Halo: Equestrian Campaign

The Cutie Mark crusaders frantically ran around their club house, grabbing anything and everything they could and shoving it into their bags. The relief chariots had just arrived, and their sisters wanted them to be on them and away from Ponyville as soon as possible. There was no way of telling when they would come back to Ponyville, so they were taking whatever they might need while away.

“Applebloom, did you grab the extra cutie mark checklists?” asked Sweetie Bell.

“I thought Scootaloo was supposed to get those. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. We have at least three already packed, we can’t spend time grabbing something we don’t need. Our sisters are probably already coming to get us.”

“Don’t worry guys, I did grab them.” chimed Scootaloo. “And you’re right Applebloom, we have to leave now. I don’t want Applejack to scold us for taking too long!” With that, the three fillies crammed the last few things into their bags, and lit out of their clubhouse as quick as a whip. They ran as quickly as their legs would carry them, which wasn’t very fast considering the loads they were carrying. The path they followed seemed to go on for ever, and the scenery showed little signs of progress. It wasn’t until they began seeing apple trees lining their path that they knew they were getting close.

“Girls,” wheezed Applebloom. “If we cut through the orchard here, we can get to my house faster. We can grab some water and let my sister know where we are so she won’t be angry with us.” The other two nodded in agreement and followed their yellow friend off the beaten path and into the apple orchard. From what they could see, the house was getting closer. For a change, their plans seemed to be going just as planned. That was, until, they were stopped in their tracks by two large, black, bipedal creatures.

“Calvin, you sure we aren’t too close to the house?” asked Dan. They had left the camp to get more apples shortly after Solus and Chris had gone to do recon on the town.

“Don’t worry about it, kid.” replied Calvin. “I wouldn’t have us get this close if it weren’t necessary. These are the only trees left with apples on them, it was only by chance we came across those worm ridden ones yesterday. It’s September, after all. Apple season began about a month ago. Makes sense that there so few left this close to the house.”

“But what if the locals see us? We’re not equipped to handle a first contact situation.”

“Hey, we may not be politicians, but it’s not like we’re gonna shoot them. Relax, Dan. Look, the farmers are probably up and working already. If they’re not here, then they’re working somewhere else. We’ll be gone before they make their way over here. So give it a rest, and help me pick some more of these.” Dan tensed up a bit before letting out a long breath. Hesitantly, he lifted a makeshift bag up for Calvin to drop some apples into. Suddenly, Dan dropped the bag, spun on his heel, and shot his hand down to the handle of his pistol.

“You hear that?”

“Careful, watch your trigger discipline. What is it?”

“Sounds like footsteps. Somethings approaching, to the right!” Both soldiers pulled out their weapons, but kept their fingers off the trigger. There was no way they were going to shoot without being sure they were in danger. Slowly, they turned to the direction the noise was coming from, only to find three small animals gazing at them with wide eyes.

“Don’t think we’re in any danger here, Dan.” Chuckled Calvin. “Go ahead and put your gun away.”

“Yes sir.” Dan slid his pistol back into his holster before stooping down to pick up the bag he’d dropped. “Think we got enough of these to keep us fed for a day or two?”

“Yeah, think we’ll have introduced ourselves to the locals by then. Hopefully they’ll help us out.” Calvin slowly walked over to the three small animals that sat frozen looking at him. “Think these things are pets? They sorta look like horses.”

“Probably are pets, they look like they’re regularly cleaned and fed. And they certainly do look equine, but there’s something off about them.”

“You mean like their eyes? Damn, those things are big.” Calvin  knelt down on one knee to get a closer look. The three creatures seemed to tense up a bit as he got closer to them. “Yeah, my money’s on pets. Just look at them, poor thing’s are scared of me.”

“Wouldn’t you be?” asked Dan.

“Fair point.” Calvin turned his full attention to the three fillies before him, slowly reaching out his hand to the yellow one in the middle. “Don’t worry, little guys, we’re not gonna hurt you.” Just as Calvin was about to lay a hand on it, the creature reeled back and let out a shrill scream.

“Jesus Christ!” shouted Dan. “Calvin, get away from that thing!” The ODST drew his sidearm again with his free hand while his comrade got to his feet. The three animals noticed the menacing figure brandishing his gun and immediately retreated behind a tree deeper into the orchard.

“Well, Somebody definitely heard that. C’mon, Dan, let’s get the hell out of here.”

“Why the hell did you try to touch it? Damn it, we’re gonna be in some shit now! The two ODSTs immediately ran back to the forest, never chancing a look back to see what may have begun pursuing them.