Chapters Ah, one the few times of the year I get out of my home, dress up in badass cosplay, and flaunt my general fandom knowledge. The vast My Little Pony fandom, the subtle Halo lore, and all the way to the lovely dark rage quitting game called Dark fucking Souls. The event I'm talking about is the local Anime con that I attend EVERY year wearing a different masked custom for fun and so no one recognizes me from some my rude behavior. Eh fuck them. I stumbled upon it online looking for a nice convention thats a short drive from my home and slightly smaller than normal ones on terms of slight social anxiety of the Fluttershy of levels.
This year I'm going as one my favorite video game characters of all time. I mean ALL time as i've had him since I was a child and I was the freaking best at the games. He starred in the First fanfiction I've ever read along with books I spent WEEKS nitpicking facts form the small paper back pages.
None other than Master fucking Chief Petty Officer Spartan John 117. Sir! Promission to give the Convenient there bomb back? The most badass scene of gaming history,
I am not nearly as tall or as wide framed as the 7’2 enhanced super soldier giant in armour but my natural 6’2 height and generous frame along with shoulder stuffing, and shoe padding definitely makes the illusion much more believable and more life like.
Naturally with the badass and glorious armour many wanted to take pictures with me and OF me along with the plastic M6D pistol I ordered from the same website as the shiny, badass, hyper realistic looking custom.fitted Mark VI MJOLNIR armour as most places don't sell it in my size and only one place MAKES this beautiful looking cosplay outfit. Now imagine having to CUSTOM order the fucker along with going to a tailor to get the measurments need for it. But it was worth every. Single. Penny. This year i'm being extra nice so I can wear it AGAIN next year. And the year after that and you kinda get the point.
Some I’m in one of the less populated tunnels leading to a food or arts areas but I always loved looking at every vendor I could including the more poorer but honest vendors that could only get a place in the hall to a minor area of the convention.
Give some of them a chance, some might have cool object such as swords fitting a certain cosplay someone's missing, or something you've might of never seen before but more genetic vendor items. Cant help whats the norm.
As I near the middle of the hall a vendor in a dark corner making him almost unnoticeable as no one seemingly sees him walking past the honestly disturbing and off putting man and that's something form a Gears of Wars fan. Especially the second one. Wormy.
I guess what caught me most of all was the man or thing behind the counter. Haunched over, dark, and overall having a presence of harmful mischief. All in all he seems like Discord if he aimed for complete and utter mental scarring.
He catches the fact I seem to uniquely notice his wares, “Come, come. Look my wares, buying any shall change your fate with change of body and mind along with your soul.” Creepy but a real damn good hook line.
I got closer to the stall and when I say it was in the shadows I mean I turned on my damn flashlight on the helmet to see the item on display better. Basically what I found is a cosplay paradise.
A portal gun that almost seems real down to the glowing, the occasional noise, and the futuristic white metal/plastic.. A fucking Lancer from Gears of War series so detailed that it smelled like oil and gasoline, it bounced light off it to the degree I instantly knew it was at least metal plated and I think I see part of an engine connected to the chainsaw part. An Evoker form the Persona series following the game design of the gun as the other items so detailed that the flashlight bounced off the metal?!? on it surprising me as there usually made from a strange hard foam along with a bit of blood?
Countless other little relics form games, animes, and books I could spend days squealing and fangirling (I am a guy.) over for fucking weeks. Some are from fandoms I don't know even know! But what pretty much gave this man my money, my wallet and anything else he wanted is most realistic fucking MA5B Assault rifle and the Universal Translator also known as the M90 Close Assault Weapon System. They both look like they’ve been through war. Knicks missing from the gun, scratches only war time could produce and gauges from other bullets are seen on both.
I look at him though the mask smiling gleefully behind the helmet taking out my wallet form a pouch on the armour sense it's a full body costume and the thin t-shirt and pants under it are only KINDA unreachable from the previously mentioned full body custom?
“Hey, how much for this?” I pick up the assault rifle and the shotgun duel wielding but I’m slightly surprised by its weight as it's heavier than plastic should be. Fitting into the hyper realistic motif of his shop. Definitely metal plated form the way it does not give in to my fingers ever so slightly. Real nice and fits in my arms better then any firearm I’ve ever shot but again this is fantasy and sci fi kinda sadly. Remember murderous aliens? Yeaaa deal breaker of the ulitmate not wanting to be slaughtered kind.
“125 dollars for both.” His voice still sends shivers down my spine. Only thing that would make it worse is the echos in Elizabeth Greene’s voice form Prototype. Also known as blood, blood, ohhh pretty flying body part AH MISSILE.
I quickly get over that creepy little fact due to me this is a bargain, I’m very desensitized to horror, and nothing can beat Elizabeth Green's voice. Fucking nightmare fuel bottled and contracted..
Metal plated cosplays like this should cost in the fucking thousands. Hey more money for MOI! The money was in his hands faster than he could blink or I could think.
A moment after walking from his stall I absent mindedly put the shotgun on my thigh which a strong CLANG forces me to notice its sticking to my thigh plate as if it's magnetize. Holy fucking shit it is. I feel a panic attack began to set in as my chest tightens and everything seems too small. I again on muscle memory put the MA5B on my back resulting with the same clang. Gentle yet urgent electronic beeping and a red bar flashing at the top of my vision distracts me for a moment from my panic attack as yellow lighting dances around my vision making that blinking red bar turn to a light almost cyan bar filling up to its end with a pretty ping.
Next is unimaginable pain, pain from everything from my toes to my damn eyes. The pain climaxes as does my screaming before I simply pass out from the pain and fall unconscious into a sudden portal to a dark, evil seeming forest.
I’m sitting in a chair talking to a shrink after the battle of the waste. Fucking Twilight and Karma worried for my health, well mental health, “K-.”
“Spartan K-000.”
“Spartan?... I guess we should start on the waking up screaming? Ponies dont usually gain PTSD to the degree you have.”
“Not my memories...Body is a...Fusion lack of better world of mine and Spartan - 117. His memories mostly hidden, suppressed, or tame. The few that aren't I will not share. Partly out of terror and to spare you. I am innocents Shield and Sword and my tomb lie in this castle.”
The shrink swallows abit, “W-why do you say that?”
“I'm the only thing that stands between you and extincion everything on this planet. So can I get back to my job?” The shrink nods getting out of his seat, walking out of the the room, and faces Luna and Celestia.
“I'm sorry his mind's too different and...I don't recommend mind delves for his mind is fragmented an not wholly his.”
Celestia nods looking slightly saddened but faces the doctor with her usual motherly warmth, “It is fine. We never expected you to succeed anyway.”
~~~
I awake to the waking world, the sound of chirping birds, wind dancing through plants and trees. Nature existing and singing seemingly untouched by man's noise of cars, planes, really anything that made a lot of noise and honestly...Its peaceful in a piramal sense. Very peaceful.
I open my eyes to a canopy of leaves, branches, trunks and a real vivid blue sky. I mean it looks like someone got the most brilliant shade of cyan blue as painted the sky in with it.
I close my eyes choosing to ignore the strangely irritating vivid blue sky enjoying the honestly comfortable gel layer of my custom…
My eyes snap open looking directly to the top right part of the HUD screen showing a Shotgun and Assault Rifle fully loaded and stocked for use. I then sit up then stand to my full height...Which is now at least a foot higher then I remember. Now by this point panic begins to set in so I noticed everything in very quick succession.
Beside the height change, and the ghostly holographic HUD display, the costume does not FEEL like a costume but more a second skin or a piece of clothing worn so often and regularly that it doesn't feel like cloth but another layer of skin. Thicker, tougher, protecting and helping. Armor that isn't uncomfortable, it feels...Perfect for me. And it is called th-
“This... is everything I had always dreamed it could be .”
MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armour. Holy shit that wasnt one my memories but sure felt like one, a phantom memory from another life. I know that quote from Doctor Halsey but feeling like...BEING there was trippy as hell. I try to look back for more memories like that quick flash and snip getting nothing but...War definitely the Halo installation because of the Flood and seeing them Hi-Def like that has now and officially topped Elizabeth Greene's voice on nightmare juice. I mean damn. I need mental blech.
I look to the nearest tree which what looks like a wilted oak tree in a forest of them. Spartan memory and Spartan armour. Being in a creepy forest with wilting and dead trees belonging to zombie levels aren't off from the new realm of possibility I call bright blue sky land.
I take a deep breath taking off the shotgun from my thigh magnetized plate then to the slightly magnetized galuants and computer interface ports along the tips of the fingers of the gloves. This naturally switches the Shotgun to the equipped slot bringing it to the front of the cycle of weapons including the Assault rifle and pistol?
I look to my other tight seeing the pistol is hanging there freely with the softly glowing red meaning its safety is on. Weird I swear it was plastic and the green spot on it was painted on to the plastic but for it change colors like that means its real and most likely loaded as the shotgun is.
On more muscle memory then instinct I bring the shotgun close to my shoulder fitting it in a grove that the Spartan armour has in the shoulder area for firing a gun just like this either practicing or trying to stay alive from hostiles that need a healthy dose of Shotgun in their diet.. I make sure i'm aiming in the woods and I fire.
I hear a yelp of a dog being either stepped on, hit.. or shot!
“Oh no, Oh noooo. I shot a poor puppy!”
Yes I love animals. When I was younger I NEVER was without a animal growing up either it be cat, dog, or a turtle I liked because it tried to swim through the glass. Dumb, funny turtle. But I understand if you wound one giversouly, like with a shotgun that's credited to be OP as fuck, if you can't spend time nursing it back to health best kill it and try to use everything like the American Indians.
I forget EVERYTHING in the blind panic to help the puppy. Yes all dogs are puppies. I put the shotgun on my thigh once more as well muscle memory. AGAIN. I began noticing small gray dots circling and keeping a loose formation around me, a pack of animals and few hunts in packs AND large enough to create blips like those. Wolfs, I injured a wolf and they seem aggressive to me now.
I see a waypoint on my HUD as Spartan armour does have a neuro link up to the brain thus reading my thought and converting them to actions and options the Armour reads, picks up, and displays. Hell I dont even truly need to move as it could for me.. Honestly most OP armour in gaming history and i'm fucking wearing it.
Way point: 10 meters.
I let out a small thankful sigh that the bullet probably only grazed the animal at that range but a sense of responsibility and honestly if I see the wolf I can get a lay of the wildlife and general abilities. Yes its always been a fantasy of mine to end up in another world and right now i'm going down the checklist.
1.Find where I am.
Find shelter but I think my armour is shelter honestly.
Food.
See if there is intelligent life and if so make contact.
I run to the wolf making it there in about four strides trying to find the wolf or look for blood to see if I could track it with help of the armour scanning system but what I find is a log in a general wolf shape. Now looking back on it A BIT, a tiny little smudge of thinking back. Evil trees, vivid blue sky + wooden wolf? MY LITTLE FUCKING PONY. But back then I thought it was a cute log. Till I noticed the bullet in it.
The wooden wolf turns its head to me its eyes glowing green with magic. Then it was hissing its head and Shot has back in my hands.
“I'm. So. Screwed.”
I take a quick glance at the rader on my bottom right hand side noticing the gray gots turned red and are closing in on me so I did what my body wanted and I turned to face the incoming wolf and used the butt of my shot gun to SMASH the poor Timberwolves wooden face to literal splinters. Fun part of it? Complete muscle memory on part of training I've never done but another wolf charges with its teeth bared and a bit of green fire coating then earning it a point blank shotgun shell to the face lowing off the first half of its wooden body.
I swear a bit of music began to play in my helmet as times slows and everything looks like i'm looking through crystal. Everything is there, the wolfs and there ghostly green eyes, the trees swaying with wind and the movement of the wolf's after my flesh.
Another one charges from behind me resulting in a hop and curb stop to the main body. LEts add the math here. A slightly rotten wooden turn verus over a thousand pounds of armour and man along with a full powered Spartan curb stop? My leg goes through the wooden log like a spear on a chunk of thin meat. Sadly it stays there as I land, “Damn it get off!”
I began to shake my leg trying to get the wolf off my leg but two wolves took advantage of this an charged me, on on each side of me. To my left and my right so my first response was to toss my my Shotgun to my right hand preloaded as my left hand shot to my thigh grabbing the pistol and both aimed at the wolfs. Crack of thunder from the gurns earned the crack of wood leaving three hostiles, “Run and I’ll spare you.”
I center my helmet on the middle and bigger figure who stared into my eyes bowing its head shortly after and ran deeper into the forest.
I wait till there of my radar and out of sight before reaching in my pocket patch getting another clip for my pistol and replacing it with the clip in it then loading a few shells into the shotgun till it's filled. I take a deep breath watching as the world speed up to its regular but slower speed as the sounds of singing drifts in from my left. Not bird calls but full musical ensemble including English vocals.
Fuck the checklist instruments mean atleast brass, brass means intelligent life along with a forgery which means the ability to smelt iron not even including the fact it means HUMAN life in the way the vocals sound and how the instruments sound.
I laugh to myself and whoop meaning I found everything needed. Food, shelter, someone to explain this weird shit! I laugh to myself as I walk through the forest clearing the brush and branches from my path with my arms form a clear human habit as with this Armour I could probably walk straight through them like a badass that Spartans are.
~~~
Around 30 minutes of traveling I finally reach the forest edge and trust me. When you're in a forest with a radar that can sense things about the size of a squirrel? Jump scares ensure especially when you have your eyes of it so much you keep running into trees! I mean I think they moved in the way to be ran into! But after going Minecraft and punching a tree they stopped. This forest WILL be investigated later with armour systems and boom an actual checklist function. I swore an A.I. had to be i-
“Finally you notice you’re not alone in your head.”
Screaming isn't a loud enough word to describe what I did. But I did scream. I screamed like a little girl with a spider in her hair. I screamed worse than the protagonist in every horror movie. Thats how scary a voice randomly popping in your head is when you FEEL them there. Its creepy and on some level feels right.
“Scanning. Unknown fields of energy coming from the town past the trees. Inhabitants standard miniature equestrians but two common genetic anomaly. Horn like bone protuinstons from the top of the head and avian like wings form the back. Searching database. Matches found. Unicorns and pegasus. I recommend standard UNSC first contact protocols. “
Still screaming.
“Oh shut up you!”
And still screaming.
“I mean it its annoying!”
A quick squeeze by the Gel in the suit makes me stop screaming and the AI sighs in relief, “Finally the yelling stopped.”
“For the record I was screaming because you suddenly spoke in my mind.”
“Understood.”
I scratch the back of the helmet thinking what to say and before I can actually say it she butts in, “My name is Karma. Before you ask, yes I can read your mind. Go on Sparty go make first contact.”
My eye twictches slightly BUT she is partly in control of my armour and proably could make me do it anyways. So I step through the tree line taking a look at the wide, beautiful,land of ponies.
“My. Fucking. Little. Pony.”
Ponies, ugly face, and dragons.
I take a deep breath noticing Celestia and Luna walking toward me, “Lord or War! A moment please!” I let out the breath knowing what they want to talk about.
I feel a small mental kick from Karma, “There being NICE Spartan. Treat them nicely AND with respect. Understood?”
‘Understood.’ I turn to the Princess doing the traditional Spartan smile, “Hello Princesses. I am sure your well but what bothers you?”
Luna, the governess of the night and everything of the night could not look the Spartan in face, or the helmet he never takes. Mostly because everytime she tries to she remembers the night the God of War awaken and claimed the Spartan, “We wish to know if thy are ok.”
“I'm fine Princesses.”
Celestia steps forward, her horn on level with my helmet if I stand upright and she holds her head high, “You're having nightmares. Anyone near your room, thats magically attuned, can tell if not by the screams but by the magic fear and fire.”
“I'm fine. Is it all Princesses?”
They sigh walking by me, “It would be nice if the public were to see your face. Even we have not.”
“No can do Princess.” I walk past them to the training field to practice my aim.
“My. Little. Fucking. Pony.” I feel my eye twitch as I look out from the tree line to see the country town of Ponyville dancing and singing through another day of peaceful pony life. I can't even hear the main lyrics because the AI in my head spoke up drawing my attention from it. Bless her
“I call bullshit. I know I suddenly existed but this. I call bull shit. WHERE ARE THE INSTRUMENTS GOING FORM?!?”
.”I don't know Karma. I call shenanigans also. I mean REALLY? FUCKING PONIES?!?” I take a deep breath sitting down leaning on a tree looking at the town slowly winding down from the dance and song. Even though my mind briefly drifts to how alive Karma sounded from her previously machine like speech.
I began to laugh looking at the cute ponies walk and fly through the town going on with their daily life even though only minutes ago the whole town. THE WHOLE TOWN. Was in song in dance so perfectly in tune and the movement in sync it looked like they planned the whole thing from the beginning.
I feel myself calm grabbing my pistol softly as I get up from my resting position, “Water reserves low. Recommend finding a stream or river where we can get fresh water but dirty water should be good with the filtration system in place. Also if you can find an explanation for that music! I feel my logic martiax glitching trying to figure it out.”
“Understood. And warning the music might gain the explanation ‘Magic.” The Spartan does necessary jazz hands to highlight how honestly messed up and bullshit stuff like that is, “If this My little pony expect A LOT of magic.”
Karma is quiet and I feel that's going to be a rare occurrence, I’ve noticed that she roughly has Cortana’s core personality, snide and sarcastic but hints or care a compassion show by the mention of the water tank. I take a quick look around charting the stream that travels in ponyville tracking where a safe place to gather water AND to overlook the town for the safest way in.
My mindset falls into a Spartans, cold, calculating, fast, and effective. I note three places each with their down. Two follow bends into a slight hillside blocking view from the town. One nearer the forest but a lower hill meaning easier to be spotted from the air and the other farther from cover but higher and nearer town. The run would be long and chance of being spotted high. But the hill is higher , chances of being spotted from sky much much lower. At night I could hunt for meat and other edible things.
The last one is closer to the small hill but the stream is in the big scary forest called… COME ON! I should know what's it called there were WHOLE episodes done off it! Fuck its called creepy forest, “I recommend the higher hill. Even if they do spot us we already have planned first contact Spartan.”
“The risk is worth the reward?”
“It is Spartan. Worse they’ll try to smack us with their hooves but the shields and armour can take it.”
“Acknowledged.”
I look through the branches looking for the best route there as I travel down the tree line till I reach the best place to run, and I mean BOOK it. I get in a runner's starter pose resting my foot on a large healthy oak tree to kick off for my best start as every advantage I can get is good. I look around waiting till no pegasus is in the air or too far to see. I take out with a push of my foot on the oak tree CRACKING it but I dont stop instead I keep my head low and center of my mass lower to decrease drag as I run across the countryside into the hills. I run for two minutes till reaching my target area which I dig my heels into the grass digging it up in a straight line almost like an air way.
“Good work Spartan. Now if they see us they have a nice place to land.”
“Kinda had no other option. I had to book it and I VERY underestimated a Spartans running speed. Plus how heavy the damn armour is yet it doesn't FEEL heavy at all!” I giggle as I prove my point my doing a small hop that knights that train their whole lives to wear a set of armour couldn't pull off!
I hear her sigh and I’ll admit it. Its weird how RIGHT it feels to talk to her even we only knew each other for half an hour, “I can't blame you. Just refill your water supply. The fission reactor is taking hydrogen form the air to fuel itself and it does fill you water supply but slowly. Its best to refill it then to wait for it to be filled by the system. And incase were about to die the self destruct code is 3-4-3-0-1-0-6-0-4-3-0.”
“How big would be the blast range?”
“Enough.”
I nod to the AI even though she's not physically there but...She gets the gesture, “Umm I have brief memory how to take off the Helmet but can you display a guide for the on and off process?” I chuckle awkwardly as the new found memories I have definitely show its possible BUT this IS a different armour then the memories AND they don't seem to go past Halo Combat evolved for some reason. So Mark V and Mark VI quirks of the armour are unknown to me INCLUDING how to take off the helmet itself. I know for a fact the rest of the armour needs a dedicated machine for that process though.
I look through the schematics taking note of the similar seals to the Mark V helmet. I reach and undo them, the action is followed by the hiss of air and the helmet being deprived of a power source forcing it to shut off. I turns off the shields also Karam AI disc is sending a tiny bit of power the speaker and mic to monitor me. I hymn to myself walking to the river side and getting on my knees to scoop water.
I look into the reflection and I don't recognize the man in front of me. MAN not teen like I am but MAN. Early mid to late 20’s by looks alone but...The scars make it much worse then one would think. Paler than polcin skin caused by never taking the armour off outside or honestly during anytime. Scars all over the face. Deep pits pocketed all over along with the fact my regular long dark chocolate hair is GONE. I mean bald, shaven head gone. But the rest...The rest I’m glad I did live through getting. One eye is a milk white immediately declaring that eye blind...but a small camera is sticking out from the socket most likely giving my my depth perception. The worse though was the mass of green mass on the side of my neck showing where the flood shore tried burying past the armour and well infecting me.
I screamed. Oh I definitely screamed. A ear splitting, headache inducing, BLOODY MURDER scream. I am not me. HELL my good eye is fucking BLUE! ITS SUPPOSE TO BE BROWN! I did not just gain a Spartan body. I-I got one. I feel bile rise up my stomach and I can't help but vomit to the side quickly. After that I quickly and shakingly filled the small tank with water.
I stay there for a moment before I hear Karma’s voice, “Put on the helmet Spartan! That scream could be heard from the town!” I turn to her hearing a small gasp from the helmet before I slide it on, locking the seals, making sure it's secure as it powers up and shields reach 87% before I see a Cyan pegasus circle in the air once before screaming something.
It dives toward me an air cone forming aiming directly for my chest. Everything becomes much, much slower as I can see its wings beat once more, and again watching how the feathers work with the air.
Wait….Wait….Wait….NOW!
I side step grabbing its front let then I let its momentum Carry me for a 180 degree spin before letting go of it’s leg skipping it across the water surface till it splashes in the middle of the river. I look to the forest and BOOK it. I mean I ran faster than I did last time. I use a tree or three to slow my run only then looking behind me.
The Cyan pony is in the air and BUGGING me, My memory of the show is detearing at a rapid pace. Fucking damnit! I take a deep breath as four ponies run to my last hiding spot. A purpl- “Lavender.” I mental sigh correcting my mental list. A “lavender” pony, an orange pony, a whit- “Albastar.” White pony. Haha I can FEEL her annoyance. And a pink. BRIGHT pink. Bouncing. Mother fucking pony. Some fading memory tells me to stay away from her.
I sigh turning away walking deeper following the river. River means fresh water. Freshwater mens renewable water source. Fresh water means animals. Animals mean food. Food and water means survival. And survival means living.
I simply follow it deeper toward near a mountain. I smile a bit to myself seeing a cave on ground level IN the mountain meaning shelter. That means I can rest without worry or predators along with keeping out of pony sight because let's face it. I attacked one of them even though it looked like an attack but for all I know it could've been a greeting.
A few minutes of walking I diverge from the river to the cave mouth when I hear Karma speak up. Again. I swear if it's not useful I’m taking out her AI chip and putting it in my pocket with the infinite bullets.
“Spartan?”
“Yes?”
“I'm picking up movement near the cave. Larger than a pony and bipedal. Taller than you and definitely NOT human. I recommend HIGH caution along with preparing to kill the creature. Also as if you could EVER live without me.~”
“Understood.” I hear her make a upset noise as well upset about something. I sigh as I take out my Assault Rifle resting it in the standard fire position for movement and front lines along with sieges an assaults.
I position myself behind a tree, hidden from the mouth of the cave, where the blip on my radar probably and hopefully cannot see me.. I watch my radar tracking the animal waiting till it seemed to turn its back on me. The dot on the radar walks away from me ideally back into the cave. I slide out of the cover quickly and quietly like a ghost holding my Assault Rifle in a firefight pose never letting it drop or relax. I keep the reticle over the center of mass. “Holy shit is that a black dragon?”
Karmas beautiful response? “I quit. Fuck this world. Fuck you. Fuck that tree, and that tree but DEFINITELY that fucking tree!” The tree she was talking about? a creepy slightly rotten oak collapsing under its own weight as it seemingly been carved out like a pumpkin. Sharp teeth and all.
I laugh at her trying to keep the assault rifle steady but failing as my stomach squeezes and begs for oxygen I am wasting on LAUGHING MY ASS OFF!
The goth dragon stops and turns around flaring its winds as fire rises in its maw, “WHO DARES TRESPASS ON MY HORDE LAND?!?”
Speakers on. Thank you Karma, “See can't live without me.”
“Dude breath ment. I'm wearing an air tight suit and I STILL can smell reptile breath.” I'm lying but the comment seemed to confused it as the fire dies down and its head tilts in a human show of confusion and shock.
“A talking metal golem? No there no magic in it.”
“See don't have to be all scary dragon of doom.” I lower my assault rifle slightly keeping it aimed at the ground but in a position to be almost instantly brought up, aimed, and fire.
“I'm sorry but WHAT THE BUCK ARE YOU?” The dragon seems more confused.
“I'm a Spartan.”
“Spartan?”
“I'm a Spartan on the run form ponies.”
He laughs, “What did they do this time?” My eyebrow ries at the mention of THIS time.
“Blindly attacked me.”
“Ah. Come on in an-”
“SPARTAN BEHIND YOU!” I turn around rising my rifle till the rectal lays middle of my HUD scanning the trees as I notice a dot rapidly closing in. Muscle memory takes over as I aim into the thick foliage and open fire waiting till I hear the “click, click, click.” Of an empty clip before checking my radar again. No dots. I replace the clip on a forming habit turning to the dragon.
“You ok?”
Now a Black dragon of doom hiding in a cave covering it ears tearing up is a sight to behold, “WHAT? I CANT HEAR YOU!”
I giggle like a schoolgirl because why not? “WAIT A FEW MINUTES FOR THE RINGING TO STOP!” I see him give me a thumbs up. Strange how he knows what that means. Still I think he invited me in before I rudely interrupted him with sustained gunfire.
I take his invention walking in the cave thinking how to show everything was ok so I did the best thing I could and smiled. A spartan smile is very different form a regular smile. We put the pointer and middle finger to the center of the mouth piece and spread the fingers in a way lips spread to smile.
I do a mental cheer as the friendly Black dragon grins showing off its sharp teeth and to the back a few molars. A omnivore huh? “I THINK I'M BETTER NOW.”
I chuckle as turn my speakers up a little higher, “I THINK YOU SHOULD WAIT ALITTLE LONGER.” The dragon nods getting up walking deeper in the cave. My human curiosity forces me to follow. Seeing only his tail turn a few corners. We pass a good size room completely empty except for its strangely clean along with the path were walking on seems melted into a very smooth stone. Most likely pleasant to walk on but I continued on following him till we arrive at the very back where a good few TONS of gold and jewels lay in a bed like form.
“This is my horde. Its strange, usually my dragon instincts tell me to defend it. Maybe I don't see you as a threat.”
“I'm not”
“I got a job for you. In it for you is a claim on part of my horde.”
I tilt my head looking at him.
“Admittedly...I'm a weak dragon. Very weak in terms of my age, in my late teens. My only redeeming quality is I can do magic but scales are soft, my fire doesn't burn as well so i'm subject to bullying and other dragons taking my horde. Defend it and I shall share my horde.
Now this caught me off guard. A dragon horde means everything to it. To GIVE part of one's horde is hard to think of. It's like giving away a body part! “I..I agree.”
The dragon jumped and squealed. Pleas- “I got it on camera.”
Now I remember why I keep you.
“Um..Mister?...”
“Spartan.”
“Mister Spartan pick anywhere in the caves and its yours. “
“The front room.”
“Agreed. My name is Drake.”
And that's the start of a beautiful friendship.
Pokemon. Fucking Pokemon.
I look around the cave the teenage dragon gracefully allowed myself to hide and shelter me on the agreement that I would help him build and protect his horde with my “Thunder sticks.” I find a nice not so damp part of the cave out of sight from the entrance yet between the entrance and the small pile of valuable such as gems, gold, and what he calls “Rare magic tomes.” I understand i'm in pony land but REALLY! MAGIC?! Thats just unfair! Glad to my shields. Never expected to have to fight plasma shields! HA!
I sigh winding down noticing the Karma brought up the full out of combat menu including a clock slowly moving around the round holographic display showing its late, very late. Around 11 but I’ve always had insomnia plus Spartan body that can go on fighting for a week straight I think I can spend the night going over and cleaning my gear.
I guess Shoty is first sense he's seen the most action out of my three guns I carry on me. I open the magazine sliding out shells one by one till the last one that seems stuck opping me to call Drake, “Drake can you reach in here to get something with your claws!”
No response.
“Still haven't realized you need to turn the helmet speakers ON? ”
“Shut up Karma.” I smack the side of the helmet resulting with her hissing at me then turning on the speakers, “Yo Drake I need your claws to reach where my Gaulanets can't!”
I hear a deep sigh coming from the inner cave near the gold horde, “I'm going, but I swear if this reaching a scratch or cleaning your ears, if you have any under that thing, I WILL drop you form a high height!”
The trandotial black and red dragon tenager walks in with one his claws out but seeing Shoty he rubs his chest in a ghost pain, “What in there?”
“Not sure.” I toss it to him pointing where the object is stuck in there. It takes him less than a monument to retrieve a small golden charm with ruffles in it and a large R seemingly painted or welded into it but he tosses it and the Shotgun back.
I catch it and immediately hear a trio of voices in my head.
ʺWe are Destruction , Passion , and Wisdom . We do not care for if you are good or evil, as long as your reasoning is just, and if you simply kill just for the fun of it, then we're sure that our Seviper will enjoy a good meal. Call us, and we will make your enemies prepare for trouble and blast them off to the speed of light!”
“Wobbuffet!!!ʺ
That is when Karmas voice rings, “Slipspace rupture detected! Locking armour and increasing Gel to max safety!”
Right before I fall through it I snap my shotgun to my thigh and measure the drop to be about 25 meters, “Diable armour lock and increase gel even farther but as soon as we land put it back to normal!”
“Understood!”
And thats when I began to fall over a water fountain.
“AHHHH!”
“OH CELESTIA! IT’S EVERYWHERE!”
“NOOO! MY CABBAGES!”
Screwball snickered, walking away from the crime scene, she smiled happily as she watched a group of guards run past her and towards to where her latest victims stood, mourning for the lost of their cabbages as they were covered in pink painting. She struggled to hold in her laughter as she saw the guards trying to comfort the salespony named Cabbage Patch. “The Princess of Pranks strikes again! Hehehe”
Trotting out of the Ponyville market, she stopped when she caught the disapproving look on Applejacks face. “O-oh! Hiyah AppleJack!” Screwball said happily.
“Sugar, I suppose you wouldn’t know how Cabbage Patch’s cabbages got ruined? Do you?” Applejack asked, knowing exactly that it was her.
“Hmmmm, nope!” Screwball answered, “Can’t say I do!”
Applejack raised an eyebrow, not exactly believing her. “Uh-huh, Screwball, you know I can tell when you’re lying.”
Screwball gasped, and put a hoof on her chest, as if she was actually hurt by her assumption. “AppleJack! I would never do something like that to poor Cabbage Patch!” She pouted, “You don’t really think I’m lying, do you?”
“I’m sorry for ruining your cabbages Mr. Cabbage Patch.” Screwball said with a short bow as her head hangs in shame.
Applejack cough, “And?”
Screwball resisted the urge to groan and growl, “And I promise to pay back the money I owe for the damaged cabbages.”
“Good.” Applejack nodded, satisfied with the apology.
The grey stallion nodded, “Well, as long as you learned your lesson and pay back for the cabbages you destroyed, then I suppose I can accept your apology.”
“Great!” Applejack said as she took out a bag of bits and paid the salespony, “Well I believe that’s everything, and if you excuse us, we best be heading our way.” She trotted towards her stand, dragging the pink filly with her.
“Miss Applejack, do I really have to work on the farm?” Screwy whined. “I promise not to prank any of the salesponies anymore!”
“Sorry sugarcube, but you have to learn that your pranking can have some serious consequences, and that they can really hurt the ones you prank.” She explained, “That’s why I decided that the best way to teach you to not mess with a farmer's goods is through some old fashion, honest, hard work on the farm!”
Screwball’s eyes widen, as her worst nightmares begin to come true. “Honest?! Hard work?! Old fashioned?!?”
Applejack nodded, “Eeyup! And I already spoke to your ma about it, and she agreed that some work on the farm will do you some good!” Screwball resisted the urge to cry. “And don’t you worry, Applebloom and your uncle Tomas will be there to help too! So at least they can can keep you company!”
Screwball’s eyes lit up with hope,‘Uncle Tomas?! Maybe I can convince him to let me go!,’ She thought.
“Also, I already told Tomas about your punishment as well and he agreed to it too.”
“What?!” Screwball’s hope was quickly crushed. ‘Well, so much for that plan….’
“Now, let’s get back to the farm so we can start our tour of Sweet Apple Acres!” AppleJack yelled happily.
Screwball’s screams of despair was heard all throughout town followed by a larger crash and the sound of stone breaking and water spraying.
I look down at the incoming ground and on instinct spread my legs and arms out to catch as much air as I can as I close on to the ground quickly, “Impact 20 meters. Scans show us over Ponyville. 10 meters, 5 meters. Brace for impact Spartan!”
I do as Karma bracing for the impact and as with my luck I land right into the stone fountain. Now any regular person landing for that high would of been broken by the fountain. No I broke the fountain utterly destroying it, “Get up Spartan the welcoming party is here and DO NOT look happy!”
I take out my pistol as it's the easiest to reload and switch if needed aiming to the horde of guards with pink paint on there horse shoes along with a pink filly a swirling pattern in her eyes and...The souther pony who tried kicking me in the balls! I switch the Speakers on and shot in the air, “ON THE GROUND NOW!”
Immediately, all the ponies shot towards the ground, too scared by the gunshot to do anything. But the pink swirly filly, remained standing, as she stared at the spartan.
“I said to...the...ground!” I sigh getting out of the fountain shooting the a block of the fountain remains to smithereens, “That's SOLID stone! Get to the ground now!”
The pink swirly filly smirked, her eyes full of mischief. “Alright then, on the ground, right?” Putting her hooves above her head, her smile grew, “Oh I’ll get on the ground alright, just after you do! EARTHQUAKE!” Her hooves glowed with a brownish aura, stomping on the ground, she created a large shockwave that cause the area around the spartan to have a earthquake.
I scream out falling to one knee but more instincts kick in dropping and rolling to stable ground before shooting up and eyeing the pink pony, “Spartan shields at 85 percent. That wasn't normal seismic activity, recommend immediate despatch of the hostile.”
“Understood.” I shoot forward going over 55 mph grabbing the filly by the neck and gently putting her in a choke hold.
“Ha! You better try harder than that to take me down!” She rasped, disappearing from the spartan’s graspe and reappearing in front of him… and behind him, and besides him.
The pink fillies laughed, as they surrounded him, “Try to guess which one is the real me! By the time you guess right, it’ll be too late!” They boasted.
“Spartan we got on one reading on the sensor and its behind you.”
I turn around to face that one clone of the pink filly chuckling to myself that she should try out as a pokemon model. But using Spartan time I grab her by the neck, noticing she's a Earth pony so can take more abuse than others can so I lightly punch the stomach caring not to break or burst anything inside her and at worst leaving a bruise before putting her back in the sleeper hold, “I'm against killing sentient life. Stand down and no more pain will come.”
Screwball growled, noticing the position they’re in, she smirks. “To bad the same can’t be said about you! THUNDERBOLT!” She yells as lighting strikes them both, doing more damage to the spartan than the pony.
I open my mouth in a silent scream as Karma route the electricity through my armour to my shoes safely keeping it away from my heart but the suit locks up for a moment keeping the pink firmly in the choker hold but it recharges the shields as I pant looking down at the now limp pink pony, “I should of saw that coming! Spartan I’ve prepared a lighting handler function but it will lock the system up or a monument so BE ready!”
“Understood.” I lay the pink pony down on the ground lightly looking her over to see if medical assistance is needed.
“SCREWBALL!!”
My head snaps toward to other humans each in Team Rocket uniforms AND with the correct hair, I aim my pistol to the sky once more firing three shots, “Stay your ground!”
“YAN-YAN!”
A large green blur flew past them and tackled the me to the ground, the blur revealed itself to be a large green dragonfly. The bug roared at my face and bit my hand knocking down the shields to 87 %. It opens its mouth again so I simply let go of the gun retracing my hand. The bug grabs my pistol taking it away from me. “Yanmega!” The dragonfly dropped the gun in front of the rockets and glared at the me.
I reach to behind me grabbing my Assault Rifle and aims in their general direction, “Stand down! I'm not in the mood to be blasted by Sparkle butt AGAIN!”
“I believe her name was Twilight Sparkle?”
“Karma she hit me in the chest with magic. She EARNED Sparkle butt.”
Tomas stared at the spartan, confused as to why he was talking to himself. Shaking his head, he went back to the matter at hand. He smirked at the spartan, when he saw his Yamask in position. “I don’t think you’re in any position to make any demands, surrender now or prepare for fight you won’t win.”
The Spartan stay in the aggressive pose and A single shot it heard then Tomas notices that the hair on his left has been cut down the another shot making the right the same, “I know your tricks! I played all the pokemon games!”
“This isn’t a game kid! Why don’t you just go back to your Equestria and leave ours alone!” Meowth yelled.
The Spartans faceless helmet turns to Meowth and points at him, “You’re adorable. And I have no bucking idea what IS going on! I was cleaning Shoty, found this!” He takes out the Meowth token, “And a portal opened under my feet!”
Meowth sneered, “That’s our token ya rimrod! And you expect us to believe that?! Never thought we had to deal with invading displaced trying to cause problems!”
“I can prove it and what in bucking Tartus is a displaced?!? Karma can you play video logs?... Excellent!” The Spartan reaches to the back of his Helmet pulling out a AI chip which projects Karma in the place of Cortona.
“Hello I am Karma this dumb Spartans personal smart AI. Playing video log.” It shows the Sparts POV cleaning his weapon, a dragon losing the token from the shotgun then a portal opening beneath his feet.
“See I was telling the bucking truth!” The Spartan puts the AI chip back into the helmet putting his hand back on his Assault Rifle.
Sarah growled, her anger blinding her judgement. “Who cares if he doesn’t know anything about displaced?! He hurt Screwball!” She pointed at the Spartan. “And no one hurts my Screwball!” She yelled loudly, scaring the others around her.
“You know SHE attacked me first right?” The Spartan looks down to the filly, “In fact I was in the middle of seeing if I did anything beside a few bruises!” The crowd agrees even having AppleJacks seal of truth on his statement, “I have no clue where I am, I can only assume I've been kidnapped by ponies so yea i'm going to assert dominance.”
Sadly that only managed to get the rocket even more angrier. “YOU GAVE MY DAUGHTER BRUISES?!” She glared angrily at the crowd. “AND WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING SIDING WITH HIM?!” She yelled, startling the crowd of ponies.
The Spartan chuckles, “Stockholm Syndrome? And lay off the poor thing, there confused and scared by a loud noise s first instinct was to duck and herd. I can toss you…”Screwball?” Bucking ponies name. Settle down, I ran a scan and she's FINE beside the bruises and freak lightning bolt that hit us.” The Spartan lowers his gun, “Look i'm surrendering, I assumed wrong. You can have the ponies.” He puts the Assault rifle on his back with his palms up.
“Hey, sis, maybe we should just, you know, capture him, he did surrender after all.” Tomas said, trying to calm her down.
“Sorry, but it’s too late to surrender!” She growled, “You attacked my daughter, now prepare for trouble! ”
“Too bad for you her anger has doubled!”
“To protect my daughter from brutes like you!”
“It’s too bad you didn’t surrender you had the chance!”
“My beautiful daughter was the one thing that kept me going!”
“They went together like a hand and a glove!”
“Jessie!”
“James!”
“You may be standing, but not for long!”
“And your apologize aren’t going to stop a mother from protecting her cub!”
“Meowth that’s right!”
“Wobbuffet!”
Applejack sighs, “He ran off when you started your motto.”
The trio stood there silent for a moment, just noticing that the spartan had ran off. Tomas turned towards his sister, a bit worriedly, “Hey sis, you alrigh-!”
“RRRAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!”
Sarah’s santic scream was heard all throughout Ponyville.
They notice a small comm piece was left there at where the Spartan stood and a paper with the writing, “Call me when she calms down.”
I look at the fresh river noticing my pistol missing from my thigh and it felt WRONG. Its hard to explain but to me it feels wrong to be unarmed in the slightest. I sigh taking off my helmet to restore my water supply for my suit and to get something to drink. I dunk my head in the river taking deep slurps form the running river moaning slightly from how good it taste, how fresh the hair and how cool the twilight is and the promise of a cold night,
I slip on my helmet greeted by Karmas voice and liquid mercury going down my spine form the AI hook up, “So any plans?”
“Stealth.”
“In what sense?”
“Sneak into town, talk to the one looking like James as he seems a little more reasonable in this state.”
“Fine but...be careful ok?”
“I promise Karma ill be fine. Have the Hardlight shield ready to go on my mark though.”
I settle on my perch looking for the blue haired figure, finding him outside a house with Jessie and the foal, Screwball, in Jessie’s arms trying to escape from the endless cuddling. I continue to watch them as James goes into a house and into a room on the first floor, thankfully. I wait till night sneaking off from my post till I catch a view of the backyard, “Buck me. Buck me with THE Gyarados in that pond.”
I take a deep breath and continue into town using the armours color and a Spartans stealth training to it fullest til i'm right outside James window. I knock on it saying S-O-S in morse code.
.
Tomas growls, trying to ignore the knocking, “Archie….please check who that is..” He asked, still half asleep.
Hearing a snort, he cracks open an eye and sees his Arcanine walking towards the window. “ARC! ARCANINE!” The large dog barked at the window, trying to get his master’s attention.
Tomas growled, putting a pillow on his head to block out the noises. “Archie...if it’s another squirrel again…” Getting up from the bed, he walked lazily towards the window.
Tomas sees the Spartan, who put two fingers to the middle of his helmet and widen then as if smiling the waves.
He stands there for a full minute, staring at the Spartan.
The Spartan points to the window and mimes opening it while looking at his wrist as if a watch exist there.
FINALLY realizing that the Spartan wasn’t just a figment of his imagination, he opens the window and let’s the spartan inside.
The Spartan hops in and sighs, “Thank you. I'm not a bad guy. If I was I would of used Shoty to execute the crowd.”
He yawns, “You know, I’m not the one you should be trying to convince.” Tomas rubs his eyes gently.
“I remember the satanic death metal scream your sister performed. I'm not lying when I say I was scared as hell.” The Spartan actually giggles.
Tomas laughs at the memory, before shuddering. “Yeah, but you should count yourself lucky, the last guy who got her this mad went blind and couldn’t walk straight for a whole month.” Shuddering at the memory of her sister capturing Seviper, poor guy, he pitied the poor snake, at least he got better, but he can tell just by looking at the snake that he was still afraid.
“I dont think I have to worry about going blind. Polarized lens on the Spartan armour, the plating it a high grade alloy that takes sustained plasma fire to melt and in the chest plate is a fission reactor requiring only hydrogen in the air to function indefinitely. Enough showing off what IS a displaced?”
“Displaced are people who bought an item from the merchant and got sent to Equestria because of it. The displaced are then turned into whatever they were dressing up as, in my case, I got turned into the actual James from Team Rocket and my sister into Jessie. Also displaced are able to contact each other through tokens, a token can be used to summon the displaced into your world, or summon you into their world.” He explained, “But be careful some displaced got turned into the ones who they were dressed as, both physically and mentally, so you might encounter evil displaced, but there are some good displaced as well.”
The Spartan chuckles looking at him, “The creepy dude in the corner? I saw Shoty and Shooty and plopped the money down faster then he spoke. They were just soooo cool.”
Tomas smiled, “Yeah, I bought Meowth from that guy, had him mail it to the hotel we were staying at so I can surprise her with it.”
“I was an animal guy before being… ‘Displaced?’ I had a talent with them for a long long time and on the Fluttershy level. Anyway about your partner. Any known ways to quell her?””
Tomas thought for a while, her sister’s anger is legendary, usually only quelled when she knows that the person who wronged her is currently taking a very long dirt nap. “Uhh…. that may prove to be difficult…”
“I can freeze the Spartan armour to stimulate passing out or even death.”
“No, no, she wouldn’t go that far, she won’t take another’s life.” He reassured him.
“No offense but the thought you could kill me is low.”
“We have a Porygon.” He answered. “And your armor is a bit like a computer, and Porygon can act like a virus, and render your armor useless, that or she can just decide to use my Gyarados.”
“I have a AI with enough IQ points I could buy a mansion if you turned her IQ into bits. Experiment later. For now we plan how to calm her. Before any of that how is Screwy?”
Tomas chuckles. “Screwball is fine, although she does want to find you to have a rematch, she says the only reason to why you won in the fight was due to luck.”
“Pull her aside tomorrow and tell her she can have her rematch. Ill be on the hill over there.” The Spartan points to a hill overlooking Ponyville slightly, “We fight there, screwball wins your wife calms down, we find a way to get me home, or at least to my Equestria and I could introduce you to a teenage dragon thats actually calm.”
“SARAH IS NOT MY WIFE! SHE’S MY SISTER!!” Tomas screams at him, blushing.
“But..” Noises are heard from everyone waking up because the screaming and then Thomas notices the Spartan just wasn't there.
The door slams open, revealing a red-eyed Meowth. “IT’S 1 IN THE MORNING! STOP YELLING AND GO TO SLEEP!” He throws a alarm clock at Tomas’ forehead and slams the door shut.
Tomas’ knees buckled, with one knee on the floor, he clutched his head in pain. “Argh, Arceus dammit Meowth!” He rubbed his forehead in an attempt to make the pain go away. He sobbed quietly, glad that the spartan had left. Crawling towards his bed, he went back to sleep. “Stupid spartan… leaving me here all alone...dumb ungrateful Meowth.”
“STOP MUMBLING AND JUST GO TO BED! OR ELSE THIS DUMB MEOWTH WILL SHOW YOU JUST HOW UNGRATEFUL HE REALLY IS!!”
The voice of the Spartan is heard, “Shut up i'm trying to sleep you damn cat!”
Everything was quiet for a moment, then suddenly the sound of loud stomping was heard, walking towards the room. The door slammed open and a very sleep deprived Meowth stood on the entrance, a wrench in his paws. “WHO IN ARCEUS NAME DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!” He yelled at Tomas, thinking it was him. “GUESS I HAVE TO REMIND YOU WHO’S TOP CAT!” Meowth yelled as he stomped towards the shivering human.
“WAIT! NO MEOWTH, NOO!!”
Trolly Spartan laughter is heard throughout the beautiful night sky as the sounds of Tomas screams are heard also.
I laugh hearing the screams while I settle into the gentle curve of the hill facing the beautiful moon light, “I wonder if time dilation effects in this multiverse.” I close my eyes hymning slightly as Karma buts in.
“I'm looking through your memories and your a fan of violin and piano?”
“Yes?”
I gasp in surprise as the youtube video I had bookmarked on my browser pops up taking up the screen as the music begins to play.
“Good night.”
“Good night Karma.”
Tomas growled, muttering curses under his breath, “Stupid Spartan, when I get my hands on him, I’ll show him what happens when someone messes with a Rocket!” He hissed as he felt his Arcanine tightening the bandages. “Ow, not so tight Archie!”
The dog simply grunted. “Ar!”
Screwball skipped happily, excited at what the surprise her uncle promised her would be. “What is it Uncle Tomas? Am I getting a puppy? A Pokemon? O-o-o! Am I getting a pony?!” She asked excitedly.
“A pony? But you’re a pony….” Tomas said a bit confused. “Besides isn’t that a bit like slavery?”
Screwball’s smile turns wicked as she gains a dark look in her eyes. “Exactly.”
Tomas stops walking and turns to Screwball with a startled look. “..What..?”
She smiles and continues to skip as if nothing ever happened. “Oh, nothing~!”
Tomas shook his head, convincing himself that it was just his lack of sleep that is making him hear things. “I need a nap, or at least a cup of coffee.”
The two eventually made it to the clearing, Screwball barely containing her excitement, as she began to imagine what it would be like ‘having’ a pony. ‘M-master! Wha-what are you doing?! Ah! Master!’ Screwball chuckled silently, “hehe…..Master…..hehe..” Blushing slightly.
The Spartan is laying on the gentle incline seemingly in a deep sleep relaxing and staring into the blue sky, “Here for your rematch Screwball? I'm not going to be so gentle as last time.”
Screwball’s eyes widen, “You!” She points at him, her hoof shaking slightly. “I have a bone to pick with you! I only lost to you because you got lucky!”
“And how did I get lucky?” The Spartan chuckles not even looking at them..
“You guessed which one of my clones was real me by luck! And if I hadn’t passed out during our fight, I would’ve won!” Screwball yelled, confident in what she was saying.
“I have a quantum mirror system. I know you form the “clones.”
She blushes in embarrassment and growls.
The Spartan laughs, “Everything you can do I can counter in a way. Face it little pony i'm going to win.”
Screwball resisted the urge to hit him with a Hyper Beam. “You foal I am the Princess of Chaos! Daughter to the Lord of Chaos! I have 1000 years of experience worth in combat! I won’t lose that easily!”
The Spartan walks up to the pony and stares into her eyes, “I have watched worlds burn, their fertile farmland turned to glass, SEAS boiled and turned to steam. I've seen bodies turn against their comrades and then to be shot dead but risen again, I have seen beauty and destruction beyond your mortal comperion. Your thousand years of experience mean nothing to the short 40 years of nonstop war I've seen and brought, i've killed enough to fill mass graves, i've burned and shot my own comrades to save a person who thought me to be human. You. Child. Know nothing of war.” He lowers himself to Screwball, “For I am the Shield and sword. The land I protect will be my tomb, and from there I still shall protect with my shield and kill with my sword.”
Screwball frowns, her face becoming more serious. “....You’re wrong…. I lived for a thousand years, a thousand years with my parents trapped in stone, I lived through several wars. The Griffon Pony Great War, the Phantom War, the…” Screwball eyes water a bit. “The Pokemon Eradication War….a lot of pokemon lost their lives and I was unable to do anything about it…cause i’m weak. I may act and look like a child, but only because I want to be, I could’ve changed my body to its adult stage anytime I want to, but I didn’t. I’ve seen genocide! And all because ponies feared the power pokemon possessed! I may look young, but I’m immortal and I lived in this planet for a thousand years. I’ve seen wars, I’ve seen dictators and empires rise and fall.Any normal pony would’ve gone mad after being alone for so many years! But not me! I held on to the hope that I will be reunited with my family once more!” She finished strongly.
The Spartan looks down at the pony, “We were the ones being experimented not the other way around. We were hunted for sport.” A step, “I had our lands burnt and glassed with the families inside. I watched Marines and ODST drop feet first into hell hold off the wave of forces slaughtering, man, women, and child with no remorse. I have discovered that the ‘gods’ they were slaughtering us over WERE FAKE! I destroyed their holy ring larger than a sun! This ring could of killed you so easily, one moment you would be there the next you, and everything else would be glass on a barren world! But the worst. The worst was to kill a being, once more threatening my race and killed my best friend. You, you are no god. You are simply ageless. But I am a god killer, I am a demon form and forged by the fires of war. A war you could never understand because it wasn't war for rights or land, or money. It was a war for survival and we almost lost. But I saved us.”
“You’re no demon, you’re no god-killer either.” Screwball stated, her eyes looking much more older. “When you’re immortal you tend to wander to places and discover new lands, but when you’ve already seen it all, what is there left to see? So, I went to the only other place very little explore, the void. In there time flowed differently, and during my time in the void, I had the opportunity to explore other worlds, and I did...to this day I still cannot decide if I regretted my decision. I saw the world your character comes from, he’s no god-killer, they weren’t even gods! But I was, but I gave it up, gave up my god hood and returned to my Equestria and my body was forced to revert back to it’s child stage.” She gave a dry chuckle, “And you know what? Your world wasn’t even the worst one I’ve seen, no, it’s far from the worst, very far. I am much more wiser than you think, this body maybe a child’s and I may act like one, but I can assure you, child! That I’ve seen worse, in this world only a thousand years have past, but for me it’s been eons. So tell me ‘God-killer’ how can your world possibly be any worse than what I’ve seen in the void? In the multiverse?!” She asked him.
“You watched it. I lived it.”
“Hm!” She smiled, “But what you have lived through, is still nothing compared to what I lived through, child. I traveled to different worlds, and sometimes even lived there for a while. I even… had a chance to have a family, but alas, it was not meant to be.”
“Spartan body equals infertile.”
She tilted her head, “I know, but that can easily be changed. Heck at this bodies power, combined with some Chaos Gems, I might be able to change that.”
“I don’t have nads anymore.” The Spartan chuckles, “Didn't need them not needed for combat. Understand you can regen them but if you did Spartan armour would fit anymore.”
Screwball smirked, her voice sounding more like a grown woman's. “Sweetie, haven’t you ever heard of this thing called ‘magic’? It’s a tricky little thing, but I’m sure even a child like you know what it can do. Heck, if given enough training I might be able to teach you how to do Chaos Magic, after all, humans are excellent conductors for Chaos Magic. But point is, my type of magic, my father’s type of magic, is able to do anything we want it to do. I can do anything I want, with no consequences!” She said, balancing on a rubber ball.
“Fight or no?”
Screwball’s voice becomes childish once more, as she smirks at the spartan, “Heck yeah we’re gonna fight!” Leaping towards him, her body was enveloped in flames. “Flame wheel!”
The Spartan step to the Side chopping the back of her neck as she flies by him moving much faster then one would think he could.
“Gah!” She yelps, rolling into a ball, she rolled around the Spartan, “Nice shot! But still not enough to beat me!” Stopping, she turns towards the spartan and fires a barrage of seeds at him, “Bullet Seed!”
The Spartan takes out his Assault rifle and a female voice is heard from his Helmet, “Aiming assist activating.” Each seed is shot out of the air that wouldn't hit the pony taking a few of the seeds to the shields, “Shields at 91 %”
“Hpm!” Smirking, she towards the Spartan at shocking speeds, “EXTREME SPEED!” Slamming her body onto the Spartan, she tackled him to the floor. “Stomp!” She raised her hooves above her head as she prepared to stomp on his chest.
He reaches in his pocket and throws sand in her eyes, “Pocket sand!” He follows up with a punch hard enough to toss her into the hair a few feet and right into an uppercut as “KO!” Plays over the speakers.
“That’s no fair! You cheated!” Screwball yelled, wiping the sand off her eye.
“Pocket sand is always a fair tatic! Its sand! In your pocket!” The Spartan laugh and runs at her going over 50 mph, no Extreme speed but that fast plus a Spartan weighing over thousand pound. Going to hurt.
Screwball, still blinded and busy trying to get the sand off, is blissfully unaware of the incoming danger. “Rgghh, I swear to Arceus, when I get this sand off me, you are so DEAD!”
At the last moment she feels the earth shaking with each of the titans steps then it stops for her to hear two cursed words, “Body slam!” And over a thousand pounds of metal mass going over 50 mph jumping and landing on the filly's back. The Spartan rolls off quickly not to severely hurt the filly body.
Screwball let’s out a silent scream, her eyes wide. Looking towards the Spartan, she gave him a final glare before fainting.
Wild Screwball has fainted.
Spartan gains 1865 Exp.
Tomas stared at the text box that had randomly appeared. “....”
“Do you see it too?”
He nodded, too dumbfounded to say anything about it.
“Press A damnit!”
The large textbook disappeared, only to reappear again.
Spartan leveled up!
Lv. 69-70!
Tomas confusion only grew, “wha…?”
“Ahah! 69.”
He glared momentarily at the spartan, “Really?” He turned towards the textbox and yelled. “A! A! A! A!”
He kept yelling the letter, skipping over the spartan’s stats and stat raise. Causing them to only have a small glispe.
‘
The Spartan was laughing the whole time pointing at it.
“What in tartarus? A!” He yelled one final time, causing the box to disappear from view. “,,,,You know what, I’m not going to question it.”
“Me neither, call it a strange natural thing that happens.”
Tomas sighed. “That wasn’t natural.... but then again neither is anything around here.”
“Shhhh shhh shhhh its a Pinkie Pie thing. Never mention it again.”
“But- but!”
“Shhhhhh. Never again.”
He sighed again, “I give up! At least with Discord it kind made sense!”
“Shhh never mention its for the best.”
“Alright, alright. Well anyways congrats with winning the fight. I would give you some money, but you're not a trainer, and this wasn’t a pokemon battle.”
“What use would I have for money here? Also how long till your sister gets here?”
Tomas looked towards the direction of Ponyville and saw a dust cloud running towards them. “I’d say right about now actually.”
The Spartan had disappeared once more.
Tomas glared at the spot he had been. “Damn you, not again…”
Suddenly a large dust cloud ran past him and stopped right next to Screwball. Turning towards Tomas, Sarah’s eyes seemed to glow as a dark aura surrounded her. “WHO DID THIS?!” She yelled in a dark, demonic voice.
A small audio device was implanted on Tomas shirt collar speaks in his voice perfectly, “I'm so sorry I was training with Screwball and I knocked her out!” The device then it self destructs, leaving nothing,
Tomas’ eyes widen, realizing what the Spartan did. “That bas-!!!” He didn’t get to finish as Sarah leaped towards him and attacked.
“AAAAHHHHH!!!!”
Last thing he hears before passing out are the Spartan’s laughter.
I sigh at my last trollness before looking at my feet where I stepped into a portal and a Figure of fire cackles, “Good my Champion good.”
“Who are you?!?” I take out my shotgun aiming it at him noticing my pistol is back on my HUD so I hold the shotgun one handed and my pistol in the other.
“So my Champion what will be your token?”
I fire my Pistol and the bullet stops midair. “For all those who need a friend, a brother in arms, or a general troll call me up. Spartan Kilo 000 sound off.” It teleports away.
After that I black out and awake in the cave where i feel into the portal the gun in my hand how I left and the Team Rocket Token firmly in my hand.
After cleaning my Assault Rifle, my Shotgun, AND my Pistol, I put them back together again laying the on the cave floor, “Shall we take inventory?” I hear Cor- Karma voice ring through my helmet and mind in the strange duality I have came to expect from her. I look in combat pockets rooting through them taking out everything I can find in them, but I leave the strange infinite ammo pouch alone knowing I don't want to know.
Luckily I found two rags in the pockets, a soft small one most likely for cleaning the gun parts or wiping something needing a soft cloth. The other one is a very large, almost tent sized cover so naturally I move all the gun parts there and the rest of my items.
A can of Bio-foam which honestly surprises me as I thought there was an internal system for it, “There is, this is for soldiers or anyone else needing it.” I nod as I route through the pockets putting the Meowth token for the Team Rocket beside the gun making sure I mentally categorizes my new belongings. On the last pocket the object seems stuck in the kevelaer pocket. I pull on it popping out a...Holy shit thats a big diamond. A large, black diamond the size of a fucking BASEBALL! Oh god I hear the voices again.
“I am the protector of the innocent, warrior of the weak, call upon me for assistance and I shall come. Call for the Gravity Shifter and I will make those who harm others beg for mercy as they are crushed at my feet. Hold this gem close to thine heart and I shall be at your side as a fellow warrior! ”’
“Yo-”
“I hear it.”
“Shoul-”
“Go ahead.”
I follow the the instructions of the gem. If its a prank I could just give it to Drake as an addition to his horde. I chuckle as I feel it pulse once.
A red and black hole swirled into existence, red lighting running along its edges. Out of it, a young woman floated out. Her long blonde hair gently waved in the nonexistent wind, along with the edges of her black, leather jacket. She touched her combat boot covered feet to the ground and lightly brushed some dirt from her clean khakis. She smiled beautifully some would call when she noticed me.
“Hello there, nice to meet you.”
I look down at her slightly to look her in the eyes, “Mass Effect?”
She blinked before getting a little miffed. “Mass Effect? MASS EFFECT?! YOU HONESTLY THINK THAT PIECE OF JUNK GAME COULD HOLD UP TO ME?!”
“Hey don't hate on it! You just had the whole Psionic vibe going on with the mystic floating goddess shit.” I rise my hands in a defensive position.
“It’s not mysticism! I manipulate gravity! It’s in the speech of my token for Dieu’s sake!”
“We’re just trying to find out what's happening! Plus that FITS Mass Effect’s whole thing!”
“Mass Effect has nothing on what I do!” The woman grumbled slightly before forcing herself to be calm. “Let’s… let’s start over before I really blow a gasket. My name is Kat Shifter, I’m the Gravity Queen. And you are?”
“I'm just called Spartan, Ma’am.” I find myself going into an automatic salute.
I hear the outside Speakers switch to Karma’s AI feed, “And I’m Karma, this oaf’s watcher.”
“At ease, soldier,” she smirked. “Well met to the both of you. I’ll admit, haven’t seen an AI in a long time. Good to know someone’s out there making good use of them.”
“This is an information GOLD MINE! With this much of input of data I can probably live a year more than the estimated time of rampancy! HE just runs and hides form colorful ponies.”
“Hey at least i'm not cursing a tree for looking like it's carved by a child!”
The two descend into a shouting match about the ponies, an incident about a girl scream and general teasing.
Kat just stood there, looking at her watch before sighing. She took a deep breath before, “SHUT UP ALREADY!! ”
They continue to bicker the mic on the outside of the armour turned off but the speakers left on as the air tight seal along with thick plating basically creates a soundproof room.
Her voice is met with an equally loud one male one form farther in the cave, “WHY DON'T YOU? DRAGONS ARE TRYING TO SLEEP SPARTAN!”
“Oi!” Kat shouted at the other voice. “I ain’t talkin’ to you, so shat up, ya walkin’ handbag!”
A black dragon the size of the Spartan walks in with bags under his eyes of a sickening purple, “OK who the hell are you and why is the spartan screaming at himself?”
“He’s fighting with his AI apparently and my name is Kat Shifter. Your friend summoned me. Hmm…” She eyed the dragon closely, looking him over several times. “Well now, I don’t think I’ve seen a dragon with your colorization in a long time. Not since the dragon wars have I seen a black dragon, sad to say I was the one to have killed her.”
“I'm not evil, I was cursed with those colors. The colors of the Weak Fire and Clay Scales. But hopefully he’ll help me and I can horde my books and valuables farther.” The black dragon shrugs saying a defeated and depressed sigh.
“I didn’t say you were evil,” Kat shook her head. “The one I mentioned just happened to have been on the wrong side of the war. There are no true villains in war, my good lizard. You don’t have to worry about me hurting you, though. It would look it terrible on my goddess portfolio for killing one of those I protect.”
He sighs watching the Spartan, “Maybes he needs a good kick to get working again.”
“I can do that,” Kat smirked evilly. She reared up her left leg before kicking the Spartan directly in the face, slamming him into the far wall instantly. “That should be enough power, the armor should have protected him enough.”
“Shields at 5%”
“Why did you-! Oh hey Drake.” I wave to the Dragon who sighs walking back to his gold room, “Ok back on subject. WHY DID YOU KICK ME?!?”
“You wouldn’t shut up,” she shrugged.
“Doesnt mean you kick me!”
“Be nice to the Lady, Spartan, for all you know it's the last one you’ll ever see!”
“I'm not even attracted to her Karma!” A deep sigh is heard from the speakers once more as they focuses back on their sort of guest, “I'm sorry but may I ask you a few questions?”
“Go ahead… but I’m a little insulted you don’t find me attractive. I take quite a bit of pride in my lovely looks, you jerk.”
“I'm a Spartan. I'm basically nurtured down there. So yea its not your fault. But I guess the questions start off simple. What world are we on?”
She raised an eyebrow. “I’m not entirely sure. Sometimes it’s called Equus, or Gaia, or even just Equestria.”
“Inhabitants? I saw technicolor ponies along with Sasuke over there.”
“Yeah, that’s normal. Ponies, dragons, griffons, minotaurs, zebras, cows. That’s your typical Equestria for you.”
“Leaders? Also tech and military levels.”
“Normally, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna who have co-ruled for centuries. I can’t give you tech or military levels as they vary from universe to universe.”
The Spartan sigh taking out Karmas AI chip setting it down and allows a 5’4 holographic version of Cortana to show off, “She wanted out.”
“Its stuffy in there. Now Can you see if anything is off from baseline Equestria?”
“Not from here I can’t. I’m only a physicist/soldier, not much else.” Kat shrugged. “I doubt it’s anything that could be harmful to a Spartan, except with magic. That could be a danger if he pisses off the wrong people.”
“Well I think Plasma shields would scramble the effects of most spells and they have no clue what their transforming. Also this is a rather personal question.”
“Personal question?” Kat asked, a little suspicious.
“How much do you weigh? Or are your using your gravity powers to hid your true weight?”
Kat stood still for a moment before smiling. “Sweetie, have your shields recharged yet?”
“Look over there!” The Spartan points behind her.
She grabbed the Spartan by the face mask, lifting him into the air. “Answer the question, sweetie,” she said, never losing her smile.
“I. Regret. Nothing. Muffintop.”
“Shields are at 100%. Fire away Honey.”
Kat immediately slammed the Spartan to the floor… repeatedly. After about ten slams, she dropped him back into the crater. “Never insult a lady, sweetie. It never ends well.”
The Spartan laughs a bit, “Piss off a goddess off my bucket list.”
“Be glad I’m not mad enough to kill you,” Kat glared. “It’s a lot easier than you would hope it is.”
“ I didn't think you would. That's why I let him. Honestly I think your kinder than that but who I am beside a hyper intelligent smart AI who has the best body and face reading program.”
“I may be kind, but even I have my limits. I’m a soldier after all, born and raised as one. I just also happen to be a smart soldier. Your friend here should be careful who he ticks off as their are terrors here that make even goddesses shudder.”
Karam laughs, “Actually he predicted what you would do and took out my AI chip to avoid me harm. I thank you for your help, how can I dissummon you?”
“Wow, that’s a little insulting. I’m here for only five minutes and you want me gone. You two are no fun at all.”
The AI hologram smiles, “When we got more stuff you'll be the first we call. We’re learning but were honestly thankful for your help. I promise you’ll get liquor and food. Deal?”
“Eh, I suppose,” Kat shrugged. “Normally, to get rid of one of us, you say the contract is complete or some nonsense like that. I just make my own exits.” Kat waved her hand, creating another portal. “Just give me a call if you need anything.”
The AI nods and waves, “Say goodbye to the Nice Lady, Spartan.”
“Goodbye Kat and I challenge you to a chugging competition next we meet!”
“And you will lose because I can’t get drunk~.” She disappeared into the portal.
He chuckles falling to sleep in his nice crater, “Neither can I.”
I sigh getting myself out of the crater Kat put me in. Ow ow ow. The gel helped A LOT, but my back still hurts like hell, and so does my head. I run a medical evaluation through the armour systems, seeing nothing hurt too bad I sigh in relief. If I ever took off the armour a wicked bruise would definitely form, but I knew what I was doing the MOMENT I said those words, “You told a woman she had a muffin top. You earned it Spartan.” I chuckle as I look at the hologram of Karam.
She definitely was Cortana. The same hair, the same figure, the same starling intelligent and curious eyes...Where the hell did that come from? I'm not sure and I will not question it. At all.
I bend over her, grabbing her AI core, and naturally slide it back in the helmet feeling cold mercury slide down my spine. Naturally I shivered as the feeling spreads across my body, violating every inch of my body, “I missed you.”
“Couldn’t survive five minutes without me?”
“Look what happened when you left me for four minutes, I dread to think about five.” She laughs and...I feel happy.
“Sleep Spartan. It's been a rough day. I'll wake you if I need you.”
Space. Alone. Cold. Lost.
I take a deep breath, “Hey are you ok? Your vitals spiked. ALL of them.”
I nod, “I'm fine and sleeping sounds good.” I sit against a wall by all my items and possessions thankfully untouched. I look at the gun parts sighing as I wouldn't feel safe without at least one assembled. I take around ten minutes putting them all together feeling my eyes drop and execution began to take me.
I sit against the wall closing my eyes letting myself myself fall into a simple, Peaceful sumbler.
Luna’s P.O.V.
I smile down at the nightclub within eyesight of my towers balcony, right outside the Lunar entrance with my night ponies guard barracks. A testament and reminder of the ponies newfound respect and love of my glorious and wide night, the strange lights and the even stranger but catchy music.
I sigh as send out a small magic pulse looking for nightmares requiring my assistance to face and overcome their night terrors and horrors born from fears and anxiety born from either themselves, their peers, or the society they live in.
Ping.
Ah, an upset dreamer in the Everfree? Must be a traveler or a hiker getting lost in the woods. Must be so scared, at least I can alleviate their dreams/nightmare/night terrors depending on how bad it is.
I cast the magic spell that allows me and only me to enter a dream. I smile as I enter the dream hallway. I cast the pulse once more feeling it ping on a shifting door on green and blue with a weird metal stick. Thats the first sign of something being wrong, as even with Discord the mismatched Dragonquest had a non shifting door like this. I open it and walk in to vanish the demon of this mind.
I know I am dreaming but I cannot wake up! I know I am in that little hamlet of a town surrounded by corpses of the...Covenant. “Kill the DEMON!” My head snaps to the elite zealot charging toward me, its energy sword ready to skewer me. I feel an rage build up, an uncontrollable rage building and eating at my insides, my vision, my mind.
I feel my shotgun in my hands and i see the rectal. I feel an feral grin tak my face as I scream rising the shotgun firing twice, once to drop the shields, the other to the face blasting its head off. I see the handle of the sword in the air and my rader is telling me something is behind me. I use the butt of the shotgun to double over the thing behind me while spinning around with the sword active slicing through all restaiance, shields, armour, skin.
I see it to be a dark blue pony unicorn with wings, its missing the top half of its head. ITs tongue rolled out and most of its spine and brain on display. The world blurs and I awake.
Celestia P.O.V.
I jump awake from my sleep to a scream, Luna’s scream! I send a magic pulse to all staff ringing the bells on their stationed as they only interact with either Mine or my Luna's magic. I dont even get out of bed simply teleporting to her room.
I see her magic field collapsed in on itself and it looks like something in somepony dream either kicked Luna out or...or killed her… I feel a bit of bile rise in my throat at the thought of Luna being killed in the realm she is supreme, the all and most powerful. Were I cannot thread but where she thrives. I hold her down making sure she doesn't bite her tongue of injury herself in her flailing waiting for the doctors to arrive and administer a sedative to help her rest.
Spartan P.O.V.
I look around as Karam’s voice tries to sooth me, “You’re alright Spartan you’re alright. It was just a bad dream. I got ya, I got ya.” I feel myself calm and the Spartan mind take over calming me to the point I can think.
“It was an nightmare.” I look down. I had an nightmare of not my own making, an nightmare of rage and hate not fear and terror. I take a deep breath looking at the cave that I seem to live in for now. I turn my head to the entrance as a blip is arriving but its green, Drake.
“Giant. I have some food if you want.” He walks in dragging the corpse of what seems like a big cat but with bat wings and a scorpion tail.
“Manticore.” Dragons can exist, so why can't manticores exist right next to them right?
?
I reach for the seals pulling ?off the helmet smiling happily as he looks at my face while i stare at the delicious meal, “Whoa dude. You’re alive?”
I look him in the eyes smiling a bit. I watch as he shivers and most of his scales slide down seamlessly creating a honestly imteading figure that slim, aerodynamic, reptilian figure that would send any knight running for the hills, "Calm down. I'm not going to steal from your horde or hurt you. I just want some the meat." Drake nods trying to use his claw to cut it but growls as it simply makes little cuts.
"Catch." I reach for the blade keep on my shoulder tossing it to him. He looks and makes a startled noise jumping back as it lands in the manticore going to the hilt.
"The fuck?!? Why did you throw the sword at me?!?"
"A. To give you something to carve the meat with. B. Its a knife. That is a knife."
Drake sighs picking it up and looks at it, "It's light for something so long and thick."
I cough, "Phrasing." I cough again as Karma laughs her holographic ass off giving me a sense of success, "Its made of high grade Titanium alloy. I think the batch that was made form came for another world." I watch trying to hold back laughter as he circles it in his hands, his mouth open widish like well a dragon eyeing something it's never seen, a item so new and unique that it must have it.
"Keep it. I don't think I'll need it." I smile at him and he just grins using it to carve out strips of meat and using his fire to cook it slowly, "Mmm." I smell the delicious cooking strips of flesh slowly cooking filling me with the primal urge to tear into the cooking flesh and devour it raw, the blood running down my chin and dammit i'm drooling now.
Drake looks over, keeping the precious knife close to him, sighting the drool on my chin but I catch his eyes darwen to the tumor on my neck from the Flood spore, “May I ask where you took that?”
I chuckle, “After dinner, or lunch.”
“Why?” Ah straight to the point. Not only hoarding jewels but knowledge. Good dragon.
“You won't want to eat otherwise, Right Karma?” The speakers switch on with an audible noise. Naturally they don't do that but it's her showing off.
“Right Spartan.” I watch with amusement as he jumps with a violent jerk, his scales going down flat again.
“THE HELL?!?”
I laugh watching him brandish the knife outwards in a sword hold. I laugh harder noticing how childish and unpracticed it is. Flaws in his stance, how he holds it, all that good stuff, “I thought you knew about Karma! You saw me talking to her!”
“I thought your logic matrix was messed up so you were talking to yourself!” I can see his flight or fight instinct kick in and it looks to be flight.
“Why are you scared of us?” I tilt my head taking a slightly pink piece of meat, I examine it for a moment and procd to do the editability test. No discomfort, it’s food. I look at him, honestly reminds me of a naked elelit.
He takes a deep breath, smarth dragon, “You’re scary.”
I almost choke on my food trying not to laugh as I look him in the eye. He's being honest, oh this is so funny. I make sure to finish my food before speaking, “I guess I am. Do you wanna see the flood?”
I grin inwardly. The dragon is an student. He seems to horde and value knowledge over gems. I'm not sure if this rare but if it is I am thankful hes like this. The action that warranted that thought?
He immediately calmed down and his eyes alight with greed, a base greed over life and death to a dragon. A promise of addition to his horde that no one else has. I grab the helmet sliding out Karma AI chip as it's also an hologram projector, “Wow, I’ve only seen one of those in Canterlot.” I freeze slightly looking him in the eyes.
He proceeds to look like he shit his britches. Spartan pated death glare. Works on anything, “C-canterlot and The E-everfree castle have a l-large gray w-white obelisk. Everything, pony, griffin, Dragon. If they touch it a voice says “Acess denied. You are not the reclaimer. Then they are put to death by the obelisk, the only ones to survive it are Alicorns or ponies destined for accession.” His voice steadied as he spoke. As if speaking from a book.
“Take me.”
“Wha-?”
“Drake. I have a very good reason to say I am the Reclaimer.” His eyes widen, jaw drops. I slide Karma chip back into the helmet and locks it on my head. My audio sensors hear a small pop outside of the cave but I take no mind to it, “Karma waypoint where I am standing.” I see small waypoint blink into existence.
“Spartan?...”
Trust your AI. Especially when she sounds fucking scared.
“Approxly a thousand signatures outside.” I gulp.
“Drake?”
I can hear him running around. I'm not sure when he left his original position, “Yes?”
“Stay in the back. Keep quiet and wait three hours. Then and only then come out.”
He nods hiding in the back of the cave. Long enough to erase the sound of his breathing but short enough to let him breath.
I go a quick check of my weapons, Pistol. Good. Rifle. Good. Shotty? Good.
I take a deep breath making sure my footsteps are long and heavy. Fear factor always works.
I near the mouth of the cave taking an deep breath of the filtered air through the armours purifier, “Hey Karam?”
“Yes Spartan?”
I feel myself smile, “Well get through this. I promise you.”
“ Don’t make a girl a promise…if you know you can’t keep it.”
I can feel the sadness in her voice and it sends shivers down my spine as memories of Cortana saying just that passes through my mind. If anything it makes me pissed off. Sad. And determined.
I walk out of the cave to see ponies. Ponies. Look over there MORE ponies, “BY ROYAL DECREE OF THE GODDESS OF THE SUN, THE RULER AND FOUNDER OF HARMONY AND EQUESTRIA, PRINCESS CELESTIA. YOU ARE TO BE DETAINED AND PUT UNDER ARREST FOR YOUR CRIMES OF DREAM ASSAULT TO PRINCESS LUNA! SURRENDER NOW AND YOU WILL BE TRIED FAIRLY IN COURT. RESIST AND WE WILL ATTACK. WE ARE A THOUSAND STRONG. YOU HAVE NO HOPE. SURRENDER.”
I chuckle to myself, “Karma turn on the speakers.” The little light in the corner tells me that the speakers are on, “Hello Ponies!” Ponies jump, “I have a counter proposal. You go home. You get to live. I have done nothin-”
“Hey Twilight! see I wasnt lying! That’s the giant green thing I saw near the river where the scream came from! Its a foal eater!” I look to where the screams are to see the cyan pony with wings. It actually looks cute with its little necklace. Judging by the voice it's a girl, but a tomboy ohhhh great.
The blue pegasus is looking at a purple Alicorn whose wings flutter and won't sit still as if they're new, “I-is that a metal golem?!? I though the technique to make them was lost to the ages!” I hear an honestly adorable little squee come from the Alicorn as her wings flare with an audible *poof*
I laugh slightly as her little group and the others look at her in concern, wing boners it is. I see a blush through the thin coat making me laugh harder but I notice that the guards in golden armours are military. Defense set up to create a counter siege to guard an open castle. And it seems like the six ponies without armour is the “open castle”. I grab the pistol on my hip and fire it in the sky.
Most the ponies jump into an aggressive stance, the yellow pony passed out, a coward. “Hes fast! Mages hold him down!” Bullshit. They do- Their horns are glowing. THEY have magic. I fire again seeing the spell falters, most likely form lapse in concentration, so I run grabbing the nearest ‘mage’. I fire at a tree and put the pistol to the ponies temple.
“One wrong movement. A single fucking one and your friends head becomes that trees bark.” Nonexistent, “Weapons down. Or my weapon fires. I am quicker than any of-” I see the Blue penguas try to lift into the air, sorry buddy you aren't walking again. I shot at his back off not tearing it off, not simply putting a bullet in it but completely obliterating it. The station screams in pain. How do I know it's a guy? The scream sounds mannly.
“I said one move and the pony is hurt. I'm not blind Skittles.” The look of confusion on her face and Karmas laugh was so stafsing, “How about this? Most of you are guys so.” I put the gun aiming at the ponies balls, “One wrong move and i give him a makeshift neutering. No kids, better ask your pals to play nice~” The poor pony in my grasp looks at his comrades with begging eyes, “I think he wants kids, or should I just finish him off?”
I smile as they all set down their weapons, the unicorns lowered their heads, “You six! Over there! Toss over the jewelry!” I highlight the point by displaying the gun aiming. To be honest they strangely do quite well with blood. This is a small after thought as they all hand over the cute jewels which i put in my pockets on my hips. I back off slowly to the edge of the forest and when I was in enough I toss the pony back to them.
I chuckle to myself as I run deeper into the forest making sure to cover my tracks so they can't follow me, “Karma look for Forerunner power signatures.”
“Scaning, scanning. Found. 200 meters that way Spartan.” I can hear how happy she is and it makes me happy. I just simply hope that whatever we find can help us.
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. We will not go quietly into the night.
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. 