Canterlot

Dusk dove into an alley, plasma bolts whizzing down the street. DeMarco and Thorne had taken cover in an alley on the opposite side of Gold Oaks Boulevard. “What was that about bashing heads DeMarco?” yelled Dusk as he broke cover and advanced down the sidewalking, spraying bullets while he went.

“Well we aren’t anywhere near these fuckers yet, are we?” retorted the Spartan as he turned on his hardlight shield before he advanced.

Thorne stayed behind DeMarco, marking off targets as they moved. “If you’d keep moving, we’d have this barricade cleared already.”

As the trio reached the barricade, DeMarco dropped his shield, while Thorne vaulted over the wall that the Enclave had set up, landing on one of their officers. Dusk was right behind him, spraying from the hip as his armor’s shields flared at the impacts from plasma bolts.

As Dusk kept the Enclave soldiers distracted, DeMarco set to work planting explosives on the opposite side of the barricade as he ducked past bolts of plasma. “Would either of you mind to keep these bastards back?”

“We’re working on it!” yelled Dusk as he swapped out the ammo drum on his SAW. “Thorne, on me!” The unicorn charged down the street, weaving through incoming fire as he advanced before tackling one of the pegasi and punching him in the throat, while Thorne focused on picking off targets with his DMR.

DeMarco rushed forward to join his comrades, catching one of their power-armored assailants in the gut with his knife. “Charges set!”

“Well don’t wait on my account!” yelled Dusk as he swept the legs out from under yet another pegasi before firing a burst from his SAW into the downed foe.

DeMarco was quick to hit the tacpad on his wrist, before the three were thrown to the ground by the blast from their charges.

“When I said don’t wait on my account, I didn’t mean get our asses caught up in the blast!” yelled Dusk as he scrambled to his feet, watching as the surviving Enclave soldiers flew off before the ground shook under their feet.

“Another bomb just went off.” reported Roland over the radio. “Structural integrity of the west end has been compromised.”

“Got it. Get some marines over to Gold Oaks, and tell the evacuation teams that the route is clear.”

“Already done, Warbird is heading there now.”

“What now then?” asked Thorne, looking around as he heard a low groan.

“We link up at Canterbury with Steeljack-”

“Dusk, Palmer here. I’ve got Fireteam Shadow inbound to back you up. What’s your position?”

“Still on Gold Oaks Palmer. Look, I can’t-” Dusk was interrupted as a Pelican flew in overhead, a group of four Spartans jumping out before it had a chance to land. “Nevermind.”

“Commander Dusk?” asked one of the Spartans.

“The one and only.”

“Spartan Horatio Fry, Fireteam Shadow.” said the Spartan. “What’s our plan?”

“Obviously DeMarco’s plan to bash some heads isn’t working-” Dusk glanced over at the aforementioned Spartan before turning back to Fry. “-so we need to be a bit selective. Canterbury is a far bigger street than Gold Oaks or Main, and it’s wide open-”

“Then we stick to the buildings, pick off as many as we can and throw some ramps up over the barricade for the civilians to get across.” suggested Fry.

“While I like the ramp part, I was thinking along the lines of a bum-rush.” said Dusk as he checked over his weapon. “Once we’re in close we keep hammering away until they fall back, then help get the civilians out of the west side.”

“If you’re done scheming, we could use your help Dusk.” said Steeljack over the radio.

“Me, scheming? Say it ain’t so.” quipped Dusk as he started walking off towards a side alley.

The other Spartans were quick to follow. Thorne and DeMarco seemed at ease, while the members of Fireteam Shadow seemed far more tense as they swept down the alley.

Dusk signaled the group to stop once they hit the other end, peaking around the corner at the firefight that was in progress. The marines had tossed up sandbags not far from their position, and they were hiding behind them along with Steeljack and Patch.

“Well, what’s our plan?” asked Thorne.

“Like I said, bum-rush.” Dusk jumped out of the alleyway, tossing a yellow smoke grenade far behind the Enclave position.

______________________________________________________________________________

Patch poked up out of from behind the sandbags, firing of two shots before ducking back down to avoid the plasma bolts that were sailing overhead. “I still don’t see how this is your idea of being a hero.”

Steeljack chuckled. “Dodging plasma, taking on bastards bent on our destruction. What’s not heroic about that?”

“So, how fucked are we?” asked Thorne as he slid behind the sandbags.

“Depends on your viewpoint.” said Steeljack with a shrug. “On one hand, we’re kicking ass. On the other hand, we all face a good chance of dying when the city falls off the mountain.”

“You’re just a ray of sunshine.” snarked DeMarco as he stood and caused an instant loss of intelligence for an unfortunate officer with a bullet from his rifle.

“I try.” Steeljack looked back at the marines. “Alright, one last push and we can start packing up!”

“You heard the man, move it up!” yelled DeMarco as he scrambled over the sandbags.

As the marines broke from cover, two Pelicans flew over the barricade, landing on the other side to the sounds of rifle fire. It was mayhem as the mob ran forward, firing away at the Enclave as their own number was chipped away at by the plasma bolts before a rocket flew down from overhead and blew a hole in the barricade.

“Miss me fuckers?” yelled Dusk as he charged, tossing away the rocket launcher he grabbed as he started spraying once more with his machine gun before teleporting forward and cocking one of the soldiers before kicking the stallion behind the knee.

Steeljack was the first one through the barricade, bashing the nearest soldier’s with the butt of his rifle. As he turned to take on the Enclave horde, he saw that the lot of them were flying away in what appeared to be a mad scramble. “That can’t be good.”

As the ground shook from another explosion, Dusk groaned. “Great job dumbass, you jinxed us.”

The next few minutes were spent getting the citizens out of the city, with the Spartans and Marines helping them over the barricades. Most were panicked, considering the circumstances of their exodus, but one couple seemed to stand out.

“Steeljack, you see those two?” asked Dusk, pointing at the unicorn and pegasus pair.

The stallion nodded as the pair walked up to the two. “Something wrong?” Neither acknowledged Steeljack, who turned the mare towards him before furrowing his brow at the sight of a minor plasma burn on her right cheek. “What the hell happened?”

“Cloud Runner, where’s Cloud Runner?” asked the mare.

“Who?” asked Dusk.

“Our son.” said the stallion. “We were at dinner when all of… Whatever the hell this is started happening. We got separated when those soldiers started shooting.”

“Right about when your wife got hit?” the stallion nodded. “Alright, what resturant?”

“Dusk, is that-”

“Vemelli’s” said the stallion. “Cloud’s-”

Dusk held his hand up. “I can go by a name. Odds are he’d be the only one there.”

As he turned to go, Steeljack stood in his way. “So you're going alone?”

“Ya. Shouldn’t take that-”

Steeljack sighed. “Last I checked, the city’s primed to fall any minute.”

“And the Enclave are already pulling out.” retorted Dusk. “Look, just help get these ponies out of here. I’ll catch up with you once I get this kid.”

As Dusk teleported away, Steeljack shook his head before walking returning his attention to the retreating crowd.

______________________________________________________________________________

Dusk popped into the street in front of Vemelli’s Restaurant. Looking around, he was met with the sight of small fires lit by the Enclave’s plasma weapons. He swept into the restaurant, pausing as he felt the ground shudder. “Fuck…” Dusk quickened his pace, pausing once more as he heard an audible groan from under the bar. Jumping over, he was met with a sky blue earth pony with a number of plasma burns. “Cloud Runner?” he asked as he took off his helmet.

“Ya.”

“My name’s Dusk. Your parents told me you got seperated-”

“More like me trying to be a hero.” groaned Cloud.

“Well, plasma burns do tend to hurt-” the ground shook before dropping about a foot underneath the two stallions. Dusk threw his helmet back on. “Time to go.” Throwing Cloud onto his back, Dusk sprinted out of the restaurant and down the street towards the castle.

“You might want to go a bit faster.” suggested Cloud.

Dusk turned back and saw what he meant; the ground was falling away as the city began to crumble down the mountain. “Fuck!” Any attempt to pick up the pace was naught, as a building collapsed right in Dusk’s path. Turning back to the crumbling city, he just shrugged. “This is gonna hurt.”

______________________________________________________________________________

Canterlot Castle

“Well, that’s it then.” said Palmer as she viewed the footage of the city’s collapse. “We get everyone out?”

“Supposedly we did.” quipped Miller as he went through the reports.

“Where’s Dusk?” asked Dart as she walked in.

“No clue.” Palmer turned her radio on. “Dusk, where are you?” her radio was met with static. “Dusk?”

“Steeljack here Palmer. Dusk went back for a kid that got caught up in some sort of firefight in the market district. No clue where he is.”

“Well, let’s hope he made it out then.” said Palmer. “Miller, ping Dusk’s IFF tag.”

“On it Commander.” Miller typed away at his keyboard, as a red dot appeared on their map of the city.

“That’s the market district Miller.” said Palmer

Miller hit a few more buttons, and a hologram of the city appeared over their table. The red dot that was Dusk’s IFF was showing near the base of the mountain. “Fuck.”

“Miller, get birds down there now!” yelled Palmer as she ran out of the room.

“Steeljack, is Fireteam Shadow still there?”

“Spartan Fry here. What do you need?”

“Prep for immediate redeployment, search and rescue. A Pelican should be there shortly for pickup.”

“Copy that. Transmit the coordinates.”

______________________________________________________________________________

Canterlot Valley

“I really need to learn how to fly.” groan Dusk as he pushed a slab of concrete off him and Cloud. “You alright kid?”

“Never better.” groaned the Stallion as he dragged himself out of the hole him and Dusk landed in before collapsing to his knees.

Dusk knelt down with Cloud. “Look, granted a shield bubble isn’t the best way to survive a thousand-some-odd foot plunge down a mountain, but we’re alive aren’t we?”

“Says you.” quipped Cloud. “At least you can breathe right.”

Dusk took off his helmet and looked Cloud straight in the eyes. “You can’t breathe?”

Cloud shook his head. “Not perfectly. Almost feels like I sucked in pool water.”

Dusk took a look at one of Cloud’s plasma burns. “Would you like the sugar-coated version, or the blunt truth?”

“Blunt truth sounds good.”

“If you consider that one of these plasma bolts penetrated deep enough to give your left lung third degree burns, so there's that.” Dusk shook his head. “I need to get you out of here.”

“I thought we tried that already?”

“And if at first you don’t succeed, try again.” said Dusk as he put his helmet back on before picking up Cloud. “We dropped about two thousand feet. All we need to do is get out in the open.”

“Right where we can get shot?” quipped Cloud, before he started hacking.

“Just makes it easier to find us.” said Dusk as a Pelican flew overhead. “See?”

Palmer jumped off as the ramp was lowered, leaving behind a group of other Spartans. “Glad to see you’re still kicking.”

“Please Palmer, I’m far too stubborn to let a deadly plunge kill me.” quipped Dusk as he gestured to Cloud. “However, my friend here seems to have an aversion to getting shot with plasma bolts. Probably has to do with one that punched a hole in his chest, but what do I know?”

“Shit.” Palmer clicked on her radio. “Infinity, I’m inbound with a civilian casualty. Plasma burns through his ribcage.”

“Copy that Commander. Medical teams will be on standby in Hangar Ten.” replied Dalton

“What about my parents?” asked Cloud as Palmer and Dusk brought him onto the Pelican.

“We’ll send for them. Right now, just relax.” Palmer pulled out a small green can, before sticking a nozzle in Cloud’s chest would and pulling a pin.

“What the hell is that stuff?” groaned Cloud.

“Biofoam. Keeps pressure on the wound and sterilizes any bacteria that got in there.” responded the Spartan as she tossed the empty can to Fry. “That stuff’s save my life plenty of times. Trust me when I say it works.”

______________________________________________________________________________

UNSC Infinity

It had been an hour since Palmer’s Pelican arrived carrying Dusk and his wounded companion. Cloud Runner had been in with the doctors for nearly that entire time. His parents, Daisy and Full Sail, had arrived with Steeljack shortly after, although they were forced to wait with Palmer for any news.

“Palmer?” said Lasky as he walked in. “The doc wants the parents in here.”

Rising from her seat, Palmer brought Daisy and Sail into the infirmary and followed Lasky to Cloud Runner’s room.

Daisy and Full Sail pushed past Palmer and Lasky and ran up to Cloud Runner before the two embraced him.

Dusk was off to the side, and slipped over to Palmer and Lasky. “We might want to step outside with Doc Rivera.”

The three exited the room, shutting the door as the Doctor approached. “We’ve got a problem.” Before Dusk could say anything, Rivera cut him off. “Our friend in there needs surgery to correct the damage to his lung. The plasma did a damn good job of tearing it and part of his ribcage apart. Problem is we don’t know what we’re doing.”

“And why would that be?” asked Palmer.

“We’re flying blind.” said Rivera. “We know next to nothing about the Equestrian physiology or the correct way everything goes together-”

“So in essence, you can’t touch the kid because you run the risk of killing him.” stated Lasky.

“That’s about it in a nutshell. We can keep Cloud Runner alive for now, but he’ll need surgery to actually stand a chance at recovery.”

“Doc, what if I told you I know someone who could fix Cloud Runner?” asked Dusk with a smirk.

______________________________________________________________________________

“So, let me get this straight, you want to go find Doctor Halsey?” questioned Lord Hood. The group had adjourned to Lasky’s ready room after his brief suggestion with Doctor Rivera.

“She poked around me, and I’m still here.” said Dusk. “Besides, I just need the OK to go get her.”

“Good luck finding her then.” said Palmer as she rolled her eyes. “We have no-”

“I don’t need to know where she is Palmer. I tagged her with a crystal shortly after we met so I could teleport directly to her if Osman tried to pull something on either of us.”

“And what makes you think she can help this…”

“Alright, fuck it.” said Dusk. “I’ll be back in a few.” he charged up his horn, before he was engulfed in a flash of light, only to reappear in a dark purple room. “Well, this is-”

Dusk didn’t have a chance to do much else, before he was hit in the back of the head. “Who the hell are-”

“Catherine, since when can you throw a punch?” asked Dusk as he turned around. “And what happened to your arm?”

“A disagreement between myself and one of Osman’s lapdogs.” said the Doctor as she walked over to a desk in the corner. “What brings you here?”

“I need your help. Young stallion got shot in the chest with a plasma rifle. Burned through his ribcage and messed up one of his lungs. Doc Rivera on Infinity-”

“I’m sorry, but Infinity?” questioned Halsey “The UNSC is hunting me-”

“Was hunting you. Hood put a tight leash on Osman after I sent him all of the files I had.” replied Dusk as he sat on the desk. “Palmer seems rather torn on the whole thing, considering she shot you and all-”

“And Commander Palmer told you all of this?”

“One of ONI’s spooks did. Osman tried to install me as the Spartan detachment’s commander, which blew up in her face quite royally.” noted Dusk. “Although I got to keep the rank as part of the deal. And Hood has Infinity on guard duty… And rescue detail… And-”

“I get it Dusk.” said Halsey as she grabbed a few things off her desk, including a blue and orange box. “Now, how do you plan on getting us-”

Dusk cut off Halsey as he teleported the two back to the ready room on Infinity, staggering and panting. “Well, gonna need a break after that.”

“Doctor Halsey.” said Palmer as she walked up before grabbing her remaining hand. “Welcome aboard.”

Halsey cocked an eyebrow. “This wouldn’t be where you kill me, would it?”

“You didn’t see Cloud, or hear the prognosis.” noted the Spartan. “As far as I’m concerned, the kid comes first.”

“And then we get a prosthetic replacement squared away for you.” added Lord Hood. “As well as the first testimony at our inquest on ONI’s post-war activities.”

“Well, how could I refuse?” said Halsey with a chuckle. “Now, where is this patient I need to attend to?”

______________________________________________________________________________

Doctor Halsey slipped into Cloud’s room with Dusk on her tail and quickly grabbed the chart at the end of the stallion’s bed.

“Who are you?” asked Daisy.

Halsey ignored the question for a moment, setting the chart down on the end of the bed while flipping through the pages. Looking up, she offered a slight smile. “Catherine Halsey. I was asked to consult on your son’s injuries.” Looking back down, she frowned. “Cloud Runner, have you been feeling sore?”

“In what way?”

“Almost like your bones ache.” asked Halsey.

The stallion nodded. “Mostly in my chest, but I’ve been feeling it in my arms-”

“Then I see something of a compound problem.” noted Halsey as she put a scan of Cloud’s body up on the screen at the end of his bed. “While your lung has been heavily damaged, it is repairable. However, it would require extensive reconstruction.”

“If that’s the main issue-”

“That’s not all.” interrupted Halsey. “One of the things we know about plasma is the amount of damage it can cause to skeletal structure. It appears that the bolts that impacted your torso burned through to your bones, compromising their integrity and starting a process of decalcification.”

“In equish please?” asked Full Sail.

“Your son’s bones will eventually degrade to the point where they will be unable to support his mass without collapsing.” said Halsey. “In essence, his own body weight will eventually kill him without intervention.”

“Really reassuring Doc.” groaned Dusk.

“Which is why I’m pulling out my old playbook, so to speak.” hitting a button on the wall, the image of Cloud’s body changed to that of diagrams and notes.

Dusk narrowed his eyes. “Catherine, are you really suggesting what I’m thinking?”

“And what’s she suggesting?” asked Cloud.

“About three years ago, I conducted a number of experiments on Dusk as an experiment on how Spartan-type augmentations might affect physiology of other species.” stated the doctor. “They included a lung implant and injections to increase bone density and strength. With some proper modifications, that implant can deal with the lung damage, while those injections can solve the issue of bone decalcification.”

“Are you sure there isn’t anything else?” asked Daisy.

“I wish it were that simple.” Catherine sat down on the end of Cloud’s bed. “But the fact-”

“Do it.” said Cloud Runner. “I really don’t like the idea of a slow and agonizing death.”

“Ok then.” said Halsey. “I’ll have the medical ward prepared.”

As she went to leave, Cloud waved her down. “Mom, Dad, can you give us a minute?” As his parents got up and left, Cloud stared at Dusk before turning his attention back to Halsey. “That plate on the back of Dusk’s neck, it connects to that armor he wears, right?”

Dusk shook his head. “Cloud, I know where you’re going-”

“Then you know I want to get payback on the bastards that wiped out my home. Once I’m out of here, I want you to teach me how to fight.”

Dusk sighed. “Catherine, you might as well add a neural lace onto that list. I’ll have the armor lab start setting up some gear for Cloud.”

______________________________________________________________________________

Dusk sat out in the atrium with Daisy and Full Sail, waiting on word about Cloud Runner.

“Dusk, you have anyone special?” asked Full Sail.

“Relationship-wise? Just starting out with my marefriend.” he sat down next to Full Sail and sat back. “Considering she got my job after ONI nabbed be, and now I’m back, who knows what the hell is actually gonna happen. Really great way to start out…” Dusk paused to think. “Ok, scratch that. The sex is worth it.”

Daisy facepalmed while Full Sail just laughed. “Good to see you have such a good sense of humor.”

“You just lost your home.” stated Dusk. “I’m surprised you’re laughing at all.”

“We all have to laugh sometime.” stated Full Sail. “Personal possessions can be replaced, children can’t. We already lost our daughter Dart, so I don’t know what we’d do if Cloud died.”

Dusk furrowed his brow. “Tell me what happened to Dart.”

“She was kidnapped when we were on vacation in the north country about… Goddess, it’s been eight years already.” sighed Daisy. “We never found out what happened to her.”

“She wouldn’t happen to be mint-green, grey mane?” asked Dusk.

Daisy and Full Sail exchanged glances. “How do you know that?”

Before the opportunity to explain was taken, Dart strode into the atrium, hopping into Dusk’s lap before wrapping him in a passionate kiss. “Next time you decide to play hero, try to avoid plunging off the side of a mountain.”

“Dart-” said Dusk, now red in the face “-now really isn’t a good time.”

“Why not?” Dart turned and found herself staring at a well-built sapphire earth pony, and a sage green unicorn mare, with off-white and auburn manes respectively. “Uh, did I miss something?”

“No, we were just getting to that part.” said Full Sail as he clenched his fists.

Dusk let his head fall back and groaned. “Dart, did I ever introduce you to your parents?”

Author's Note

This is what's going through Dusk's head at the very end.