war, gaining honor with each kill! His nostrils ached for the smell of humans alight with plasma fire, his ears for the screams of their pain, his eyes for their pathetic lack of honor and skill. He may only be a Minor, but war was his life. Who was the Ultra to command him to stay behind and watch the clearly useless burning Phantom? Who was the Ultra to command him at all? He lost his honor when he was too cowardly to board the ship; too cowardly to stop the Demon from activating the device. Instead he had retreated like a wretched Unggoy. He needed to be slain. There needed to be a new Commanding Officer. But alas. He was only a Minor, and did not have the experience needed to even consider challenging the Ultra…not yet, anyways. He let out another roar of frustration and slammed his fist into one of the few segments of the Phantom’s hull that wasn’t burning merrily, the flames almost mocking him with their jubilance. The resulting sound was a residual, hollow ringing. He stepped back for a moment, eager to confirm his suspicions. He examined the hull more closely and saw a latch that was barely noticeable in the firelight. He wrapped his large hand around the latch and pulled, taking a large square of the hull with it. Of course, he knew of the weapons locker, but what this one yielded was of great fortune. *Not so useless after all. There were two energy swords and a plasma battery capable of charging both those and all the other weapons they had. But two energy swords…he picked one up and looked at it closely. It fit in his hand perfectly. He quickly opened up a small compartment in his armor and stashed it inside, and then grabbed the other and held it tightly. *My own blades…I will find my honor on this pitiful world yet. His thoughts were interrupted by the voices of equines steadily drawing closer. He cloaked quickly, and watched the sources of the voices from the shadows. There were seven of them, all donning eloquent golden armor, with four possessing wings and three with horns. They seemed to be military, their armor not unlike that of the Prophet’s Honor Guards, minus the prominent pauldrons. They seemed organized enough, with the winged ones floating while the horned ones were somehow carrying crossbows, weapons even more primitive than those of the pitiful humans. *Too easy. With a devious smirk, the Minor ignited his blade. Edited by Shanenator. Written by Poptard and Solar Eclipse. A/N: Huragok is an Engineer in the Halo universe.
