The Lost Survivors
By: CrystalSeeker & Requiem17
Chapter 1
Cracks in the Night
Universe 052 - 774A3
Fates Calendar - 665.009 Procyon Era
A warm breeze blew through the air, gently rustling the green leaves of trees. The night was indeed warm as the midsummer warmth radiated from the sun heated ground. Ponies of all types had long since settled into bed, peacefully dreaming of things to come. The moon hung low in the sky, partially hidden behind a magnificent palace that was perched ever so elegantly on the side of a mighty mountain. If one looked closely they would see a faint glow emanating from one of the spinley towers. A dark figure stood on the balcony, staring up at the night sky. An ethereal mane billowed alongside the figure’s white coat. The figure’s cutie mark depicted a large yellow sun, giving away the figures identity. The proud stance of the sun goddess gave an air of leadership and confidence, while her soft purple eyes radiated kindness and wisdom. She watched the stars twinkle gently, proud of her sisters work. With a sigh of contentment she turned and headed back into her room.
She approached her well used desk and sat down on a plush cushion. Levitating an ink pot and quill in her golden aura she unfurled a scroll and began writing in smooth strokes. Her eyes furrowed in concentration, intent on finishing the day’s final work. Finishing up her work she wrapped up the scroll and sent it away in a fine magical mist. She stood up and stretched, cracking her neck before yawning. It was getting fairly late and her schedule was filled with many long activities for the next day. Blinking her eyes rapidly she slipped out of her royal regalia and pulled back her bed’s covers. She slid into the heavenly sheets and put out the candles in her room with her magic. She yawned again and laid her head against her pillow, instantly falling asleep as her fatigue crashed over her mind and body.
Twilight Sparkle’s eyes were only half open, her eyelids feeling like they weighed a ton each. Like Celestia, she had a very stressful day. The ice cold wind tugged at her unkempt coat, causing her to shiver violently. A nearby guard approached her, his breath fogging in the frigid air.
“Your majesty, you are not required to be on deck. We have no concern of being harassed by the griffons as you have ensured peace. You deserve rest, princess.”
Twilight looked at the solar guard sluggishly, stifling a yawn before it could breach her muzzle. “That is not what I’m concerned about,” she stated as she looked around, eyeing the dark clouds wearily. “I’m more concerned that the ship will not hold up against a blizzard of this size if we were to become trapped in it.”
The guard smiled, genuinely pleased that the princess was concerned about the well being of those aboard the diplomatic vessel. “The airship captain has weathered worse than this, your majesty. He is an experienced veteran of the skies.”
Twilight eyed the guard curiously before responding, “You’re not going to give up until I go inside are you?”
The guard, feeling very confident, replied truthfully. “Not if Celestia herself ordered me to.”
Twilight laughed, coughing near the end as the ice cold air shocked her lungs. She cleared her throat before standing up. “Alright, I have, uh, taken your suggestion into consideration and have found it to be the correct course of action.” The guard watched Twilight before smiling, realizing that her ‘pompous’ statement was all in good fun. The purple alicorn turned swiftly and headed towards the cabins. “Wake me when we cross into Equestria.”
“Yes your majesty.”
Universe 052 - 774A1
Fates Calendar - 665.009 Procyon Era
The Everfree Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters stood tall and regal, among the city was vegetation here and there. The birds chirped, the sun shined brightly onto the castle, and the glint of metal revealed the somewhat advanced city. The buildings were modern while the castle seemed to hold the same designs it always held.
Standing amongst one of the balconies, a lone figure stood and stared at the beautiful city. He was different from other ponies, having a dark grey coat, a black mane with red stripes, a glowing red, yet also black tail, and glowing red markings running along his chest and legs. His pupils took a strange form of two spires, twisting into what he dubs a ‘Marker’, with red irises and black scleras. His horn was the same as his pupils, two spiral horns that were rather thick, and his wings were black with red outlines. He also wore a strange device on his back, one that glowed red along the spine as well as the half circle next to it. He was also quite tall for an Alicorn.
The stallion simply stood there, staring out across the city as he did every morning, not moving in the slightest. That is until he heard the voice of the one who had taken him in and given him so much, Princess Celestia. “John? Is everything alright?”
The stallion, or John, simply nodded as his eyes gave out a faint red glow. “Yes, everything is fine.”
Celestia stepped up to his side, a slightly worried look on her face. “Are you sure it’s truly wise to do this?”
John raised an eyebrow at her. “I am simply going to test my ship and see if everything still works after my tinkering. I’ll be back before you know it, I always do.”
Celestia smiled in response. “I am glad.” She then grew a faint blush. “I have been wanting to tell you something for a while now, John.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle slightly. “Don’t worry, you can tell me everything you want once I return. It shouldn’t take longer than a couple hours.”
This made Celestia give out a soft sigh. “Alright, I understand.”
John smirked slightly and nodded as he turned towards his room. “Now, I will be back soon.”
And with that, he left the balcony, leaving Celestia to stare up at the sun. She let out a soft sigh. “I hope I can tell him soon.”
Universe 052 - 774A2
Fates Calendar - 665.009 Procyon Era
Dust rained from the sky as a massive shock wave rippled through the air. The debris bounced off an armored form with dull clanks. The warrior ignored the potentially fatal rain of shrapnel and jumped out of cover. A large green war bird flew overhead, missiles dropping from their storage racks and racing towards a very large purple machine. It walked on four legs and fired green bolts of boiling plasma at the flying pest. The warrior took advantage of the distraction and began charging down the hill at over 50 kilometers per hour. A flash of purple and the tell tale warble of a Ghost alerted the Spartan to an oncoming enemy.
A red dot rapidly approached him on his radar, causing the Spartan to leap high into the air. The Ghost sped under him, the Spartan timing his throw as a glowing blue ball stuck to the back of the Ghost’s occupant. The short stocky creature screamed in fear before disappearing in a bright blue explosion. Unfortunately for the Spartan the large purple machine, which was recognized as a Scarab by the Spartan, turned its attention to the lone warrior. The main plasma battery began charging up with roiling green plasma. The Spartan wasted no time in moving as fast as he possibly could. There was no cover nearby that would withstand a blast from the mighty war machine, pushing the Spartan further towards the Scarab as it would not be able to track him if he was within its sight radius.
Before the Scarab could fire a large explosion plumed from one of its joints, causing an alarm to blare loudly. The Spartan looked behind him, noticing a Scorpion driving along the ridge he had ran from. With a nod the Spartan turned back around and finished his sprint to the downed machine. A Grunt manning a plasma turret spotted the half ton Spartan plowing towards him, squeaking in fear before firing. It was far too late as the Spartan’s overshield dispersed the shots, allowing him to simply crash into the turret, turning the gunner into pulp. The armored wall of the Scarab stopped the Spartan’s momentum, squealing terribly as sparks flew at the point of contact. Pulling out his two prototype SMGs the Spartan cut down any alien in his path.
He finally reached the rear of the Scarab and was graced with the view of the plasma core. The Spartan smashed his fist into the shield and protective casing covering the core, resulting in the core to turn a deep red. Priming a grenade, the Spartan placed it in the core before running out of the blast radius. The grenade went off, fracturing the core and causing it to heat up violently. The core flashed and grew blindingly bright. With just seconds to spare the Spartan leaped from the Scarab and landed on the ground with a loud thud.
The Scarab whined loudly before exploding violently, pieces of debris flying everywhere. The Spartan didn’t even look back as he walked away from the burning wreckage. He saw an inbound Pelican and waited patiently for it to land. He pulled up his armor diagnostics and was happy when everything read out as ‘green’. He tucked his SMGs into their hidden grooves in his thigh armor before walking towards the landing Pelican. The thrusters flared brightly, tossing enough dust that it engulfed his form, hiding him from view. The Spartan continued walking towards it, almost reaching it before a slight tingling raced up his spine.
The ground started vibrating, causing the Spartan to pull out his assault rifle. The vibrating increased, no doubt shaking the Pelican as well.
“What the hell is going on?”
The Spartan ignored the pilot’s outburst over the radio and instead kept tense for whatever was coming. His hands went numb and he looked down, staring in disbelief as his hand seemed to blur. He watched as it raced up his body, finding that he couldn’t move. A bright light flashed from his left but he was unable to turn and view it. The light brightened and with a loud roar he felt his body smash into something, his world going dark.
The vibrating ceased as quickly as it had arrived. A gust of wind blew the dust away, revealing the empty space in which the now missing Spartan had once stood.
Universe 052 - 774A1
Fates Calendar - 665.009 Procyon Era
John stepped onto the ship, the one that made all of this, everything that has happened to him, happen. The USG Hellia, as it said on the side, was one of the escape shuttles from the Sprawl on Titan Station. It was large enough for a crew of fifty, holding a store, suit kiosk, and also a bench. He didn’t know much about the ship, to tell you the truth, but he knew that it was very special in a way too.
Once John entered through the airlock he headed straight for the cockpit, which he hadn’t touched since he came here, though he was confident that with a little mental jogging he would remember how to use it. So, with a nod, he entered the room and sat down in the chair, spinning it so he was facing the controls, and stretched out his forelegs. Once this was done he began typing down on the controls, which caused the ship to lift up into the air and shutter slightly, the flames under the ship increasing in intensity before it began heading for the atmosphere. This made John type down a little more and the speed increased.
Once the ship left the atmosphere, John began typing on the holographic panels as he checked the ship’s status and other important diagnostics until he nodded in acceptance and looked over his shoulder, seeing nothing that special. So, with a nod, he flipped a switch and activated the Light Speed Jump. The ship lurched harshly, causing John to grunt at the force while he lurched back in his seat, the white lights of Light Speed engulfing the window. John began to feel darkness taking over. He forced himself forward, wrapped a hoof around the switch, and groaned deeply as the speed intensified, before he finally pulled it, and everything went black.
Universe 052 - 774A3
Fates Calendar - 665.009 Procyon Era
John gave out a low, painful groan as he felt his eyes open slowly, allowing him to see the red light blinking on and off, indicating the alarm. This made him cough a little and wipe the blood away from his lip, then pushed himself to a sitting position, seeing that he had fallen out of the pilot seat. So, with a shake of his head, he stood on all fours and glanced back at his RIG, seeing it was almost empty and in the red. ‘Shit… that was a rough one.’
He then turned to the doors that separated the cockpit from the CIC, and walked through. Once he was in said room, he noticed a large, gaping hole that revealed the outside to be Equestria, which made him nod that he was still home, and followed the other hole, seeing it went far through the ship. This made him slightly worried, and glance over at the Suit Kiosk. Instead of investigating the hole right away, he headed for the Kiosk and looked at the suits he currently had. He currently had the Security Suit, the Engineering Suit, the Advanced Suit, the Vintage Suit, the Riot Security Suit, the Patrol Suit, and finally the Advanced Soldier Suit. Each one was special, but he could only choose one. So, for the most protection, he took the Riot Security Suit.
Once he entered the Kiosk it sealed around him, the arms beginning to go to work. They didn’t have to take anything off, so they simply put the under suit around his form, then began placing the second layer of bullet proof armor, then finally the titanium pieces that completed the protection. With that finished, the Kiosk opened, and he mentally commanded the suit to seal completely, which led to the helmet forming around his head, and the HUD turned on.
With this done, he stepped out of the Kiosk, and walked over to the store, which he opened up, and could see the a wide variety of items for his use. There was the Pulse Rifle, the Plasma Cutter, the Javelin Gun, the Line Gun, the Rivet Gun, the Flamethrower, the Seeker Rifle, the Force Gun, and finally the Contact Beam. He also had access to all the ammo for these items as well as food, clothes, suits, and finally three different sets of medpacks.
After he bought the Pulse Rifle, Line Gun, Plasma Cutter, and the Contact Beam, he bought a good amount of ammo and medpacks, then pulled away from the store. He opened the RIG next, made sure everything was in order, then looked at the large hole in the hull.
He walked over to the hole, and placed a metallic hoof against the edge, scanning it to see what could’ve caused it. It was… somewhat shaped in a way, but given the force, it also seemed like it had just completely opened up. But he simply shrugged it off as he looked down the long row of holes, which seemed to shrink in size… utterly confusing him.
Instead of questioning this, he climbed through the hole, and began walking through the many holes in the hull. He heard a low groan, causing him to pull out his Plasma Cutter, and aim it down the rest of the holes, which made the flashlight attachment turn on, and shine through. He then spoke loud enough to hopefully be heard. “Is anypony in there?”
John saw a cyan flash before a… very large gun muzzle pointed right back at him from the gloom. “Identify yourself or you will be shot,” a voice called back.
John’s response was a grunt under his helmet. “You should probably know you are on MY ship, so we are going by MY rules here. Who are you?”
“I am of the rank Chief Petty Officer of the navy and I order you to identify yourself.”
John couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. “The Navy? Since when did they reform the Navy?”
“The UNSC Naval Defense has been around for centuries. How could you not know of them?”
“UNSC? You mean SCAF?”
“I mean exactly what I said. I am a soldier of the United Nations Space Command. I ask again and for the final time, identify yourself!”
“Look pal, we’re not anywhere near… wherever you’re from, and I sure as hell ain’t taking orders from a soldier who’s part of an army that doesn’t exist. There are only two forces back home, EarthGov, and the Soverign Colonies Armed Forces, and last I checked, they were gone for two hundred years. If you plan on shooting me now, then you are in for a rude awakening.”
John waited as the voice did not respond for several seconds, watching as the barrel of the hidden weapon lowered. Two beams of blinding light lit up, causing John to wince. When his eyes finally adjusted his sight was greeted by a most peculiar pony. The pony was enshrouded in a dark steel grey armor with red shoulder pauldrons and red colored armor pieces in various places. The pony was of the Earth variant unless his wings were tucked under his armor. The armor was very bulky and had a black undersuit. The most striking feature was the bright cyan faceplate that the pony sported.
The pony had his weapon cradled awkwardly in his hooves, attempting to balance on his hind legs with surprising agility. “Who are you?” the strange pony asked.
John smiled under his helmet at the more polite attempt at asking his question. “The name is John, John Orion. Former member of the CEC Engineering Track and former scientist of EarthGov.”
The pony stared at him for a few more seconds before replying, “Spartan 02-05 of the UNSC Naval Defense Force.” He tilted his head, “I’ve never heard of the CEC or EarthGov. Do you know where we are?”
John nodded as he holstered his Plasma Cutter. “Yeah, we’re on the Planet Equis. And I have a few questions of my own if you don’t mind.” The Spartan tucked his rifle onto his back, John also noticing another weapon seeming to be stuck on a plate of armor alongside it. ‘Hmm… must be magnetic in nature.’
“It only seems fair that I answer your questions as you’ve answered mine; as long as they are not classified of course.”
John gave another nod, and motioned the Spartan to follow. Once they got out of the hull, John led the Spartan through the halls of the ship, until they reached the crew quarters, where there were a couple chairs. John sat in one, and motioned the Spartan to sit. Once he did, he asked the first question, while noting the slight groan of the chair. “Tell me, what exactly is a Spartan?”
“The details of the surgical enhancements are classified but Spartans are genetically enhanced super soldiers.”
John nodded. “Alright, your turn.”
“Are you an Insurrectionist?”
“A what?”
“Nevermind.”
John shrugged. “Very well. Next question. What is this UNSC?”
“It is a unified government that governs Earth and all her colonies. What is EarthGov and SCAF?”
“The Earth Government Colonial Alliance, known also as Earth Government and EarthGov, is the executive branch of Earth and its colonies, responsible for administrating the territories that officially fall under its control.”
“EarthGov, as it is known at the time of the events on Aegis VII, is speculated to have seized executive power over most independent national governments on Earth following a series of worldwide social calamities caused by post-21st century armed conflicts, specifically, the Bering Sea conflict, and environmental catastrophes known collectively as the Global Warming Epidemic that may have dealt crippling damage to the global economy and many nation-states.”
“Following these instabilities, Earth's new global government created several separate "Sectors" of administration based on national, geopolitical and geographical considerations to every region on the planet.”
“EarthGov has been through a war though. Known as the Secession War. The Secession War saw EarthGov engaged in an extensive conflict for control of human space with the Sovereign Colonies. The war raged on for some time, EarthGov steadily becoming the apparent victor in the face of the colonies’ dwindling resources and public support. During the Sovereign Colonies Armed Forces expedition to Tau Volantis search for the Markers, EarthGov defeated the faction that remained in Earth Space. The Sovereign Colonies’ expedition failed and their forces diminished on both fronts, the Sovereign Colonies scuttled their fleet and were forced to dissolve. Earth Government maintained control of Earth Space and the colonization of planets.”
“EarthGov is deeply entrenched in the affairs of colonial politics, business and military administration. It holds the power to control travel throughout colonial space and, if required, to police, establish curfews and restrict traffic in certain areas, as well as dispatch military and naval forces to remove elements believed to ignore or threaten its orders.”
“Among the government's activities are numerous black or secret operations projects intended to hide from popular scrutiny several of its sensitive initiatives. Three hundred years prior to the year 2508 and the events on Aegis VII, EarthGov had been spearheading research into deciphering the coding of the Black Marker, an artifact of alien origin found on Earth. Its research team was kept under extreme observation due to the mysterious, and possibly dangerous, nature of the Marker.”
“One of its members, Michael Altman, in the wake of publicly revealing his research into the Black Marker, was expelled from the research team and, following a wave of obsessive global interest into his findings, was swiftly assassinated by government agents in order to retain what remained of the project's secrecy. His legacy has led to the creation of one of the largest and most widespread religious dogmas in world history: Unitology. All subsequent publications treating the subject of Unitology and Altman's assassination, such as "The False Messiah", were banned from major libraries on Earth and in the colonies.”
“After Altman's death, the government attempted to recreate the Black Marker coding and DNA recipe, resulting in the creation of recombinant bacteriological life-forms known as Necromorphs that attach to dead organic cells and resurrect the infected tissue. The government-created replica of the Black Marker, the Red Marker, was hidden in a restricted-traffic star system on the planet Aegis VII in order to cover up the deaths on Dr. Eando Dukaj's team (the man in charge of the group tasked with recreating the original Marker, and also the person who first advised the government on silencing Michael Altman), and hide its resulting horrors from public eyes.”
“The public announcement of the massacre on the USG Ishimura provides further evidence into EarthGov's consistent cover-up policies, the cause of the numerous deaths on the ship having been pitted on incursions by terrorist groups and declared the result of a "terrorist attack," instead of admitting the existence of the murderous element and the alien-infected life-forms responsible for the massacre.”
“EarthGov's black operations are not restricted to scientific development, however; its control extends deep within commercial contracts with a number of private corporations whose documents can, at any time, be manipulated. As in the case of Isaac Clarke's father, Poul Clarke, the government regarded his work as ship architect with wary eyes and classified most of his service record for reasons never revealed.”
“Combined with numerous black ops, the government apparently also hires field agents, or spies, to gather information on activities it is not privy to at certain times. One possible agent, Kendra Daniels, was assigned to infiltrate the team of the USG Kellion sent to respond to the crisis on the Ishimura and retrieve the compromised Red Marker for the government or the Earth Defense Force.”
The Spartan once again stared at John for a few seconds. “... For times sake do you think you could shorten your answers? I’m very much concerned about where I am and what happened to me,” the Spartan drawled.
John sighed heavily in annoyance. “This is Celestia all over again, but ruder.”
The Spartan shrugged. “So, why am I like you?”
John smirked behind his visor, and his helmet retracted, revealing his much different look compared to the Spartan. “You aren’t exactly like me.” His eyes glowed red in emphasis.
“... I’m not taking off my helmet.” The Spartan sat back and looked around. “Moving on, I assume you know your way around these parts?”
“We’ll I have lived here for two hundred years… so I guess I know a few good places to find that ‘special’ little something.”
The Spartan stood and cracked his neck quite audibly. “Do you know how to get back to Earth or any other human controlled colony?”
“I don’t think they’d take kindly to alien visitors like we currently are.”
The Spartan stared at John again, said action being quite easy when you had an emotionless piece of glass between you and someone else. “What do you suggest?”
John stood on all fours, ignoring his stare. “I was thinking of visiting my mentor, who took me in when I arrived. I’m sure she’d be willing to take you in and help you adapt.”
The Spartan shook his head, “I do not intend on staying here. The UNSC needs every one of their soldiers. When we meet your mentor I will ask her to help me find a way to change myself back or provide the means for my return.”
John gave out a small chuckle. “I’ve asked her that a couple times during my two hundred years, and she said her magic was not strong enough for such a journey.”
“You’re joking right? Magic? That’s just the easy way of explaining something that science cannot explain.”
John smirked again and his eyes glowed red, while his horn did the same. This caused the Spartan’s body to glow red, and he was lifted into the air, hovering a few feet from the ground. “Do you still not believe?”
“Put me down!” the Spartan roared.
“What if I don’t want to?”
The Spartan attempted to reach for his sidearm but found that he could not move. With a growl of irratance the Spartan strained with all his might to move. Thinking quickly he overcharged his overshield in an attempt to break free. With a crackle his overshield popped, causing lances of sparks and electricity to criss-cross over his armored form. John felt the Marker Signal growl in irritation, and increased it’s power over the hold. The Spartan grunted in exertion, feeling the ever tightening hold on his body.
“I wouldn’t do that, the Marker Signal doesn’t like being repelled, and will make itself deadlier if such things are attempted.”
“Alright! Just put me down!”
John did just that, and released him, feeling the Marker growl at him for being forced to disperse. “I wasn’t planning on hurting you, only show you that there is such a thing as magic.”
The Spartan climbed up off the floor from which he had fallen to. He rotated his legs one at a time, an audible hum sounding out as a flash of gold encased his body before disappearing.
“Hmm… shields. I have heard of EarthGov attempting to make those, but failed, and simply went with making armor instead.”
“This armor is the pinnacle of UNSC engineering and ONI investing. It had better be worth it.”
John gave out another chuckle. “I see, well, our pinnacle of inventions was this thing on my back.” He turned around to reveal the glowing red spine like bar, and also revealing a small half circle with four segments added to it. There also appeared to be increased metal plating along the device. “Ever seen one of these before?” The Spartan shook his head. “It’s called a Resources Integration Gear, or RIG for short. It monitors your health here on the spine, along with your Stasis Module which helps in slowing things down; it also has your kinesis module which helps you with, well… you know. It can also be used for video chats as well as making text logs, as well as holding everything you wish to carry, information you come across, and can even increase your health. Hell, it could increase your damage resistance even.”
“... I can lift up three times my own weight.”
John rolled his eyes at him, and spoke under his breath. “Great, another muscle head.”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” The Spartan began walking around the room, tinkering with items that were randomly scattered about. “While I do… enjoy these chats I do have a mission to complete. Shall we get a move on?”
“What’s the rush? Time could possibly run differently here compared to where you come from.”
“That’s exactly my point. The war could be over now, and for the worse mind you.”
“One: I didn’t mean that big of a time difference. Two: What war, little guy?”
The Spartan looked up at the rather large pony and paid him no mind. He’d fought bigger things. “More like genocide. We were able to stop the Covenant but their remnants may still push the tide in their favor once again.”
John winced slightly when the Spartan said genocide, remembering back to the outbreak the Marker forced on Titan Station… as well as his dead wife and kids. “I…” He then shook his head and turned his back on the Spartan. “Let’s go, I’m not interested in continuing this.”
The Spartan nodded in agreement and followed John. They left the room, walked down a few hallways, and soon reached the airlock. As they stood and waited for the decontamination to finish, John grew a small pain in his head, which he ignored as another issue came up. “By the way, I need a name to call you by.”
"You can call me Ale."
John nodded as he activated the holographic switch. “Right, sounds good.” The airlock doors opened up, revealing there to be several ponies in golden armor with spears aiming at them. This made John worried. “Oh boy…”
The guard who had spoken with Twilight just mere hours ago was sitting near one of the wooden railings alongside the ship. He now understood exactly what Twilight had experienced when he convinced her to go to her cabin. The golden armor did not help retain heat, the guards ill-equipped to handle a trip to the north. It didn’t matter though as the guard took solace in the fact that they would be crossing into Equestria any minute now, allowing him to go off-duty. The guard watched patiently as the final cloud enshrouded mountain passed beneath him. With a sigh he rose up, wincing as cold air rushed to his underbelly. He quickly trotted over towards the cabins before a brief flash in the sky caught his attention.
He turned towards the sky and watched it with rapt attention. A small fire seemed to be floating mysteriously in the air quite a ways out. The guard blinked and suddenly realized that the sky was filled with stars except for the area that the fire occupied. The black object suddenly jumped into his vision as his brain finally registered what to look for. The object descended rapidly towards the distant green of the Everfree Forest. The guard took note of its landing before rushing back into the cabins, intent on waking Princess Twilight.
