Chapter 3: Haunted Memories

I spent an hour walking in that damn forest even had to sneak around a manticore and timberwolf pack, at the same time this place felt familiar as if I had walked here before. It was not until I saw the ruins of a castle that I realized where I was. “Wait this forest is The Sacred Woods, and this is the same castle that Discord and I fought Celestia and Luna. It was destroyed during the battle between Nightmare Moon and Celestia, I think I’m forgetting something, anyway it is most likely of no importance.”

I’m sure I’m one of the few that remember this places old name, well it was named The Sacred Woods because it was believed to be where the connection between the pony gods and ponies were the strongest through the tree of harmony, thus why this place was chosen to build the castle. Before I was stoned, the forest was much less densely vegetated and lived up to the name woods, mostly due to ponies maintaining this place constantly, from what I could guess it had once been this way before the ponies came but they tamed it enough to be inhabitable.

Anyways back to the story, I crossed the old bridge that went over the ravine and entered the castle the second I entered I swore I could still hear the clash of swords, screams of agony and my voice shouting commands over the battle cries of the two armies clashing. I immediately saw the battle replay around me.

***

Bodies littered the floor, both my own soldiers, and the enemies. I stepped over them, hearing the crunch of bones and armor below my feet.I killed any in our path with my pistol or my energy sword. My advance, no my mere presence served to improve morale in the ranks and crush our enemies. I just knew that once we won I would return home, at long last.

***

The images disappeared and I continued on inside besides some of the castle crumbling with age and disuse but it was still in decent condition. I went further in and saw the throne room, it had two tattered tapestries representing the Lunar and Celestial diarchs their thrones also fit their own themes Luna’s being made of a dull and dark metal while Celestia’s glittered even through the sheets of dust. The rest of the throne room was no less grand or it wouldn’t have been if it weren’t for centuries of neglect.

I walked further into the castle recalling schematics that I studied for two weeks before that attack so long ago. I decided to visit the highest floor of the castle, it was a short climb up the stairs before I reached the upper most level of the castle ruins, it was quite empty except for five perfectly round stones just sitting down on the ground, they were interesting but did not draw any large amount of interest. I continued look around and saw the characteristics of any ruin, chipped and cracked brick, ivy standing proud, and entire chunks of the wall fallen, not in sight. my curiosity was piqued when I spotted several scorch marks on what was left of the ruin, before I realized that it must have been from the fight between Celestia and her corrupted sister a little less than a millennium ago.

It was this floors second fight I remembered, after seeing several smaller scorch marks from my own energy sword. I could still see it now.

***

I blocked a blow from Luna’s blade not at all surprised that the blade was not melted into slag from the plasma swords heat. I learned during a fight with a squad of Luna’s Elite troops that carried blades made of the same material apparently called Alicornian Steel named by ponies for being virtually indestructible like what they thought the royal sisters as. Anyway where was I, oh yes here we are. I caught glimpses of Discord fighting Celestia his normal carefree cheer gone replaced by hardened resolve to win this war. In the next second his face went completely expressionless, his blade shimmered a wide spectrum of color in the night sky. The image sent a shiver down my spine, before my mind turned back to Luna who took advantage of my distraction and attacked fortunately I caught it in the corner of my eye, I instinctively jumped back in response, and the sword passed through air and kicked up dust.

She then followed her attack with a dark blue bolt of magic that I could not dodge instead my energy shield flared and took the damage my indicator showing half charge.
Before she could cast another bolt, I jumped forward and stabbed at her, as expected she dodged able to come close enough to my reaction time to do so. I just swiped at her forcing her back further, I continued my swipes and stabs forcing her to the wall, where I stabbed at her heart. She barely dodged singeing some of the fur on her sword arm and my Plasma Sword scorched the wall. We were back to square one trading blows until another opening could be found. To be straight up honest she looked beautiful, her mane a light blue cut short so it could not get in the way by flowing like it usually did or being too long. I could see the sweat on her fur and her sword glowed a soft blue in the moonlight as we gracefully danced across the room. But it still did not stop me I needed her dead so I could go back home in my own body on my own planet.
Later, Luna was finally starting to show further signs of fatigue and so was I but to a lesser degree, I finally got a opening so I took it punching Luna in the gut putting a dent in her midnight blue armor and knocking the breath out of her as she staggered back, before she could recover I took her hand and threw her into the wall, the wall unlike in movies did not break or crack. But I could hear her right arm snap her armor was the only thing keeping it in place, she cried in pain and I saw Celestia’s face contort into a controlled panic, as she and Discord fought. I ignored their fight and quickly moved up to Luna to finish her. She crawled back tears streaming from her eyes and blood from her mouth, seeing that her end was near, and repeated, “Please don’t kill me. Please, I beg you!”

I looked at her the once proud warrior princess was now cowering before me begging to be spared, her tears mixing with her blood, as she begged for her life saying she would do anything if I spared her. I shed a tear inside my helmet. “If it means anything I gain no pleasure from killing you nor anyone else, but I made my choice, I want to go back home and it made us enemies, I’m sorry.” I was about to end Luna before a flash of light blinded me causing me to hit her shoulder instead of her heart, neck or head. She screamed in pain but was alive and when I was about to try again I felt myself turn to stone. I looked back at Celestia to see six gems hover around her, and Luna’s injured body sitting there looking at me in surprise was the last thing I saw before my vision went black.

***

I walked down the stairs and back to the throne room taking notice of the rain splashing down on some of the broken and exposed parts of the castle, as I heard thunder in the distance. I took off my helmet and held it to the side as I felt the wind blow through my short brown hair.

Over time I got used to being in the body of The Master Chief even knowing his ventures and skills as if they were my own. In a way I was two people combined possessing the memories of my actual life, and John’s life as a Spartan,in a way both sets of memories were my own.

I still kept my goal in mind, to get back to my original reality with my original body. but first I had to find someone who could. I pondered on who that could be as Discord was still imprisoned in stone. I filed that thought away for later, I put my helmet back on and looked for some kind of bedroom if one still existed.

The hallways were decorated by banners and torches lit with a blue flame that according to my armor gave off no heat. Eventually I stumbled across a room with a crescent moon on the silver gilded door. Opening it I saw that the room was sparsely decorated in midnight blue and silver, I almost automaticly could tell it was Luna’s quarters from so long ago. The memory of the time I almost killed her still fresh in my head. I opted to look around the room I was about to sleep in, I could see the walls were most extravagantly decorated, figures of the moon and all its phases were carved into silver squares and lined the walls along with murals to deeds that Luna herself had done.

I walked over to a simple wooden desk that sat alone in a corner of the room to the far right of the door. On it was an old and dusty journal, I left it alone and sat in on the edge of the bed, dust jumped up in response. “Well here I am, so what next?” I knew that I didn’t have anywhere to be or anything to do but to look around the forest and check if there were any sources of food were, as I already knew that the water in the ravine was safe to drink.

I put the goal in mind and walked out of the aged castle, marked it on my hud and walked down the hill behind it to river to find that to my fortune there were. Fish, rabbits, birds and other sources of meat, along with some fruit bearing bushes with sourberries, they were red and roughly textured fruit that was true to it’s name sour as hell and half the size of a small apple, but ten of them were usually decently satisfying. I walked around the ravine and looked for caves, burrows and other places I could find animals and if necessary hide in.

Once I found five within the half kilometer that I explored I called it good and went to the edge of the forest and found the sun setting, casting an orange glow on the sky and ground. I remembered I hadn’t ate and even remembered where I saw an apple orchard on the way here. I jogged towards it while I kept to the forests edge. Upon arrival I took five apples off of five different trees and made the walk back to the castle noting my path for later. It was an half hour walk back to the castle where I sat back down on Luna’s bed took off my helmet and ate the apples I stole.

Author's Note

Well guys another chapter, and now to work on my other story hope you enjoy.

Please leave questions, comments, corrections, ideas and concerns below