The Ringworld Warrior

The train screeched to a halt, metal grinding against metal. I shuddered at the sound, familiar with the smooth qualities that hardlight provided, not simply wasting energy away. I stood up, ignoring the glances from the ponies on the train, and exited. It was bright outside, a distinct lack of clouds and a blazing star the cause. Everywhere I looked, there were buildings of a Tier 7 civilization, one which was past their own dark ages yet not industrialized. I sighed, knowing this peace would not last long. It never did.

A group of six ponies, one being Twilight Sparkle and another being the pink intruder from earlier, approached me. “Welcome to ponyville, Hardlight. Would you like a tour?” Twilight spoke, while a cyan pegasus shifted uneasily. I took a short moment to examine the others, one an alabaster unicorn with a stylized purple mane, a pale yellow pegasus that had an air of timidity, and an orange Earth pony wearing a hat.

I responded, “That will not be necessary. I can just summon my Autosentry and have it patrol areas you deem of interest, and review the footage at another time. It would be preferable if your group introduced themselves.”

I was met with quizzical looks. I mentally facepalmed, remembering that the ponies had nowhere near the technological level of the Forerunners, and relied heavily on their supposed magic. “MynameisPinkiePieandohmygoshyounevergotapartyandIcompletelyforgottosetoneupforyouI’llberightbackbye!” The pink one stated, managing a conversation’s worth of information in a single long sentence. I watched as Pinkie darted off, presumably to start preparations.

Twilight began introducing the others, “This is Rarity, she runs the Carousel Boutique, and is the Element of Generosity. Applejack works and lives at Sweet Apple Acres, the noted best place for apples, and is the Element of Honesty. This is Rainbow Dash,”

The pegasus puffed out its chest, striking a supposedly tough pose, boasting, “The fastest flier in Equestria! Please, hold the applause.” I frowned. Arrogance will earn one only shame and dishonor, despite how the short term may say otherwise.

The unicorn continued with a huff, “She’s the Element of Loyalty. And this is Fluttershy. She takes care of animals, and is the Element of Kindness.” The shy pegasus squeaked, before shrinking back.

“Thank you for introducing them to me. I am Hardlight-Shines-Eternal, a Promethean, which is the highest section of the Warrior-Servants. I am a Forerunner, and I have adequate reason to believe I am the last. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. Is there anywhere of utmost importance that requires me?”

Rarity gasped, “Why, of course! Just follow me to my Boutique, and I can get to work on your dreadful clothing! Do, follow me!”

I shook my head vehemently. “No. This armor must not be removed. It contains my ancilla, has the capability to protect me from nearly anything of a lower technological level than that of the Forerunners, and I also chose it. I apologize, but Warrior-Servants are not ones to dress up.” Rarity gasped, feigning a look of indignance.

“Why-but-I-YOUR CLOTHING!”

I affirmed, “Quite simply, no.”

Rainbow Dash was next to speak, “How about you check out my sweet moves! I could always use an audience!” Her chest became extremely puffed, to the point I thought it would burst.

“I said of the utmost importance. My services do not include being part of a group of fans, all vying for your attention while you continue on your meaningless tricks. Every Forerunner has a job to do, to uphold the Mantle of Responsibility. We care for life, but do not whittle it away frivolously. Please, do not take offence, but it simply does not hold my interest.”

Applejack interjected, “Ah could use some help on mah farm. Could ya’ lend a hoof?”

I thought on this, “Is my presence required? I am trained to fight, and fight only when absolutely necessary. It is not a task set for Warrior-Servants. If need be, if it will keep the entire population alive, I shall help. But if my presence is not required, then I am afraid I cannot.”

Applejack looked downtrodden, “Aw, shucks. And Ah have such a large heap o’ work cut out for mahself.”

I was skeptical of this, “And how large is this task? Would it be such a burden as to result in one’s injury and/or death, or can it be handled on one’s own? Again, the answer must be no.”

Fluttershy uttered something under her breath. I crouched, “What was that, would you please repeat your statement?”

She seemed to muster her courage, before requesting, “I… Um… The animals have been scared out of their homes recently, and I was hoping you could maybe… See what’s wrong? They keep talking about something bad, but the Everfree is so dark… And scary… If it’s okay with you, that is…”

This seemed reasonable. “I am perfectly willing to help you, Miss Fluttershy. Just lead the way, and I will attempt to help.”

The others jaws dropped, with Rainbow Dash exclaiming, “Wha-but-WHY?! They’re just some animals, who cares if they get startled a bit! What makes some silly little creatures more important than me?!”

I’d had enough of the ego of her, “Because they could very well die. To lose one’s home means to lose one’s shelter, their source of comfort, of security. Without a home, you are vulnerable, threatened by the dangers of the world. To put your so-called tricks ahead of another’s life sickens me. To hold respect only for yourself makes you secluded from the truth. To reach out to everything else is to understand life, and to nurture it, and it may one day return the favor to you. All life is sacred, and to be the cause of death is not something I take lightly. I will now take my leave and help Fluttershy.”

And with that, I strode away, with the yellow pegasus guiding me, a cyan one left behind to rethink her views. My mouth became a grim line, as I remembered why I came to Ponyville: to prevent the griffons from attacking. Thoughts of death lingered on my mind, haunting me with images of the Flood and the many species caught in the crossfire of the horrid war.

Fluttershy lived in a nice cottage at the edge of a forest, which loomed ominously. A large gathering of animals was outside, many bearing similarities to ones that were gathered by the Lifeworkers to preserve on the Halos and in the Ark. They began crowding around Fluttershy, before freezing at the sight of me, clad in my armor. The pegasus spoke to them, and they relaxed, allowing me to continue forwards.

“Miss Fluttershy, would you be so kind as to describe to me what drove them from their homes? It will give me a better idea of the creature, and if it can be convinced or not. I prefer not to resort to force.”

“Oh, um… Yes, of course. They said it’s a very big thing, that had a sort of spike poking out of its back, and it had a pair of circular mouths on the sides of its head. It also kept yelling and growling, kind of like a dog. Thank you for offering to help…”

I nodded, before walking away. I paused, “Which direction?” She pointed, and I turned and strode forwards. “It is my pleasure, Miss Fluttershy. I will do my best.” I called back, as I entered the dark forest. I frowned, before activating the Promethean Vision built into my helmet. Everything became blue, with outlines in a lighter shade marking objects. As the function spread to full range, I spotted a squat shape that was yellow, marking it as unidentified. It appeared to have a large spike protruding from its back, and might have very well looked large to the indigenous animals.

I stepped towards it, deactivating my Vision as I saw a pale blue glow from a container. The creature leapt up, hollering in a strange language, looking about fearfully. “Comparing speech pattern to stored languages. Done. The language it is speaking is Balahonan, the native language of the Unggoy. Setting translators to Balahonan.” My ancilla said, as it worked through the vast array of knowledge contained in my suit.

I spoke, “Greetings. I am Hardlight-Shines-Eternal. I do not mean you harm.” The creature looked shocked, before curling up.

“No! Don’t hurt! I’ll be good! Please! I was just hungry!” The being spoke, obviously afraid.

“I do not wish to hurt you. May I ask who you are, and what your species is?”

It looked up, “I’m Panug. What’s a species?”

My eyes widened, “Your race. It is hard to tell with your armor on.”

“I can’t take my suit off, or I’ll die. I’m Unggoy. What are you?”

“I am a Forerunner.”

Panug quivered, before throwing himself at my feet, “Oh merciful god! Thank you for coming! I wish to go on the Great Journey! Please! Please bring me with you!”

I attempted to shake the Unggoy off, to no avail. “I do not understand what you mean by the Great Journey. However, you may come with me. Are you in need of food? Water? I believe the Unggoy are methane-breathers, so do you require that as well?”

The poor being just kept a tight grip, as I sighed and walked back to Fluttershy’s cottage. Apparently I was now taking care of an Unggoy who thought I was a god, and wouldn’t leave me for anything. This was going to take some explaining, I thought, as I trudged along.

-------------------- The Griffon Homelands --------------------

A large, black griffon stood in a room, glaring at the map of Equestria and his country, focusing on the point marked ‘Ponyville’. He snarled, pushing multiple figurines of griffons towards the location. The door burst open, revealing a harried-looking soldier, who quickly stood to attention and saluted, “General! Our forces are now within a hundred miles of Ponyville. What are your orders?”

General Steelbeak nodded in acknowledgement, “Dispatch a scout team into the Everfree, and move the troops to the edge of the forest. I want the attack to be a surprise, and because none of the ponies dare venture into the wretched forest, it is perfect for us to hide in.”

The soldier gasped, “Sir! That’s suicide! Even if we do succeed, we’ll lose too many troops in there!”

The General quickly rounded on him, “I don’t care how many are lost, just get them in there! You can have more if you need them, but just do it! Or do you not want a part of the Great Journey?”

The hapless griffon shook, “No, sir! I’ll get right on it! I won’t let you down!”

“Good. Now leave.”

The soldier left quickly, shutting the door behind himself. The General sighed, before a purple tower behind him flickered on, projecting a creature that was bent over on a floating throne, “General, are your troops in position? As you are now part of the Covenant, we will supply you with weapons and armor, but you must prove yourselves worthy first.”

“They are currently on their way, my lord. We will remove the Elements of Harmony and with that remove the ponies greatest weapon, then we will march to Canterlot. We won’t fail you.” Steelbeak said, bowing before the hologram.

The High Prophet of Truth smiled, eyes glinting. “Good, good. Thank you, General.” He then cut out the hologram, before smirking and leaning back, “And if you fail… You will be naught but glass…”

He began chuckling, as he piloted his gravity throne out of the room and towards his personal chambers. The griffons would be a most useful tool, indeed...