Halo: The Interlopers

For the return trip, an anonymous UNSC pilot flew the Pelican back to Ponyville. It landed in front of Twilight Sparkle’s house, like it had a little less than a day earlier. Twilight wrote a letter to Princess Celestia about what she learned on the ship, and what Mark had gone through. She thought Celestia would need to know the behavior and modus operandi of the aliens who’d attacked them. She didn’t realize Mark had wanted what he said to be kept between them.

Knife team split up, deciding to just do whatever they felt like. Shore leave was something unheard of for SPARTANs, so they decided to enjoy it. It might be the only time they’d ever be able to roam freely among civilians like this.

“I’ll just, I dunno, find someplace to hang out I guess. Probably get something to eat,” Ethan said. Off-duty or not, he still felt he should inform Mark.

“I’ll go hang with Fluttershy, she can probably show me around town. She seems like she’s nice enough she wouldn’t mind giving a tour,” Jason stated.

“Um, all right. I’ll go to the library, read up on pony civilization. Might help some missions later on… See ya.” Mark didn’t really know what to do with his free time, nor did he realize the library was Twilight Sparkle’s house.

Mark wandered around for a bit, before he asked for directions to the library. When he realized he had landed in front of it, he slapped his forehead.

“Knock-knock.”

“Who’s there?”

“Me.”

"'Me' who?"

"Methinks I be terrible at knock-knock jokes."

Twilight needed more to go on than something that, so she went to open the door. She was surprised to see Mark, but she gave him a smile anyway.

“Hey, what’re you doing here?”

“Well, I figured I’d stop by and read. Nothin’ more than that, really.”

“Come on in then.”

Mark had to hunch over to fit in the door. Being a seven foot tall supersoldier didn’t lend itself to doors designed for ponies averaging four and a half feet.

The inside of the house was nice, a few rooms, an elevated bedroom, and a whole library’s worth of books mounted in shelves that melded with the circular walls.

“Remember those books I asked for when we met?”

“Mmm-hmm. I still have them stacked, actually. They’re in the other room.” She gestured to another door, a few meters to Mark’s left.

He opened it, and entered the room. It was a simple circular chamber, with the stack of books Twilight had mentioned set near the center.

“Hey, do you have something I can sit on?”

“Yeah, there’s a large beanbag chair in the closet.”

“Thanks Twi. Can I call you that?”

She giggled a bit, though Mark wasn’t sure why. “Sure.”

Mark sat down, and began with a world atlas. It was highly detailed, listing geopolitical boundaries, populations, and various statistics. Disputed areas were also indicated as such. Mark kept the atlas open as he quickly moved to a history textbook.

Equis’ history mirrored Earth’s to a remarkable extent. From ancient times, to mythology, to modern times, which contained technology from across the human 20th and early 21st centuries, in addition to closely mimicking that period of human history. Equestria seemed to be an odd combination of the old United States of America and United Kingdom, with cities and regions named to match. As such, it seemed that Equestria was a superpower, one of the two strongest nations on Equis.

Mark learned of a Cold War pitting Equestria and her NETO allies against the Socialist Republic of Unikraine. It seemed that firearms, tanks, jets and nukes were not in fact strangers to Equis. Mark tried to determine why this wasn’t revealed to the humans, and why these things were absent from Canterlot and Ponyville.

Well, I suppose that the docile nature of the ponies I’ve encountered doesn’t lend them to combat, so keeping them separated from the more modern parts of Equestria seems to have created a somewhat utopian pocket of tranquility and mild obliviousness here.

As for us not being told these things, I suppose it was more not telling me or my friends. Equestria is obviously familiar with deterrence theory, so they must’ve told the diplomats and higher-ranking officers to make sure we don’t try to screw them.

Mark produced a chatter from his pants, and contacted the Deliverance’s AI to confirm his hunch.

“Hey, Emmerich?”

“Yes?”

“Do you know about the 20th and 21st century tech present on Equis, including matching military tech?”

“Yes, it was brought up at the diplomatic reception. In fact, the tech is largely identical to what was used during the corresponding time period on Earth. The Equisians in general, ponies as well as griffons and donkeys, seem to be able to use a lot of their tools without the need for thumbs. I honestly can’t figure it out. My best guess would be self-replicating nanomachines or some kind of symbiotic bacteria that are passed through each generation unbeknownst to the planet at large. Those might create unique fields that allow them to perform such feats. Given that we don’t entirely understand how the trigger mechanisms on Covenant weapons function, I think I can say that for now these phenomena are beyond our comprehension.”

“Makes sense. Do their firearms and vehicles directly correspond to the ones humanity used to use?”

“Oddly enough, yes. Some weapons and vehicles are absent entirely, such as the old M1 Abrams, F-22 Raptor, XM8, and the Mk. 23 SOCOM pistol. But mostly, you’ve got human tech only slightly altered to be used by ponies. And some projects that were cancelled seem to have gone through. For instance, the Royal Equestrian Air Force uses the YF-23 as the F-23 Black Widow II, and that was the sole participant in the REAF’s Advanced Tactical Fighter program. On Earth, it competed with the YF-22 Lighting II, which won and became the F-22 Raptor.”

"Wouldn't the existence of pegasi remove the need for aircraft?"

"Yeah, but that'd leave earth ponies and unicorns still flightless, and it'd be best to maximize the amount of soldiers that could be inserted into an area. Not to mention that pegasi can only carry so much ordnance compared to a combat aircraft."

"Huh, that makes sense. I guess some local combat support couldn’t hurt if the Covenant attack again.”

“Agreed. Also, there's some weapons and tech that the ponies developed themselves, or at least that there's no equivalent in our history."

“Good to know. We’ll talk more later.”

“Colonel.”

Well, this is a strange turn of events. Still, I doubt that Equis could fight any Covenant remnants on its own, even if it spontaneously formed a single world government and military body. Their tech level is Tier 5, still the Atomic Age. Ours is Tier 3 and it was a goddamn miracle we beat the Covenant. And how the hell do they have direct copies of old human tech?

Twilight knocked on the door.

"Come in."

"Hi."

"Hey, what's up?"

"I've just been wondering something."

"Go ahead."

“Do you mind me asking if this studying is for work or out of personal interest?” Twilight queried. She had a sheepish look on her face, and was clearly worried about offending him. Whether it was out of fear of physical harm, emotional empathy or both, Mark didn’t know.

“Both, I suppose. I don’t get much free time, but the time I do get I usually spend on intellectual pursuits that’d benefit my occupation. I guess I’m addicted to my work.”

That sounds like me a couple years ago; focused on my studies, to the exclusion of almost all else. Twilight was captivated by the parallel. Maybe I could help fix that!

Mark saw a smile form on Twilight’s face, and realized immediately she was planning something.

“Would you like to go to Sugarcube Corner with me?”

Mark considered this for a moment.

Well, on one hand I guess I could use something to do with my shore leave, and it’d probably help the locals’ opinion of humanity if I behaved decently. On the other hand, I could accidentally offend them, although given their culture and generally docile natures, this could probably be quickly remedied, and I’d have the excuse of not knowing their customs to control any damage. Okay, so the benefits seem to outweigh the risks.

“Sure, but I doubt they accept human currency; it’s not self-backing.”

“I’ll pay, don’t worry.”

“Can I come with?” Spike asked, revealing himself to have been in another room.

“I don’t see why not,” Twilight responded, smiling.

The trio exited the library, and walked towards Sugarcube Corner. Mark didn’t know his way around town, so he elected to stay behind them. He also thought it might convey an aura of humbleness, something that would also benefit relations with the locals. Mark also considered that he was just overthinking things.

“So, Mark,” Twilight began.

“Yeah Twi?”

“Who were you talking to in that room, and what were you talking about?”

“I was using my chatter to talk to Emmerich, the AI on the ship you visited. And we were talking about the technological and historical similarities between Earth and yours.”

“Earth? Is that where humans are from?” Twilight looked as if she were trying to remember something.

Oh shit! Okay, it’s fine, even the Covies knew the name of Earth. As long as I don’t tell them where it is, it’ll be fine. I haven’t violated the Cole Protocol by naming it.

“Yes. Sorry if I haven’t revealed the name except by accident. I’m a little… A little paranoid, when it comes to protecting my species.”

“Hmmm…”

“Something wrong?”

“Not really. It’s just I could’ve sworn I’d heard of that planet before, but I don’t know where. I mean, we obviously already have the word in our vocabulary, but it's usually only used to describe the ground or earth ponies. I think it was in a book full of ludicrous conspiracy theories, but I might be wrong. Oh! We’re here!”

In front of them was a giant gingerbread house, decorated with what appeared to be frosting and gumdrops. It looked like a real gingerbread house, though Mark didn't want to test the edibility of the structure. The three of them walked in and took a seat on the cushions provided, although Mark had to move around a bit to find a spot comfortable for him. A blue earth pony mare with a pink mane came to greet them.

“Hello Twilight, hello Spike!” The mare spotted Mark. “Hi, I’m Mrs. Cake, welcome to Sugarcube Corner, what's your name?” The mare looked at Mark, obviously introducing herself for his benefit.

“Colonel Mark Thompson, but just call me ‘Mark’. Pleasure to meet you,” Mark replied with a smile. “Do you have a menu I could use, I’d like to see what’s available.”

“Not a problem, I’ll get one right now.” She returned a moment later with a sky blue sheet of laminated paper, and a glass of water. “Anything else, Mark?”

“No, thank you.”

Mrs. Cake walked away, and Mark heard an oven open in the kitchen.

“So, what do humans eat?” Spike asked.

“We’re omnivores, so we eat meat, fruits, vegetables, nuts, starches, etcetera.”

“Oh, so are dragons! Do you eat gems too?”

“Nnnno..." Mark paused. "This planet must have a lot of precious minerals if you’ve got species that eat them."

I can see that mineral wealth being a significant strategic asset.

Mark looked at the menu. The descriptions of the items on the list were tantalizing, making his mouth water. After several minutes of silent consideration, he decided to order the Buster Brownie. It was two large scoops of vanilla ice cream, with a hot brownie, hot fudge, gooey marshmallow sauce, whipped cream, and a cherry on top.

When it arrived, Mark thanked the hostess, and Twilight paid for him. Mark tried to get as many of the different components as possible into his mouth at once, bombarding his tongue with a cascade of wonderful flavors.

While he ate, he noticed the stares some of the customers were giving him. Fascination, suspicion and fear among others. He understood their curiosity; he was an alien to them, nothing less than that could describe their feelings.

Well, looks like I am being an unofficial ambassador, just going around making impressions.

After finishing his ice cream, Mark checked his clothes. Nothing on his brown shirt, nothing on his camo pants, nothing on his boots.

Three bored looking fillies entered, an orange pegasus with a violet-red mane, a white unicorn with a lavender and pink mane, and a pale yellow earth pony with a red mane and a large bow. When they saw Mark their faces lit up with excitement, and they rushed to greet him.

“Hi!” They said together.

“Hey, what’s up?” Mark greeted.

“We wanted to meet an alien, but we couldn’t find any, so we came here to get ice cream,” the yellow one began, speaking with an adorable southern drawl. “But now we found one! So uh, we've been wonderin', do aliens have cutie marks?”

“What are those?”

“I think that’s a ‘no’.” The pegasus whispered.

“Y’know, the mark ya get on your flank that magically appears when ya discover your special talent?”

“Oh, that’s what those are. No, humans don’t have them, and none of the multiple alien species I’ve met seemed to have them, although most of them wear clothes.”

Armor, more like. Mark thought to himself.

“Oh, okay,” The unicorn filly replied, disappointed. “Um, also, how come you have those boring colors on, and those dirty-looking pants?”

“Well, I’m in the military, and these clothes are the closest thing we have on my ship to civilian clothes. Normal humans wear more colorful clothes and have myriad fashions, but it’ll probably be a little while before human civilians start arriving. As for these pants, they’re camouflage, part of a normal military uniform for forest and grassland areas. This t-shirt is just worn under the matching top, which I don’t need since I’m off-duty, and I wear special armor when I’m on duty.”

“What’s cam-uh-flauj?” The southern-sounding one asked.

“Camouflage is a means of blending into the surrounding environment by mimicking colors and shapes, breaking up the visual outline of the wearer, and using dull colors to avoid attracting attention. Basically, it’s to make the user harder to see.”

“Hey, that gives me an idea,” The pegasus said, grinning slyly.

The trio huddled together, whispered, and left without ordering.

As they left, Mark noticed they didn’t have “cutie marks” of their own.

“You handled that well,” Twilight said.

“First time in my life I’ve been called an ‘alien’,” He noted.

“Speaking of cutie marks, what does the name ‘Mark’ mean? I mean, human names do have meanings right?” Spike inquired.

“Well, it means ‘consecrated to Mars’, and Mars was the ancient Roman god of war; I suppose that's a fitting name given my occupation." Mark laughed at that. "It was also the name of one of Jesus’ twelve disciples; in the Holy Bible he told part of the story of Jesus Christ, from the point where Jesus was baptized to his death and resurrection. That’s the Mark most people name their children after when they use that name. A lot of human names have religious connotations to them, actually.”

“What’s your favorite book? Fiction, I mean,” Twilight inquired.

“Don’t have one. I haven’t read any fiction since I was a kid. Back then it was ‘Oh the Places You’ll Go!’ by Dr. Seuss. I’ve only read textbooks and encyclopedias since then. Occasionally I read the Bible, but not as much as I used to; it just doesn’t comfort me much anymore. When I read, I mostly read to absorb information. I still enjoy it, but only in the sense that one enjoys learning.”

“What else do you enjoy, then?”

“My job I guess, my friends, food, and… I can’t think of anything else. My job is pretty much all I have, and my friends… Well, I’ve seen most of them die, and all I‘ve got left is Jason and Ethan. Still, my friends live and we’re all willing to die for each other, because that’s how we are. As for food, well, I don’t get good food very often, mostly just decent-tasting rations. A hot meal that isn't military rations is a treat for me.”

“That really stinks,” Spike said sympathetically. He couldn’t imagine living like that. Neither could Twilight. Two friends and a moderately enjoyable job wasn’t much to live for.

“Yeah, it does. But what I do matters. It’s extremely dangerous, challenging, important, and stressful work; I wouldn’t put the burden on anybody or anypony else. Most humans live happily, comfortably, and in relative safety; I’m one of the exceptions to that rule. I’m proud that I help enable the rest of humanity to enjoy the comforts they have.”

Mark could hear chanting coming from outside and went to investigate, coming from opposite directions. He exited to find protestors and counter-protestors marching towards each other. From the east came a group of ponies, with a few mules and donkeys mixed in.

“One! Two! Three! Four! We don’t want their fucking war!” They all chanted in unison.

This group noticed Mark, and began heading towards him, resentment in all of their eyes.

From the other direction came a group of similar composition, but opposite message. Among them was an earth pony and a unicorn marching next to each other, who caught Mark’s attention for some reason. The unicorn was turquoise, with a similarly colored mane with white streaks, and golden eyes. The earth pony was a cream color, with a navy blue and pink mane, and sky blue eyes.

“How many dead ponies? Nothing but zeroes! Who’s to thank? Human heroes!”

Well, this is new. I've seen protests before, but I can’t say I enjoy being the topic of one.

Mark attempted to leave, but both groups followed him wherever he went. He decided against returning to the library, since the protestors and counter-protestors were following him. A donkey wearing a toupee confronted him, his angry visage clearly indicating which side he was on.

“So, you have the nerve to bring your war to our planet, and you try to get away from us when we call you out? That’s some cowardly shit!” The donkey yelled at him, finishing by spitting on Mark’s shirt. That crossed a line for him, and he wanted to make clear it would not be violated without reprisal. Mark knew the UNSC was many things, some bad, some good, but nowhere on that list was the word "cowardly".

Mark chewed him out, making an effort to use no profanity in his rebuttal.

“Sir, we came to this planet looking for peaceful relations, and we had no reason to believe that remnants of a defeated alien hegemony that tried to exterminate our entire race for no reason other than they spontaneously decided their gods didn’t like us, would decide to come a-knocking when we tried to establish peaceful contact with an alien race.”

Mark grabbed the donkey by the ears, held him close to his face, and looked him dead in the eyes. The donkey scowled and leered back.

“So please oh please excuse me for killing every one of those scaly abominations that was within sight when they tried to murder both your leaders and mine. I have suffered nearly every form of physical and psychological suffering a human can endure because of that repugnant collective of alien races, and that has been a constant experience since I was a boy of six, when they killed my whole family in front of me. You haven’t been on the receiving end of an alien genocide where the surfaces of entire planets were burnt to glass because your species lived on them, and I pray that you never experience or witness the horrors I have, and that not even a miniscule hamlet on Equis may ever know the tragedy that befell the entirety of dozens of worlds.”

With that finished, he released the ass, and walked off towards a relatively clear area in the town, one where a Falcon could pick him up. Nopony followed him.

***

Twilight saw the debacle, and was worried by the possibilty of escalation of the confrontation. She used her magic to listen in on the confrontation, and heard the entirety of Mark’s rebuttal. She saw him storm off immediately after, and march towards a fairly clear area, where he produced a device from one of his pockets, and spoke into it. He waited after that, until a human flying vehicle arrived to pick him up. He stepped into it, and took a seat that appeared to leave his legs dangling over the side.

It wasn’t the kind of aircraft Twilight and her friends had ridden in before; it was smaller, open on the sides, and had spinning blades on each side of the craft. It lifted off, the blades spinning faster as it gained altitude, and the nose tilting downwards slightly as it gained forward momentum. As it disappeared over the horizon, Twilight recognized the aircraft from her research; it was a UH-144 Falcon.