HALO: The New World

Chapters

Chapter 1: Operation Egghead
Chapter 2: A Trip Down Memory Lane
Chapter 3: Allies In the Strangest Places
Chapter 4: Redemption
Chapter 5: On The Blood Of Our Fathers
Chapter 6: On The Blood Of Our Sons
Chapter 7: Mind, Body, And Soul
Chapter 8: Reclaimer
Chapter 9: Gateway
Chapter 10: Recollection
Chapter 11: Execute Command

Chapter 1: Operation Egghead

A voice spoke over my comms, indicating that Fireteam Crimson was wanted down at the hangar. I lifted myself past the chin-up bar one last time, before dropping down the five feet to the floor. I might have augmentations, but that was no excuse to not exercise.

As I walked down one of the many halls, I admired the view of space through the windows. The UNSC Infinity was a huge warship, but it could be scenic. Once I reached the hangar, or at least one of them, technicians immediately led me to the area where we had our armor put on via machine. This never happened, so the situation must be pretty bad. Had the Covenant come back? That was impossible, it was broken up at least a year ago.

I didn’t have time to ask about it, because as soon as I was suited up I was called over near a squad of Pelicans. Fireteam Majestic was there, as well as some others that I didn’t know. Then I noticed who we were gathered around: Commander Palmer. Her helmet was in her hand, as she strode back and forth, waiting for the rest to arrive.

As soon as I came, she stopped pacing and told us our mission. There was an unknown planet below us, and we were being sent down to investigate. I was to be sent to a zone known as “The Cauldron,” and I was supposed to grab a present for the eggheads back on board. The fact that I was only one Spartan, sent after a science artifact, made the others grumble. Commander Palmer cut that off at the head, stating that they’d have their fair share of fighting.

All I did was nod as I received my orders, then climbed into the passenger seat of the Pelican gunship that I was to be in. The pilot climbed into their seat, strapped in, and we took off for the planet below.

I dropped out a good ten meters above the ground, due to my drop zone being a small canyon, and the Pelican was just too big to fit. I landed with crouched knees, a quarter of my shields left, and my Battle Rifle and Magnum with me.

I waited a few seconds for my shields to charge, then exited the canyon. What greeted me was metal. Lots and lots of metal. A shimmering gray stretched before me, rising in geometric shapes, with reddish orange sections glowing with an inner heat. The sight was absolutely beautiful. I was standing before a massive structure, apparently in its courtyard. Ramps led to my left and right, rising up with corridors down below them.

“Crimson, do you read me. I’m placing a NAV marker on your HUD now, that’s your objective. Grab it, call for evac, and get out. Eliminate any hostiles.” Commander Palmer said through my comms. ‘Hostiles?’ Was all I thought, as the transmission ended. ‘I don’t think I’ll find any...’

No sooner did I think that, than red dots started appearing on my motion tracker. They were blocking the path between me and my objective, so I figured they were protecting it. The question was, what exactly was ‘it’...

The answer to that had to wait, because a strange sound was heard. It sounded like gunfire, but more electronic and computerized than like good, old bullets. I felt impacts on my shields, and snapped out of my reverie. The shots were a glowing orange, and were definitely solid, but were light. Literally, light.

I dodged a second later, only to come face to face with my attacker. It looked like a canine, but was made out of the same metal as the structure, and had more of the orange light for joints, eyes, and mouth. It was much more angular, as well. The glowing spines coming out of its back were enough to set me off, they looked eerily similar to those of a Hunter.

I had bad memories of Hunters, having lost my squad to them on earlier missions. Once more I was running through dark streets, firing my rifle, only to watch in horror as my comrades were engulfed in a raging green inferno. Hulking monsters roared, rampaging through the battle, slicing men in half with their shields. And our bullets simply bounced, the only weak spot was the back, and even thinking of attempting to get behind the Hunters was suicide. A massive helmeted face flashed before me, and I brought my elbow down hard in an attempt to buy time. The memory faded, and revealed the metal dog, which was shaking its head, before sprinting at me.

Its guns had already lowered my shields quite a bit, and I figured that being hit full force would cause damage to my being. I thruster packed up and over it, confusing it long enough to nearly assassinate it. It sensed what I was doing, and whirled around only to get stabbed in the face with a combat knife. Its glowing joints exploded, flinging metal pieces around, and leaving a strange, silvery gun.

Spartans were encouraged to pick up new technology in the field, so I grabbed the ovoid weapon and attached it to my back via magnets. I wondered why it too, was the same metal as the building I was at, like the creature, which I dubbed the Crawler. It made sense that it was defending something, but it couldn’t be the structure. It was clearly between me and my objective, so it must have definitely been important.

Twenty Crawlers later, after which I named my first one an Alpha because it was rarer than the others, which lacked spines, I made it to my objective. The NAV marker vanished, leaving a blue diamond in it’s place, signifying I had to remain there. I found a control panel nearby, which was holographic. It seemed familiar, and reminded me of the stories of the Master Chief’s adventures on the Halo ring. He had encountered panels like this, which were said to be instinctual.

I immediately understood that feeling, and touched two fingers to a certain point on the panel. The glass-like ground beneath the objective diamond slid apart, and a large, rectangular object slowly rose out. as soon as I did this, more Crawlers started coming after me, along with new, large bipedal creatures that seemed insectoid, with large light swords on their left arms and guns on their right.

These new hostiles were much larger than the Crawlers, and therefore more dangerous. Before I could make a move, one with an angled helmet with glowing markings seemed to fold into itself, before vanishing in a small blue orb. I had no time to contemplate this, as I heard an electronic hiss from behind me. I saw the same biped, but I noticed that it had a machete-style sword, and a massive cannon. It knocked me onto my back with a single blow from the flat of its blade, and its helmet folded back, revealing a shining, orange skull with black pits where the eyes would be.

The skull was eerily human, and seemed to be grinning, but then it let out a grating roar that was most definitely not human. It folded into itself again, leaving me to stumble to my feet. I turned around, to see it in front of the rest of the hostiles. Its helmet was back, leaving me strangely relieved. The skull had unnerved me, and that scared me. Spartans shouldn’t feel creeped out, but that monster scared the living shit out of me. I heard what could only be described as a vortex, and saw a violet portal to my side. It had purple edges, which swirled like smoke into a black center.

Looking from monster to portal, I couldn’t decide what to do. The biped chose for me, firing it’s massive cannon. I immediately called for the Pelican, and dodged by the orange orbs that were shot at me. They moved relatively slow, with one large center one and four others, with one pair moving left and right, mirroring each other, with the other pair doing the same but at a 90 degree angle.

I reacted on instinct as it fired again, diving into the portal. I felt extreme disorientation, as if I were in a HEV dropped into a hurricane, then nothing.

When I came to, I was in a forest. A very, very dark forest. The area around me was scorched black, centered around me. The portal was nowhere in sight, so I figured it must have ruptured. Training kicked in, and I called my comms for the Infinity. Static.

I tried again, and again, and again, receiving hisses, crackles, and pops every time. I gave up, and examined my surroundings. The grass was long and and flattened where I had lain, while the rest was bent away and still smoldering. There was a clearing up ahead, but I couldn’t tell for sure with just my helmets zoom function. I had to go there.

I crouched and snuck towards the clearing, because I didn’t know if there were going to be any hostiles. I named the bipeds Knights as I stole across the ground, due to the large blades they had. I didn’t want to face another one as long as I lived, at least until I had some therapy. And proof that it was real. I didn’t have my helmet cam active, so I had no video footage.

I reached the clearing, and found a dirt path. I had found the end of it, it appeared, with the path to my right completely covered with weeds and a patch of blue flowers. The flora just seemed sinister, as if it was grinning evilly at my predicament. I went along the left, and found the edge of the forest. The plains before me contrasted heavily with the forest, as light radiated onto the lush, green grass. Rolling hills hid everything else, so I followed the path between. It was all I had to go on, until I could call for evac.

I had no idea how long I spent walking, but I encountered a town as the day neared dusk. My chronometer showed that it had been about noon when I arrived here, and I had travelled for six hours. Extrapolating from that, I guessed the days here were the same as a 24 hour Earth day.

I had fond memories of my homeworld, especially of the beautiful city named New Mombasa. I had shed many tears upon hearing of its fall, and signed up for the UNSC. I quickly proved myself, and joined the ODSTs, before joining the Spartan IV program. I had little time to reminisce, because I was almost at the edge of the town.

Cobble roads lay before me, with wood and plaster houses to my sides. Thatched roofs and medieval-style architecture showed that this place was likely primitive with technology, and probably the same went for the residents.

Speaking of which, I couldn’t see any. The streets were empty, the market stalls I saw creaked in the low wind, and all the windows were shuttered. The only light came from the moon which started to rise, and lights shining from… A tree.

There was a massive oak tree, which was apparently hollowed out and converted to housing. A sign outside said Golden Oaks Library, and I heard the sounds of… Was that a party?

There was definitely some form of festivity going on, but I couldn’t tell without entering. I had a few seconds to think, as I heard the sound of steps coming to the door. I decided to hide, and sprinted halfway around the tree at half speed, which was a mere 30 kilometers an hour. Activating my helmet cam to capture video footage of the population, I snuck behind a bush and recorded.

What met my eyes-and camera lens-startled me. I swore I was hallucinating, that this was all a bad dream, a really fucking bad dream, but it was real. I was watching a bunch of Technicolor ponies walk out of an open door, with a lavender one waving its hoof goodbye. Then I noticed that some had horns, others had wings, and some had none.

“What the fuck?” I muttered, as the lavender unicorns horn glowed purple, and the door was enveloped in the same glow, shutting behind it. Suddenly, my motion tracker indicated an unknown right behind me, giving me a heart attack.

Whirling around, there was a bouncing, pink pony with a ridiculously curly mane and tail in front of me. On the sides of its ass were three balloons, and the image was completely symmetrical on both the left and right. When it saw my angled helmet with white slits whip around to see it, the pony jumped three feet in the fucking air, gasping impossibly hard, before darting through the doorway to the tree.

“That can’t be good. Especially for a first contact, because these things are definitely sentient. Impossible, and straight out of a fairy tale, but definitely sentient.” I stated, before turning off the helmet cam and saving the footage. “I hope to God that ONI doesn’t come after me about this.”

My worried musing was interrupted, as a golden glow bathed the immediate area, and I was knocked unconscious...

Chapter 2: A Trip Down Memory Lane

I woke up lying down yet again, but not in a forest this time. I was on a marble floor, polished so smooth that it looked like glass. I was bound, but not by any conventional means. My armor was held in an aura similar to the one I saw the lavender unicorn emit, but this one was a beautiful gold, like the rays of the sun.

My world spun around me. I thought it was my body trying to make sense of where I was, but I found myself facing up towards a huge, vaulted ceiling. And as my head was forced to gaze upwards, a white face came into view. It seemed to me like the face of a goddess, for lack of any better description. Pure white fur, deep purple eyes, a gold crown, and a pastel colored mane that flowed in the air. It was the face of a mother and a ruler, and I could not look away.

I noticed something else there as well. Grim curiosity, as if I were an undiscovered species that just cried for vivisection. I did not like that look, and even less so when I saw the long, spiraled horn protruding from her forehead. It was glowing the same gold as the aura that held me, and I knew that I was helpless. My mind flashed to earlier times, and once more I heard the screams of my fellow Marines. Held in Covenant prison cells, one by one Elites would come and take one of us, and the cries of terror and pain lasted for hours. Then they would come back, dragging the mutilated bodies of my friends. I could not look away then, as the sheer violence and brutality of the moment hit me like the waves of a hurricane, upon a fragile raft of wood. The vision ended, as I was suddenly dropped to the cold, unforgiving floor.

I sat up, terrified. I had locked those memories away for good reason, and the absolute pressure to reveal them was horrifying. I did not want to remember why I wanted revenge, but I still kept that rage bottled up for when I saw my old enemies again. I wanted, no, needed to make them pay for all they had done to my men. I would never forget the lives of the men I lost, but I did wish to forget how they had gone. No remains to even be boxed and sent to their waiting friends and families, missions of such high classification that they would never even know their closest companions had left this domain…

I shook my head, now was not the time to think of this. I was in enemy territory, captured by beings of more power than the Covenant spoke of about the Forerunners, and I never even thought about my weapons. My weapons… Aha!

The goddess may have taken me, but never realised the danger of leaving a Spartan with his or her guns. Before I could even reach for my Magnum, I was held in that golden glow once more. Then the goddess spoke, in a commanding and motherly tone, “What are you?”

I was stunned. The being before me spoke perfect English, and I didn’t even have my translators active. Did this deity before me wring information out of my prone body, as I lay unconscious? I had no way of telling, until she spoke once more.

“I heard you cry out when you were held. Explain to me, what are you, and what is the Covenant?”

No. I would not relive those times again. I could not. The memories were too harsh, I could not survive them again and retain my sanity. “No. I will not give information to the enemy. I have no memory of you, or your kind, now release me.” I surprised myself with the confidence in my voice, but it was all for naught.

“Then I am sorry to say this, but I will have to learn by force. Twilight, come here. You should see this as well.” The goddess spoke, signaling with a wing towards the lavender unicorn from earlier. Only now did I notice the wings, regal appendages of massive proportions.

The unicorn’s horn lit up with her respective aura, as did the goddess’s, and they touched their horns to the fore of my helmet. I could not move to stop them, and I felt terror like I never felt before. I was a caged animal, waiting for the beating that was sure to come.

I thought no more on that, as images stretched to an indefinable horizon in my mind, before settling on a single scene. It was my first mission as a Marine, and I was deployed with my squad to New Venezuela. The mission was dubbed TREBUCHET, and we were to take down select known terrorists. I felt as though I were doing good for the rest of mankind, but I knew deep in my heart I was not. I truly felt so when I shot my first terrorist, a man no older than thirty. I had shot him with my Assault Rifle, leaving twenty oozing, bloody holes in his chest. As he lay there, gurgling with his last breaths, I broke down crying. I had killed another man, and the guilt was unbearable. He had also been the target for my squad, and we were pulled out. Later I learned that the city I was at had been nuked, killing tens of millions of civilians. I shed no tears then, the body count was too high for me to comprehend.

The images in my mind stretched again, snapping onto another scene. My second drop as an ODST, launched from orbit and falling through atmosphere. Ceramic coating peeling away from a steel alloy skeleton, I felt nothing but pure, unbridled adrenaline, and it was glorious. The Covenant had been encountered, and Harvest had been retaken. That single victory was not enough, as the Covenant pushed deeper and deeper into the Outer Colonies, glassing all opposition along the way. The UNSC secured many victories on the ground, only to have the massive, purple behemoths shunt through the atmosphere and fire boiling plasma onto the surface. I landed, and jumped out into a storm of lead, plasma, and pink crystals. I had no distinction of friend or foe, except for glowing green outlines on friendlies and red signifying hostiles, thanks to my VISR function. I fired, and fired again, with red figures dropping left and right. My ammo counter clicked zero, and I switched from my Assault Rifle to my Magnum. I continued forward, heedless of the incoming fire.

Another jump ahead in my memories. I was getting my augmentations for a Spartan IV, and my nerves burned as if from a cursed inferno. The pain raged endlessly, accompanied with the crackling of glass as a ceramic layer started forming on my bones, making them nigh unbreakable. My muscles were torn asunder, only to rebuild bigger and stronger than before. I could not help it, I could hardly contain my screams of agony, but I had to, else the entire process would halt, and I would be sent back home in shame. I could not, would not, fail my fellow soldiers. I gritted my teeth, seething at my own helplessness.

Another stretch into infinity, then a new memory. I could not help the continual advance through my mind, every barrier I had made was torn down faster than orbital glassing could melt the ground. I then felt nothing but sorrow, as the invaders came upon my memories of the destruction of New Mombasa. My home. A video came up, slightly staticy from the quality of a home video. It showed a normal apartment in a skyscraper, which translated to cramped. A tall, white man with stubble on his chin and glasses stepped back, shot black hair stiff in position, after adjusting the camera. He smiled, and sat down next to a white woman, who had reddish, curly hair, and glasses. They both smiled at the camera, then a heavy knocking came on the door. The man, my father, stood up and went to answer it, only to be dragged out by a fleshy, tan tentacle. My mother shrieked, before being silenced by another tentacle. My father stumbled back in the room, battling a strange, slimy pod with tentacles ending in red ovoids. He lost the battle, and it slipped a neural penetrator through his neck and tapped into his spine, just as another took my mom.

This video didn’t fast forward, to my horror. As my parents turned in seconds from normal, average humans to mutated monsters, I sobbed in my mind. I had lost my family to the Flood, and had the images of their pain, their horror, burned into my mind. I would never forget that video, only keep it locked up tight. I did not want to relive those moments, yet I was forced to. The sheer brutality of that which I was forced to go through, all because of these damned ponies, made me rage. I tore at my mental prison, wishing to be anywhere but here, remembering that which I did not want to see again.

The flashbacks ended, revealing a painful world. The goddess and the unicorn sat on their rears, unspeakable sadness and horror etched on their faces. I found myself curled up into a fetal ball in the corner of the vast hall, shivering in my armor. The Knight has terrified me, but these creatures, these monsters, scarred me forever. My mind had that look of grim curiosity forever paired with the worst torture man could possibly endure, and I wished them GONE. Then the deity stood on slender legs, and strode towards me. I could not help it, I instinctively tried backing farther into the corner. The goddess stopped, confused by my actions, then I gazed as the look of revelation crossed her face. She realized what she had done, what she put me through, and it horrified her. I saw it as clear as day, and it gave me a perverse pleasure. She knew what she had done, knew what hell I had gone through, and I was glad that she understood. I took that time to stumble to my feet, then bolted out of the palace as best as I could, tearing holes in doors just to escape.

I ran on and on, hour after hour, finding myself back where I had arrived in this god-forsaken hell-hole. I ended my flight there, and raged against the trees. I raved and ranted, screaming with unbridled terror and anger at the torture and suffering I had felt during the time my mind was torn apart. I lost my sanity for a time, and regained it later to find myself lying where I had lain when I first came. The trees about me lay torn and splintered, where my fists had punched through century-old wood, leaving a large radius of about twenty feet cleared of arboreal matter. I did not understand this world, but I knew that I must not stay. I did not wish for my enemies to come here, but neither did I wish to simply leave them without saying anything. The look of horror upon the face of the goddess, was satisfying, but did the lavender unicorn understand? I never knew, for she had simply lain there, tears streaming down her face, the only sign of emotion. Whether they were tears of anger or sadness, I could not tell, for the only kind I knew were tears of hatred, the crying of fluorescent blood pouring out from bullet holes in the countless Elites I had slain.

A golden glow bathed the area once again, but I remained awake this time. I saw the goddess standing there, looking for me, but I had vanished into the depths of the forest, fleeing from the living terror in the form of a pony with wings and horn, the only sign of my passing being the scorch marks from my thruster pack, and the smashed foliage at my passing.

On and on I ran, heedless of the vines that reached for my fleeing form, heedless of the sinister blue flowers that grew in patches, heedless of the mythological creatures that took anger at my presence, heedless of any life form, until I found myself in a cave, glowing with the vast amount of gems inside. I thought myself safe, only to hear a bone-rattling roar, more chilling than the throaty bellow of a Hunter, more fear-inducing than the sound of plasma preparing to lance down at a city. I heard the roar of what could only be described as that of a dragon.

Chapter 3: Allies In the Strangest Places

The walls of the cavern shook with the sheer power of the roar, causing rocks to fall and ping off my shields. Massive footsteps crushed stone, thundering closer and closer to my back. I whirled around, and saw a gargantuan dragon before me. A thin, angular snout, diamond eyes, twisted horns, glimmering red scales, and a lot of teeth.

I could not move, it was as if the monster was staring into my soul, commanding me to stay in position. The beast reared its head back, drew a breath, and spewed flames upon me. I was mesmerized, as the ruby and garnet colored fire swirled around me, dropping my shields precipitously. The breath of the dragon was strong, but I was confused. Surely a mythological creature would be stronger than a weak plasma blast?

It too was befuddled, shaking its great head as if to think this was all a dream, a feeling I knew too well. I used its momentary pause to my advantage, whipping my hand to my Battle Rifle and sighting the optical scope on the dragon’s shoulder. It tilted its head in bemusement at the small, metal object in my hands, before bellowing out in pain as a trio of armor penetration rounds tore through indestructible scales, exiting cleanly through the other side. That roar would surely attract more hostiles, so I booked it out of the cavern, leaving the fire-breathing monstrosity behind me. The creatures of this world were strange, and if here there be dragons, then here there be monsters.

I ran for approximately two kilometers, before stopping at a massive oak tree. I slid down its side, resting my head upon my knees. This place was worse than any warzone, worse than the Covenant, worse than the Flood, worse than losing my men. My mind was splitting at the seams, and I had no therapist to help. No Drill Sergeant to bawl orders out about me being a lily-livered coward who deserved to be feasted upon by maggots, no fellow soldiers to joke with me about commanding officers. I had no relief except for memories, and those were too harsh.

I had no choice, the only rest I had gotten was from being knocked out, and I fell into a deep slumber. I was a little boy again, playing outside in a field. I had a remote control helicopter in the air, and the remote in my hands. I gazed and laughed in wonder at the little machine, dancing with the wind and twirling its shining blades to stay aloft. Then I noticed a creature, that was not part of my childhood. It looked like the goddess from before, but this one was a deep, midnight blue, and its mane and tail looked like the night sky reflected upon a stream. It’s eyes bore a great sadness, watching my young self giggle at the antics of a toy. It then looked at me, somehow seeing the Spartan IV that used to be that little child. Then it spoke, in a tone that seemed soothing as waves lapping gently upon a shore, saying, “I am sorry for what we have done. There is a pony who may help, find her at the edge of the Everfree.”

I never expected one the monsters in this terrible place to try and help my clearly alien self, and was taken back by the flow of sympathy that came with her voice. I just knew it was a female, as a child knows it’s mother, as a worm knows the ground and a bird knows the sky. I felt a longing, just to help. I then awoke, remembering only those words she had spoken. I wanted, no, needed, to find the one the goddess of the night had told me of. It was an indescribably urge, like how a soldier feels the need to fight, for it is all he has known. I had kept my emotions hidden for too long, taking them out in my work upon my foes. I had never simply talked about them, and I feared the reaction. Despite my doubts, I stood up, picked a direction that seemed proper, and set off.

Minutes passed, feeling like days, as if time were a slug trying to escape the coming sun, and reach the cool safety of the grass. I walked, and walked more, an autonomous action for which I did not think about, simply did. I saw many strange sights as I traveled, including a moldy rope bridge that led to a crumbling castle, made of ivy-covered masonry and mildew covered tapestries. I saw more patches of those sinister blue flowers, cliffs that seemed to be hidden as normal paths, trees that looked like they bore faces for Halloween.

I knew not how long I walked, only that the sun was starting to rise when I reached the end of the forest, apparently called the Everfree. I saw a cottage, with… Animals. There were many animals gathered outside it, apparently taken care of by a single, butter colored pegasus with a bubblegum pink mane. They froze as I stepped out of the forest, startled by the appearance of a large, armored thing, that had no visible eyes except for white slits. Then the pegasus started moving again, whispering to the gathered ensemble, and flapped over to me. I had no idea how to react, for this pony did not act with fear or anger or shadowed interest, but with pure, distilled curiosity and empathy. It then spoke, so quietly I could not hear it. I knelt down, and it shrunk away, suddenly afraid.

This must be the one that the night deity spoke of, I realized, as the pony came forward again, and spoke slightly louder, enough so I could hear, “Hi there. I’m Fluttershy. Are you okay? You don’t look like any animals I know…”

Whoa, okay. The pony thought I was an animal, not a monster. I didn’t want to spook her, so I simply nodded my head, and waited. I didn’t know what to expect, but I certainly didn't expect to be dragged along, hand in hoof, towards the little cottage and gathering of animals. This pony confused me, and also scared me a little. I had no idea of what to do, what would happen, or anything, for that matter. This land was new to me, and I had a terrible start. I still feared the white goddess, and wanted revenge, but this little pony had a calming effect. She trotted into the cottage, myself in tow, and started fussing about. She poked and prodded, hoof bouncing off my shields, not noticing or not caring, questioning me about where I came from, my eating habits, if I was okay with other animals, if I was the only one of my kind or if there were others, and a torrent of other questions. She then remembered her other charges, and rushed from the building.

I had no fucking idea about what just happened. I had gone from terror of the ponies to animal that needed to be cared for, in who knows HOW much time. I slumped, mind slowly rebuilding itself after the strange interrogation. I heard a solid thwack, as something bounced off my shields. I looked to my right, where the impact originated, and saw the most disgruntled, disappointed, self-centered, and all together pissed-looking rabbit, large foot thumping the floor in a huff. The look in it’s eyes screamed, this is MY house. Get the fuck out. I was irritated, being insulted silently by a damn bunny, of all things. As it threw another carrot, I snatched it a split second before it impacted, and squeezed my fist. Juice came out and vanished on my shields, before I opened my hand and let the orange dust that had been a carrot float out of my palm.

The action spoke volumes, and the rabbit took note, quivering on its rubbery legs before hopping off. Now that I was no longer distracted, I detached my Battle Rifle, took it apart, and started cleaning it. I had found it to be calming, especially after a tough mission, to simply disassemble my weapons and start cleaning the metal constructs. It worked just as well in this world, full of the greatest terrors I could ever imagine. The butter pegasus had left the door open, so as soon as I finished polishing my gun, I attached it once more and strode from the cottage. The pegasus had helped, but not in a way that it could understand. I walked once more into the forest, which seemed to be my greatest refuge, despite all the challenges it threw at me. My mind was intact, I had my armor and my guns, I had a place that I knew I could go to, and I had a purpose: return to the place I knew was safe, the area where I had arrived in this god-forsaken hell.

It was always the walking. I had done it too often in this land, always traveling from destination to destination, legs pumping to extricate myself from a situation, breath coming in ragged gasps as I continued kilometer after kilometer. I had never travelled so much by foot, not in the UNSC Infinity or on any other mission. My legs burned, too much pressure forced onto the limbs, and my stamina was starting to falter. I came upon the clearing once again, and sat.

I had nothing to do but sit and think, ponder my situation which seemed to be absolute insanity. Was I really in a straightjacket, wrapped up nice and cozy in a padded room? Or was I really living this nightmare, and all of this was real? I stopped myself before my mind could shatter once more, I could not lose my sanity once more. It was what kept me with reality, if this was it. I sat, wondering about this situation. I sat, gazing ahead, at nothing yet everything. I sat, simply because I had to, and my body could not put up with anymore torment.

A purple flash. I was startled from my reverie, afraid of the torture that was sure to follow, my mind being torn apart as the beasts looked for answers once more. I stumbled backwards, as I caught sight of the lavender unicorn. The unicorn that had waved, and shut the door, before I was taken. The unicorn that had helped rip my mind apart at the seams. The unicorn from who I had no idea how it felt, what its purpose was, why it wanted me. I hit a tree with my back, and scrunched up away from the lavender terror. Then, what happened scared me more than anything. It bent it’s head low, tears falling from it’s eyes, as it said in the most solemn tone I could ever hear, “I’m sorry.”

The one who had helped the goddess of the day rend my sanity, was apologizing to me. It felt shame for what it had done. Why did it do so? What did it mean? Was this a setup for another trap, where my memories would be delved into once again? Was this all a ploy? The unicorn seemed to sense my thoughts, and lifted it’s head. I saw a look of pure sincerity and sorrow for it’s actions, and I was terrified. I could never harm those who forgave me. It was the reason why I never killed civilians, when I had fought Insurrectionists. I had always avoided killing the families I felt were those of the Covenant I had slain, so that I could feel some sense of pride, in not being a mindless murderer. The unicorn had struck a nerve, causing me to collapse into a nervous wreck.

I never noticed when the unicorn came forward, and touched my shoulder with its hoof. I was too busy sobbing, tears staining the inside of my helmet, as I mourned for all those I had lost, and the relief and terror that one of my torturers forgave me, and felt shame for its actions. I never noticed the embrace, as it rocked me back and forth, trying to calm me down. I never noticed, I never cared, and I only cried.

And cried.

Chapter 4: Redemption

I finally stopped crying after a good half hour, embarrassed that I had broken down mentally, once again. As I ended my constant rocking back and forth, I asked a single question that I feared the answer to, “Why?”

I knew not why she had tortured me and then come to comfort me, but she had helped calm me down, and the look of pure sadness on her face showed the sincerity of her sorrow. Her reply was, “Because I can. I can’t bear to see anypony cry, and I saw what you’ve gone through. You need a friend, not a fight.” I was shocked at this answer, and as I contemplated it, I realized she was right. I had pent up these emotions so long, that I had no one to confide in, and desperately needed one. I stood up, nodded in response, and we walked towards the town.

The lavender unicorn and I had nearly reached the entrance to the town, when I picked up a blip on my motion tracker. Seeing it was moving fast, very fast, and towards me, I sidestepped at the last second and activated my helmet cam.

What I saw was only a rainbow streak, that blasted by me and ploughed deep into the soil, bouncing comically with multiple oofs and aghs. My helmet cam barely managed to record it, before I turned it off to review later. I walked to the newcomer, who had finally ended it’s tumble a good twenty yards ahead.

-------------------- Twilights POV --------------------

I was startled when I saw the alien- no, the human- step to the side, before seeing Rainbow Dash blast by, apparently trying to attack the human. I stared as she argued with gravity, before finally conceding the fight and slumping to the ground a good distance away. I shook my head, before walking over to the pegasus.

I hoped she wasn’t hurt badly, because then she would start telling stories of how the alien had beat her up, if her pride would allow it. This would then cause a panic, the town would freak out, Mayor Mare would send for the royal guards, the human would get arrested, and possibly executed for attacking a pony, and the mental list of bad things that could happen grew on and on, before the human stepped forward to Rainbow Dash.

-------------------- Crimson’s POV --------------------

The unicorn seemed to recognize the attacker, and started to hyperventilate. I could hear the gears in her head turning, as she probably went through every possible ending to what just happened. I shook my head, for I had learned that worrying was useless in this world, and walked towards the ‘assailant.’ It was a pegasus, with a sky blue coat and a ridiculous rainbow mane and tail, covered in bruises and wearing the most preposterous look of disappointment on it’s face. I couldn’t help but laugh, before it suddenly whipped around, got in my face, and it’s eye seemed to bulge forward with suspicion and accusation.

“What’re you doing here? Why’re you holding Twilight hostage? Give me answers, buddy, or I’ll beat ‘em outta you!” She burst out, with a tomboyish voice. She was clearly a female, but spoke like a girl trying ridiculously hard to be a guy. Then a hoof swung out and hit my shields, snapping me out of my thoughts. I glared at the pegasus, and it seemed to feel my gaze through my helmet. Then the unicorn came towards us, lit her horn up, and we were picked up and set ten feet away from each other, as she started lecturing the pegasus, named Rainbow Dash, on attacking new ponies. I could only shake my head in amazement, both at the audacity of the pegasus and at the lecture.

It was apparently the wrong move, because then the unicorn, named Twilight Sparkle, turned to me and started on me. I was nowhere near prepared for the sudden onslaught of words, as she chewed me out for not paying attention and sniggering at science. I peeked at Rainbow Dash, who had a contemptful smirk on her face, as she watched the unicorn give me the verbal lashing of a lifetime. That was saying something, because Drill Sergeants can scare even a Spartan into behavior.

A good fifteen minutes later, she seemed to finish up, and told the pegasus to apologize to me. Rainbow Dash looked mortified, before mumbling, “‘M sorry for attacking you.” Then, under her breath, I picked up the words wimp and I’ll be keeping an eye on you. I merely nodded, before replying, “Apology accepted, and next time speak up before calling a Spartan a wimp. I’m fine with you keeping an eye on me, it’ll mean someone is actually going to watch for suspicious behavior. And it sure as hell won’t be me.”

That scared the crap out of her, and I smirked under my visor. I would enjoy those looks of surprise for a long time, if all these ponies were this cartoonish. We continued to the town, and went to the Golden Oaks Library.

-------------------- Twilight’s POV --------------------

I was surprised at the Spartan’s actions, because I hadn’t even heard what Rainbow Dash had said. I had learned something new about this human, that he was a Spartan, and I was excited to know more. But swearing in front of my friends was a shock to me, and apparently even more so to Rainbow Dash, seeing her jaw drop and eyes widen. It was rare that somepony could do that to her, and I was amazed at the ease with which the Spartan did it. We came to the library, and I immediately started questioning the Spartan on his name, what he did, why he was fighting, and a slew of other questions. There was just so much to learn, and I wanted to know all I could. I could hardly wait to start the research papers and experiments, to learn more about his biology and psychology and physiology and absolutely everything!

-------------------- Crimson’s POV --------------------

We entered the living tree home, and I had barely sat down on a couch that was way too small for me before I was flooded with questions. I couldn’t even answer one before five more took it’s place, and I had no choice but be carried away on the raging rapids of her curiosity. I never heard Twilight take a single breath, and I saw her face turn red, before I said -at half volume- “TWILIGHT!”

My outburst caught her in the middle of a question- as if it could happen any other time- and she sat down on her haunches, gasping for breath. I did not want to get trapped in another lecture, so I handed her a personal datapad I kept on me for entertainment when not on a mission. “Use this, it’s a datapad. Ask it a question, and it’ll bring up a page with an answer. But go slow, and take breaths, otherwise it may self-destruct from hopelessness. It contains a dumb AI, which CAN be overloaded. Okay?”

She nodded, but then a look of horror crossed her face, at the thought of losing either a fountain of information or the death of a creature. I had to cut that off at the pass, before she started believing that there WAS a little creature in there, “By dumb I mean it does not think. Not like we do, but more like… An ant colony. It follows instructions, has no feelings that can be hurt, but it can think to an extent. Just… Try and be careful.”

Another nod, and she started with a basic question, one I was shocked by, “What is Crimson’s real name?” The datapad blinked a light, before pulling up my service records, but not the stuff that was blotted out by the UNSC. As Twilight scrolled through the information, I watched her jaw slowly fall towards the ground, her eyes widen to the size of dinner plates, and a look of… Was that awe? I cared about my service record because it stated my rank, my kills, my successful War Games matches, my lost War Games matches, and my total successful missions.

Then she looked up at me, before saying, “I forgive you, Alec. I forgive you for what you’ve done. I can only hope you feel the same way to me.” Then she turned back to the datapad, leaving me amazed. I had never expected her to do this, but it had been done. I felt a sense of hope, one I had hardly felt since coming to this world, and a sense of relief. I hoped that the goddess of the sun felt the same way, and that we could both redeem ourselves from our actions. I felt exhaustion, too, for I had gotten little in the way of true sleep for a few days, and I nodded off.

It had been a day since I had come to the library with Twilight Sparkle, and I had slept for most of it. I stood up and stretched, hearing the luxurious cracking that sounded so much like a Magnum firing a round. I looked for Twilight, before hearing the words “Go ahead and send it, Spike,” and a fwoosh of flame, before Twilight came down a stairwell. She looked relieved that there were no bullet holes anywhere, just me standing, fully awake. I wondered what had happened, before a flash of golden light appeared, one that I would always recognize, and the goddess of the sun stood before me. Twilight bowed to her, but I stood stock still, tense and waiting for the torture that I felt was to come. When nothing happened, I relaxed, before finding myself under a beautiful, huge white wing, being comforted by the deity. I could not understand this, and I never will, but she said, “I’m sorry. Will you accept my friendship?”

I was startled by this. The avatar of this planet’s sun was asking to be my friend, and had apologized to boot! What had happened to cause such a thing? My question was answered, as the goddess stood and said to Twilight, “Thank you for the letter, my faithful student. I am glad you have learned so much, and have helped calm the hu- *ahem* Alec, down. I had hoped that this grave mistake of mine could be fixed, and it appears you have solved it. Thank you.” I stared, as Twilight suddenly, tensed up, and then fainted. Apparently not used to praise, I guess. Then the goddess turned to me, before smirking and dumping a bucket of cold water on Twilight’s head. I had no idea where it came from, but the look of shock on her face was priceless, so I snapped a picture with my helmet. The goddess pointed innocently with a hoof at me, as if to say, he did it. I never expected a deity to have a sense of humor, and this was a pleasant surprise.

I shrugged, as if to say, I may or may not have done it. The world may never know, and waited. Instead of anger, the reaction was amusement, and shocked the goddess and myself significantly. After a bout of introductions and explanations, in which I stayed completely silent, I learned that the goddess of the sun was named Celestia- no surprise there- and was one of the two ruling princesses of Equestria. Celestia then turned to me, apparently with a mission.

She said, “Alec, I read in my student’s letter that you are a soldier. I have received word from my guards that there is trouble brewing from the Griffins and the Diamond Dogs, and there has already been casualties. I can’t fight directly, but I can’t lose any of my little ponies.” I snickered at that, the ridiculousness of the terms here was boundless. I had resigned myself to horse puns earlier, but this was too rich. “I would like you to fight in the name of Equestria, and I offer you a position as a Royal Guard. I will try and find a way to get you back to your species, if you will help us.”

A proposition? It sounded fair, and it would help get me back to the Infinity, so I agreed. Besides, she never stated what would happen if I refused, and I didn’t plan to find out. And it would just be a walk in the park, right?

Right?

Chapter 5: On The Blood Of Our Fathers

I found it hard to believe that the ponies had accepted me so quickly. Sure, I still got angry glares and some ponies would run in the opposite direction screaming, but they took my presence surprisingly well. Well, if you don’t take into account my first contact with them. The pegasus named Rainbow Dash still kept glaring at me, but I got used to it very, very quickly. I’d gotten worse when I was just a Marine. When I was active in Operation TREBUCHET, the Innies (as us friendly Marines took to calling the Insurrectionists) would give us the most hate-filled gazes before blowing up a squadmate with an explosive tire. True story right there, it happened to Sergeant Avery Johnson. I was one of the few to catch wind of that botched mission.

Memories aside, I was still standing to attention, waiting for the goddess Celestia to come back with orders for my mission. Missions were good, they kept my mind off of… NO! I’m NOT going to think about that! Off of things. It was also exhilarating, having the adrenaline rush through my veins, seeing the world move slowly around me.

I had gotten my orders, finally. These ponies sure as hell weren’t the UNSC, but they had a stoic military. The guards didn’t even blink as my steps left dents in the polished marble of the castle floor. I was taken to a chariot, where I was supposed to stand as a pair of guards pulled me and the “Elements of Harmony” to the objective. I took one look, and stayed where I was. When the “Elements” noticed I wasn’t with them, I simply shook my head as I stated, “I step on there, everyone falls. And possibly through more than one floor.”

Blank stares, and a timid one from the butter pegasus. I shook my head again, and elaborated, “I weigh almost a ton. I’m surprised that I haven’t fallen through any floors.”

They shrugged, and took off. “Oh, COME ON! You could at least tell me which direction we’re going!”

Again with the running. This time I had a higher reserve of stamina, thanks to a good rest and the thought of a mission. I used my thruster pack sparingly, because it was good for dodging weapons fire, not blazing a marathon. I kept up with the sky chariot easily, not even breaking a sweat, unlike my earlier sprints in this hell-hole. I still hated this place, but I needed to get back to the Infinity as fast as I could, and if it meant helping these cartoons, then I’d do it.

Six hours later, we arrived at our destination. The guards who pulled the sky chariot were panting, and only the pink abomination of a pony was still awake. I couldn’t understand why, until I saw it produce a cupcake out of thin air and devour it. There was a large building up ahead, and it appeared to be the objective. I mean, what else could it be if it had dead griffons and ponies strewn over the walls? A pretty sight, but it didn’t have the homey touch of a Spartan. The Elements were visibly sick, after they woke up, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. This was a baby shower to a Spartan, but we don’t run around murdering at baby showers. THAT would be awful.

There was a large oak door as the entrance, and it was locked… From the inside. Before the ponies could start freaking out, I backed up and then kicked the door down, crushing a griffon who was drinking… Coffee?! THEY HAVE FUCKING COFFEE?! Shit, it spilled. Along with the griffon’s guts. Ugh, what a waste of mocha.

The Elements lost their lunches (again), and I simply walked along.

Only five minutes in, I encountered something weird. There was a group of dead pony guards, but there was no sign of a blade that the inhabitants of this planet used. Instead, there were… Oh dear, sweet God above… Plasma stab wounds. The ponies noticed my reaction as I stumbled backward, then became worried when I pulled out my Battle Rifle and started sweeping the area. If those were actual plasma injuries, then it would mean that there were more hostiles here. And the Covenant was gone, but I’d overheard about something called the Storm Covenant, led by an Elite named Jul ‘Mdama.

This was not good. Definitely not good. I found the room clear, and we continued forward. After busting down two more doors, there was a sudden shift in design. The walls went from stone to the shimmery gray metal from the Cauldron, and were much more angled. There was a terminal to my side, and I was overcome with curiosity. This place was clearly Forerunner, so maybe the terminal held valuable information.

-------------------- Terminal Log --------------------

“Chief, sorry about that. Wrong coordinates. Give me some time to get a portal to the right place.”

“Cortana, we don’t have time. There are Crawlers inbound!”

“Then MAKE time! I’m doing my job, you do yours!”

Video footage is added, showing the Master Chief backed up against the terminal, with Crawlers coming in for the kill. Firing an Assault Rifle, he kills Promothean after Promothean, but more keep coming.

“Almost done… Got it, Chief! I’ll meet you on the other side!”

The Master Chief sprints through a portal with violet edges, which swirled into a black center, and then the portal closes. The Crawlers scrambled, looking for their prey, before slinking back into the building.

-------------------- Crimson’s POV --------------------

I was stunned. The Master Chief and Cortana had been here, and had escaped. If they had an exit, then so did I. I did the Spartan equivalent of jumping for joy, and gave the customary Spartan “smile”, two fingers in a curve in front of my visor.

The ponies were just confused. They had no idea what had happened, and I didn’t want to explain. Luckily, I didn’t have to. I heard the distinct sound of armored Sangheili feet on the floor, and whirled around to face… An Elite Major. Red armor, Energy Sword, and a Storm Rifle at his side. He held his Energy Sword ready to kill, presumably so he could be promoted for killing a demon. It wasn’t to be, because I kicked him in the chest.

No one should go hand to hand combat with and Elite, but I had no choice. He doubled over, coughing, before straightening and tossing me a spare blade. Apparently he felt that a sword fight would give more honor. At least he didn’t just slice my head off.

We circled each other, looking for an opening. I was glad that I had CQC training, otherwise I would have been fucked by his blade. He charged me, only so I could sidestep and duck, bringing my Energy Sword at his chest. It smashed his shields, but he managed to avoid the fatal lunge and whacked the back of my head with the flat of his weapon. It knocked out half my shields, and his started regenerating. That would be a problem, because not only would he have lots of combat experience as a Major, but he’d have stronger shields.

I stampeded towards him, bringing my blade to the front of my head like a horn. Right before he could dodge, I thruster packed into him, impaling his abdomen upon my blade of plasma. As he howled in pain and rage, I swung him off and onto his back, with him facing up to me. I crouched over him and prepared to bring my blade down, but the damned ponies distracted us both.

“WAIT! Don’t kill it! I’m sure it’s just scared!” Cried out Twilight, drawing my eyes and those of the Elite to the lavender unicorn. He then spat at her, a large glob of saliva escaping his helmet and spattering into Twilight’s face. I couldn’t help but laugh, which nearly cost my life.

The Major used his large legs to fling my onto my back, and he prepared to behead me. I rolled out of the way, before jumping behind him and bringing my blade up the side of his face, slicing his right jaws cleanly off. I then spun him around, and stabbed my Energy Sword up and into him, much like I’ve seen Elites do on footage, causing the victim to come off the ground a few feet, carried by the blade, before being brutally slammed to the ground as a corpse.

I hadn’t performed an assassination in a while, and it felt satisfying to achieve it in CQC, with an Elite no less, and replicating their own technique perfectly. I got upset that I hadn’t had my helmet cam on, before I saw it was recording. I remembered it was from when I had come into the Forerunner section, and I was so glad that I captured that on video. THAT was going in the archives.

The ponies were shocked at the brutality of what just happened. I merely shrugged, before gathering the spare charges for my new Energy Sword off of the corpse, before the dead Elite’s Energy Sword could explode from the fail-safe.

I deactivated the blade and slung it onto my thigh, for ease of access. I couldn’t help but think that if THIS didn’t make me look badass, then I didn’t know what would. We continued on our way, past the remains of my opponent. We encountered more dead griffons and pony guards, some with primitive wounds and some with plasma. Soon we noticed that more and more had no cause of death that was plasma or metal, and were increasingly gory. One such case was a griffon, hanging from a pillar, with it’s intestines wrapped around like a bow, keeping the corpse a good two meters above the floor, allowing blood to drip from multiple lacerations, as it’s eyes dangled by the edge of it’s beak, which was opened in a scream of obvious agony. I sighed at the sound of the Elements of Harmony upchucking yet again.

I then saw a corpse nearby, of a pony guard. This one was extremely mutilated, but had yellowish blood, and it’s fur was… Missing. In it’s place was a fleshy tan skin, and the forehooves had become claws of some sort. The part that sold it all to me was the deflated Infection Form, which was exposed at the back of the skull like a mangled brain. The face was rather normal, if red sensory organs sticking out of the snout was normal, and obsidian teeth and bladed tentacles coming from the mouth was average. The back legs had split, looking like someone took a meat cleaver and tried turning a hoof into two toes while the horse was still alive. I was scared. The Flood was here. And it had a powerful form made out of these ponies.

Five cases of puking to each Element of Harmony later, all because of the Flood form, we turned around to leave. I had explained to them that there was something extremely dangerous here, more deadly than the Elite from earlier, and it wouldn’t hesitate to kill you and then you’d end up killing your friends and family. This shook them visibly, with the pink pony’s face turning a sickly green.

We managed to reach the entrance to the building without incident, until I saw the Elite General. A full-blown, Covenant gold armor Elite General. These guys were the cream of the cream of the cream, with tens of hundreds, if not thousands of kills in their favor. Insanely strong shields, it took up to three hits with an Energy Sword to remove the barrier, and then you still had to deal with the strong ceramic-Covenant alloy armor beneath. They were also extremely strong fighters. It was hard to take down that Major earlier, and it’s gear was skimpier than the Covenant Major armor. If I had to go toe to toe with this Elite, I would be dead.

------------------- Tohl 'Vadam’s POV --------------------

I had walked into the strange structure when I saw dead bodies in the premises. I had found a Slipspace portal for personnel after my Spirit was shot down by the traitors, and I had stumbled out of the wreckage. I had only my Storm Rifle, Beam Rifle, Energy Sword, and two Plasma Grenades with me, as well as plenty of spare clips and charges. If there was a portal away from the traitors of the Sangheili, then I would take it. No sooner did I step into the building did I see a demon-no, Spartan- enter the room from an entry at the opposite side. My time in both the Human-Covenant war and the Great Schism had taught me to fear and respect the Spartans, and I was still rather proud of having killed one on Reach. That Spartan had grey armor, and had actually taken it’s helmet off when it became too damaged, fighting on with only it’s sidearm, killing brother after brother. I was amazed at the endurance of the human, as it faced an onslaught of the Covenant. It finally fell when I knocked it over, and stabbed it with my Energy Sword. It had gotten me promoted to General, and I would treasure that moment.

This Spartan looked set to kill, it’s body language said it all. A slight tenseness in the joints, a hand reaching slowly for a blade of it’s own, and a helmet I recognized as a Venator was bent down menacingly. Then six strange quadrupeds came up behind it, looks varying from curiosity to fear to eagerness. I found my own hand straying to my Energy Sword, and I brought it back. Then I activated my translator, and spoke.

“Greetings, Spartan. What are you doing here?”

-------------------- Crimson’s POV --------------------

When the Elite general spoke, I was surprised. I hadn’t expected it to be a friendly, especially after the Major from earlier. Maybe it was all a trap. I couldn’t answer, before the pink abomination spoke, “WewerejustlookingaroundwhenwesawabunchofdeadbodiesandthenAlecherefoundacoolshortpillaranddidsomethingandthenitplayedsoundandavideoandthenwegotattackedbyamonsterlikeyouandAlecjustliketotallykilleditwithaswordthatthemonstergavehimandthenwekeptgoingandwesawsomethingnastyandthensometh-BLEEEAGH!” Her rant was interrupted as she puked just thinking about the dead Flood. The Elite raised an eyebrow, and glanced at me, where I simply shrugged. “Never ONCE have I heard that one take a breath in a sentence. It scares me. And that thing from earlier, well, I got some… Photos. Seeing how brutally honest the pink abomination was and went ahead and said my name, I’ll just give you the rundown. I’m Spartan S-250, Fireteam Crimson. The purple unicorn here is Twilight Sparkle, the Technicolor tomboy is Rainbow Dash, and I have no idea who everyone else is, and I just call the pink abomination the pink abomination. What’s your name, and what are you doing here?”

“I am Tohl 'Vadam, and I came here through a Slipspace personnel portal. My Spirit crashed after taking heavy damage from the traitors, and I escaped with my weapons. And you took down a traitor with his own spare sword? Not many can do that, depending on the rank.”

“A Major. Now that the introductions are done, I’ll display those photos I took.” I activated my holographic projector, and started playing through the photos I took of the Flood form we found. As an afterthought, I included the footage of my fight against the Major. If what I heard was correct, than this is one of the Elites who sided with the humans, and the Major is part of the Storm covenant. Well, was.

Seven hours later, my band of freaks arrived back at the castle, apparently called Canterlot. The Elite had run with me as the Elements rode back by sky chariot, and we were both pleasantly surprised at how strong we were. We ended up communicating along the way, and I learned that he is part of the Vadam keep, not a big surprise there as all the surnames of Elites is the name of their keep, and an “ee” at the end signifies that they are a Covenant Soldier. I also learned that his circumstances of arriving here were strikingly similar to mine, which lead me to think that something else was at play.

We ended up comparing our kills at the end of the run, much to the shock of Celestia and the Elements, because we walked in bragging about how many of this or that we’ve taken down. His number of assassinations was considerably higher than mine, while my total headshots blew his count away. I was shocked to hear that he’d been promoted because of killing a Spartan, and not just any, but my good friend Noble Six. He noticed my reaction, but never saw the punch in the face coming.

I socked him at the wrong time, right in from of both the princesses, and we ended up punching each other. At the shout to stop, we both guiltily stood to attention. Celestia asked, “Alec, why did you punch our guest? We show hospitality, not violence.”

“Ma’am, he was promoted to his current rank because he killed a Spartan. And not just any, but my friend Noble Six. Noble Six luckily went down after killing tens of hundreds of Covenant, but this asshole still killed him.”

At the word asshole, Tohl went back to punching me, and me punching him. The night goddess simply sighed and turned to Celestia, whispering, “You HAD to ask, sister. We should stop this before blood is shed.” Celestia simply turned to her sister and smiled.

After our fists hit each other for the last time, we both stood and shook hands. Tohl grinned at me and said, “I haven’t had a good hand to hand fight in many cycles. We should do that again. And sorry about killing your friend, but it was rather enjoyable at the moment, demon.”

I smirked and responded, “I understand what you mean. Felt good to assassinate that Major earlier, hinge-head.”

Chapter 6: On The Blood Of Our Sons

It was nighttime. I was sitting, leaning against a marble wall, as I scrolled through my datapad and recorded the events that happened to me. I couldn’t sleep, both because of my memories and because I simply couldn’t. A Spartan can go without sleep for a good deal of time, and my limit was two weeks. I had already gotten plenty of rest, what with all the knocking me out and sleeping for a day.

Tohl ‘Vadam struck me as friendly, seeing how he didn’t try to kill me on sight and how he had told me about his coming to this world. I wasn’t sure if I could trust him, or even trust anyone in this world, but he was my best bet. Intelligent, experienced, strong, and honest. The traits of a Spartan. If he were human, he would make a great Spartan IV.

As it were, he was an Elite, had killed one of my friends, and had killed many others. The pros and cons were confusing, almost as much as trying to understand the motives of the ponies. I just couldn’t comprehend it all.

It was just too much.

Tohl ‘Vadam came to talk with me last night. We agreed to head back to the Forerunner site, and readied ourselves. I didn’t have any of the usual caring effects to take care of my armor, such as the nanobots that repaired and upgraded it while not in use, so all I could do was check my ammo, shields, and be off.

With just the two of us, we made it to the building in just under five hours. There were some torches for light, but enough to provide cover. With my enhanced eyesight and Tohl’s predatory vision, we had no trouble maneuvering through the possible lines of sight. As we entered the building, I stopped and held a hand up, fingers together. We waited, and then I heard it again: a sound akin to wet leather being dragged. We also heard some squeaks, as if someone were rubbing rubber on rubber.

We readied our weapons, until we saw pink and purple lights drift towards us. It entered the light, and we saw what it was: a Huragok. Huragok are biomechanical computers built by the Forerunners, with actual minds and feelings. They were sapient, but they had one desire in their lives: to repair and build. They were like autistic children, focused completely on their job, hence the name the UNSC had given them: Engineers.

It signed to us with it’s tentacles, ends splitting into thousands of miniscule cilia, flexing in the sign language that Huragok communicated with. The UNSC had never been able to translate this, mainly because the ones we captured had been boobytrapped with explosive harnesses by the Covenant. And here in front of me, a live one floated, attempting to communicate.

“We cannot understand you. Can you make a means of speaking to us?” I said, praying that it could make a translator for itself. It signed again, before drifting away. It returned soon, with a small box attached. It motioned again, and then a neutral, robotic male voice spoke from the box: “I am Tends To Sway. I am the Huragok left in this facility. Do you know where the masters have gone?”

Masters? Oh, it must mean the Forerunners! I felt bad for the creature, being left to take care of a building and it’s owners never returning. “The Forerunners are gone. They have been gone for over ten-thousand years. Will you help us? We need to get back to our own species.”

Tends To Sway tipped it’s head, as if confused, before responding, “I will help you. I need the masters, the Flood have escaped the study sectors. I cannot contain it, and the Sentinels have been destroyed. The Promotheans will not listen to me, saying that they obey the Didact. If you help me eradicate the Flood, I will help you return to your kind. Please hurry.” We had a deal. That was great news, it meant I had a sure chance to return to the UNSC.

Tohl leaned over to me, whispering, “The Flood? We will be hard-pressed, if we were to face it alone. I was deployed to New Mombasa, and had been sent into the housing buildings to check for the Jiralhanae. I did not find any, but I encountered two infected humans in one part. I explored the room they were in after their deaths, and found photos of a tall, white-skinned man with black hair, and a red-haired woman. Both had glasses. There was also a human video camera in there, facing a seat. They were dangerous foes, and I nearly fell.”

No….. He couldn’t have… Oh my God… I broke down in tears, slumping while sobbing in my helmet. Tohl ‘Vadam had killed my parents, after they had been infected.

“Is there something wrong? Spartan?”

“It’s just that… Those were my parents. You killed my parents.”

He looked surprised. “I am sorry, Spartan. I did not know.”

I looked up, tear stains on my face, hidden by my helmet. “No need to apologize. I should thank you. You saved their bodies from being a weapon, and brought peace to their souls. I feared they had burned from the glassing, like so many other humans.

“Thank you.”

After I had gotten back to my feet, the Huragok patiently waiting, I shook my head. I had just broken down in front of my ally, and Elite, and thanked him. I was surprised, I’ve never been this sentimental. I had never been this emotional before too, since I came to this place…

“We must go now. Please, follow me.” The Huragok interrupted my train of thought, motioning for us to follow. As we walked, we came to the room with the Flood corpse and the body of the griffon still tied to the pillar.

“The natives of this planet had come, and fought. They attracted the attention of the Flood, and some were infected. I am afraid that none survived the battles what ensued.” Tends To Sway explained, as we strode past the mangled remains of ponies and griffons. I had said earlier that this place was missing the homey touch of a Spartan. I was wrong, and it had the mark of death that came with the Flood. If it got out of this facility, then the world would fall. What was it called anyway?

“Tends To Sway, what is the native name for this planet? I have not gained enough information since my arrival, other than a log on a terminal.”

“The inhabitants name for the current country we are in is Equestria. And you activated a terminal? Only Forerunners and Reclaimers can work those.”

Reclaimer? What the fuck was that? “Reclaimer?”

“A human.”

Oh shit. The Covenant had tried to completely annihilate us, in a holy war. The higher-ups must have decided that we were an affront to their religion, and must be wiped out. They worshipped Forerunner artifacts, so the name for humans must have scared them. If the rest of the Covenant found out about the Forerunner name for humans, it would collapse into civil war.

“Ah. There was a video in the log, and it showed a famous human for my species. He came into this facility at that terminal from a Slipspace portal, and then left by one. Can you send me to the surface of the planet he went to?”

“No. The best I can do is send you to the same coordinates he used. Now we must remove the Flood, it may spread from this facility soon.”

Damn. Too much to ask for, I guess.

We came to a large room, with bridges and ramps everywhere. It was beautiful, in a massive kind of way. Perfectly symmetrical, there were halls and corridors splitting off all around the edges of the place. Perfect for an ambush.

I heard a strange whirring, and turned to see Tends To Sway repairing a Sentinel. This was the first I had seen up close, all the others from footage of Forerunner sites. The Sentinel clicked, before it’s “eye” glowed blue, and it floated towards us. “This Sentinel will help you. I am afraid that it is the best I could do. I must leave now, this facility needs care.”

The Huragok left, leaving the Forerunner machine with Tohl and myself. I decided to experiment, and asked, “Can you speak?” I didn’t expect it to, only to sit there, bobbing on it’s anti-gravity thrusters.

“Affirmative.”

Whoa. Heart attack moment right there. We had a friendly, talking Sentinel on our side! It could actually communicate! Tohl seemed awestruck, and I thought he would break down into a blabbering, religious wreck. Where it must have scared me, he must feel to be in the presence of a holy spirit. I couldn’t help but laugh, as the Sentinel gazed at Tohl, probably wondering what the fuck the Elite was doing.

“I do not see what it humorous in this situation. We must go to work now. The Flood is spreading. It must be removed.” It droned, in a computer generated voice.

While we were distracted, the Sentinel turned and aimed at me, before firing it’s laser. I prepared for a fiery end.

I was scared shitless, before seeing it fired behind me, burning an infected pony before it could kill me. “Target down.” Tohl shook himself out of his reverie, upon the sound of a weapon firing. At the smell of cooked flesh, he looked where I was staring, and saw the melted Flood. He seemed startled, surprised that we were snuck upon so easily, and by his religious trance.

“I believe that we should get to work now, Spartan.” He said, before turning around to come face-to-mass of flesh with an infected griffon. He whipped out his Storm Rifle, firing into the Infection Form that poked out of the stomach, deflating it and effectively killing the Flood.

I took out my Battle Rifle, and stood back-to-back with Tohl. As we looked around, we saw the Flood swarming towards us, the only fresh food in the entire building. The Sentinel floated above our heads, firing into the mass, causing the smell of cooked flesh to assault our nostrils.

I fired trio after trio of bullets, tearing limbs off as they sliced apart tendons and muscle, piercing up to three Flood at a time. Tohl kept shooting, with plasma melting hostiles, dropping them to reveal more targets. My Battle Rifle clicked empty, forcing me to unlatch the magazine and insert another. Tohl ran out of charge for his Storm Rifle, so he had to insert a fresh charge as well, leaving only the Sentinel to cover us.

The construct couldn’t keep up with the waves of Flood, falling finally as a Pony Flood tackled it, and it exploded into a pulse of heat, light, and metal, shredding through dozens more Flood. Tohl and I stopped reloading, and we took out our Energy Swords, nodded to each other, and prepared to fight. We had no time left, our fail-safe was gone, we were outnumbered, and we could not hope to kill enough with our sidearms.

It was the kind of moment that Spartans and Elites excelled at. I felt peace for the first time since I came here, and started a famous saying of the Sangheili, “On the blood of our fathers.”

Tohl understood, and joined me in his ritual, “On the blood of our sons.”

We activated our Swords, and charged into the mass, me shouting more of the phrase as I decapitated a group, “Our blades shall light the Path.”

Tohl finished as he cut a large form down the middle, “So all may partake in the Great Journey.”

We fell under the onslaught of bodies, weapons still swinging, burning Flood after Flood as we held, then collapsed under hopeless circumstances.

-------------------- Twilight’s POV --------------------

I was busy studying on astronomy under Luna’s moon, when I felt it. I could only describe it as a shout of honor, courage, of hope in a sea of despair. A cry for help. And there was only one pony-no, human- that I had sensed that from. And Alec needed his friends now, more than anything else.

Chapter 7: Mind, Body, And Soul

Become.

Food. Become.

Food. Become. Change. New. Food?

Become. Change.

Become. No.

Change. Food. New Mombasa. Food.

Burn. New. Glass. Become. Parents. Gone.

Become. Food. Food? No, other.

What? What happened? Become. No.

I remember. The Flood. Change. Food. No, I won’t become a monster like you.

Losing. Trouble. Memories. You nasty son of a bitch, you will PAY for what you’ve done! Battle. Fight. Control. Change. NO! Become.

Become.

Become. No. Twilight…

Become.

TWILIGHT!

I opened my eyes to find I was lying on the floor where I fell. Wait… My eyes were already open… Why… Why is my vision yellow? Where’s my HUD? Wait, there’s my shields… Armor ability… What’s with the blackish strands in my sight? What’s that popping sound?

I could hardly feel my body. It was as if wasn’t even in armor anymore. Then I felt the metal floor on my bare skin. Wait… I never could have taken off my armor. Deep breaths… Deep breaths… Why is my breathing bubbling? I feel… Different. I need to see what happened to me.

After some searching, I found a highly reflective piece of Forerunner alloy, and promptly fainted at the sight of myself.

I came to again. I had to calm down, getting upset won’t help. I was a Flood Spartan. I knew that now. It was like the War Games matches I had played, where the “Infected” had mutated an arm into a Flood Talon, and there was no sign of their armor. The helmet had been absorbed into the head, leaving a pair of fleshy mandibles. Tan, with red highlights on parts, massive, fast, and deadly. Me. I had become that.

I was amazed that I was able to move voluntarily, if I had been changed by an Infection Form. Speaking of which, where was it? I returned to the place where I had fallen, and saw a battered, deflated Infection Form on the floor. I had crushed it in my mental struggle as I transformed. This gave me some satisfaction, knowing that I had killed my attacker even as I failed. But where was Tohl?

I heard a growl of anger, and turned around to see my friend. At least, what remained of him. The Infection Form had taken him over fully, pushing his head aside at a sickening angle, developing tentacles on one arm, leaving the other a dark brownish tan. His gold armor remained, so I knew it was him. The monster that had been my partner roared again, before charging at me, seeing that I was not one of his new kind, a Flood.

I only felt sorrow, as I prepared to slay the creature that ran to me. A tear slipped from my non-existent eye, a yellowish drop of salty water, before I brought my talon to bear and impaled him, making his body writhe in desperation before the Infection Form popped.

-------------------- Twilight’s POV --------------------

I had gathered the Elements of Harmony as soon as I could, before sending a letter to Princess Celestia about what occurred. A sky chariot took us to Canterlot, and then to the building that Alec with the Princesses. We entered, lighting our way so we could see the path.

Suddenly the group heard a strange, bubbly bellow, and the sounds of heavy footsteps running towards something. Fluttershy shrunk back, only for Rainbow Dash to push her back to the rest of us. We traveled to the source of the roar, and saw a seven-foot tall monster with a huge claw on it’s arm shed a drop of something from it’s “face”, before swinging the claw at what looked like… Tohl. Tohl! He was different though… Fleshy, tan, his head bent at at a sick angle, and a strange pod with red tentacles in the place where his head would be. The tall creature stabbed Tohl on it’s claw, where the Elite squirmed before falling limp, as the pod exploded into scraps of flesh. I couldn’t hold back my lunch, nor could anypony else, including the Princesses, and we all puked onto the metal floor.

-------------------- Crimson’s POV --------------------

I heard the sound of ponies upchucking yet again, but in multitude. I let the body of my past friend fall to the ground, and looked to the source of the vomiting, easily pinpointing it with my new hearing. I saw the Elements of Harmony, as well as the Princesses. They all looked sick, and then scared when they saw that I was coming towards them.

I walked to them, hoping that I could show them it was me. I held out my hand and claw to show I was unarmed, but it must have seemed threatening because then Celestia knocked me out with a spell.

I was drifting in a sea of nothing. No memories, no feelings, just nothing. I heard nothing. I saw nothing. I felt nothing. I was nothing. Then, a golden glow suffused the landscape of void. A swirling tunnel of sunlight and moonlight formed, and I seemed to be pulled into it.

I came to, lying on the cold floor of the Canterlot palace for the second time. I was facing the great, vaulted ceiling, with the faces of Celestia and her sister in my vision. A look of fear and trepidation was on that of Luna, while I saw the same visage of grim curiosity on Celestia’s face. My mind nearly shattered yet again, and I attempted to scoot backwards, failing for I was held in the gold aura again. I was pinned down, helpless yet again. Then the horns of the Princesses lit simultaneously, and they touched them to my forehead.

I was fighting the Flood in the room again. I stopped to reload, Tohl doing the same, leaving the Sentinel as our only defense. It fell, and we switched to our Energy Swords, shouting an ancient saying as we rushed to meet the raging tide of Flood Forms that hungered for us.

We fell. I felt the neural penetrator pierce my neck seal, tapping into my spinal cord, melding the filthy presence with my mind. It changed me, as I fought for dominance, only winning after I lost.

The images swirled, tossing myself into the memory of having to kill my friend. I had no emotions, no tears left to shed, for I had used them long ago. I was stone now, a cold, steel blade, ready and waiting for only the right one to wield me. The recollection disintegrated, revealing the shocked faces of the Princesses. They looked to each other, before gazing at the monstrosity that I was now in empathy. They released me, and walked away.

I sat, thinking on all I had experienced. I finally had time to examine my situation, to see all that I had seen, to muse on what brought me here. I decided that a different force did bring me and Tohl to this land, but I knew not what it was. It had saved my life, as well as that of my friend, but it didn’t help save us from the Flood. My recollection of that was new, suddenly being part of a massive, all-consuming hive mind, if only for a short time, had reset my emotions, so that they were no longer overwhelming. It had set me to the factory standards of the Flood, a blank slate.

I used that as a base upon which to build my identity. First, my name. I am Alec-S250. I am Fireteam Crimson. I am a Spartan IV. I fight for the UNSC, Earth, and her colonies. My parents are dead. I am away from my friends and allies. I have no hope of rescue. I am now a Flood, but a free one. I killed my only other friend in this world.

I did not know to consider Twilight Sparkle a friend or not. She had torn my mind, but she also helped pick up the pieces of the puzzle and resolve it. She had forgiven me, and claimed to be my friend. Everyone else I knew as allies, or hostiles.

My thoughts were interrupted, as the lavender unicorn herself entered the chamber that I resided in. I was in an unfurnished marble room, with a single window, giving a perfect view of the mountainside. Twilight seemed shocked and scared, seeing the sight of the giant mutant slumped against a wall. I looked up at her, before dropping my head to my chest again. I had attempted to talk earlier, but all that came out was blurbles and fluid popping noises. I had no means of communication. I was alone.

The last of my kind. And the first. I had no hope.

I was nothing.

Twilight walked towards me, seeing my tan and crimson head resting on my fleshy chest. I could feel my armor as a part of myself, built in like an exoskeleton, one that is hidden under muscle and beige tissue. She sat down in front of me, before taking my datapad out of… Somewhere, it just seemed to blink into existence… And floated it to me. “I’m so sorry, Alec. I heard that you can’t talk, so maybe you can use this. You gave it to me back at my library, remember? You said it would give me answers.”

I remembered. I remembered that day, when Rainbow Dash tried ramming me, when I entered the library, the day that I fell asleep in a long time. I remembered. I took the datapad in my normal hand, and settled it on my knees, selecting the notepad function. I began to type, slowly, painfully, “I remember. I remember what happened to me. I wish I didn’t, but I do.”

She read the text that I wrote, and replied in a somber tone, “I’m sorry. I wish I could help. I… I wish I could. I always want to help my friends… And you, you’re my friend. Just… Let me or the Princesses know if we can help. Goodbye, Alec.”

She left the room, leaving me with streams of yellow tears running from my fold where my eyes had been. I had a friend who wanted to help. I swore in my mind that I would do the same for her. And I would try to get back to my own form, of being a Spartan IV, and return to the UNSC. And I would have it protect this planet. From itself, Insurrectionists, and any outside threat.

This world… Was now under my protection.

-------------------- Twilight Sparkle’s POV --------------------

After I visited Alec in his room, I returned to my library. I felt terrible for him, for all he had gone through, and now he was a monster. He didn’t act like one, but he looked like one, and that’s what most ponies judged others by. I did consider him a friend, especially after he saved our lives.

As soon as I opened the door, I was confronted with my friends. Rainbow Dash was sitting on the couch, looking bored, but glancing longingly at the Daring Do books. Applejack was chewing on a strand of straw, Rarity was fussing over Spike, Fluttershy was trying to hide behind the table, and Pinkie was… Where was Pinkie?

“HIYATWILIGHT!HOW’SALEC?HUH?HUH?HUH?HOWISHE?TELLMETELLME!”

“Gah! Pinkie! Don’t do that! Alec is fine. I just went to visit him up at Canterlot, where he has his own room at the castle. And that monster from earlier? That… That was him.”

The room visibly gasped in shock, with Pinkie Pie squeaking like a balloon. Rarity pretended to swoon as she fell onto her red couch, the straw fell out of Applejack’s mouth, Fluttershy eeped, and Rainbow Dash punched one hoof into the other, looking ready for a fight.

“No no no, not like that. That thing he told us about called the Flood? Tohl and him were infected. Alec managed to regain control of his mind and body, but Tohl… Didn’t make it. He was just a mindless death machine when Alec killed him. And Alec… He wants to forget what he did.

“He wants to go home.”

Chapter 8: Reclaimer

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 9: Gateway

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 10: Recollection

Author's Note

Because this is the 10th chapter, I made it the longest yet! Or at least attempted to, it's still 10 words shorter than chapter 5. Enjoy!

Chapter 10: Recollection

I woke up in bed, mouth agape in a massive yawn. It was my first full day in my latest form, a pegasus. After travelling back to Ponyville, the Princesses told me that I could live with Twilight Sparkle, if she had the room to spare. Upon the fervent agreement of the lavender unicorn, everyone disbanded and left to their respective homes, mine now in a library. After Twilight gave me a full tour of her library, she showed me my room and left for some late-late-late night studying. My new Alpha Crawler lay at the foot of my bed, resting its robotic head in sleep.

It was hard to believe that I now had a pet dog, and it was an AI, no less. I was more of a lone wolf, sometimes teaming up with other Spartan IVs if the mission called for it. Having a constant companion that acted like a canine yet looked like an android was unsettling, to say the least.

“Hm. That smells… Good.” I mumbled, rubbing the sleep from my eyes with my hooves. The Promethean perked its head up at the sound of my voice, before stretching luxuriously and sidling towards me. As I slipped out of the warm haven of bed sheets, I heard a knocking on the door, and then Spike came in, dressed in a ridiculous flowery apron. “Hey Alec, breakfast is rea-oh. Nevermind, you’re awake. Come on down when you’re ready.”

I nodded as I yawned again, longing for sleep. I still had my Spartan enhancements, after all these changes, but my new pony body preferred a regular sleep schedule. I couldn’t really complain, because I no longer had nightmares of failed missions, just dreams of my new… Friends. Yes, I could truly consider the Princesses and Element Bearers my friends, after all they had done for me.

I stumbled into the hall, before turning and trotting to the stairwell. The delicious smell was wafting from below, and I came downstairs to find… Pancakes?! Oh my God, I hadn’t had those in decades. I sat down in the chair that was put out for me, mouth watering as I eagerly waited for the food. This new body made me feel.. Nostalgic. I felt kind of like a kid again, able to truly be open about things, rather than having to ball up and squash my emotions like what the public and UNSC wanted and believed. As a Spartan IV, I was supposed to be stone-cold, emotionless. I had tried so hard to be that, but this world had cut the rope that held it all together.

My mental rambling was interrupted as a stack of pancakes was set onto my plate, and I fell to it with a fork in one wing (I had no idea how I was able to hold stuff with my wings) and a knife in the other. The pile of food was soon gone, leaving me with a full stomach and some crumbs on the plate. I took another pancake and attempted to feed it to the Alpha Crawler, but it simply shook its head and sat in place.

It was going to be a looooong life.

-------------------- Tohl ‘Vadam’s POV --------------------

I watched the Reclaimer (I had resigned myself to this new mental perspective with a sigh) devour a large stack of food, curious as to where it all went. He could not have a stomach so empty as to erase such a pile from existence, but he went and did it anyway. My musing was interrupted by one such food item, dangling temptingly in front of my snout. I shook my head in surprise and remained sitting, unsure as to what to do. My body decided for me, lunging towards the product and snapping it into my jaws. It tasted rather good, yet I had no idea how my robotic body had a sense of taste, or a stomach for that matter.

-------------------- Crimson’s POV --------------------

I had shrugged at the Crawler’s reaction, turning away before I felt-rather than heard- a rush of air as it leapt for the pancake in my wing. It latched onto it with ease, sliding the food from my grasp and vanishing into the snout of the creature. Spike was standing with a look of surprise on his face, and Twilight had actually looked up from her book she had been reading.

We all looked at the Promethean in varying degrees of shock, as it just sat and tilted its head, before speaking. “Well, that was unexpected.”

Our jaws dropped. Apparently my pony body could achieve comical feats, and I had to push my lower jaw back up. I managed to stutter out, “Y-you talked! Prometheans d-d-don’t talk!”

The Alpha Crawler cocked its head again, apparently thinking of a response, before stating a single word, a name, that made us all double-take. “Tohl.”

I heard a plate shatter, having fallen from Spike’s grasp, and I turned to look at the dragon. He was still standing, with eyes wide and mouth impossibly wide in an ‘o’. Twilight was heard muttering ramblings to herself, as she stared at the Crawler in curiosity. I was feeling uncomfortable from the silence, so I decided to ask the question we were all wondering, but not actually saying. “Is that you, Tohl ‘Vadam?”

The Promethean stood up before walking towards me, uttering its answer, “Yes. Yes it is. It is good to see you, Alec, Reclaimer.”

“OH MY GOD! TOHL! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!” I shouted, eyes tearing up from joy and relief. I flung myself forward and hugged the robotic canine, rocking back and forth from a sudden emotional influx. I heard Tohl try and say something, so I reluctantly let go and sat back. “Since when were you such a child? It’s like I was your missing dog.”

Twilight burst out into laughter at the snarky comment, giggling at both of our reactions. I found myself wondering, when DID I become so… Emotional? I’ve never felt, let alone expressed, happiness like that. Is it this new body? I turned my head to give the unicorn the most disdainful glare I could muster, which must have been terrible because she fell from her seat, laughing her ass off. I sighed and faced Tohl again, shaking my head like a disappointed parent.

I was never going to get used to this. I think.

A few hours later, Twilight, Tohl, and I were boarding a train to Canterlot. Apparently the Princesses had taken the liberty of examining my armor before I became a Flood, and had also retrieved my Battle Rifle. They had a ‘surprise’ for me, one that I could predict rather easily: it was useless in my new form.

As the locomotive slowly accelerated, I leaned my head against a window and sighed. I was having a hard time adjusting to being a pony, because of all the emotional baggage it came with. As a Spartan IV, I was completely fine with death glares, people running away and screaming, and others looking in awe. As a pony, having others come up to me and try and talk to me was… Unreal. Even some mares-did I REALLY just think that? They’re FEMALES DAMNIT- came and made small talk with me. Twilight Sparkle seemed protective of me for some reason, but I had no clue why. I just wanted to get to Canterlot, find out what the ‘surprise’ is, and get some rest.

I was jarred from my thoughts when the train slowed down, stopping at a station at Canterlot. I was surprised we had made it already, unless I had lost track of time. I figured the latter. As Tohl, Twilight, and I trotted to the palace, I saw ponies dressed ridiculously strut around, with their noses so high in the air that it looked like they needed a chiropractor. We reached the palace, and one particularly snobby unicorn with a white coat and blonde mane took one glance at me, before stiffening, muttering, “Stupid commoners. Why can’t the mangy rat and his dog go back to the ditch they came from?”

I narrowed my eyes at the insult. Being a pony also gave a boost to my already-enhanced hearing, so his attempts at hiding his comments were in vain. I stalked up to the jackass, before stating in a deadly, venom-laced tone, “Why don’t you say that out loud, so people can actually hear you, you ugly piss-poor excuse for a sentient being. I’ve killed for less than that, I’ve killed for nothing but the reason that it’s my damn orders, and I sure as hell won’t hesitate now that I’m out of the UNSC.

“Keep your smartass comments to yourself, shitface, sir.”

I walked back to Twilight and Tohl, and we continued into the palace, leaving a very bemused and frightened unicorn stallion behind.

I should’ve known he was fucking royalty.

We were guided to a massive hall in the palace, with stained-glass windows on the sides, depicting different scenes, including one of the Element Bearers defeating Nightmare Moon. Princess Celestia and Luna were sitting on their thrones at the end of the hall, with Luna looking exhausted. I could tell because she kept nodding off, only to jerk her head up and mutter to herself.

“Twilight Sparkle. It is good to see you, my faithful student. Thank you for coming on such short notice. I had called for Alec, however. If Luna agrees, I’m sure you can be told what we are about to tell Alec. Do you agree, Luna?” Celestia said, looking at her sister.

Luna was still asleep, so Celestia poked her with a hoof, causing her to startle awake. “Who? What? Huh? Oh, Celly. It’s you. Did… *yawn* Did you need something?”

Celestia replied, with a brow raised, “Yes. I was asking if you agreed that Twilight could hear what we are going to say to Alec. Are you sure you don’t need to return to your quarters?”

“We’re sure, Celly. We… *yawn* We guess Twilight can be told as well. Now please, just five... More… Minutes…”

Luna started resting once again, so Celestia just shook her head before wrapping Luna in a golden glow, and apparently teleporting her to her bed. Celestia began to motion for us to follow her, when the doors to the hall burst open and the unicorn from earlier stormed in, nose still held high, even in anger.

He looked livid, with his face flushed red, as if from a yelling contest. He bowed to Celestia quickly, before glaring at me and ranting, “How could you hold council to such VERMIN, Auntie Celestia! That thing insulted me, accused me of insulting it, and threatened me with death! I demand that he be put in chains!”

I was shocked. This little shit from before was the nephew of the Princess?! Judging by the angry glare that Celestia sent my way, I knew that she took this a bit personally. I spoke up so I could at least tell my perspective, “He stated earlier, before we came into the palace, that we were stupid commoners, why can’t me, the mangy rat, and my dog go back to the ditch that we came from, and I heard him, thanks to my enhanced senses. I told him ‘why don’t you say that out loud so the people can hear,’ called him a jackass, and said I killed for less than that, I killed for nothing more than orders, and I sure as hell won’t hesitate now that I’m out of the UNSC. I then proceeded to tell him to keep his ‘jackass comments to himself, shitface.’”

Celestia quirked an eyebrow at the pissed unicorn, questioning him as Tohl chuckled, “Is this true, Blueblood?”

Blueblood?! I burst out guffawing at the name, because it made so much fucking sense. Blueblood looked like he was going to burst, before all the angry confidence left his face as he said, “Yes, Auntie.” Tohl and I fell to the floor laughing our asses off.

“ENOUGH!” Celestia roared, shocking Tohl and I into silence. She spoke in a disappointed and upset tone, “You will NOT insult and threaten my nephew. And Blueblood,” he gulped nervously as he attempted to wipe a smirk off his face at our humiliation, “Do NOT insult Alec. He saved multiple ponies lives, and deserves respect. Now both of you apologise.”

I snapped to attention and shouted out, true UNSC fashion, “Ma’am yes ma’am! I apologise for my actions, sir. It will not happen again.”

Blueblood muttered under his breath, “You better make sure it doesn’t, vermin.” Then, speaking up in a tone dripping with sarcasm, “Apology accepted, Alec. I apologise for my appalling behavior, and it will not occur again.”

I nodded my head, speaking in a regular tone of voice, “Apology accepted. Thank you.”

Celestia looked pleased, Blueblood left the hall in a huff, and Tohl just sat on his haunches, laughing.

Celestia had led my trio of friends through multiple halls, ending in an… Armory, of all places. She then turned to us, “Alec, Twilight, through these doors is the surprise I mentioned. Alec, I am sure you will enjoy it. One last question: what is the name of your… Dog?”

The Alpha Crawler in question stood up from his haunches, stating a reply, “I am Tohl ‘Vadam. And I am here to guard the Reclaimer.” Celestia seemed to take this in stride, the only sign of surprise was a slight widening of the eyes. “In that case Tohl, you may enter as well.”

We strode into the room, my eyes immediately falling onto the items in the center of the room, resting on a table. It was a set of MJOLNIR armor.

My armor. Built for my pony form.

Next to it was my Battle Rifle, but it looked different. It was missing the clip, trigger, and trigger guard. But it was there.

I rushed to it, immediately reaching a hoof out to touch the cool metal of the armor. I felt a sudden jolt, as if I was either shocked or on a major coffee buzz, and then a sensation not unlike water flowing smoothly around me. My armor vanished, only to reappear on my being. And it was glorious.

I jumped into the air, kicking out with a hind leg and somersaulting. I touched down, only to activate my new thruster pack and blast a good three meters forwards. As my hooves settled onto the ground, now clad in MJOLNIR, I took a look at my HUD. My shield bar was there, as well as my health, but there was nothing for grenades, weapons, or armor ability. I used my thruster pack again, and nothing happened. Shrugging, I reached for my Battle Rifle and the same experience occurred.

As my Battle Rifle materialized, it attached to my left foreleg, like a built-in cannon. The symbol for my BR55 formed in my HUD where my weapons would, and there was no ammo counter. In it’s place, it showed a blue bar. I raised my foreleg and thought of firing, and how it would work, only to have a trio of gold and midnight blue bullets fire. The blue bar in my HUD jumped a bit, part of it turning orange. It showed if it overheated.

Twilight had caught one of the bullets in her magic, and examined the swirling colors. She let it release to the pockmarks where the other two hit, and looked at my gun in wonder. “It shoots magic. I took a look, and it’s a combination of starlight and sunlight. I never even knew this could happen! It’s unbelievable! Think of the research grants alone we could acquire with this! Lemme have a go! I HAVE TO TEST THIS!”

I shook my leg from her grasp, giving her a glare through my new Venator helmet. I turned to Celestia, who was standing with a smug grin on her face at the apparent success of my gear. “Thank you so much, Princess. I made a vow earlier that I would protect this planet. I am no longer in the UNSC, for I have been gone so long that I am now classified as MIA. It is not KIA, because the UNSC wishes to maintain an image that Spartans never die. I now owe my services-and life- to Equestria, and to you and your sister. Thank you.” I then did something I never thought I would do. I bowed.

“Rise, my little pony. You are welcome, for this was the least that we could do. I am pleased that you find this satisfactory. May I inquire, why is the public to believe that Spartans never die?”

I looked at her with a look that said, ‘Do you really not understand?’, even though she couldn’t see it, and replied, “Because we’re Spartans. We never fail a mission. Now how do I get this armor off?!”

Tohl and Twilight fell to the ground laughing their asses off at the final comment. “Yeah, glad you find it funny. I don’t want to walk around in MJOLNIR with a magical Battle Rifle on my leg all day. For once I’m actually able to walk around without clothes on. And how about you try living in your armor for a week?”

Twilight stopped, giving it some thought, before answering, “Naah, I like it better when you’re in it.” She proceeded to tumble over giggling again. “Just think that it is not there. It will vanish, as well as the weapon. The gun is now part of the armor. *Snrk* But please, allow us to decorate it, so it will be proper.” Celestia answered my question.

“Oh, that is IT! Buck you guys, I’m heading home to the library. Wait… Did I just say BUCK?! WHY CAN’T I BUCKING SWEAR CELESTIADAMNIT! GAAAAH! I CAN’T EVEN! GAAAAAAAAH!” I shouted, thinking off my armor. I then proceeded to leave the room, trio of laughing ponies and Promethean still cracking up about my predicament.

Chapter 11: Execute Command

It was a few weeks after I was given my new armor. I had gotten used to life in Ponyville, and ended up taking flight lessons from Rainbow Dash. My Spartan enhancements applied to my wings as well, allowing me a high level of agility and speed, as well as stamina in the air. I found flying to be exhilarating, like I was in a Hornet screaming down from the heavens, pulling up on my unsuspecting target. But I was the Hornet. When I flew, I was a master of the sky. I even managed to beat Rainbow Dash on an obstacle course, although she kicked my flank on a speed run that lasted a couple miles.

I was still annoyed by my new mindset and choice of vocabulary. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t even think the word “buck” instead of buck. Aw, COME ON! Anyway, I had learned to just accept my new life. Various little incidents kept occurring around town, including one where a bunch of Parasprites ended up devouring most of the place. I discovered that they tend to pop when shot with magic, causing them to swell, eyes bulging, body changing to a different color, and then exploding with the sound of a harp. I found it so entertaining, I decided to make it a game, calling it ‘Splode’.

-------------------- End of Journal Entry 1 --------------------

I looked up from my datapad, stretching my legs and wings as I exited the notepad function. I heard a sudden scream from outside, which I just shrugged to. There was one mare who ended up screaming and fainting at the smallest of things, so I couldn’t really be bothered by it anymore. Another shriek, louder this time, and I left my chair, grumbling.

As I opened the door to the library, I saw something ridiculous.

It was raining chocolate. I had a brilliant idea, ran to my room, copied a song from my datapad onto my helmet which I manifested, then went back out. I was just in time to see the Element Bearers and Spike walking over, soaked wet with chocolate. Spike suddenly belched out a scroll, and Twilight read it aloud, stating that we were wanted at Canterlot immediately. I, personally, was confused as buck. I decided the others could be confused as well, so I played the song I copied out my helmet’s speakers, laughing at the expression on the others’ faces.

Our group entered a familiar hall. Celestia was sitting on her throne, a grim look on her face. As we got up from our bows, Tohl sitting on his haunches, the Princess began explaining to us that the weather was caused by a being named Discord. I couldn’t help but snicker, it was such an obvious name for this place. Apparently he ruled Equestria long ago, being a complete asshole (Yes! That swearword is allowed!), until the Princesses used the Elements of Harmony to turn him into a statue. Celestia then proceeded to open a large vault and bring out a box that supposedly had the Elements in there.

I whispered to Applejack, “10 bits that the Elements are missing!” AJ just shook her head, only to gasp with everypony else when the box was revealed to be empty. “Called it! You owe me 10 bits!” Twilight turned to give me a look that said, ‘Really? Just, really?’, before focusing on the Princess. “How could they be gone? That doesn’t make any sense!”

A voice chuckled, reverberating throughout the hall, “What fun is there in making sense?” Celestia looked surprised then grim, stating, “Discord.”

The draconequus made his rounds, travelling through the stained glass windows, commenting on each of the Element Bearers as he joked around. Then he came to me. “And who are you? You can’t be linked to the Elements of Harmony, they’ve already got their own pet horses! Oh, and is that your dog? I never knew they came in metal! I should have thought of that.”

His carefree manner was starting to grind my nerves, so I manifested my armor, and aimed my Battle Rifle at his head. “My name is Alec, and I’m a Spartan. Stop fooling around like a jackass, and tell us what the buck you want before I blow your head off.”

Tohl spoke up when I ended, genuinely surprising the spirit of chaos, “You better listen, he will do it. He made a game out of popping Parasprites, and that was just for entertainment.” “Why, the dog TALKS! Ahahahahaha, that is too rich! Celly, you MUST teach me how you do it! And as for you, my dear thingamajartan, I’m having too much FUN to start making sense!”

I growled and raised my gun threateningly, only to have Twilight push it down gently, as Celestia spoke. “I did not make the dog, something else did. Now tell us, what did you do with the Elements?”

Discord tapped his chin with a claw, before swirling around through the windows once more, speaking, “To retrieve your missing Elements just make sense of this change of events. Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the Elements back where you began.” He then vanished with a chuckle. “I know! The Elements are in the castle labyrinth!” Twilight shouted, pointing excitedly. I just facehoofed, because it just didn’t seem logical, or even illogical, just random. I followed the Element Bearers with a sigh.

We came to the entrance of a massive hedged area. Discord was above, laughing. He snapped a claw, and gigantic walls began sprouting from the ground, forming a complicated maze. “My rules are simple. No magic, no flying. Everypony has to play, or the game ends.”

I looked up at him with a bored expression, invisible from my visor, deadpanning, “What happens if you’re a human-turned Flood-turned pegasus? Do you have to play then?” Discord rapped a claw, before chuckling and shooting back, “Of course, you’re still a pony.” He snapped a claw again, and my wings vanished, as well as those of Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, and the horns of Rarity and Twilight Sparkle disappeared. “Oh, REAL fancy. It’s not like I need those to kick ass.”

Discord simply smirked, before vanishing. “Okay everypony, if we just stick together, we can-” Twilight never finished her sentence, because more hedges sprang up between us, separating everypony into different paths. “You were saying?” I quipped.

I had a fairly large section of the maze to go through, but it would be a cinch. I had loved mazes, even as a child, finding my way out of drawings and obstacle courses alike with ease. If this was just a big race to the center, I could be there in no time. I jumped a few feet in the air, before thruster packing ahead. “Ah, ah ah! No magic!” Discord’s voice whispered. “It’s not magic, ya bitch. It’s highly advanced technology based off of jetpacks and molecular propulsion.” I smirked, as I blasted by the draconequus’ face which was poking out of a hedge, leaving burn marks on his snout.

I felt rather excited and cocky, so I yelled back, “Do you need a bed set up at the BURN ward for that?” Discord pulled his lips into a frown, claws dragging them impossibly far. I forgot an important rule of mazes, to watch where you’re going, and ran straight into a large rock wall. My shields dropped by ten percent.

“Damn. Shoulda seen that coming.” I muttered, before having the wall blast into me, revealing Rarity. She had a massive rock that was cut like a diamond, and she was straining from the weight. “Get away from Tom! He’s MINE!” I backed away, before turning tail and charging down another path.

An unknown number of turns and straightaways later, I came to a large clearing. In the center was a Shade Turret, with nopony piloting it. Instead, Discord sat back in the Covenant weaponry, sipping a glass from a pina colada. “Well, fancy seeing you here. I must say, this hammock is very comfortable.” “What hamm-” I questioned, before shaking my head as the Shade turned into a Scarab, with a hammock stretched between two of the legs. “Were you going to say hamster? I can do that,” the draconequus said, before snapping a claw (again), turning his remaining pina colada into one of the furry little rodents.

“Now, my dear Alec, you have restrained yourself for far too long. Imagine if you had free reign to do what YOU want, no orders holding you back, no higher ups to answer you. Hmmm?” Discord tempted, tapping a finger on my helmet. “The world would end, Discord. If I had my way, all my enemies would be dead in a heartbeat, starting with you.” I felt… Strange. As if my mental filters were evaporating. Discord looked taken back, a hurt expression on his face. “Why me? I never did anything to you, did I? In fact, I’ve given you nothing but presents! Look!” He swept an arm back dramatically, flinging the appendage into the bushes. Behind him was… A Mantis. An honest-to-Celestia Mantis. I thruster packed up onto it, quickly opening the hatch and sliding in. The seat was still for a human, but I managed to settle myself comfortably, using the pedals and levers with my hooves. My visor linked up with the massive walking tank, and I stood up on my metal legs.

I had free reign. I had no commands to keep me in check. That’s not me thinking! What did Discord do?! Nothing. He gave us presents. And this is it. I’ll admit, a Mantis is pretty awesome, but… We vowed to PROTECT Equestria! Not destroy it! Starting with Discord. Okay, THAT I can live with. I call the final shot though. … Fine.

I turned the body on it’s chassis, raising the machine gun and sighting on the spirit of chaos. “Adios, amigos. Thank you for the gift.” I fired the gun, and launched missiles at my target. This is the ONLY one I’m going to kill! Got it me? No. We have free reign. Keep that up and I’ll derail the train. Error 666: We have no superior. That’s it. Execute Command! My armor dematerialized, unlinking the Mantis from my HUD. I climbed out of the mech, watching it slump to it’s legs in the resting position. I caught a glimpse of myself in the plating, seeing my body.

I was completely gray. Not like it matters.

I found the Element Bearers at the center of the maze. Rarity still had “Tom”, Fluttershy looked pissed off, and Pinkie Pie was snapping at anypony who smiled. Twilight just looked exhausted, hearing her friends bicker. “Hmph. At least some ponies actually made it here. Where’s Rainbow Dash? She should have been here already.”

Discord appeared above our group, laughing. “Oh, your dear friend quit! The game is over! Here, have your wings and magic back, I win! Ahahahahahaha! If you’ll excuse me, I have chaos to cause!” I found my wings had reappeared, and I bolted to the draconequus. I smashed headfirst into his chest, growling the entire time, “You do NOT LEAVE WITHOUT MY EXPRESS PERMISSION! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!”

Discord looked unamused, before vanishing. “Grrr, where did that traitor go? I need to beat some sense into him.” “Alec, calm down. We should just get back to Ponyville and try to fix things.” Twilight attempted, only to have me bear down on her. “Calm down? CALM DOWN?! Nopony gives me orders, I give everypony ELSE orders! Now take me back to Ponyville, NOW!”

Fluttershy giggled at my berating of the hapless unicorn, only to have Pinkie Pie shriek at her for apparently laughing at her. This just caused the pegasus to say, “Ha, ha!” to the earth pony, making Pinkie more and more enraged.

One train ride to Ponyville later, my squad of underlings found the roads had turned to soap. Twilight shouted at Discord, who skated by. “Ah don’ see anything wrong.” Applejack lied, before slipping and falling flat on her face, “Ah meant to do that.”

We travelled back to the library, where I immediately started shouting at Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, who were still arguing. We ended up taking the book on the Elements of Harmony and playing “Spike in the middle,” laughing at the baby dragon’s predicament. Twilight managed to snag it, so I went back to berating my commoners. While we were distracted, me yelling at the top of my lungs, Pinkie attempting to eviscerate Fluttershy, and Fluttershy taunting the party pony, Twilight slipped upstairs, slowly turning gray. About a half hour later, everypony else left, leaving me in the library. Twilight came back down, colored normally, before lighting her horn and striding towards me.

“What the BUCK are you doing, Twilight! You were never told to leave! Hey, I didn’t order you to come near m-” I stopped my rant as the horn touched my forehead, and memories swirled around.

Execute command, mother bucker. I’m back.

I shook my head, before slumping to the floor. “I’m so sorry, Twilight. I never meant to do all that. Well, I did, but it didn’t feel like me. It was like I was sitting in a passenger seat, watching myself treat everypony terribly.” I panted for breath, before finishing, “I at least managed to remove my armor earlier, otherwise everypony would have died because of me. I had to give the emergency signal, Execute Command.”

Twilight looked relieved, saying, “I forgive you Alec. Now we have to go get everypony else and bring them back.”

I nodded my head, a strange feeling welling in my heart at Twilight’s words. “Of course, Twilight. I hear you loud and clear.”

And I am NEVER going to lose myself again.

I’d rather die than kill everypony else.

now we have to save everypony else.

Execute Command. Acknowledged.