Halo: Blackened Skiesby badassgruntChaptersLost...(Old)Of Monsters and EquinesNegotiationsLand Of ImpossibilitiesChapter 1: Fog Of WarChapter 2: Of Monsters and AliensChapter 3: Shaky NegotiationsPrologue:Darkening SkiesLost...(Old)Xor 'Vozomai woke up. He did not wake with a start, nor did he awake gradually. It seemed to him that one moment he was asleep, and the next he was fully awake. He was, however, confused. As he opened his eyes, he found himself in a...cave? Xor simply stared at the rocky ceiling in befuddlement. Why was he in a cave. Wasn't he...he was... He couldn't remember. Xor suddenly sat up, brows contorting in worry. He was in his armor, shields still fully charged, but for the life of him couldn't remember why. The latest he remembered was the Forerunner Guardians starting to police the galaxy. And that was it. What seemed to be a entire year was missing from his mind. The date on his HUD verified that. One moment he was staring into the sky at a Guardian, the next he was staring at the ceiling of the cave he was currently in. He looked around at the cave in more detail. There were crystals scattered about, giving enough light that enabled Xor to see. At first he thought they were Blamite crystals, but these were a variety of colors. He stood up, distinctly aware that he was unarmed other than a single plasma grenade. Thankfully, his motion-tracker showed no movement. The cave had to directional openings, one at about a 45 degree angle from the other. One showed an incline, and Xor was tempted to follow that way. He sniffed deeply, however, his evolved olfactory nerves telling him that the air from the inclined passage was stale and very likely didn't lead outside. The other passage was descending, though, which was something Xor disliked. Still, the air coming from it was far fresher. Grudgingly, the idea of going further below ground unappealing to him, Xor chose the latter. Xor had no idea how far exactly he walked, though the clock on his HUD said it was about half a Unit. The crystals did not continue down the chosen passage, which made the light from them emit not far from the cavern. Xor was thankful that his armor had a shoulder-mounted lamp, the idea of going down in complete darkness much more unpleasing than just the act of descending. Almost an entire Unit had passed before he heard something that made him even more uneasy. His heavy footsteps had an echo to them. He stopped, the echo shortly stopping after him. He continued for a few additional Units before stopping again. And again the echo stopped as well. Xor dismissed it as simply what it sounded like, an echo, and continued onward. Yet again the echo came again. The Sangheili tried his best to ignore it, almost tempted to look back. Instead he stopped again. Xor felt a chill when the echos didn't stop this time. He continued to walk through the passage, at a faster rate this time. Salvation came as something ahead shone against his light. To his disbelief, it was the handle of an energy sword. His energy sword. A sharp pain spiked through his skull, causing the Sangheili to grunt and fall to his knees. A sudden burst of information radiated through his brain. He remembered now...somewhat. He now knew why he was here. He had been fighting an alien. He couldn't remember the name or appearance, unfortunately, but he could positively say it wasn't Human. Or Jiralhanae. Or any other species he knew of. Xor remembered being engulfed in an orb of energy, then blacking out. Despite having received some answers, it left more unanswered questions. What was the alien? What exactly did it do? What happened to the Guardians? He pushed those thoughts to the side when the tempo of the echos increased. Whatever was making them, it was now running. Xor got back to his feet and dashed to the energy sword. He scooped it up and spun on a dime, igniting it. Xor saw what was pursuing him now, and it scared him for a second on how close it had got to him. Less than two meters stood a creature on two legs similar to his own. That's where any similarities ended between him and the creature. The creature was bent forward, a long sweeping tail providing balance. It had only one arm, small and undeveloped, on the underside of its core. It wasn't all that large, around the size of a Doarmir. Its face was similar in shape to a Kig-Yar, with its wide and long jaw. Again, that's where the similarities of any species he knew ended. It had far too many teeth, more than what Xor thought could be possible through evolution. They were needle-like, and to his surprise, seemed to glow of their own accord. It had one single eye, black as the darkness around them. It didn't seem to have any sort of eyelids, not blinking once in the bright light. Xor briefly wondered how it kept the eye moisturized. It's skin was white, the same shade one would expect to evolve into with generations of no sunlight. The skin seemed to shimmer slightly, and Xor found out why. It was covered in short hair. Said hair was nearly completely translucent. The creature shrunk back from the light, growling softly. It seemed to recover quickly, and started to salivate uncontrollably. To Xor's astonishment, and mild horror, the rock below sizzled and crackled. The creature's saliva was acidic, enough to corrode through rock. It threw its head back and shrieked, a noise Xor would most likely never forget. It was high-pitched, primal and crazed. Xor could also hear it's eagerness at finding a potential meal. The creature lowered its head and spat at him. Xor dove to the side, evading the acid saliva. He recovered from his roll to see the beast charging him, giving out sharp barks. Ultimately, though, it was an animal. And Xor was a trained warrior. He waited for the best moment to side-step the charging creature, jutting his sword-arm out. The result was the creature disemboweling itself from its own momentum as it ran past. It gave a gurgle as it hit the floor with a wet thump. Blood bled profusely through the flesh that wasn't cauterized, and the creature's intestines and internal organs started to slide out of the gaping slit in its side. Xor deactivated the sword and stood up straight. He huffed in disgust. Not in the creature, but at himself. How could he have ever felt fear from a simple-minded creature? He was about to inspect said creature more closely when he heard something that did give him a reason to be afraid. Howls. Howls and shrieks echoed out of the passage behind him, undertoned by the thundering of multiple footsteps There must have been dozens of similar creatures all rushing to him. Xor, proud as he might be of his skill, wasn't an idiot. He knew this wasn't a fight he could come out unscathed, let alone alive. He turned around and booked it to what he prayed to the Gods was an exit. The passage seemed to go on for miles, and each second the trample of the animals hunting him came closer and closer. Xor made the mistake of looking back. Their teeth did indeed glow in the dark, emitting a sickly pale green light. It reflected off their glossy black eye, adding to the feeling of unease. Smiles of death stared at him, gleeful for the promise of a hearty meal. There were too many to even think about fighting. One opened it's mouth and spat a wad of saliva at him. The ball of spit went by dangerously close to his head and Xor realized that he should focus in front of him. He didn't want a face full of acid. More spitballs shot by him, and Xor knew it was only a matter of time before one got lucky. That poor luck appeared quickly, as he felt something impact him in his back. In less than thirty seconds, his shields broke and he heard sizzling on his back. Damnation, though, was up ahead regardless if the acid ate through his armor. The passage ended abruptly, spelling certain doom for the Sangheili. At first Xor though his nose had deceived him, but he could make out faint light coming from small gaps in the wall. Xor realized that whoever this planet belonged to must have sealed up the access to the surface for fear of the creatures pursuing him. Time seemed to slow down as he tried to think of a way, any way, that could save him. His eyes caught on one aspect of his HUD. The grenade counter. If Sangheili had the capability to smile, Xor would be beaming. Still, he had to time this just right. He grabbed the grenade from his belt as pellets of acid hit all around him. He primed it and threw straight and true, the now glowing ball landing in an opening. The resulting explosion melted a hole through the rocky barricade, and caused cracks in the ceiling above him to form. Dust and rock rained down on Xor as he gave all he had into his sprint. Behind him he could hear loud thuds, telling him that the passage behind him was collapsing. Xor dove through the hole, thinking he was safe. Not yet, as he found out, as he felt something slam into his back. He shrugged one of the creatures off of him, watching in the corner of his eye the passage fully collapsing behind him, killing the majority of the creatures. The creature scrambled to recover but Xor was far more ready. He lunged forward, kicking the creature with all his might. He felt something in the creature snap and the animal gave a screech of pain as it slammed into the opposite rocky wall. Xor didn't want to waste the charge on his energy sword, his only true weapon left, and instead picked up a large rock. Far too tired for any theatrics, he rushed to the creature and raised the rock above his head. He brought it down on the creature's eye. To Xor's surprise, the black spot on the creature's head wasn't an eye at all. It shattered like bone, revealing flesh beneath. The creature shrieked again, loud enough that it physically hurt Xor's senses. Pushing through the ringing following the noise, he brought down the rock again. And again. The fourth blow was the one that killed the beast, crushing its skull inward. Xor lifted his hand to see it dripping with blood and gore. He dropped the rock and wiped his hand on the creature's pelt. Xor finally gave a sigh of relief and looked around. The light he had saw seemed dimmer now, emanating further up the passage. Xor grunted, displeased he was still underground. He forced himself forward, taking the light as a sign he was almost out of this hell. His footsteps thudded against the bedrock, taking pleasure in not hearing echos. The passage bent up ahead, and Xor quickened his pace. He rounded the corner and stopped. A clear line marked the end of the passage. In its place was a stone room. Xor could see wooden, round containers lining the back wall facing him. Xor stood still, listening and eyeing his motion tracker. Both told him that there wasn't anybody around, but he still gripped his energy sword rather than clipping it on his thigh. He approached the opening and peaked his head through. To his displeasure again, Xor was still not above ground. The light he saw was coming from up a ramp. Curiously, he saw no stairs or other exits other than that ramp. He looked around the room as he stepped into it. In addition to the containers, there were shelves with bottles in them. Xor ignored the features of the room and made a beeline to the ramp. He stopped at the bottom. There was indeed a door, wooded with rusty hinges. But it was small, more suitable for a Unggoy. Still, with a little effort, he managed to got through the doorway. He came out into a hallway, at the end specifically. Immediately something caught his eye. It was a tapestry, located by a wall next to a door. What was on it made him pause. There were two figures, one white the other a dark blue. They had four limbs with what looked like wings. The two figures were orbiting two circles, one what he guessed was a sun, while the other had to be a moon. They reminded him somewhat of the Keifra on Sanghelios, but he had no idea why anyone would spend such skill and fine fabric on animals. His eyes trailed to the door next to the tapestry. This one was larger, more suited for a Human or Kig-Yar. He reached and pushed it open, the hinges squeaking painfully loud. If anyone didn't know I'm here, they do now. He ducked and stepped inside. It was a bedroom. A bed immediately caught his eye. It was obviously for someone important, and if it was still in its prime it would have been magnificent. The embroidery, despite being worn down from the years, still displayed proudly the skill of the sewer. Intricately carved wooden posts held up the now tattered canopy above the bed. Oddly, there was more of the Keifra-like figures on the poles, and on the hems of the blanket. The other things he saw was a dresser with a mirror that had long fallen down. A nightstand was next to the bed, with a book on it. There was a study desk, covered in rotting paper. The rug on the floor had long lost its splendor of color. Xor suddenly sagged, acutely aware of how tire he felt. Xor picked up the chair at the dresser and moved it to barricade the door. He moved to tear down the sagging canopy when he stopped. This room had obviously belonged to an important individual, and despite the likelihood that they are long gone now, it felt disrespectful to take down the canopy with the force he was originally going to use. Instead he took it down with respect and placed it on the study desk. The bed small for his size, meaning his feet would hang off. It would still be better than sleeping on the floor, he figured. He settled down, somewhat amazed that the bedframe held up his weight. His eyes snapped to the nightstand, and the book on it. The edges of the cover were frayed, and was covered in a thick layer of dust. He brushed the dust off and opened it to the first page. To his amazement, the words were in Sangheili. They glowed of their own light, leaving Xor very confused. The inside of the book's cover had glowing words as well, saying something about the book being 'enchanted' for others. He decided to ignore that for now. Year 1 A.B. A new Age has come, one that I wished never had... Author's Note Bonus info about the creatures: Known as 'Glowtooths', these predators live entirely underground. Indeed, they shine away from any natural light. Their primary diet are rocks and gemstones, their highly acidic saliva able to turn it into swallowable mush. They'd much rather prefer actual food, and will jump on any chance to make a live kill. Of Monsters and EquinesXor 'Vozamai was wrong. The book hadn't been written by a person of importance. It had been written by an insane individual that on all accounts should be locked up, let alone be granted such luxuries. Banishing a person to the moon? Moving celestial object on a daily basis? Xor managed to get through five pages before the ludicrousy drove him away. He got a few hours of sleep, but the size of the bed made it next to impossible for him to get comfortable. It was his stomach growling that woke him up. He hadn't eaten anything for a day, and it was beginning to show. Xor undid the barricade and opened the still small door to leave when he suddenly paused. He looked back at the book he threw back onto the nightstand. For reasons unknown to him, he got the urge to take it with him. Or at least, take another look at it again. The feeling kept pestering before Xor finally relented. The Sangheili huffed and went back. He picked it up, opening it and idly flipping through the pages. He was about to closed the book and debate on whether or not he should take the book with him when something caught his eye. He flipped back to the page and scanned it. He quickly found what he was looking for. When noon arrived, I felt the need to be self-sufficient. Deciding I would get my own food rather let somepony else might improve the mood I've been in recently. Unfortunately I did not know where the kitchen was, as every time it was time to eat, I had the meal sent to my room. They had recently moved it due to growling heard by the kitchen staff, disturbing their work. I eventually did found out where they moved it to. The kitchen was now located on the most west side of the building I'm currently in. While the possibility of finding unspoiled food was slim, Xor decided it wouldn't hurt to give the kitchen a look over. He also decided to take the book with him. He told himself it was to merely consult it if he took a wrong turn, trying to mentally denounce the strange feeling of necessity the book seemed to emit. He ducked under the door and moved down the hall. The rug on the cobble stone floor was in tatters, and vegetation started to sprout upwards from cracks located on both the walls and floor. It was also dark. Not dark enough to warrant use of Xor's lamp, but enough to convince him that this place was long abandoned. The atmosphere had an odd taste to it. It was...solemn. As if he was treading on holy ground. The end of the hall way split in a 'T' shape. Xor looked to the left and gawked at the massive hole in the stone. Curiosity got the best of him and he peered down. Glowing grins looked back at him. It was at that moment Xor had a good theory on why this place was abandoned. Thankfully, the hole was too deep for the beasts to attempt to jump. Instead they just spat at him. Xor quickly decided he wouldn't go right. With a pace that other Sangheili might've found embarrassing or dishonorable, Xor retreated to the left. He didn't want to think about how close he'd slept near a nest of those things. The hallway led on for a few Units before turning to the right. Before him was a door leading to...nowhere? Xor couldn't believe it. He was stuck. Totally trapped. He was going to starve, if dehydration didn't get to him first. He might as well- For the first time, Xor noticed a lever next to the wooden door. Please do something useful, Xor thought as he pulled it down. A faint rumble could be felt and the sound of stone moving on stone rewarded his ears as the stone wall on the other side lifted upwards. A library was now revealed. He could see book shelves through the small window in the wooden door. Xor was hungry, and tired of this castle. All he wanted was to get back home. Home. Home. A sudden feeling of urgency washed over Xor. He needed to get back home, and he needed to get back home now. Something important was there. He just knew it, and he knew he needed to get off this planet as quick as possible- Sudden pain lanced through his head, causing the Sangheili to grunt as if he was shot. He fell to his knees, dropping to the book to the floor. A memory came to him. He was in ruins of a city. The details were blurry, and he couldn't tell if they were Sangheili or not. Sounds of warfare assaulted his ears. Screams, gunfire and roars. Before him in the vision was another Sangheili. Or what was left of him. Xor's eyes were immediately drawn to the glass container. Inside, to his disgust, was a Sangheili brain floating in fluid. Wires were crudely injected into the cerebral cortex, connecting the brain to the rest of the 'body'. The Sangheili's two hearts were on either side of the brain, physically thudding against the Sangheili's brain matter. The container was surgically implanted inside the Sangheili's chest cavity. From the shoulders up, however, the flesh turned into metal. The head was gone, in place was a neck-like structure of metal jutting up and forwards. In the center of the end point was the Sangheili's original eye, at least one of them. It stared at him with an unblinking gaze, slightly twitching. The right arm was cut completely off. In its place was a robotic mimic. There was no hand, instead the arm fed directly to an energy weapon. The left was spared. It appeared to be having a seizure, twitching violently. From the hip down there was nothing. Instead of legs there were some sort of propulsion system. It was eerily silent compared to the chaotic sounds of desperate warfare around him. The abomination gave a full body jerk and raised its gun arm. The gun glowed an eerie blue as it powered up. Xor couldn't move. The gun fired, sending a lance of energy at Xor. Xor jerked back into reality, breathing heavily. He gave a full body shudder, experiencing an emotion that Sangheili rarely felt. Fear. Fear for himself. Fear for his home. Was that why he felt the overwhelming urge to get back home? To fight these monsters? A brief thought of the Parasite came back to him, and his mind tried to draw connections. The two, however, were on different levels of bodyhorror. The Parasite's changes in a host were natural, as odd as that sounded. It acted like an animal at times. The infection turned them into undead forms, yes, but they were naturally mutated. At least, compared to the monster he just saw. The thing he just saw...there was nothing natural about it. It was an abomination, through and through. The Parasite's host was usually dead, their soul passed into the afterlife. But that monster...he saw intelligence in that single, familiar eye. He saw a soul, trapped in an unholy amalgamation of flesh and metal. And as the abomination's eye came back to his mind, he saw only one message. It was begging him to end its life. Get up. Get back home. Xor groaned as he stood up, picking up the book as he did. He took a look at the door. With a growl aimed at the unfairness of this situation, the eight foot tall alien kicked down the door into splinters and squeezed through. He took one step forward before freezing. Someone had been here. Recently. The layer of dust commonly seen throughout the rest of the castle was reduced significantly. Candles were lit, and not too long ago judging by how much they melted. A rectangular table led to another 'T' intersection. Bookshelves, with hundreds of volumes on them, lined the walls. He unclipped his energy sword, not yet igniting it, when he saw a cloth bag on the table. He cautiously approached, eyes alternating between his motion tracker and what was before him. The motion tracker showed nothing was moving nearby, but that would only reduce Xor's checking by a degree. He reached the table with the bag. It was small, even for an Unggoy. It was structured oddly, too. The entirety of the bag seemed to be split into two parts. The only connecting them was a band of cloth that was adjustable. The bag was colored a light green. The actual bag part was simply, well, a bag. The only thing covering it was a flap with a image as a buckle. He had no idea what it was supposed to be. It comprised of an oddly shaped red circle with two smaller green ovals. Curiosity again got the better of him and he opened the bag. It contained an archaic rope, a folded piece of paper, and two red orbs. The two orbs had an uncanny resemblance to the image on the bag, so Xor figured they were the same thing. He pulled one out. It was lighter than he'd expected it to be, and was fairy small to him. Xor, checking his motion tracker one last time, clipped his energy sword to his thigh and turned the orb about in his hand. It was fairly smooth, and his eyes drifted to the top of the item. Two green shapes protruded from the top, and Xor realized that they were in fact leaves. Is this a fruit? Maybe a nut... Xor pressed his finger into the orb. The surface easily gave way, and the Sangheili's finger sank into the object. Clear liquid seeped out around his finger before he withdrew his digit. Xor brought the orb to his nostrils and inhaled. Detecting the sweet scent, he concluded that this was likely a fruit. Is it edible? His stomach growled again, making him think that he had gone longer than a day without food. It begged for anything. Hunger overpowered cautiousness and he jabbed the fruit onto his top teeth set. He moved his head, ripping a piece off. The mandibles came together to launch torn off food item down his throat, where a small set of jaws inside would chew it up properly. The Sangheili made short work of the unidentified fruity object, throwing what he thought was the inedible core to the side. The other fruit followed its brother's demise, but still left Xor feeling unsatisfied. He growled and tossed the core over his shoulder. Xor simply expected to hear two thuds. What he did not expect was a thud, clicking, the other thud, and the grinding of stone. Xor twirled around to see the stone opening closing. He rushed to the opening, trying in vain to stop its decent. It proved fruitless and Xor was forced to let go in fear of being injured. Xor clenched his fists in frustration before spying a spherical bump by the side of the now hidden opening. It was the size of two of the fruits end on end, and was more smooth than the rest of the surrounding stone. Seeing that it looked like it had moving parts, he touched it. He was surprised to find that it slid to the side as he applied pressure, revealing some sort of mechanism. Xor bent over and huffed. It was clearly a locking system. One that he had no idea what he password was let alone what the symbols meant. It had eight 'slots', each locking in place to only show one symbol at a time. Xor spun it in its horizontal direction to find that there were a lot of symbols, ruining any hope of figuring it out in a manageable time. It was then that Fate decided to make things for Xor go from bad to worse. Xor stiffened when he heard noises approaching, "~~Why are we here again?~~" Xor could tell they were voices, and were speaking in a language he didn't know, "~~Weren't ya listenin'? Twi wanted us ta clean up th' rubble so we can access new areas.~~" Despite Xor having not a clue as to what they were saying, the language was oddly familiar sounding. He swore he had heard it before, but couldn't remember where, "~~I know~~ that~~. I meant why can't Twilight do it? Couldn't she, y'know, magic it away?~~" He heard a sigh, signaling that the voices drew nearer, "~~She~~ told ~~us. She's real busy wit' preppin' th' Gala. So it's on us ta clear th' ways.~~" Xor gave a huff-sigh hybrid and turned to see what Fate awaited him. There was nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. This was either going to turn out well, or horrible. The last thing he could possibly prepare for came around the corner. Author's Note Tfw Sangheili units of measure are more convoluted than the imperial system. NegotiationsAs the owner of the voices came around the corner, Xor could only gawk. In hindsight, it made perfect sense. Now he knew why the 'latest' inhabitants were so fixated on the Keifra-like animals. They were the inhabitants. The two brightly colored being froze immediately upon seeing the tall Sangheili. Their eyes went so huge that Xor could hardly believe it was possible. Their jaws dropped low enough that Xor briefly wondered if it hurt. The first one's body was in a light orange color. It had a uniform color throughout its body with a few exceptions in certain places. It stood on four hooved legs like the Keifra he kept thinking back to. He guessed it had a tail, though he couldn't know for sure. It appeared to have head hair just like Humans did. The hair color, which matched its tail, was a light tannish-yellow color. It had deep green eyes, freckles on its face, and an article of clothing on its head. The other one was much more exotic in color. It's main color was light blue, bright enough that Xor wondered if it dyed it. The color certainly held no use in camouflage. It was almost identical to the orange one in structure except for one addition: two feathered wings adorned the side of its body. The hair and tail had to be dyed. There was no way that coloration could occur naturally. It was simply a rainbow of colors, also brightly colored that looked out of place in nature. It also wasn't as well kept as the orange one, the blue one simply letting the hair settle wherever it wanted. Xor also noticed that near the rear of their bodies, just above the back legs, were images. The orange one had three of the red fruits, the other had a jagged shape jutting out of a round one. It took a moment for Xor to realized that the jagged part represented a lightning bolt, the other was likely a cloud. The lightning bolt was also colored brightly. The blue one finally spoke in its alien language, "~~What is~~ that~~?!~~" The orange one apparently responded, "~~Ah-Ah think it's an animal...maybe...~~" Xor was now certain he heard this language before, but still couldn't recall where. The blue one's dark pink eyes glanced to the floor, "~~Isn't that onna your apples on the floor?~~" The orange one also glanced to the floor before frowning, "~~Yeah...it is...~~" The orange looked at him, "~~Did ya steal mah lunch?!~~" Xor was too busy trying to remember where he'd heard this language before to notice that the orange one was addressing him. The blue one took to the air, "~~Shoo! Get outta here!~~" Xor did notice the blue one's foreleg's movement. He didn't know what it was trying to convey though. The orange one copied the blue one's movement, "~~Go on, ya varmit! Leave! Shoo!~~" Xor didn't respond, something the other lifeforms seemed to get annoyed by. The blue one looked at its companion, "~~Don't think it understands us. Any ideas?~~" The orange sighed, "~~Other than~~ physically ~~movin' it? Nope.~~" "~~Well, let's try that,~~" the blue one said before starting to fly towards Xor. The orange one reacted quickly by grabbing the blue one's tail, "~~Hold on there, sugarcube. We don't have no idea what this thang is. We need ta think 'bout this fer a minute.~~" The blue one groaned, "~~So what? We're supposed to~~ wait ~~for it to leave?~~" And then Xor finally remembered. The aliens were speaking Human English. And luckily, he had a one-way translator on board his suit. The Sangheili moved his hand to the back of his head while the orange one spoke again, "~~Ah'm not sayin' that. Ah'm sayin' we gotta think before we jus' rush headlong at this varmit.~~" Xor's had reached the back of his helmet where a switch was locate. That area was the only place where the Sangheili's energy shields didn't cover.* He flipped the switch and his energy shields immediately broke. Well, dispersed would be more accurate. The aliens reaction was immediate. They both jumped a step back, eyes wide open in surprise at the noise and a flash of light. The blue one spoke in a frantic tone, "~~What the hay was~~ that~~?!~~" The two shifted their stances, recovering from their shock quickly enough that Xor was almost impressed. The orange looked at Xor as he took off his helmet, "~~Ah don't rightly know...but it's certainly doin'~~ somethin'~~.~~" Xor quickly turned on the translator program and put his helmet back on. He reactivated his shields, though wasn't particularly worried they could do anything to harm him and live. The orange one spoke, its words now translated to Sangheili, "But somethin' tells meh that this ain't a normal animal..." Xor immedately growled at being called an animal. The two aliens took another step back, the blue one speaking this time, "Woah, okay! It's angry...Uh...AJ? Got any ideas?" Xor soon found out another problem. While he could understand them now, he had no way of communicating back. Properly, at least. He wasn't that keen on learning Human English, and only knew one phrase. The orange one, now known as 'AJ', shook her head, "Nope. But we can't leave it. We don't know whut it wants." "So we're stuck?" said the blue one. Xor decided to at least attempt communicate. Not really wanting to use English, he first attempted to speak in his own tongue on the off change they might actually know what he said, 'What are you?' If Xor thought the creatures' eyes couldn't get any larger, he was proven wrong. They gaped at him like he was some sort of freak, which annoyed Xor. The winged one spoke, "What the buck was that?!" AJ spoke quietly, almost too much to be heard by the translator, "Ah don't think this is an animal, RD..." 'RD' shot a glance at her, "What do you mean? What else could it be?" Xor didn't say or do anything as AJ replied, "Ah don't think it's from around here..." RD's brow came together in confusion, "What...like, not from this forest? 'Cause you're kinda implying that it's..." AJ just simply nodded. RD's head whipped around to face Xor, "No way..." AJ ran a foreleg through her hair, "Land's sakes, Ah honestly have no idea whut ta do anymore. We've never dealt wit' an alien befer!" Xor concluded that they did not speak his language, and was forced to use the one phrase he knew, "Where is the bathroom?" Awkward silence filled the space between them. RD was the first one to speak, "Did it just ask where's the bathroom is?" Xor narrowed his eyes. He was growing tired of being referred to as an 'it'. AJ spoke, "Y'wanna know where th' restroom is?" Xor shook his head, "Where is the bathroom?" "Do you wanna go to the bathroom or not?" said RD, crossing her forelegs in a way that Xor didn't think could possible. Xor took a deep breath and focused, trying to twist his only known English phrase that would suit him, "Where...is the...bath..." AJ tilted her head, "Y'wanna know where th' shower is? Ah thought y'needed to go to the bathroom?" Xor clenched his fists and tried again, "Where. Is." "Where is whut?" asked AJ, "Th' shower or the restroom? We're kinda getting mixed signals here." "Where is?!" exclaimed Xor. RD leaned to her compatriot, "Think this thing has a few screws loose..." AJ ignored her as Xor repeated again. Her eyes suddenly widened and gave a light gasp, "Ohhh...Now Ah understand. Y'wanna know where are you." RD blinked before hitting herself in the face, something Xor didn't understand why, "Wow. Probably shoulda seen that sooner." Xor nodded his head vigorously, "Where is?" "Uh, yer in th' Everfree Forest," said AJ, hoping to clarify, "In ~~Equestria~~." The translator couldn't make sense of that last word, so it just gave a beep. It did, however, tell Xor what he had been dreading since the two other lifeforms showed up. He was on a different planet entirely. Xor sighed, and started to walk forward. AJ mirrored his moves, "Woah there, partner. Where're ya goin'?" Xor was about to respond in his own tongue before realized what the Keifra-alien had said. Where was he going? He had no provisions. He couldn't speak their language. He had absolutely no idea where in the galaxy he was. He couldn't think of anyway that could get him out of this mess. The orange Keifra-alien apparently noticed his sudden slump in demeanor, "Uh...y'can come home wit' us. We'll give ya a bed and feed ya. We can probably figure out how to get ya ta speak, too." "Uh, AJ?" said RD, "Hate to burst your bubble, but you remember what happened to ~~Zecora~~ the first time we met her? Don't think bringing it into town is a good idea." "Ah know it's not ideal, but it's th' best we got. We jus' need ta get ta Twilight, and she can cast a magic doohickey thang on it so it can talk ta us-" Xor growled. He had enough of being called it, 'I am not an it! I am Xor 'Vozamai, a proud Sangheili warrior! And you will treat me with respect!" The two aliens backed away when they heard the anger in Xor's voice, "Woah Nelly!" exclaimed the orange one. "What's it doing now?!" said RD. Xor unclipped his energy sword and ignited it, 'I AM NOT AN IT!' The two shied away from the sizzling blade. AJ gulped, "A-All right now...l-let's all jus' calm down. We didn't mean ta upset ya. Ah know we probably didn't start on th' best of terms...but if we can all jus' calm down and talk..." "Maybe we should tell it our names. We haven't introduced ourselves," started RD, "I-I'm Rainbow Dash." AJ went after Rainbow Dash, "Ah'm ~~Applejack~~. Whut's you're name?" Xor snorted but replied in his tongue, 'Xor 'Vozamai.' Rainbow Dash's eyes crossed as she and AJ tried to make sense of the gibberish. AJ spoke, "Ah...don't know how to pronounce that...Are ya a ~~mare~~ or a ~~stallion~~?" Xor tilted his head, "Where?" "Uh...a male or a female? Blink once fer male an' twice fer female..." Xor stared at her before blinking once. AJ nodded, still keeping an eye on Xor's sword, "A-Alright...An' ya probably didn't like it when we called ya an 'it'." Xor forcefully nodded, causing AJ to wince, "R-right. We're mighty sorry 'bout that. We jus didn't know...uh...what yer were equipped with, if ya catch mah meaning...We're both females, by th' way." Xor took a calming breath in and out, before nodding. He deactivated his sword and stared expectantly at her. AJ's eyes shifted behind the Sangheili, "Ah'm gonna get mah bag an' then we'll go ta ~~Ponyville~~. Sound good?" Xor clicked his mandibles together, earning him a confused look from AJ before she shrugged and started to move. As she got closer, she suddenly realized just how big the alien was. She was four and a half feet, perfectly average height for a Pony. She must have guessed that the alien was over eight feet tall. Likewise, Xor realized how tiny they were compared to him. They were as small as an Unggoy runt, the bottom of the average. AJ's head barely reached Xor's lower pelvis. She was eye-level to his crotch, but Xor, like any self-respecting Sangheili, learned to quell his libido. This wasn't including the fact he had no interest in courting an alien. AJ reached her bag, picking up the fruit cores. She whistled, "Y'sure did a number on mah lunch. Don't know how ya could eat 'em, on th' account ya don't have a jaw. Err, no offense..." Xor simply huffed and looked away. He noticed Rainbow Dash was staring at his sword with interest. She in turn noticed Xor staring at her. She looked away, face suddenly turning red. Xor couldn't think of any purpose the change of tint in her face could serve, "S-sorry." Xor huffed again. These aliens were far too apologetic. From the brief time he'd dealt with them, he had yet to see anything that he considered honorable. Rainbow Dash spoke again, "So...uh....was that, like, a weapon or something?" Xor merely nodded, which seemed to make Rainbow Dash uncomfortable. AJ's voice came from behind him, "Ah sure hope ya don't plan on usin' that thang. We don't take kindly ta killin' if there's no need fer it." Xor's disposition on these aliens dropped more at that sentence as AJ started to come back. The orange female continued, "All right, let's go." The two started to walk back they came, Xor briefly hesitating before trudging along. He had no idea what to expect by following the two female aliens. Only the Gods could know that. For better, or for worse. Author's Note *I don't know the specifics of a Sangheili's power armor utilities, so this is might be an error. Probably is, but it's the only way I can think of. Also, the reason I'm using 'AJ' instead of 'Applejack' is because Xor can't 'comprehend' her full name at the moment. Land Of ImpossibilitiesAuthor's Note It's unfinished due to a rewrite in pony forms. Mentioned it in my blogpost but I''l post it here as well: Blackened Skies isn't dead, but it's slow writing due to it's current form. I have an ending planed out, but it involves the Forerunners. And to my knowledge, human hands(or at least the shape of the human hand) make it easier to interface with Forerunners' technology. With the addition of the weaponry of Halo, having fingers make things easier. So I decided to make the Ponies anthro. The obvious changes will be their bipedal state and the addition of fingers and thumbs. In my mind, that would be more common in the Halo universe as 99% of the species that aren't animals are bipedal and have hand-like structures. They will stand on hooves and have fingernails made of ivory-like(a crucial detail that you'll see). Their wings will sprout from the scapula(shoulder blades). The horns will be in the same place and their tails sprout from where the tail bone in humans would be. They will have the same heads, albeit a bit smaller as to make them look less awkward. One last note is that they they will be fairly small, the average height being 1.04 meters tall(3'5'' feet tall) to 1.09 meters(3'7'' feet tall) with exception of Princess Celestia and Luna. I'll keep the old chapters in and post the latest unfinished one today. Sorry for the drastic change, but I believe I can put out more chapters faster if I make them anthro, as well as not having to jump through hoops trying to think of ways of how the original forms can interact with the technology in Halo. Land Of Impossibilities "No...that isn't right....no, that doesn't look right either...That wouldn't work..." mumbled a lavender Alicorn known as Twilight Sparkle. The Pony was hunched over a desk, crumbled papers littering the floor and desk around her. The wastebasket beside her had been long over-filled. Twilight grunted in frustration as she erased the lines she had just drawn. Designing what would go where in the upcoming Gala was proving to be much harder than she had expected. Not only was she faced with the problem of putting the tables and decorations in a way that would please the Canterlot nobility, she had to do it while pleasing middle and lower class citizens. The other classes, a new addition, was Celestia's attempt to remove the 'line' the nobles had drawn around them. The solar deity had grown tired of the nobles' selfish views on the other classes. Hopefully the Gala would show the nobles that the classes below them weren't as bad as they thought. As much as Twilight adored and believed in her once-mentor's diplomacy skills, the purple Alicorn doubted that this Gala would change anything, if not further increase the division. And as much as Twilight was honored to being chosen to plan this party, she soon developed the feeling that this was impossible to do. She couldn't figure out how to please everypony. The nobles would want fancy decorations and food that befitted them. The lower classes, however, was the opposite. While they might be impressed with the decorations, Twilight was sure they wouldn't be happy with the food. Then there was the difference in tastes of music, different opinions on entertainment, and the HUGELY different types of personalities. And Twilight had less than a week to figure this out. Twilight groaned loudly and met her face with the desk. "Still working on the Gala?" The voice startled Twilight, who turned to see Tempest Shadow. Tempest had been given two choices. One, she could face banishment or imprisonment for life...or she could sign up as Twilight's personal guard. Tempest chose the latter. Twilight smiled softly at Tempest. The dark maroon Unicorn's armor had been updated. Now it had a silver finish, with deep violet highlights accenting the plates. On her flank, instead of the Storm King's insignia was Twilight's. Twilight's smile turned sheepish, "Yeah...Can't really figure out how to make it so all classes 'click' together." Tempest hoofed the ground, "I don't know all that much about the nobles, but maybe instead of trying to make everypony happy, you could focus on compromise?" Twilight blinked, "...I think you're right. I can't make everypony happy," she sighed, "guess I have to start over agai-" "TWIIIIIIIILIIIIIIIGHT!!!" Both jumped at the voice. A pink blur whizzed past Tempest, who immediately started a offensive spell in order to defend her friend. She stopped, however, when she realized it was just Pinkie Pie. Pinkie grabbed the sides of Twilight's head and put it to hers. He eyes were wide and crazed, more so than what was considered 'normal' for her, "A doozy! A real big doozy!" "Wh-what?" said Twilight, stunned. Pinkie pulled back, "My Pinkie Sense! There's a huge doozy coming!" On cue, the pink Pony started to shudder violently enough to worry Twilight about her friend's safety. Pinkie stopped shuddering and leaned back in, "You gotta call the Guards! The Princesses! The Pony Postal System! The Sea Ponies! The-" Twilight put a hoof to Pinkie's mouth to silence her, "Look, Pinkie...I know how important this could be, but I need to make some progress on the Gala. Just...give me half a day and then we'll prepare for the doozy." Pinkie leaned back to speak, "But-" "Please, Pinkie. Just a few hours is all I ask. Besides, we can all handle it together, I'm sure." Pinkie whined, danced on her hooves for a moment, before speeding back out of the room. Silence enveloped the room afterwords. Tempest had watched Pinkie zoom out of the room before turning to Twilight, "Should I be worried?" Twilight sighed, "Yes and no," seeing Tempest's confused look, Twilight explained, "Yes because doozies are, well, doozies of an event. No, because they don't always mean 'life-threatening, end-of-the-world' events. The first doozy was me believing her Pinkie Sense, for example." Tempest pursed her lips and looked back out of the room, "If you say so..." Xor 'Vozamai and the other two aliens were silent as they walked the halls of the ruined castle. The further they walked, the more Xor saw that there was effort put in to restore the palace. The halls were lit with candles, the dust was almost non-existent, and there were repaired decorations. They continued walking down the halls, Xor realizing he could get lost easily in here. AJ suddenly stopped, "~~Gal dangit~~...Fergot Star Swirl's here." Rainbow Dash replied, "Maybe he could use a spell on...uh...the big guy? So he can talk to us?" The term 'spell on' caused confusion to the Sangheili. The translator did indeed translate it correctly, but the way it was worded still didn't make sense to him. "That ain't a bad idea, RD...dunno how he'll respond ta th' big guy, though," said AJ, apparently agreeing with what Rainbow Dash. Xor still didn't know the specifics, but apparently they might have an idea on how to get him to communicate with them. And, with any luck, how to get home. The sense of urgency came back. Luckily, the two aliens started to walk again. A few Units later, they turned a corner and Xor saw another room through an open door. From what he could see at this distance, were glassware with various liquids in them, books scattered around, and drawings and crumpled paper scattered around. Another alien shifted from spot to spot, talking to itself. It wore a covering on top of its body which covered most of it. It had an alternating pattern of shades of blue decorated with stars and crescents. It hat a long, bent hat with a fanned out brim and a metallic ball on the tip. The alien's main coat color was light grey, accented by a white and grey colored beard. Xor blinked. Somehow, that word automatically came to him and knew what it was. But, as what was common recently, he didn't know how or why. Xor shook his head and took a larger step to catch up with the two. The trio entered the room and stopped outside the hallway entrance. The grey alien didn't seem to notice them. AJ cleared her throat, "Uh, Star Swirl?" The grey one, now known as Star Swirl, blinked his steel grey eyes and looked to them. His eyes immediately focused on Xor and the bony appendage on his forehead that Xor had just now noticed started to glow. Xor fingered his energy sword as the light quickly intensified. With a sudden pop, AJ and Rainbow Dash disappeared and reappeared next to Star Swirl. His horn glowed again as Xor unclipped his energy sword. He didn't ignite it as a dome appeared over the trio of aliens. Once AJ realized what just happened, she grabbed Star Swirl by the base of his neck and spoke, "Woah there, pal. He's friendly." Star Swirl's eyes flickered to AJ for a moment, "How do you know?" AJ opened her mouth to respond when she realized Star Swirl had a point. How did they know for sure this alien was friendly? What if it was fooling them and waiting for the perfect to strike? Rainbow Dash didn't see Star Swirl's point like AJ did. She scoffed, "C'mon, dude. I think we would know by now if he was planning to invade us. 'sides, we can easily take him." Xor doubted that very much. Star Swirl either agreed or dismissed Rainbow Dash, the Sangheili couldn't tell which, "You do realize what shape its-" AJ elbowed Star Swirl, interrupting him, "His. He don't like it all that much when we call him an it." Star Swirl rubbed his shoulder and looked back at Xor, who was glaring at him.To the Sangheili's surprise, Star Swirl did not shrink or flinch away. He held the glare with his own and continued, "...realize what shape his teeth are in? Those are not teeth of an herbivore, but of a predator." The two female shared glances at Xor's array of teeth. Xor suddenly got the distinct feeling they were starting to take Star Swirl's side. He gripped his sword handle tighter. To his relief, however, AJ spoke in his defense, "Yeah, he has sharp teeth. But that don't mean he's gonna eat us. He already ate two apples, so I don't think we hafta worry 'bout food too much." "He has no jaw," deadpanned Star Swirl. Rainbow Dash elbowed him, causing Star Swirl to look annoyed at the repeated bumps, "Hey, cut him some slack! He's an alien for ~~pony's~~ sake." Star Swirl seemed to think about this for a moment before addressing Jaze, "And what is your defense?" Xor gave him a stare before replying, "Where is the bathroom?" Star Swirl blinked and AJ adjusted her hat, "That there's th' problem here. He can 'parrently understand us, but can only say that." "Yeah...we were hoping you could help with that," said Rainbow Dash, scratching the back of her head. Star Swirl still seemed unconvinced. AJ sighed, "Alright, look. Yer right 'bout not knowin' much 'bout him. But we can't rightly know more about him without being able ta talk to each other. An' isn't that onna th' things ~~Twi~~ taught ya 'bout? Ta talk over thangs first?" Star Swirl squeezed his eyes shut and sighed, "...fine. Give me a few minutes to come up with something. Does he have a name?" Rainbow Dash and AJ looked at each other. Rainbow turned her attention back to Star Swirl, "We think so...but neither of us can say it." "Have you tried?" "Well, uh, not really," said AJ. Star Swirl sighed and looked at Xor, "What is your name?" Xor took a few steps further in the room, 'Xor 'Vozomai.' "Shor...Vazame..." Xor clenched his fists in anger at the butchering of his proud name but stayed silent. Star Swirl's horn dimmed, dispersing the dome and pulling books over to his position. Xor's eyes doubled in size at the sight of the glowing books moving through the air. The three aliens didn't seem to notice his gawking. Star Swirl flipped over the pages of the books while talking to himself, "Let's see here, we have no knowledge about his species' psychology or anatomy so making direct changes to his body is ill advisable...We have no knowledge about his native language to cast anything on us that could translate his words...There's really only one spell to use..." He closed the book loudly. A small, white cylinder floated over to him before following him as he approached the Sangheili. Xor eyed the cylinder warily, growling lowly. Star Swirl stopped and rolled his eyes, "It's just ~~enchanting chalk~~. It's not going to hurt you. You wish to speak, yes? Then let me draw the ~~rune~~." Xor was clearly missing out on more than a few important words, making Star Swirl's words provide little sense. Still, this being before him was likely the only one who could enable him to speak English, though he had no idea how. Star Swirl continued towards the Sangheili. Again, the difference of sizes made itself known. If Star Swirl was uneasy by this, however, he was good at hiding it. The white cylinder shot to the ground, Xor gripping his sword again. To his moderate interest, it left some of itself behind on the ground. Star Swirl quickly drew an elaborate design around the Sangheili, one that Xor couldn't guess the purpose to. Star Swirl finished and took a step back, "Good. Now, stay still and don't move out of the circle." After he said this his horn grew brightly. Xor instinctively gripped his energy sword, preparing for the worst. A few moments passed, Star Swirl's horn growing ever brighter before a beam shot from it. A few things happened within the span of a few seconds. As the beam neared Xor, the drawing at his feet grew bright. White wisps of ethereal energy broke off of the line as the beam reached its target. Before Xor could react, the beam reached him. His shields broke, and Xor immediately ignited his energy sword. His first instinct was to lunge and cut the aliens down but held his position as he noticed their faces. Their faces looked surprised, or at least that's what Xor thought they looked like. It came to him that they likely didn't expect for his energy shields to break either. Still, he shifted lower to a combat stance, keeping his sword lit, "What did you do?" AJ and Rainbow Dash's eyes bugged out while Star Swirl's mouth curled upwards. The grey alien spoke, "There we go. It worked." "What worked?" asked Xor. "The spell," replied Star Swirl, seeming unsurprised. Xor was about to clarify when the realization hit him, "You can understand me?" AJ gave a shaky nod, "Eyup..." Xor stared at them. His shields came back and he deactivated his sword, putting it away and returning to a normal stance, "Why did my shields break then?" AJ and Rainbow Dash shared a confused look while Star Swirl simply raised an eyebrow, "Shields?" AJ looked over him, "Uh...Ah don't see any shields on ya..." "Wait, you mean that flash of light?" asked Rainbow Dash. Xor nodded, causing the two females to look over at each other. Star Swirl eyed him, "You have invisible shields?" "Unless they break. Which they did. I will not ask again. Why did my shields break?" Xor said, giving Star Swirl a glare. Again, Star Swirl didn't seem to be unnerved by his glare. The grey alien spoke, "I assume it was because it was in the way." "In the way?" Xor said, AJ and Rainbow Dash looking just as confused as him. "I casted a filter of sorts, located just before your...mouth..." Xor drew a hand up to his mouth, but didn't feel anything. Star Swirl clarified further, "I made it intangible, meaning you can still eat and drink with it active. But, as I said, your shields were likely in the way during the time it took to stabilize the spell’s main Matrix before having the intangibility Matrix start to form and activate. " "...what?" Star Swirl sighed, “It broke your shields while the spell sat itself up.” “I still do not understand. What do you mean by ‘spell’?” Star Swirl gripped his face in exasperation, "The magic spell!" "Magic?" "Yes, magic. Surely you know about magic, yes?" Xor disliked the tone the grey alien was using, "No, I do not know about 'magic'." Star Swirl frowned, "Hmm...you must have been extremely sheltered then." "Uh, Star Swirl?" said Rainbow Dash, "I don't think that's the thing here..." Xor huffed, "I was not sheltered. I have not heard of this magic. No Sangheili has." Xor grew annoyed when Star Swirl scoffed, "Please. You're telling me you're species has no magic whatsoever?" "Ah think that is what Shor here is tellin' us," said AJ. "Xor. It is Xor," snarled Xor. AJ winced, "Z-Zore? Like, wit' a 'z'?" It wasn't exactly like the way his name was supposed to be pronounced, but it was the closest so far. Xor huffed, "Yes, with that sound." "I'm sorry, I still don't understand how your species doesn't have magic," said Star Swirl, "If you had no magic, you simply wouldn't be alive." Xor was about to reply before Rainbow Dash spoke before him, "Well, he is an alien, right? They probably don't live like us, yeah?" Star Swirl opened his mouth to call out on Rainbow Dash before sighing instead, "Whatever. Let's drop this subject, yes? You still need an idea of what to do next." "Wait," said AJ, "Whut do ya mean 'we'?" Star Swirl glanced at one of the tables in the room, "I was in the middle of some critical tests before I was interrupted, and I would like to get back to them." "You're not coming?" said Rainbow Dash. "No, Rainbow, I am not. I am sure you two can handle it from here. You two surely have a plan, yes?" "Well, we were gonna take him ta Twi's. Guess we'll jus' do that," said AJ, "How long does yer spell last?" "Twenty four hours. I can make it permanent but that would require enchanting an object. I'm sure Twilight can do that," Star Swirl said as he went back to a desk and looked over some papers. "...Well, guess we're goin' ta Ponyville then," said AJ after staring at Star Swirl for a moment. She looked at Xor, "Ya ready ta move, Sugarcube?" "...'sugarcube'?" Rainbow Dash took to the air, "It's something Applejack calls her friends." Xor shot a look at Rainbow Dash, "I am not her 'friend'. Neither of you are my 'friend'." Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, "Ya don't have ta be a jerk about it..." Xor huffed and started to walk forward, "I have not intention of making friends here. All I wish to do is get home." Applejack narrowed her eyes as well, "Well, Ah won't force ya ta be friends wit' anypony, but that doesn't excuse ya ta be rude." "I don't care. Are we leaving or not?" Applejack pursed her lips in mild anger before sighing, "Yeah, let's go...jus' sayin' ya might want ta adjust yer attitude when we get ta Twilight." Applejack turned and took the lead going out of the room. Xor ignored the glare he was receiving from Rainbow Dash and focused on the path before him. As they walked through the halls and made way across rooms, Xor noticed that the castle went from decrepit and abandoned looking to clean, well lit, and almost welcoming. It was obvious that care went into restoring this castle to it's former glory. Ultimately, however, Xor couldn't care less. All that mattered in his eyes was to get home. A small memory, a mild tidbit of forgotten information was rediscovered as they walked. And he knew it was true, or at least fairly positive it was true considering the information. It told him that his race was indeed at war with another. And, surprising enough, that Sangheili, Humans, Unggoy, even the Jiralhanae and San'Shyuum were joined together to fight on the same side. Which also told him, disturbingly, that whatever they were fighting was big enough a threat to get two species that at best disliked each other to become brothers-in-arms. Not even the Parasite, the thing that brought the mighty, immensely powerful Forerunner Empire to its end, could claim that as evident in the final days of the Human-Covenant war. And yet this new threat who's name still eluded Xor had forced all of the species he knew together, some who he'd thought would never work together in a million lifetimes, in a frantic, desperate fight for survival. It troubled him, to say the least, and further imprinted the need to get back home. If only to die along side my brothers. "Zor!" Xor blinked, realizing Rainbow Dash had been calling him for some time. And, as he saw, that they reached what looked like the entrance/exit of the castle. A rickety bridge that crossed a rocky valley greeted him. Beyond the cliffside, was dense vegetation, the only break was a path. Other than that, the visibility was almost zero. “Ya commin’?” said Applejack. Xor glanced from her to the bridge to back at her again, “...you’re jesting.” Applejack rolled her eyes, “Ah know it looks like it’s gonna fall ta pieces, but Twi enchanted it. You’ll be fine.” “I am not setting foot on that bridge.” Applejack looked Xor dead in the eyes, causing him to feel...something, “Trust me. You’ll be fine.” To Xor’s own disbelief he found himself believing her. Something about her oversized eyes told, no, promised him that the bridge would hold his weight, despite how ridiculous it might seemed. Xor quickly regathered himself, grunting softly as he tredded towards the wooden bridge. Applejack and Rainbow Dash was already crossing by the time he to to the edge. Xor peered down into the valley. He didn’t know how exactly deep it was, but it was obvious enough to mean certain death if he fell off. Xor tested the first plank by setting some of his weight on it. To his surprise, it held. It didn’t even creak despite looking like it was over a hundred years old. His madibles went as slack as they could, the Sangheili equivalent of a jaw drop, when he put his full weight on the single plank. “See?” Xor blinked and looked up from the plank to Applejack, “Ah told ya you’d be fine. Now, c’mon. Ah’d rather not be in th’ forest after dark.” Xor pondered briefly over what she had said, “Why?” he found himself saying. “‘Cause lotta critters come out huntin’ at night here in the Everfree Forest an’ Ah’d rather not tangle wit’ ‘em.” Xor would have inquired a bit more but true to Applejack’s worries, the Sun was slowly making its descent. He clicked his mandibles together and followed the two Keifra aliens through the only path in the thick forest. A few Units passed before Rainbow Dash suddenly stopped, “Joke.” Xor blinked, “What?” he asked as Applejack stopped as well. Applejack pointed ahead with her hoof, “Poison Joke. Don’t touch it.” Xor followed Applejack’s hoof to see bright, unnaturally blue flowers covering part of the trail. He huffed in a breath. He didn’t smell anything foul or overly sweet from the flowers, so he didn’t understand why they said it was poisonous. “It’ll play a joke on you if ya do,” said Applejack, stepping to the clear side of the path. Now Xor was really confused, “A...joke? As in a jest?” “Eyup,” said the orange Pony casually. “...the plant will play a joke on me if I touch it,” deadpanned Xor, beginning to question the sanity of the two. “It did to us,” said Rainbow Dash, also taking to the side of the path despite flying above, “Couldn’t fly straight until I got the antidote.” “Ah got shrunk down to th’ size of an apple,” commented Applejack. “...what?” “Just...don’t touch ‘em. Trust me.” Xor doubted the capabilities of a simple plant but he didn’t feel like arguing. So he sidestepped the patch of blue flowers following the two Keifra aliens . They continued their trek through the forest. Said forest started to thin in density, the ferns that littered the ground grew few, until Xor noticed a break in the treeline ahead. He heard Applejack sigh in relief, “Finally.” As they exited the tree line, Xor could see a grassy plain that continued onward briefly before ending in a river bank. A stone bridge allowed easy crossing, which marked the transition between a dirt path and a paved road. The road led into a town populated with more Keifra aliens, all having a varied in bright coloring. A few glints of light in the setting sun showed that some of them wore metal coverings, obviously a sort of militia or peacekeeper. “This is gonna to be pleasant,” muttered Applejack as she led the two others towards town. Xor wondered why she said that as they approached the town. Xor found his answer as the first Keifra aliens that spotted them let out a shriek and scattered away. The Sangheili quickly found himself at the center of attention as the Keifra aliens either scattered in a panic or just froze in the spot. Xor put a hand to his sword as two peacekeepers started to slowly approach them. One of them had a primitive looking spear at the ready, not angled directly at them, but enough to indicate he was clearly ready to use it at a moment’s notice. “Miss Applejack? Miss Rainbow Dash? What...is that?” said one, a horned variant, as he eyed Xor warily. “Uh, he’s-” “MONSTER, RUN!” Xor snapped his head to the side to see three Keifra aliens drop to the ground dramatically. Soon after, the remaining of the civilians scampered away. Those that didn’t were part of peacekeepers. The peacekeepers conversed lowly with each other, and Xor watched as a horned variant walked to the unconscious trio. Xor couldn’t help but gawk as the horned one lit up it’s namesake and a similar color surrounded the three Keifra aliens. Then, as casual as picking up trash, the horned one lifted the glowing trio and started to walk away. “Zor!” Xor blinked and looked at Rainbow Dash, the Sangheili now acutely aware of how distracted he seemed to be lately. Rainbow Dash spoke, “They’re asking for your name.” Xor tensed in distaste. He didn’t want his name to be soiled anymore from mispronunciation. All things considered, he had every right to defend it, to regain honor, “You will get no name.” Applejack frowned, “Zor, I know we’re prolly misspeakin’ yer name an’ all, but that don’t give an excuse ta be rude.” Xor snarled, causing the two civilians to back up and the two peacekeepers to tense, “You have dishonored my name more than once with you’re ‘misspeaking’. You will get no name.” Rainbow Dash schootched up against Applejack and started to whisper, “What’s his deals with names?” Applejack shrugged, “Dunno. Though Ah’m getting a feelin’ that they’re important ta him.” “I have also waited long enough,” Xor continued, disregarding the two whisperings, “I demand to be brought to someone to take me home.” “With all due respect,” said a peacekeeper, “You’re not in a position to be demanding anything. You’re in our land, disrupting our peace. By all accounts, I have every bit of a right to bring you into custody.” Xor growled softly, “Is that a threat?” “Just making a reading suggestion, sir.” “As if you could hold me captive, let alone capture me.” “You’d be surprised at the tenacity of the Royal Guard. Capturing you wouldn’t be the issue. Not hurting you while doing it would.” Xor was about to snarl a reply before Applejack butted in, “Now hold on everypony, let’s all jus’ calm down. No need ta start a fight. We’re gonna take Zor here ta Twilight an’ send him on his way. Then we can put this all behind us.” “Then let us find this ‘Twilight’. I tire of this world,” growled out Xor. Applejack frowned at him but motioned him to follow. Despite herself, she found herself wishing that Twilight could do away with Xor as quickly as possible. She glanced at Rainbow Dash and from the Pegasus’s expression she was probably thinking the same. Xor, meanwhile, was only focusing on what he would do once he got home. A nagging, worrying thought was that there wouldn’t be a home to get back to, so he needed to find this Twilight as soon as possible. As the trio walked, Xor noticed that the Guards were following at a distance. He didn’t really care, and turned his attention back to the front. What he saw gave him pause for a few seconds. There was a large tree ahead, easily the tallest structure nearby. It wasn’t organic, however, instead being made out a material that was faintly reminiscent of Blamite. What was far more odd, however, was that there appeared to be an actual castle sitting in the ‘branches’ of the tree. The base of the trunk had a large double door carved into it. Due to the size of these creatures, however, it was more or less fit to be used by a Mgalekgolo. There were two Guards standing on either side of the stairs leading to the door. These were different than the others, having silver armor instead of gold. Applejack picked up her pace a bit once the castle was in sight, “Alright, Twi’s in her castle. Th’ Guards should let Zor in if we’re with him.” As they neared, Xor saw the Guards tensed but otherwise didn’t react. True to Applejack’s words, the Guards didn’t put up much of a fuss. The only thing they did was lit up their horns to allow a wave of light wash over Rainbow Dash and Applejack. They seemed pleased afterwords and opened the door for them with their powers. Despite the outside appearance, it was rather well structured. The ‘trunk’ consisted of a series of floors increased by seats of stairs. The ground floor was mostly empty, only a few Guards and staff walking about. All gave pause when seeing Xor. Said Sangheili ignored them and closely followed Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The two quaderalpeds didn’t seem to have a problem ascending the stairs, the party having gone up multiple flights of stairs before moving to what he assumed was the main part of the castle. “Alright,” started Applejack, “If Ah know Twi,- an’ Ah do- she’d be in her room plannin’ th’ Gala.” “You know where this room is?” said Xor. “Yep,” drawled Applejack as she walked through a large hall with stained glass windows lining the sides, “Only thing we hafta worry ‘bout is Tempest. She’s a might protective o’ Twi.” The names of these creatures were ridiculous. Xor would have a hard time taking any of them seriously. His thoughts were temporarily interrupted by a flash of pink to the side of his vision. He looked to the side but saw nothing, and his motion detector desplaid no abnormalities. He turned back to the alien he was following, Applejack. They walked in silence, save for his and theirs footsteps. Still, Xor couldn’t shake the feeling he was being followed and watched and kept finding himself checking his motion tracker over and over again. They turned a corner and was greeted with a door at the far end of the short hallway. A single female Keifra-alien in armor stood guard. The alien Chapter 1: Fog Of WarAuthor's Note New revised chapter, Previously named 'Lost...' The cavern sequence didn't change minus some spelling corrections, the changes starting in entering the Castle of the Royal Sisters. Chapter 1: Fog Of War Xor 'Vozomai woke up. He did not wake with a start, nor did he awake gradually. It seemed to him that one moment he was asleep, and the next he was fully awake. He was, however, confused. As he opened his eyes, he found himself in a...cave? Xor simply stared at the rocky ceiling in befuddlement. Why was he in a cave. Wasn't he...he was... He couldn't remember. Xor suddenly sat up, brows contorting in worry. He was in his armor, shields still fully charged, but for the life of him couldn't remember why. The latest he remembered was the Forerunner Guardians starting to police the galaxy. And that was it. What seemed to be a entire year was missing from his mind. The date on his HUD verified that. One moment he was staring into the sky at a Guardian, the next he was staring at the ceiling of the cave he was currently in. He looked around at the cave in more detail. There were crystals scattered about, giving enough light that enabled Xor to see. At first he thought they were Blamite crystals, but these were a variety of colors. He stood up, distinctly aware that he was unarmed other than a single plasma grenade. Thankfully, his motion-tracker showed no movement. The cave had to directional openings, one at about a 45 degree angle from the other. One showed an incline, and Xor was tempted to follow that way. He sniffed deeply, however, his evolved olfactory nerves telling him that the air from the inclined passage was stale and very likely didn't lead outside. The other passage was descending, though, which was something Xor disliked. Still, the air coming from it was far fresher. Grudgingly, the idea of going further below ground unappealing to him, Xor chose the latter. Xor had no idea how far exactly he walked, though the clock on his HUD said it was about half a Unit. The crystals did not continue down the chosen passage, which made the light from them emit not far from the cavern. Xor was thankful that his armor had a shoulder-mounted lamp, the idea of going down in complete darkness much more unpleasing than just the act of descending. Almost an entire Unit had passed before he heard something that made him even more uneasy. His heavy footsteps had an echo to them. He stopped, the echo shortly stopping after him. He continued for a few additional Units before stopping again. And again the echo stopped as well. Xor dismissed it as simply what it sounded like, an echo, and continued onward. Yet again the echo came again. The Sangheili tried his best to ignore it, almost tempted to look back. Instead he stopped again. Xor felt a chill when the echos didn't stop this time. He continued to walk through the passage, at a faster rate this time. Salvation came as something ahead shone against his light. To his disbelief, it was the handle of an energy sword. His energy sword. A sharp pain spiked through his skull, causing the Sangheili to grunt and fall to his knees. A sudden burst of information radiated through his brain. He remembered now...somewhat. He now knew why he was here. He had been fighting an alien. He couldn't remember the name or appearance, unfortunately, but he could positively say it wasn't Human. Or Jiralhanae. Or any other species he knew of. Xor remembered being engulfed in an orb of energy, then blacking out. Despite having received some answers, it left more unanswered questions. What was the alien? What exactly did it do? What happened to the Guardians? He pushed those thoughts to the side when the tempo of the echos increased. Whatever was making them, it was now running. Xor got back to his feet and dashed to the energy sword. He scooped it up and spun on a dime, igniting it. Xor saw what was pursuing him now, and it scared him for a second on how close it had got to him. Less than two meters stood a creature on two legs similar to his own. That's where any similarities ended between him and the creature. The creature was bent forward, a long sweeping tail providing balance. It had only one arm, small and undeveloped, on the underside of its core. It wasn't all that large, around the size of a Doarmir. Its face was similar in shape to a Kig-Yar, with its wide and long jaw. Again, that's where the similarities of any species he knew ended. It had far too many teeth, more than what Xor thought could be possible through evolution. They were needle-like, and to his surprise, seemed to glow of their own accord. It had one single eye, black as the darkness around them. It didn't seem to have any sort of eyelids, not blinking once in the bright light. Xor briefly wondered how it kept the eye moisturized. It's skin was white, the same shade one would expect to evolve into with generations of no sunlight. The skin seemed to shimmer slightly, and Xor found out why. It was covered in short hair. Said hair was nearly completely translucent. The creature shrunk back from the light, growling softly. It seemed to recover quickly, and started to salivate uncontrollably. To Xor's astonishment, and mild horror, the rock below sizzled and crackled. The creature's saliva was acidic, enough to corrode through rock. It threw its head back and shrieked, a noise Xor would most likely never forget. It was high-pitched, primal and crazed. Xor could also hear it's eagerness at finding a potential meal. The creature lowered its head and spat at him. Xor dove to the side, evading the acid saliva. He recovered from his roll to see the beast charging him, giving out sharp barks. Ultimately, though, it was an animal. And Xor was a trained warrior. He waited for the best moment to side-step the charging creature, jutting his sword-arm out. The result was the creature disemboweling itself from its own momentum as it ran past. It gave a gurgle as it hit the floor with a wet thump. Blood bled profusely through the flesh that wasn't cauterized, and the creature's intestines and internal organs started to slide out of the gaping slit in its side. Xor deactivated the sword and stood up straight. He huffed in disgust. Not in the creature, but at himself. How could he have ever felt fear from a simple-minded creature? He was about to inspect said creature more closely when he heard something that did give him a reason to be afraid. Howls. Howls and shrieks echoed out of the passage behind him, undertoned by the thundering of multiple footsteps There must have been dozens of similar creatures all rushing to him. Xor, proud as he might be of his skill, wasn't an idiot. He knew this wasn't a fight he could come out unscathed, let alone alive. He turned around and booked it to what he prayed to the Gods was an exit. The passage seemed to go on for miles, and each second the trample of the animals hunting him came closer and closer. Xor made the mistake of looking back. Their teeth did indeed glow in the dark, emitting a sickly pale green light. It reflected off their glossy black eye, adding to the feeling of unease. Smiles of death stared at him, gleeful for the promise of a hearty meal. There were too many to even think about fighting. One opened it's mouth and spat a wad of saliva at him. The ball of spit went by dangerously close to his head and Xor realized that he should focus in front of him. He didn't want a face full of acid. More spitballs shot by him, and Xor knew it was only a matter of time before one got lucky. That poor luck appeared quickly, as he felt something impact him in his back. In less than thirty seconds, his shields broke and he heard sizzling on his back. Damnation, though, was up ahead regardless if the acid ate through his armor. The passage ended abruptly, spelling certain doom for the Sangheili. At first Xor though his nose had deceived him, but he could make out faint light coming from small gaps in the wall. Xor realized that whoever this planet belonged to must have sealed up the access to the surface for fear of the creatures pursuing him. Time seemed to slow down as he tried to think of a way, any way, that could save him. His eyes caught on one aspect of his HUD. The grenade counter. If Sangheili had the capability to smile, Xor would be beaming. Still, he had to time this just right. He grabbed the grenade from his belt as pellets of acid hit all around him. He primed it and threw straight and true, the now glowing ball landing in an opening. The resulting explosion melted a hole through the rocky barricade, and caused cracks in the ceiling above him to form. Dust and rock rained down on Xor as he gave all he had into his sprint. Behind him he could hear loud thuds, telling him that the passage behind him was collapsing. Xor dove through the hole, thinking he was safe. Not yet, as he found out, as he felt something slam into his back. He shrugged one of the creatures off of him, watching in the corner of his eye the passage fully collapsing behind him, killing the majority of the creatures. The creature scrambled to recover but Xor was far more ready. He lunged forward, kicking the creature with all his might. He felt something in the creature snap and the animal gave a screech of pain as it slammed into the opposite rocky wall. Xor didn't want to waste the charge on his energy sword, his only true weapon left, and instead picked up a large rock. Far too tired for any theatrics, he rushed to the creature and raised the rock above his head. He brought it down on the creature's eye. To Xor's surprise, the black spot on the creature's head wasn't an eye at all. It shattered like bone, revealing flesh beneath. The creature shrieked again, loud enough that it physically hurt Xor's senses. Pushing through the ringing following the noise, he brought down the rock again. And again. The fourth blow was the one that killed the beast, crushing its skull inward. Xor lifted his hand to see it dripping with blood and gore. He dropped the rock and wiped his hand on the creature's pelt. Xor finally gave a sigh of relief and looked around. The light he had saw seemed dimmer now, emanating further up the passage. Xor grunted, displeased he was still underground. He forced himself forward, taking the light as a sign he was almost out of this hell. His footsteps thudded against the bedrock, taking pleasure in not hearing echos. The passage bent up ahead, and Xor quickened his pace. He rounded the corner and stopped. A clear line marked the end of the passage. In its place was a stone room. Xor could see wooden, round containers lining the back wall facing him. Xor stood still, listening and eyeing his motion tracker. Both told him that there wasn't anybody around, but he still gripped his energy sword rather than clipping it on his thigh. He approached the opening and peaked his head through. To his displeasure again, Xor was still not above ground. The light he saw was coming from up a ramp. Curiously, he saw no stairs or other exits other than that ramp. He looked around the room as he stepped into it. In addition to the containers, there were shelves with bottles in them. Xor ignored the features of the room and made a beeline to the ramp. He stopped at the bottom. There was indeed a door, wood with rusty hinges. But it was small, to a point an Unggoy would need to duck. Still, with a little effort, and some broken walls, he managed to get through the doorway. He came out into a hallway, at the end specifically. Immediately something caught his eye. It was a tapestry, located by a wall next to a door. What was on it made him pause. They were bipedal, and quite similar to Humans with the exception of the head and appendages.The two were depicted to be dressed in regal gowns. They both had a protrusion from their heads and what looked like wings sprouting from their backs. The two figures were in front of two circles, one yellow and orange while the other was white with grey dots. Xor guessed they were the sun and the moon, respectively. They were facing each other and looking into each other’s eyes. Their heads reminded him somewhat of the Keifra on Sanghelios. His eyes trailed to the door next to the tapestry. This one was larger, more suited for a Human or Kig-Yar. He reached and pushed it open, the hinges squeaking painfully loud. If anyone didn't know I'm here, they do now. He ducked and stepped inside. It was a bedroom. A bed immediately caught his eye. It was obviously for someone important, and if it was still in its prime it would have been magnificent. The embroidery, despite being worn down from the years, still displayed proudly the skill of the sewer. Intricately carved wooden posts held up the now tattered canopy above the bed. Oddly, there was more of the Keifra-like figures on the poles, and on the hems of the blanket. The other things he saw was a dresser with a mirror that had long fallen down. A nightstand was next to the bed, with a book on it. There was a study desk, covered in rotting paper. The rug on the floor had long lost its splendor of color. Xor suddenly sagged, acutely aware of how tire he felt. Xor picked up the chair at the dresser and moved it to barricade the door. He moved to tear down the sagging canopy when he stopped. This room had obviously belonged to an important individual, and despite the likelihood that they are long gone now, it felt disrespectful to take down the canopy with the force he was originally going to use. Instead he took it down with respect and placed it on the study desk. The bed small for his size, meaning his feet would hang off. It would still be better than sleeping on the floor, he figured. He settled down, somewhat amazed that the bedframe held up his weight. His eyes snapped to the nightstand, and the book on it. The edges of the cover were frayed, and was covered in a thick layer of dust. He brushed the dust off and opened it to the first page. To his amazement, the words were in Sangheili. They glowed of their own light, leaving Xor very confused. The inside of the book's cover had glowing words as well, saying something about the book being 'enchanted' for others. He didn’t know what exactly that meant, so he decided to ignore that for now. Year 1 A.B. A new Age has come, one that I wished never had... Chapter 2: Of Monsters and AliensSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 3: Shaky NegotiationsAs the owner of the voices came around the corner, Xor could only gawk. In hindsight, it made perfect sense. Now he knew why the 'latest' inhabitants were so fixated on the Keifra-like animals. They were the inhabitants. The two brightly colored beings froze immediately upon seeing the tall Sangheili. Their eyes went so huge that Xor could hardly believe it was possible. Their jaws dropped low enough that Xor briefly wondered if it hurt. The first one's body was in a light orange color. It had a uniform color throughout its body with a few exceptions in certain places in addition to being covered in some type of clothing. It stood two legs like most of the species he had encountered, the difference being that the feet were replaced with what appeared to be hooves. He guessed it had a tail, though he couldn't know for sure due to the bipedal nature of the creatures blocking a clear shot. It appeared to have head hair just like Humans did. The hair color, which matched its tail, was a light tannish-yellow color. It had deep green eyes, freckles on its face, and an article of clothing on its head. The other one was much more exotic in color. It's main color was light blue, bright enough that Xor wondered if it dyed it. The color certainly held no use in camouflage. It was almost identical to the orange one in structure except for one addition: two feathered wings sprouted from its back. It had clothing as well, but was different and covered less of its body. The hair had to be dyed. There was no way that coloration could occur naturally. It was simply a rainbow of colors, also brightly colored that looked out of place in nature. It also wasn't as well kept as the orange one, the blue one simply letting the hair settle wherever it wanted. Xor also noticed that on both of the upper arms of the blue one was a symbol. It took a moment for Xor to realized that the jagged part represented a lightning bolt, the other was likely a cloud. The lightning bolt was also colored brightly. The orange seemed to have symbols was well, though it was mostly covered by her clothing. The blue one finally spoke in its alien language, "~~What is~~ that~~?!~~" The orange one apparently responded, "~~Ah-Ah think it's an animal...maybe...~~" Xor was now certain he heard this language before, but still couldn't recall where. The blue one's dark pink eyes glanced to the floor, "I~~sn't that onna your apples on the floor?~~" The orange one also glanced to the floor before frowning, "~~Yeah...it is...~~" The orange looked at him, "~~Did ya steal mah lunch?!~~" Xor was too busy trying to remember where exactly he heard this language before to notice that the orange one was addressing him. The blue one took to the air, "~~Shoo! Get outta here!~~" Xor did notice the blue one's arms and hand movement. He didn't know what it was trying to convey though. The orange one copied the blue one's movement, "~~Go on, ya varmit! Leave! Shoo!~~" Xor didn't respond, something the other lifeforms seemed to get annoyed by. The blue one looked at its companion, "~~Don't think it understands us. Any ideas?~~" The orange sighed, "~~Other than~~ physically ~~movin' it? Nope.~~" "~~Well, let's try that~~," the blue one said before starting to fly towards Xor. The orange one reacted quickly by grabbing the blue one's tail, which proved that they indeed have them, "~~Hold on there, sugarcube. We don't have no idea what this thang is. We need ta think 'bout this fer a minute.~~" The blue one groaned, "~~So what? We're supposed to~~ wait ~~for it to leave?~~" And then Xor finally remembered. The aliens were speaking Human English. And luckily, he had a one-way translator on board his suit. The Sangheili moved his hand to the back of his head while the orange one spoke again, "~~Ah'm not sayin' that. Ah'm sayin' we gotta think before we jus' rush headlong at this varmit.~~" Xor's hand reached the back of his helmet where a switch was locate. That area was the only place where the Sangheili's energy shields didn't cover. He flipped the switch and his energy shields immediately broke. Well, dispersed would be more accurate. The aliens reaction was immediate. They both jumped a step back, eyes wide open in surprise at the noise and a flash of light. The blue one spoke in a frantic tone, "~~What the hay was~~ that~~?!~~" The two shifted their stances, recovering from their shock quickly enough that Xor was almost impressed. The orange looked at Xor as he took off his helmet, "~~Ah don't rightly know...but it's certainly doin'~~ somethin'~~.~~" Xor quickly turned on the translator program and put his helmet back on. He reactivated his shields, though wasn't particularly worried they could do anything to harm him and live. The orange one spoke, its words now translated to Sangheili, "But somethin' tells meh that this ain't a normal animal..." Xor immedately growled at being called an animal. The two aliens took another step back, the blue one speaking this time, "Woah, okay! It's angry...Uh...AJ? Got any ideas?" Xor soon found out another problem. While he could understand them now, he had no way of communicating back. Properly, at least. He wasn't that keen on learning Human English, and only knew one phrase. The orange one, now known as 'AJ', shook her head, "Nope. But we can't leave it. We don't know whut it wants." "So we're stuck?" said the blue one. Xor decided to at least attempt communicate. Not really wanting to use English, he first attempted to speak in his own tongue on the off change they might actually know what he said, 'What are you?' If Xor thought the creatures' eyes couldn't get any larger, he was proven wrong. They gaped at him like he was some sort of freak, which annoyed Xor. The winged one spoke, "What the buck was that?!" AJ spoke quietly, almost too much to be heard by the translator, "Ah don't think this is an animal, RD..." 'RD' shot a glance at her, "What do you mean? What else could it be?" Xor didn't say or do anything as AJ replied, "Ah don't think it's from around here..." RD's brow came together in confusion, "What...like, not from this forest? 'Cause you're kinda implying that it's..." AJ just simply nodded. RD's head whipped around to face Xor, "No way..." AJ ran a hand through her hair, "Land's sakes, Ah honestly have no idea whut ta do anymore. We've never dealt wit' an alien befer!" Xor concluded that they did not speak his language, and was forced to use the one phrase he knew, "Where is the bathroom?" Awkward silence filled the space between them. RD was the first one to speak, "Did it just ask where's the bathroom is?" Xor narrowed his eyes. He was growing tired of being referred to as an 'it'. AJ spoke, "Y'wanna know where th' restroom is?" Xor shook his head, "Where is the bathroom?" "Do you wanna go to the bathroom or not?" said RD, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Xor took a deep breath and focused, trying to twist his only known English phrase that would suit him, "Where...is the...bath..." AJ tilted her head, "Y'wanna know where th' shower is? Ah thought y'needed to go to the bathroom?" Xor clenched his fists and tried again, "Where. Is." "Where is whut?" asked AJ, "Th' shower or the restroom? We're kinda getting mixed signals here." "Where is?!" exclaimed Xor. RD leaned to her compatriot, "Think this thing has a few screws loose..." AJ ignored her as Xor repeated again. Her eyes suddenly widened and gave a light gasp, "Ohhh...Now Ah understand. Y'wanna know where are you." RD blinked before slapping her face with one of her hands, something Xor didn't understand why, "Wow. Probably shoulda seen that sooner." Xor nodded his head vigorously, "Where is?" "Uh, yer in th' Everfree Forest," said AJ, hoping to clarify, "In ~~Equestria~~." The translator couldn't make sense of that last word, so it just gave a beep. It did, however, tell Xor what he had been dreading since the two other lifeforms showed up. He was on a different planet entirely. Xor sighed, and started to walk forward. AJ mirrored his moves, "Woah there, partner. Where're ya goin'?" Xor was about to respond in his own tongue before realized what the Keifra-alien had said. Where was he going? He had no provisions. He couldn't speak their language. He had absolutely no idea where in the galaxy he was. He couldn't think of anyway that could get him out of this mess. The orange Keifra-alien apparently noticed his sudden slump in demeanor, "Uh...y'can come home wit' us. We'll give ya a bed and feed ya. We can probably figure out how to get ya ta speak, too." "Uh, AJ?" said RD, "Hate to burst your bubble, but you remember what happened to ~~Zecora~~ the first time we met her? Don't think bringing it into town is a good idea." "Ah know it's not ideal, but it's th' best we got. We jus' need ta get ta Twilight, and she can cast a magic ~~doohickey~~ thang on it so it can talk ta us-" Xor growled. He had enough of being called it, 'I am not an it! I am Xor 'Vozamai, a proud Sangheili warrior! And you will treat me with respect!" The two aliens backed away when they heard the anger in Xor's voice, "Woah Nelly!" exclaimed the orange one. "What's it doing now?!" said RD. Xor unclipped his energy sword and ignited it, 'I AM NOT AN IT!' The two shied away from the sizzling blade. AJ gulped, "A-All right now...l-let's all jus' calm down. We didn't mean ta upset ya. Ah know we probably didn't start on th' best of terms...but if we can all jus' calm down and talk..." "Maybe we should tell it our names. We haven't introduced ourselves," started RD, "I-I'm Rainbow Dash." AJ went after Rainbow Dash, "Ah'm ~~Applejack~~. Whut's you're name?" Xor snorted but replied in his tongue, 'Xor 'Vozamai.' Rainbow Dash's eyes crossed as she and AJ tried to make sense of the gibberish. AJ spoke, "Ah...don't know how to pronounce that...Are ya a ~~mare~~ or a ~~stallion~~?" Xor tilted his head, "Where?" "Uh...a male or a female? Blink once fer male an' twice fer female..." Xor stared at her before blinking once. AJ nodded, still keeping an eye on Xor's sword, "A-Alright...An' ya probably didn't like it when we called ya an 'it'." Xor forcefully nodded, causing AJ to wince, "R-right. We're mighty sorry 'bout that. We jus didn't know...uh...what yer were equipped with, if ya catch mah meaning...We're both females, by th' way." Xor then noticed that they had the chest protrusions that human females tended to have. Xor took a calming breath in and out, before nodding. He deactivated his sword and stared expectantly at her. AJ's eyes shifted behind the Sangheili, "Ah'm gonna get mah bag an' then we'll go ta ~~Ponyville~~. Sound good?" Xor clicked his mandibles together, earning him a confused look from AJ before she shrugged and started to move. As she got closer, she suddenly realized just how big the alien was. She was three feet and six inches tall, slightly above the average height of a Pony. She must have guessed that the alien was over eight feet tall. Likewise, Xor realized how tiny they were compared to him. They were smaller than an Unggoy runt, the bottom of the average. AJ's head barely reached Xor's lower pelvis. She was eye-level to his crotch, but Xor, like any self-respecting Sangheili, learned to quell his libido. This wasn't including the fact he had no interest in courting an alien. AJ reached her bag, picking up the fruit cores. She whistled, "Y'sure did a number on mah lunch. Don't know how ya could eat 'em, on th' account ya don't have a jaw. Err, no offense..." Xor simply huffed and looked away. He noticed Rainbow Dash was staring at his sword with interest. She in turn noticed Xor staring at her. She looked away, face suddenly turning red. Xor couldn't think of any purpose the change of tint in her face could serve, "S-sorry." Xor huffed again. These aliens were far too apologetic. From the brief time he'd dealt with them, he had yet to see anything that he considered honorable. Rainbow Dash spoke again, "So...uh....was that, like, a weapon or something?" Xor merely nodded, which seemed to make Rainbow Dash uncomfortable. AJ's voice came from behind him, "Ah sure hope ya don't plan on usin' that thang. We don't take kindly ta killin' if there's no need fer it." Xor's disposition on these aliens dropped more at that sentence as AJ started to come back. The orange female continued, "All right, let's go." The two started to walk back they came, Xor briefly hesitating before trudging along. He had no idea what to expect by following the two female aliens. Only the Gods could know that. For better, or for worse. Author's Note A rewritten chapter that used to be simply 'Negotiations". Unlike last time, most of the changes and additions are at the beginning while the latter part of the chapter remained the same. Prologue:Darkening Skies ... ...log in confirmed. Welcome, Osman, Serin. ... ... Opening file OI-005: Creation Interrogation. Beginning Playback. "Everything working, Mulder? "Aye. All that's left is to turn the translator on." "Let us begin, then. I grow weary of this abomination's 'face'. I do not know why we need to 'speak' to them." "You know full well, Zot. The latest Creations...well, we know why what they're doing with bodies. "Any ID on the poor sod?" "...yeah. Confirmed Killed-in-Action." "I still fail to understand what we hope to gain from this endeavor. They use only the fallen, correct?" "...Newest reports say otherwise, Nuna." "Enough. Mulder, turn it on." "Yes ma'am, Admiral Osman." CLICK. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA "Jesus fucking Christ!" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH "MULDER! Status!" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaa*sob*rrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA "E-everything's working fine!" "Then why is it-" KIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLL MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! IT HUUUUUUURRRRRRTSSSSSSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! KILL ME KILL ME KILL ME KIIIILLLLLLL MEEEEEEEE!!! "Shut it off, Mulder!" MAMAAAAA!!! MOMMY MAKE IT STOP!!! IT HURTS!!! PLEASE!!! MOMMY- CLICK. "F-fuck..." "B-by the Rings..." "Did we do something wrong? Something that would make it react like that?" "N-no...W-we dulled all nerves in the connection between the cortex and translator..." "...then that means it was in pain before we set this all up..." "Is...is that what it's like? What they're doing to us?" "...you said this one was killed, right?" ... "They...they brought him back. Th-they're bringing us all back!" Playback ended. Serin Osman sat back in her chair, staring at the monitor in front of her with baggy, tired eyes. At the creature in chains on screen. At the monstrosity that was once Human. That was still Human in a certain, macabre and unnatural way. The silence was deafening compared to the cacophony that happened just a few moments ago. It was broken by Osman herself, "God have mercy on us all..." badassgrunt presents A MLP:FIM and Halo Crossover
Lost...(Old)Xor 'Vozomai woke up. He did not wake with a start, nor did he awake gradually. It seemed to him that one moment he was asleep, and the next he was fully awake. He was, however, confused. As he opened his eyes, he found himself in a...cave? Xor simply stared at the rocky ceiling in befuddlement. Why was he in a cave. Wasn't he...he was... He couldn't remember. Xor suddenly sat up, brows contorting in worry. He was in his armor, shields still fully charged, but for the life of him couldn't remember why. The latest he remembered was the Forerunner Guardians starting to police the galaxy. And that was it. What seemed to be a entire year was missing from his mind. The date on his HUD verified that. One moment he was staring into the sky at a Guardian, the next he was staring at the ceiling of the cave he was currently in. He looked around at the cave in more detail. There were crystals scattered about, giving enough light that enabled Xor to see. At first he thought they were Blamite crystals, but these were a variety of colors. He stood up, distinctly aware that he was unarmed other than a single plasma grenade. Thankfully, his motion-tracker showed no movement. The cave had to directional openings, one at about a 45 degree angle from the other. One showed an incline, and Xor was tempted to follow that way. He sniffed deeply, however, his evolved olfactory nerves telling him that the air from the inclined passage was stale and very likely didn't lead outside. The other passage was descending, though, which was something Xor disliked. Still, the air coming from it was far fresher. Grudgingly, the idea of going further below ground unappealing to him, Xor chose the latter. Xor had no idea how far exactly he walked, though the clock on his HUD said it was about half a Unit. The crystals did not continue down the chosen passage, which made the light from them emit not far from the cavern. Xor was thankful that his armor had a shoulder-mounted lamp, the idea of going down in complete darkness much more unpleasing than just the act of descending. Almost an entire Unit had passed before he heard something that made him even more uneasy. His heavy footsteps had an echo to them. He stopped, the echo shortly stopping after him. He continued for a few additional Units before stopping again. And again the echo stopped as well. Xor dismissed it as simply what it sounded like, an echo, and continued onward. Yet again the echo came again. The Sangheili tried his best to ignore it, almost tempted to look back. Instead he stopped again. Xor felt a chill when the echos didn't stop this time. He continued to walk through the passage, at a faster rate this time. Salvation came as something ahead shone against his light. To his disbelief, it was the handle of an energy sword. His energy sword. A sharp pain spiked through his skull, causing the Sangheili to grunt and fall to his knees. A sudden burst of information radiated through his brain. He remembered now...somewhat. He now knew why he was here. He had been fighting an alien. He couldn't remember the name or appearance, unfortunately, but he could positively say it wasn't Human. Or Jiralhanae. Or any other species he knew of. Xor remembered being engulfed in an orb of energy, then blacking out. Despite having received some answers, it left more unanswered questions. What was the alien? What exactly did it do? What happened to the Guardians? He pushed those thoughts to the side when the tempo of the echos increased. Whatever was making them, it was now running. Xor got back to his feet and dashed to the energy sword. He scooped it up and spun on a dime, igniting it. Xor saw what was pursuing him now, and it scared him for a second on how close it had got to him. Less than two meters stood a creature on two legs similar to his own. That's where any similarities ended between him and the creature. The creature was bent forward, a long sweeping tail providing balance. It had only one arm, small and undeveloped, on the underside of its core. It wasn't all that large, around the size of a Doarmir. Its face was similar in shape to a Kig-Yar, with its wide and long jaw. Again, that's where the similarities of any species he knew ended. It had far too many teeth, more than what Xor thought could be possible through evolution. They were needle-like, and to his surprise, seemed to glow of their own accord. It had one single eye, black as the darkness around them. It didn't seem to have any sort of eyelids, not blinking once in the bright light. Xor briefly wondered how it kept the eye moisturized. It's skin was white, the same shade one would expect to evolve into with generations of no sunlight. The skin seemed to shimmer slightly, and Xor found out why. It was covered in short hair. Said hair was nearly completely translucent. The creature shrunk back from the light, growling softly. It seemed to recover quickly, and started to salivate uncontrollably. To Xor's astonishment, and mild horror, the rock below sizzled and crackled. The creature's saliva was acidic, enough to corrode through rock. It threw its head back and shrieked, a noise Xor would most likely never forget. It was high-pitched, primal and crazed. Xor could also hear it's eagerness at finding a potential meal. The creature lowered its head and spat at him. Xor dove to the side, evading the acid saliva. He recovered from his roll to see the beast charging him, giving out sharp barks. Ultimately, though, it was an animal. And Xor was a trained warrior. He waited for the best moment to side-step the charging creature, jutting his sword-arm out. The result was the creature disemboweling itself from its own momentum as it ran past. It gave a gurgle as it hit the floor with a wet thump. Blood bled profusely through the flesh that wasn't cauterized, and the creature's intestines and internal organs started to slide out of the gaping slit in its side. Xor deactivated the sword and stood up straight. He huffed in disgust. Not in the creature, but at himself. How could he have ever felt fear from a simple-minded creature? He was about to inspect said creature more closely when he heard something that did give him a reason to be afraid. Howls. Howls and shrieks echoed out of the passage behind him, undertoned by the thundering of multiple footsteps There must have been dozens of similar creatures all rushing to him. Xor, proud as he might be of his skill, wasn't an idiot. He knew this wasn't a fight he could come out unscathed, let alone alive. He turned around and booked it to what he prayed to the Gods was an exit. The passage seemed to go on for miles, and each second the trample of the animals hunting him came closer and closer. Xor made the mistake of looking back. Their teeth did indeed glow in the dark, emitting a sickly pale green light. It reflected off their glossy black eye, adding to the feeling of unease. Smiles of death stared at him, gleeful for the promise of a hearty meal. There were too many to even think about fighting. One opened it's mouth and spat a wad of saliva at him. The ball of spit went by dangerously close to his head and Xor realized that he should focus in front of him. He didn't want a face full of acid. More spitballs shot by him, and Xor knew it was only a matter of time before one got lucky. That poor luck appeared quickly, as he felt something impact him in his back. In less than thirty seconds, his shields broke and he heard sizzling on his back. Damnation, though, was up ahead regardless if the acid ate through his armor. The passage ended abruptly, spelling certain doom for the Sangheili. At first Xor though his nose had deceived him, but he could make out faint light coming from small gaps in the wall. Xor realized that whoever this planet belonged to must have sealed up the access to the surface for fear of the creatures pursuing him. Time seemed to slow down as he tried to think of a way, any way, that could save him. His eyes caught on one aspect of his HUD. The grenade counter. If Sangheili had the capability to smile, Xor would be beaming. Still, he had to time this just right. He grabbed the grenade from his belt as pellets of acid hit all around him. He primed it and threw straight and true, the now glowing ball landing in an opening. The resulting explosion melted a hole through the rocky barricade, and caused cracks in the ceiling above him to form. Dust and rock rained down on Xor as he gave all he had into his sprint. Behind him he could hear loud thuds, telling him that the passage behind him was collapsing. Xor dove through the hole, thinking he was safe. Not yet, as he found out, as he felt something slam into his back. He shrugged one of the creatures off of him, watching in the corner of his eye the passage fully collapsing behind him, killing the majority of the creatures. The creature scrambled to recover but Xor was far more ready. He lunged forward, kicking the creature with all his might. He felt something in the creature snap and the animal gave a screech of pain as it slammed into the opposite rocky wall. Xor didn't want to waste the charge on his energy sword, his only true weapon left, and instead picked up a large rock. Far too tired for any theatrics, he rushed to the creature and raised the rock above his head. He brought it down on the creature's eye. To Xor's surprise, the black spot on the creature's head wasn't an eye at all. It shattered like bone, revealing flesh beneath. The creature shrieked again, loud enough that it physically hurt Xor's senses. Pushing through the ringing following the noise, he brought down the rock again. And again. The fourth blow was the one that killed the beast, crushing its skull inward. Xor lifted his hand to see it dripping with blood and gore. He dropped the rock and wiped his hand on the creature's pelt. Xor finally gave a sigh of relief and looked around. The light he had saw seemed dimmer now, emanating further up the passage. Xor grunted, displeased he was still underground. He forced himself forward, taking the light as a sign he was almost out of this hell. His footsteps thudded against the bedrock, taking pleasure in not hearing echos. The passage bent up ahead, and Xor quickened his pace. He rounded the corner and stopped. A clear line marked the end of the passage. In its place was a stone room. Xor could see wooden, round containers lining the back wall facing him. Xor stood still, listening and eyeing his motion tracker. Both told him that there wasn't anybody around, but he still gripped his energy sword rather than clipping it on his thigh. He approached the opening and peaked his head through. To his displeasure again, Xor was still not above ground. The light he saw was coming from up a ramp. Curiously, he saw no stairs or other exits other than that ramp. He looked around the room as he stepped into it. In addition to the containers, there were shelves with bottles in them. Xor ignored the features of the room and made a beeline to the ramp. He stopped at the bottom. There was indeed a door, wooded with rusty hinges. But it was small, more suitable for a Unggoy. Still, with a little effort, he managed to got through the doorway. He came out into a hallway, at the end specifically. Immediately something caught his eye. It was a tapestry, located by a wall next to a door. What was on it made him pause. There were two figures, one white the other a dark blue. They had four limbs with what looked like wings. The two figures were orbiting two circles, one what he guessed was a sun, while the other had to be a moon. They reminded him somewhat of the Keifra on Sanghelios, but he had no idea why anyone would spend such skill and fine fabric on animals. His eyes trailed to the door next to the tapestry. This one was larger, more suited for a Human or Kig-Yar. He reached and pushed it open, the hinges squeaking painfully loud. If anyone didn't know I'm here, they do now. He ducked and stepped inside. It was a bedroom. A bed immediately caught his eye. It was obviously for someone important, and if it was still in its prime it would have been magnificent. The embroidery, despite being worn down from the years, still displayed proudly the skill of the sewer. Intricately carved wooden posts held up the now tattered canopy above the bed. Oddly, there was more of the Keifra-like figures on the poles, and on the hems of the blanket. The other things he saw was a dresser with a mirror that had long fallen down. A nightstand was next to the bed, with a book on it. There was a study desk, covered in rotting paper. The rug on the floor had long lost its splendor of color. Xor suddenly sagged, acutely aware of how tire he felt. Xor picked up the chair at the dresser and moved it to barricade the door. He moved to tear down the sagging canopy when he stopped. This room had obviously belonged to an important individual, and despite the likelihood that they are long gone now, it felt disrespectful to take down the canopy with the force he was originally going to use. Instead he took it down with respect and placed it on the study desk. The bed small for his size, meaning his feet would hang off. It would still be better than sleeping on the floor, he figured. He settled down, somewhat amazed that the bedframe held up his weight. His eyes snapped to the nightstand, and the book on it. The edges of the cover were frayed, and was covered in a thick layer of dust. He brushed the dust off and opened it to the first page. To his amazement, the words were in Sangheili. They glowed of their own light, leaving Xor very confused. The inside of the book's cover had glowing words as well, saying something about the book being 'enchanted' for others. He decided to ignore that for now. Year 1 A.B. A new Age has come, one that I wished never had... Author's Note Bonus info about the creatures: Known as 'Glowtooths', these predators live entirely underground. Indeed, they shine away from any natural light. Their primary diet are rocks and gemstones, their highly acidic saliva able to turn it into swallowable mush. They'd much rather prefer actual food, and will jump on any chance to make a live kill.
Of Monsters and EquinesXor 'Vozamai was wrong. The book hadn't been written by a person of importance. It had been written by an insane individual that on all accounts should be locked up, let alone be granted such luxuries. Banishing a person to the moon? Moving celestial object on a daily basis? Xor managed to get through five pages before the ludicrousy drove him away. He got a few hours of sleep, but the size of the bed made it next to impossible for him to get comfortable. It was his stomach growling that woke him up. He hadn't eaten anything for a day, and it was beginning to show. Xor undid the barricade and opened the still small door to leave when he suddenly paused. He looked back at the book he threw back onto the nightstand. For reasons unknown to him, he got the urge to take it with him. Or at least, take another look at it again. The feeling kept pestering before Xor finally relented. The Sangheili huffed and went back. He picked it up, opening it and idly flipping through the pages. He was about to closed the book and debate on whether or not he should take the book with him when something caught his eye. He flipped back to the page and scanned it. He quickly found what he was looking for. When noon arrived, I felt the need to be self-sufficient. Deciding I would get my own food rather let somepony else might improve the mood I've been in recently. Unfortunately I did not know where the kitchen was, as every time it was time to eat, I had the meal sent to my room. They had recently moved it due to growling heard by the kitchen staff, disturbing their work. I eventually did found out where they moved it to. The kitchen was now located on the most west side of the building I'm currently in. While the possibility of finding unspoiled food was slim, Xor decided it wouldn't hurt to give the kitchen a look over. He also decided to take the book with him. He told himself it was to merely consult it if he took a wrong turn, trying to mentally denounce the strange feeling of necessity the book seemed to emit. He ducked under the door and moved down the hall. The rug on the cobble stone floor was in tatters, and vegetation started to sprout upwards from cracks located on both the walls and floor. It was also dark. Not dark enough to warrant use of Xor's lamp, but enough to convince him that this place was long abandoned. The atmosphere had an odd taste to it. It was...solemn. As if he was treading on holy ground. The end of the hall way split in a 'T' shape. Xor looked to the left and gawked at the massive hole in the stone. Curiosity got the best of him and he peered down. Glowing grins looked back at him. It was at that moment Xor had a good theory on why this place was abandoned. Thankfully, the hole was too deep for the beasts to attempt to jump. Instead they just spat at him. Xor quickly decided he wouldn't go right. With a pace that other Sangheili might've found embarrassing or dishonorable, Xor retreated to the left. He didn't want to think about how close he'd slept near a nest of those things. The hallway led on for a few Units before turning to the right. Before him was a door leading to...nowhere? Xor couldn't believe it. He was stuck. Totally trapped. He was going to starve, if dehydration didn't get to him first. He might as well- For the first time, Xor noticed a lever next to the wooden door. Please do something useful, Xor thought as he pulled it down. A faint rumble could be felt and the sound of stone moving on stone rewarded his ears as the stone wall on the other side lifted upwards. A library was now revealed. He could see book shelves through the small window in the wooden door. Xor was hungry, and tired of this castle. All he wanted was to get back home. Home. Home. A sudden feeling of urgency washed over Xor. He needed to get back home, and he needed to get back home now. Something important was there. He just knew it, and he knew he needed to get off this planet as quick as possible- Sudden pain lanced through his head, causing the Sangheili to grunt as if he was shot. He fell to his knees, dropping to the book to the floor. A memory came to him. He was in ruins of a city. The details were blurry, and he couldn't tell if they were Sangheili or not. Sounds of warfare assaulted his ears. Screams, gunfire and roars. Before him in the vision was another Sangheili. Or what was left of him. Xor's eyes were immediately drawn to the glass container. Inside, to his disgust, was a Sangheili brain floating in fluid. Wires were crudely injected into the cerebral cortex, connecting the brain to the rest of the 'body'. The Sangheili's two hearts were on either side of the brain, physically thudding against the Sangheili's brain matter. The container was surgically implanted inside the Sangheili's chest cavity. From the shoulders up, however, the flesh turned into metal. The head was gone, in place was a neck-like structure of metal jutting up and forwards. In the center of the end point was the Sangheili's original eye, at least one of them. It stared at him with an unblinking gaze, slightly twitching. The right arm was cut completely off. In its place was a robotic mimic. There was no hand, instead the arm fed directly to an energy weapon. The left was spared. It appeared to be having a seizure, twitching violently. From the hip down there was nothing. Instead of legs there were some sort of propulsion system. It was eerily silent compared to the chaotic sounds of desperate warfare around him. The abomination gave a full body jerk and raised its gun arm. The gun glowed an eerie blue as it powered up. Xor couldn't move. The gun fired, sending a lance of energy at Xor. Xor jerked back into reality, breathing heavily. He gave a full body shudder, experiencing an emotion that Sangheili rarely felt. Fear. Fear for himself. Fear for his home. Was that why he felt the overwhelming urge to get back home? To fight these monsters? A brief thought of the Parasite came back to him, and his mind tried to draw connections. The two, however, were on different levels of bodyhorror. The Parasite's changes in a host were natural, as odd as that sounded. It acted like an animal at times. The infection turned them into undead forms, yes, but they were naturally mutated. At least, compared to the monster he just saw. The thing he just saw...there was nothing natural about it. It was an abomination, through and through. The Parasite's host was usually dead, their soul passed into the afterlife. But that monster...he saw intelligence in that single, familiar eye. He saw a soul, trapped in an unholy amalgamation of flesh and metal. And as the abomination's eye came back to his mind, he saw only one message. It was begging him to end its life. Get up. Get back home. Xor groaned as he stood up, picking up the book as he did. He took a look at the door. With a growl aimed at the unfairness of this situation, the eight foot tall alien kicked down the door into splinters and squeezed through. He took one step forward before freezing. Someone had been here. Recently. The layer of dust commonly seen throughout the rest of the castle was reduced significantly. Candles were lit, and not too long ago judging by how much they melted. A rectangular table led to another 'T' intersection. Bookshelves, with hundreds of volumes on them, lined the walls. He unclipped his energy sword, not yet igniting it, when he saw a cloth bag on the table. He cautiously approached, eyes alternating between his motion tracker and what was before him. The motion tracker showed nothing was moving nearby, but that would only reduce Xor's checking by a degree. He reached the table with the bag. It was small, even for an Unggoy. It was structured oddly, too. The entirety of the bag seemed to be split into two parts. The only connecting them was a band of cloth that was adjustable. The bag was colored a light green. The actual bag part was simply, well, a bag. The only thing covering it was a flap with a image as a buckle. He had no idea what it was supposed to be. It comprised of an oddly shaped red circle with two smaller green ovals. Curiosity again got the better of him and he opened the bag. It contained an archaic rope, a folded piece of paper, and two red orbs. The two orbs had an uncanny resemblance to the image on the bag, so Xor figured they were the same thing. He pulled one out. It was lighter than he'd expected it to be, and was fairy small to him. Xor, checking his motion tracker one last time, clipped his energy sword to his thigh and turned the orb about in his hand. It was fairly smooth, and his eyes drifted to the top of the item. Two green shapes protruded from the top, and Xor realized that they were in fact leaves. Is this a fruit? Maybe a nut... Xor pressed his finger into the orb. The surface easily gave way, and the Sangheili's finger sank into the object. Clear liquid seeped out around his finger before he withdrew his digit. Xor brought the orb to his nostrils and inhaled. Detecting the sweet scent, he concluded that this was likely a fruit. Is it edible? His stomach growled again, making him think that he had gone longer than a day without food. It begged for anything. Hunger overpowered cautiousness and he jabbed the fruit onto his top teeth set. He moved his head, ripping a piece off. The mandibles came together to launch torn off food item down his throat, where a small set of jaws inside would chew it up properly. The Sangheili made short work of the unidentified fruity object, throwing what he thought was the inedible core to the side. The other fruit followed its brother's demise, but still left Xor feeling unsatisfied. He growled and tossed the core over his shoulder. Xor simply expected to hear two thuds. What he did not expect was a thud, clicking, the other thud, and the grinding of stone. Xor twirled around to see the stone opening closing. He rushed to the opening, trying in vain to stop its decent. It proved fruitless and Xor was forced to let go in fear of being injured. Xor clenched his fists in frustration before spying a spherical bump by the side of the now hidden opening. It was the size of two of the fruits end on end, and was more smooth than the rest of the surrounding stone. Seeing that it looked like it had moving parts, he touched it. He was surprised to find that it slid to the side as he applied pressure, revealing some sort of mechanism. Xor bent over and huffed. It was clearly a locking system. One that he had no idea what he password was let alone what the symbols meant. It had eight 'slots', each locking in place to only show one symbol at a time. Xor spun it in its horizontal direction to find that there were a lot of symbols, ruining any hope of figuring it out in a manageable time. It was then that Fate decided to make things for Xor go from bad to worse. Xor stiffened when he heard noises approaching, "~~Why are we here again?~~" Xor could tell they were voices, and were speaking in a language he didn't know, "~~Weren't ya listenin'? Twi wanted us ta clean up th' rubble so we can access new areas.~~" Despite Xor having not a clue as to what they were saying, the language was oddly familiar sounding. He swore he had heard it before, but couldn't remember where, "~~I know~~ that~~. I meant why can't Twilight do it? Couldn't she, y'know, magic it away?~~" He heard a sigh, signaling that the voices drew nearer, "~~She~~ told ~~us. She's real busy wit' preppin' th' Gala. So it's on us ta clear th' ways.~~" Xor gave a huff-sigh hybrid and turned to see what Fate awaited him. There was nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. This was either going to turn out well, or horrible. The last thing he could possibly prepare for came around the corner. Author's Note Tfw Sangheili units of measure are more convoluted than the imperial system.
NegotiationsAs the owner of the voices came around the corner, Xor could only gawk. In hindsight, it made perfect sense. Now he knew why the 'latest' inhabitants were so fixated on the Keifra-like animals. They were the inhabitants. The two brightly colored being froze immediately upon seeing the tall Sangheili. Their eyes went so huge that Xor could hardly believe it was possible. Their jaws dropped low enough that Xor briefly wondered if it hurt. The first one's body was in a light orange color. It had a uniform color throughout its body with a few exceptions in certain places. It stood on four hooved legs like the Keifra he kept thinking back to. He guessed it had a tail, though he couldn't know for sure. It appeared to have head hair just like Humans did. The hair color, which matched its tail, was a light tannish-yellow color. It had deep green eyes, freckles on its face, and an article of clothing on its head. The other one was much more exotic in color. It's main color was light blue, bright enough that Xor wondered if it dyed it. The color certainly held no use in camouflage. It was almost identical to the orange one in structure except for one addition: two feathered wings adorned the side of its body. The hair and tail had to be dyed. There was no way that coloration could occur naturally. It was simply a rainbow of colors, also brightly colored that looked out of place in nature. It also wasn't as well kept as the orange one, the blue one simply letting the hair settle wherever it wanted. Xor also noticed that near the rear of their bodies, just above the back legs, were images. The orange one had three of the red fruits, the other had a jagged shape jutting out of a round one. It took a moment for Xor to realized that the jagged part represented a lightning bolt, the other was likely a cloud. The lightning bolt was also colored brightly. The blue one finally spoke in its alien language, "~~What is~~ that~~?!~~" The orange one apparently responded, "~~Ah-Ah think it's an animal...maybe...~~" Xor was now certain he heard this language before, but still couldn't recall where. The blue one's dark pink eyes glanced to the floor, "~~Isn't that onna your apples on the floor?~~" The orange one also glanced to the floor before frowning, "~~Yeah...it is...~~" The orange looked at him, "~~Did ya steal mah lunch?!~~" Xor was too busy trying to remember where he'd heard this language before to notice that the orange one was addressing him. The blue one took to the air, "~~Shoo! Get outta here!~~" Xor did notice the blue one's foreleg's movement. He didn't know what it was trying to convey though. The orange one copied the blue one's movement, "~~Go on, ya varmit! Leave! Shoo!~~" Xor didn't respond, something the other lifeforms seemed to get annoyed by. The blue one looked at its companion, "~~Don't think it understands us. Any ideas?~~" The orange sighed, "~~Other than~~ physically ~~movin' it? Nope.~~" "~~Well, let's try that,~~" the blue one said before starting to fly towards Xor. The orange one reacted quickly by grabbing the blue one's tail, "~~Hold on there, sugarcube. We don't have no idea what this thang is. We need ta think 'bout this fer a minute.~~" The blue one groaned, "~~So what? We're supposed to~~ wait ~~for it to leave?~~" And then Xor finally remembered. The aliens were speaking Human English. And luckily, he had a one-way translator on board his suit. The Sangheili moved his hand to the back of his head while the orange one spoke again, "~~Ah'm not sayin' that. Ah'm sayin' we gotta think before we jus' rush headlong at this varmit.~~" Xor's had reached the back of his helmet where a switch was locate. That area was the only place where the Sangheili's energy shields didn't cover.* He flipped the switch and his energy shields immediately broke. Well, dispersed would be more accurate. The aliens reaction was immediate. They both jumped a step back, eyes wide open in surprise at the noise and a flash of light. The blue one spoke in a frantic tone, "~~What the hay was~~ that~~?!~~" The two shifted their stances, recovering from their shock quickly enough that Xor was almost impressed. The orange looked at Xor as he took off his helmet, "~~Ah don't rightly know...but it's certainly doin'~~ somethin'~~.~~" Xor quickly turned on the translator program and put his helmet back on. He reactivated his shields, though wasn't particularly worried they could do anything to harm him and live. The orange one spoke, its words now translated to Sangheili, "But somethin' tells meh that this ain't a normal animal..." Xor immedately growled at being called an animal. The two aliens took another step back, the blue one speaking this time, "Woah, okay! It's angry...Uh...AJ? Got any ideas?" Xor soon found out another problem. While he could understand them now, he had no way of communicating back. Properly, at least. He wasn't that keen on learning Human English, and only knew one phrase. The orange one, now known as 'AJ', shook her head, "Nope. But we can't leave it. We don't know whut it wants." "So we're stuck?" said the blue one. Xor decided to at least attempt communicate. Not really wanting to use English, he first attempted to speak in his own tongue on the off change they might actually know what he said, 'What are you?' If Xor thought the creatures' eyes couldn't get any larger, he was proven wrong. They gaped at him like he was some sort of freak, which annoyed Xor. The winged one spoke, "What the buck was that?!" AJ spoke quietly, almost too much to be heard by the translator, "Ah don't think this is an animal, RD..." 'RD' shot a glance at her, "What do you mean? What else could it be?" Xor didn't say or do anything as AJ replied, "Ah don't think it's from around here..." RD's brow came together in confusion, "What...like, not from this forest? 'Cause you're kinda implying that it's..." AJ just simply nodded. RD's head whipped around to face Xor, "No way..." AJ ran a foreleg through her hair, "Land's sakes, Ah honestly have no idea whut ta do anymore. We've never dealt wit' an alien befer!" Xor concluded that they did not speak his language, and was forced to use the one phrase he knew, "Where is the bathroom?" Awkward silence filled the space between them. RD was the first one to speak, "Did it just ask where's the bathroom is?" Xor narrowed his eyes. He was growing tired of being referred to as an 'it'. AJ spoke, "Y'wanna know where th' restroom is?" Xor shook his head, "Where is the bathroom?" "Do you wanna go to the bathroom or not?" said RD, crossing her forelegs in a way that Xor didn't think could possible. Xor took a deep breath and focused, trying to twist his only known English phrase that would suit him, "Where...is the...bath..." AJ tilted her head, "Y'wanna know where th' shower is? Ah thought y'needed to go to the bathroom?" Xor clenched his fists and tried again, "Where. Is." "Where is whut?" asked AJ, "Th' shower or the restroom? We're kinda getting mixed signals here." "Where is?!" exclaimed Xor. RD leaned to her compatriot, "Think this thing has a few screws loose..." AJ ignored her as Xor repeated again. Her eyes suddenly widened and gave a light gasp, "Ohhh...Now Ah understand. Y'wanna know where are you." RD blinked before hitting herself in the face, something Xor didn't understand why, "Wow. Probably shoulda seen that sooner." Xor nodded his head vigorously, "Where is?" "Uh, yer in th' Everfree Forest," said AJ, hoping to clarify, "In ~~Equestria~~." The translator couldn't make sense of that last word, so it just gave a beep. It did, however, tell Xor what he had been dreading since the two other lifeforms showed up. He was on a different planet entirely. Xor sighed, and started to walk forward. AJ mirrored his moves, "Woah there, partner. Where're ya goin'?" Xor was about to respond in his own tongue before realized what the Keifra-alien had said. Where was he going? He had no provisions. He couldn't speak their language. He had absolutely no idea where in the galaxy he was. He couldn't think of anyway that could get him out of this mess. The orange Keifra-alien apparently noticed his sudden slump in demeanor, "Uh...y'can come home wit' us. We'll give ya a bed and feed ya. We can probably figure out how to get ya ta speak, too." "Uh, AJ?" said RD, "Hate to burst your bubble, but you remember what happened to ~~Zecora~~ the first time we met her? Don't think bringing it into town is a good idea." "Ah know it's not ideal, but it's th' best we got. We jus' need ta get ta Twilight, and she can cast a magic doohickey thang on it so it can talk ta us-" Xor growled. He had enough of being called it, 'I am not an it! I am Xor 'Vozamai, a proud Sangheili warrior! And you will treat me with respect!" The two aliens backed away when they heard the anger in Xor's voice, "Woah Nelly!" exclaimed the orange one. "What's it doing now?!" said RD. Xor unclipped his energy sword and ignited it, 'I AM NOT AN IT!' The two shied away from the sizzling blade. AJ gulped, "A-All right now...l-let's all jus' calm down. We didn't mean ta upset ya. Ah know we probably didn't start on th' best of terms...but if we can all jus' calm down and talk..." "Maybe we should tell it our names. We haven't introduced ourselves," started RD, "I-I'm Rainbow Dash." AJ went after Rainbow Dash, "Ah'm ~~Applejack~~. Whut's you're name?" Xor snorted but replied in his tongue, 'Xor 'Vozamai.' Rainbow Dash's eyes crossed as she and AJ tried to make sense of the gibberish. AJ spoke, "Ah...don't know how to pronounce that...Are ya a ~~mare~~ or a ~~stallion~~?" Xor tilted his head, "Where?" "Uh...a male or a female? Blink once fer male an' twice fer female..." Xor stared at her before blinking once. AJ nodded, still keeping an eye on Xor's sword, "A-Alright...An' ya probably didn't like it when we called ya an 'it'." Xor forcefully nodded, causing AJ to wince, "R-right. We're mighty sorry 'bout that. We jus didn't know...uh...what yer were equipped with, if ya catch mah meaning...We're both females, by th' way." Xor took a calming breath in and out, before nodding. He deactivated his sword and stared expectantly at her. AJ's eyes shifted behind the Sangheili, "Ah'm gonna get mah bag an' then we'll go ta ~~Ponyville~~. Sound good?" Xor clicked his mandibles together, earning him a confused look from AJ before she shrugged and started to move. As she got closer, she suddenly realized just how big the alien was. She was four and a half feet, perfectly average height for a Pony. She must have guessed that the alien was over eight feet tall. Likewise, Xor realized how tiny they were compared to him. They were as small as an Unggoy runt, the bottom of the average. AJ's head barely reached Xor's lower pelvis. She was eye-level to his crotch, but Xor, like any self-respecting Sangheili, learned to quell his libido. This wasn't including the fact he had no interest in courting an alien. AJ reached her bag, picking up the fruit cores. She whistled, "Y'sure did a number on mah lunch. Don't know how ya could eat 'em, on th' account ya don't have a jaw. Err, no offense..." Xor simply huffed and looked away. He noticed Rainbow Dash was staring at his sword with interest. She in turn noticed Xor staring at her. She looked away, face suddenly turning red. Xor couldn't think of any purpose the change of tint in her face could serve, "S-sorry." Xor huffed again. These aliens were far too apologetic. From the brief time he'd dealt with them, he had yet to see anything that he considered honorable. Rainbow Dash spoke again, "So...uh....was that, like, a weapon or something?" Xor merely nodded, which seemed to make Rainbow Dash uncomfortable. AJ's voice came from behind him, "Ah sure hope ya don't plan on usin' that thang. We don't take kindly ta killin' if there's no need fer it." Xor's disposition on these aliens dropped more at that sentence as AJ started to come back. The orange female continued, "All right, let's go." The two started to walk back they came, Xor briefly hesitating before trudging along. He had no idea what to expect by following the two female aliens. Only the Gods could know that. For better, or for worse. Author's Note *I don't know the specifics of a Sangheili's power armor utilities, so this is might be an error. Probably is, but it's the only way I can think of. Also, the reason I'm using 'AJ' instead of 'Applejack' is because Xor can't 'comprehend' her full name at the moment.
Land Of ImpossibilitiesAuthor's Note It's unfinished due to a rewrite in pony forms. Mentioned it in my blogpost but I''l post it here as well: Blackened Skies isn't dead, but it's slow writing due to it's current form. I have an ending planed out, but it involves the Forerunners. And to my knowledge, human hands(or at least the shape of the human hand) make it easier to interface with Forerunners' technology. With the addition of the weaponry of Halo, having fingers make things easier. So I decided to make the Ponies anthro. The obvious changes will be their bipedal state and the addition of fingers and thumbs. In my mind, that would be more common in the Halo universe as 99% of the species that aren't animals are bipedal and have hand-like structures. They will stand on hooves and have fingernails made of ivory-like(a crucial detail that you'll see). Their wings will sprout from the scapula(shoulder blades). The horns will be in the same place and their tails sprout from where the tail bone in humans would be. They will have the same heads, albeit a bit smaller as to make them look less awkward. One last note is that they they will be fairly small, the average height being 1.04 meters tall(3'5'' feet tall) to 1.09 meters(3'7'' feet tall) with exception of Princess Celestia and Luna. I'll keep the old chapters in and post the latest unfinished one today. Sorry for the drastic change, but I believe I can put out more chapters faster if I make them anthro, as well as not having to jump through hoops trying to think of ways of how the original forms can interact with the technology in Halo. Land Of Impossibilities "No...that isn't right....no, that doesn't look right either...That wouldn't work..." mumbled a lavender Alicorn known as Twilight Sparkle. The Pony was hunched over a desk, crumbled papers littering the floor and desk around her. The wastebasket beside her had been long over-filled. Twilight grunted in frustration as she erased the lines she had just drawn. Designing what would go where in the upcoming Gala was proving to be much harder than she had expected. Not only was she faced with the problem of putting the tables and decorations in a way that would please the Canterlot nobility, she had to do it while pleasing middle and lower class citizens. The other classes, a new addition, was Celestia's attempt to remove the 'line' the nobles had drawn around them. The solar deity had grown tired of the nobles' selfish views on the other classes. Hopefully the Gala would show the nobles that the classes below them weren't as bad as they thought. As much as Twilight adored and believed in her once-mentor's diplomacy skills, the purple Alicorn doubted that this Gala would change anything, if not further increase the division. And as much as Twilight was honored to being chosen to plan this party, she soon developed the feeling that this was impossible to do. She couldn't figure out how to please everypony. The nobles would want fancy decorations and food that befitted them. The lower classes, however, was the opposite. While they might be impressed with the decorations, Twilight was sure they wouldn't be happy with the food. Then there was the difference in tastes of music, different opinions on entertainment, and the HUGELY different types of personalities. And Twilight had less than a week to figure this out. Twilight groaned loudly and met her face with the desk. "Still working on the Gala?" The voice startled Twilight, who turned to see Tempest Shadow. Tempest had been given two choices. One, she could face banishment or imprisonment for life...or she could sign up as Twilight's personal guard. Tempest chose the latter. Twilight smiled softly at Tempest. The dark maroon Unicorn's armor had been updated. Now it had a silver finish, with deep violet highlights accenting the plates. On her flank, instead of the Storm King's insignia was Twilight's. Twilight's smile turned sheepish, "Yeah...Can't really figure out how to make it so all classes 'click' together." Tempest hoofed the ground, "I don't know all that much about the nobles, but maybe instead of trying to make everypony happy, you could focus on compromise?" Twilight blinked, "...I think you're right. I can't make everypony happy," she sighed, "guess I have to start over agai-" "TWIIIIIIIILIIIIIIIGHT!!!" Both jumped at the voice. A pink blur whizzed past Tempest, who immediately started a offensive spell in order to defend her friend. She stopped, however, when she realized it was just Pinkie Pie. Pinkie grabbed the sides of Twilight's head and put it to hers. He eyes were wide and crazed, more so than what was considered 'normal' for her, "A doozy! A real big doozy!" "Wh-what?" said Twilight, stunned. Pinkie pulled back, "My Pinkie Sense! There's a huge doozy coming!" On cue, the pink Pony started to shudder violently enough to worry Twilight about her friend's safety. Pinkie stopped shuddering and leaned back in, "You gotta call the Guards! The Princesses! The Pony Postal System! The Sea Ponies! The-" Twilight put a hoof to Pinkie's mouth to silence her, "Look, Pinkie...I know how important this could be, but I need to make some progress on the Gala. Just...give me half a day and then we'll prepare for the doozy." Pinkie leaned back to speak, "But-" "Please, Pinkie. Just a few hours is all I ask. Besides, we can all handle it together, I'm sure." Pinkie whined, danced on her hooves for a moment, before speeding back out of the room. Silence enveloped the room afterwords. Tempest had watched Pinkie zoom out of the room before turning to Twilight, "Should I be worried?" Twilight sighed, "Yes and no," seeing Tempest's confused look, Twilight explained, "Yes because doozies are, well, doozies of an event. No, because they don't always mean 'life-threatening, end-of-the-world' events. The first doozy was me believing her Pinkie Sense, for example." Tempest pursed her lips and looked back out of the room, "If you say so..." Xor 'Vozamai and the other two aliens were silent as they walked the halls of the ruined castle. The further they walked, the more Xor saw that there was effort put in to restore the palace. The halls were lit with candles, the dust was almost non-existent, and there were repaired decorations. They continued walking down the halls, Xor realizing he could get lost easily in here. AJ suddenly stopped, "~~Gal dangit~~...Fergot Star Swirl's here." Rainbow Dash replied, "Maybe he could use a spell on...uh...the big guy? So he can talk to us?" The term 'spell on' caused confusion to the Sangheili. The translator did indeed translate it correctly, but the way it was worded still didn't make sense to him. "That ain't a bad idea, RD...dunno how he'll respond ta th' big guy, though," said AJ, apparently agreeing with what Rainbow Dash. Xor still didn't know the specifics, but apparently they might have an idea on how to get him to communicate with them. And, with any luck, how to get home. The sense of urgency came back. Luckily, the two aliens started to walk again. A few Units later, they turned a corner and Xor saw another room through an open door. From what he could see at this distance, were glassware with various liquids in them, books scattered around, and drawings and crumpled paper scattered around. Another alien shifted from spot to spot, talking to itself. It wore a covering on top of its body which covered most of it. It had an alternating pattern of shades of blue decorated with stars and crescents. It hat a long, bent hat with a fanned out brim and a metallic ball on the tip. The alien's main coat color was light grey, accented by a white and grey colored beard. Xor blinked. Somehow, that word automatically came to him and knew what it was. But, as what was common recently, he didn't know how or why. Xor shook his head and took a larger step to catch up with the two. The trio entered the room and stopped outside the hallway entrance. The grey alien didn't seem to notice them. AJ cleared her throat, "Uh, Star Swirl?" The grey one, now known as Star Swirl, blinked his steel grey eyes and looked to them. His eyes immediately focused on Xor and the bony appendage on his forehead that Xor had just now noticed started to glow. Xor fingered his energy sword as the light quickly intensified. With a sudden pop, AJ and Rainbow Dash disappeared and reappeared next to Star Swirl. His horn glowed again as Xor unclipped his energy sword. He didn't ignite it as a dome appeared over the trio of aliens. Once AJ realized what just happened, she grabbed Star Swirl by the base of his neck and spoke, "Woah there, pal. He's friendly." Star Swirl's eyes flickered to AJ for a moment, "How do you know?" AJ opened her mouth to respond when she realized Star Swirl had a point. How did they know for sure this alien was friendly? What if it was fooling them and waiting for the perfect to strike? Rainbow Dash didn't see Star Swirl's point like AJ did. She scoffed, "C'mon, dude. I think we would know by now if he was planning to invade us. 'sides, we can easily take him." Xor doubted that very much. Star Swirl either agreed or dismissed Rainbow Dash, the Sangheili couldn't tell which, "You do realize what shape its-" AJ elbowed Star Swirl, interrupting him, "His. He don't like it all that much when we call him an it." Star Swirl rubbed his shoulder and looked back at Xor, who was glaring at him.To the Sangheili's surprise, Star Swirl did not shrink or flinch away. He held the glare with his own and continued, "...realize what shape his teeth are in? Those are not teeth of an herbivore, but of a predator." The two female shared glances at Xor's array of teeth. Xor suddenly got the distinct feeling they were starting to take Star Swirl's side. He gripped his sword handle tighter. To his relief, however, AJ spoke in his defense, "Yeah, he has sharp teeth. But that don't mean he's gonna eat us. He already ate two apples, so I don't think we hafta worry 'bout food too much." "He has no jaw," deadpanned Star Swirl. Rainbow Dash elbowed him, causing Star Swirl to look annoyed at the repeated bumps, "Hey, cut him some slack! He's an alien for ~~pony's~~ sake." Star Swirl seemed to think about this for a moment before addressing Jaze, "And what is your defense?" Xor gave him a stare before replying, "Where is the bathroom?" Star Swirl blinked and AJ adjusted her hat, "That there's th' problem here. He can 'parrently understand us, but can only say that." "Yeah...we were hoping you could help with that," said Rainbow Dash, scratching the back of her head. Star Swirl still seemed unconvinced. AJ sighed, "Alright, look. Yer right 'bout not knowin' much 'bout him. But we can't rightly know more about him without being able ta talk to each other. An' isn't that onna th' things ~~Twi~~ taught ya 'bout? Ta talk over thangs first?" Star Swirl squeezed his eyes shut and sighed, "...fine. Give me a few minutes to come up with something. Does he have a name?" Rainbow Dash and AJ looked at each other. Rainbow turned her attention back to Star Swirl, "We think so...but neither of us can say it." "Have you tried?" "Well, uh, not really," said AJ. Star Swirl sighed and looked at Xor, "What is your name?" Xor took a few steps further in the room, 'Xor 'Vozomai.' "Shor...Vazame..." Xor clenched his fists in anger at the butchering of his proud name but stayed silent. Star Swirl's horn dimmed, dispersing the dome and pulling books over to his position. Xor's eyes doubled in size at the sight of the glowing books moving through the air. The three aliens didn't seem to notice his gawking. Star Swirl flipped over the pages of the books while talking to himself, "Let's see here, we have no knowledge about his species' psychology or anatomy so making direct changes to his body is ill advisable...We have no knowledge about his native language to cast anything on us that could translate his words...There's really only one spell to use..." He closed the book loudly. A small, white cylinder floated over to him before following him as he approached the Sangheili. Xor eyed the cylinder warily, growling lowly. Star Swirl stopped and rolled his eyes, "It's just ~~enchanting chalk~~. It's not going to hurt you. You wish to speak, yes? Then let me draw the ~~rune~~." Xor was clearly missing out on more than a few important words, making Star Swirl's words provide little sense. Still, this being before him was likely the only one who could enable him to speak English, though he had no idea how. Star Swirl continued towards the Sangheili. Again, the difference of sizes made itself known. If Star Swirl was uneasy by this, however, he was good at hiding it. The white cylinder shot to the ground, Xor gripping his sword again. To his moderate interest, it left some of itself behind on the ground. Star Swirl quickly drew an elaborate design around the Sangheili, one that Xor couldn't guess the purpose to. Star Swirl finished and took a step back, "Good. Now, stay still and don't move out of the circle." After he said this his horn grew brightly. Xor instinctively gripped his energy sword, preparing for the worst. A few moments passed, Star Swirl's horn growing ever brighter before a beam shot from it. A few things happened within the span of a few seconds. As the beam neared Xor, the drawing at his feet grew bright. White wisps of ethereal energy broke off of the line as the beam reached its target. Before Xor could react, the beam reached him. His shields broke, and Xor immediately ignited his energy sword. His first instinct was to lunge and cut the aliens down but held his position as he noticed their faces. Their faces looked surprised, or at least that's what Xor thought they looked like. It came to him that they likely didn't expect for his energy shields to break either. Still, he shifted lower to a combat stance, keeping his sword lit, "What did you do?" AJ and Rainbow Dash's eyes bugged out while Star Swirl's mouth curled upwards. The grey alien spoke, "There we go. It worked." "What worked?" asked Xor. "The spell," replied Star Swirl, seeming unsurprised. Xor was about to clarify when the realization hit him, "You can understand me?" AJ gave a shaky nod, "Eyup..." Xor stared at them. His shields came back and he deactivated his sword, putting it away and returning to a normal stance, "Why did my shields break then?" AJ and Rainbow Dash shared a confused look while Star Swirl simply raised an eyebrow, "Shields?" AJ looked over him, "Uh...Ah don't see any shields on ya..." "Wait, you mean that flash of light?" asked Rainbow Dash. Xor nodded, causing the two females to look over at each other. Star Swirl eyed him, "You have invisible shields?" "Unless they break. Which they did. I will not ask again. Why did my shields break?" Xor said, giving Star Swirl a glare. Again, Star Swirl didn't seem to be unnerved by his glare. The grey alien spoke, "I assume it was because it was in the way." "In the way?" Xor said, AJ and Rainbow Dash looking just as confused as him. "I casted a filter of sorts, located just before your...mouth..." Xor drew a hand up to his mouth, but didn't feel anything. Star Swirl clarified further, "I made it intangible, meaning you can still eat and drink with it active. But, as I said, your shields were likely in the way during the time it took to stabilize the spell’s main Matrix before having the intangibility Matrix start to form and activate. " "...what?" Star Swirl sighed, “It broke your shields while the spell sat itself up.” “I still do not understand. What do you mean by ‘spell’?” Star Swirl gripped his face in exasperation, "The magic spell!" "Magic?" "Yes, magic. Surely you know about magic, yes?" Xor disliked the tone the grey alien was using, "No, I do not know about 'magic'." Star Swirl frowned, "Hmm...you must have been extremely sheltered then." "Uh, Star Swirl?" said Rainbow Dash, "I don't think that's the thing here..." Xor huffed, "I was not sheltered. I have not heard of this magic. No Sangheili has." Xor grew annoyed when Star Swirl scoffed, "Please. You're telling me you're species has no magic whatsoever?" "Ah think that is what Shor here is tellin' us," said AJ. "Xor. It is Xor," snarled Xor. AJ winced, "Z-Zore? Like, wit' a 'z'?" It wasn't exactly like the way his name was supposed to be pronounced, but it was the closest so far. Xor huffed, "Yes, with that sound." "I'm sorry, I still don't understand how your species doesn't have magic," said Star Swirl, "If you had no magic, you simply wouldn't be alive." Xor was about to reply before Rainbow Dash spoke before him, "Well, he is an alien, right? They probably don't live like us, yeah?" Star Swirl opened his mouth to call out on Rainbow Dash before sighing instead, "Whatever. Let's drop this subject, yes? You still need an idea of what to do next." "Wait," said AJ, "Whut do ya mean 'we'?" Star Swirl glanced at one of the tables in the room, "I was in the middle of some critical tests before I was interrupted, and I would like to get back to them." "You're not coming?" said Rainbow Dash. "No, Rainbow, I am not. I am sure you two can handle it from here. You two surely have a plan, yes?" "Well, we were gonna take him ta Twi's. Guess we'll jus' do that," said AJ, "How long does yer spell last?" "Twenty four hours. I can make it permanent but that would require enchanting an object. I'm sure Twilight can do that," Star Swirl said as he went back to a desk and looked over some papers. "...Well, guess we're goin' ta Ponyville then," said AJ after staring at Star Swirl for a moment. She looked at Xor, "Ya ready ta move, Sugarcube?" "...'sugarcube'?" Rainbow Dash took to the air, "It's something Applejack calls her friends." Xor shot a look at Rainbow Dash, "I am not her 'friend'. Neither of you are my 'friend'." Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, "Ya don't have ta be a jerk about it..." Xor huffed and started to walk forward, "I have not intention of making friends here. All I wish to do is get home." Applejack narrowed her eyes as well, "Well, Ah won't force ya ta be friends wit' anypony, but that doesn't excuse ya ta be rude." "I don't care. Are we leaving or not?" Applejack pursed her lips in mild anger before sighing, "Yeah, let's go...jus' sayin' ya might want ta adjust yer attitude when we get ta Twilight." Applejack turned and took the lead going out of the room. Xor ignored the glare he was receiving from Rainbow Dash and focused on the path before him. As they walked through the halls and made way across rooms, Xor noticed that the castle went from decrepit and abandoned looking to clean, well lit, and almost welcoming. It was obvious that care went into restoring this castle to it's former glory. Ultimately, however, Xor couldn't care less. All that mattered in his eyes was to get home. A small memory, a mild tidbit of forgotten information was rediscovered as they walked. And he knew it was true, or at least fairly positive it was true considering the information. It told him that his race was indeed at war with another. And, surprising enough, that Sangheili, Humans, Unggoy, even the Jiralhanae and San'Shyuum were joined together to fight on the same side. Which also told him, disturbingly, that whatever they were fighting was big enough a threat to get two species that at best disliked each other to become brothers-in-arms. Not even the Parasite, the thing that brought the mighty, immensely powerful Forerunner Empire to its end, could claim that as evident in the final days of the Human-Covenant war. And yet this new threat who's name still eluded Xor had forced all of the species he knew together, some who he'd thought would never work together in a million lifetimes, in a frantic, desperate fight for survival. It troubled him, to say the least, and further imprinted the need to get back home. If only to die along side my brothers. "Zor!" Xor blinked, realizing Rainbow Dash had been calling him for some time. And, as he saw, that they reached what looked like the entrance/exit of the castle. A rickety bridge that crossed a rocky valley greeted him. Beyond the cliffside, was dense vegetation, the only break was a path. Other than that, the visibility was almost zero. “Ya commin’?” said Applejack. Xor glanced from her to the bridge to back at her again, “...you’re jesting.” Applejack rolled her eyes, “Ah know it looks like it’s gonna fall ta pieces, but Twi enchanted it. You’ll be fine.” “I am not setting foot on that bridge.” Applejack looked Xor dead in the eyes, causing him to feel...something, “Trust me. You’ll be fine.” To Xor’s own disbelief he found himself believing her. Something about her oversized eyes told, no, promised him that the bridge would hold his weight, despite how ridiculous it might seemed. Xor quickly regathered himself, grunting softly as he tredded towards the wooden bridge. Applejack and Rainbow Dash was already crossing by the time he to to the edge. Xor peered down into the valley. He didn’t know how exactly deep it was, but it was obvious enough to mean certain death if he fell off. Xor tested the first plank by setting some of his weight on it. To his surprise, it held. It didn’t even creak despite looking like it was over a hundred years old. His madibles went as slack as they could, the Sangheili equivalent of a jaw drop, when he put his full weight on the single plank. “See?” Xor blinked and looked up from the plank to Applejack, “Ah told ya you’d be fine. Now, c’mon. Ah’d rather not be in th’ forest after dark.” Xor pondered briefly over what she had said, “Why?” he found himself saying. “‘Cause lotta critters come out huntin’ at night here in the Everfree Forest an’ Ah’d rather not tangle wit’ ‘em.” Xor would have inquired a bit more but true to Applejack’s worries, the Sun was slowly making its descent. He clicked his mandibles together and followed the two Keifra aliens through the only path in the thick forest. A few Units passed before Rainbow Dash suddenly stopped, “Joke.” Xor blinked, “What?” he asked as Applejack stopped as well. Applejack pointed ahead with her hoof, “Poison Joke. Don’t touch it.” Xor followed Applejack’s hoof to see bright, unnaturally blue flowers covering part of the trail. He huffed in a breath. He didn’t smell anything foul or overly sweet from the flowers, so he didn’t understand why they said it was poisonous. “It’ll play a joke on you if ya do,” said Applejack, stepping to the clear side of the path. Now Xor was really confused, “A...joke? As in a jest?” “Eyup,” said the orange Pony casually. “...the plant will play a joke on me if I touch it,” deadpanned Xor, beginning to question the sanity of the two. “It did to us,” said Rainbow Dash, also taking to the side of the path despite flying above, “Couldn’t fly straight until I got the antidote.” “Ah got shrunk down to th’ size of an apple,” commented Applejack. “...what?” “Just...don’t touch ‘em. Trust me.” Xor doubted the capabilities of a simple plant but he didn’t feel like arguing. So he sidestepped the patch of blue flowers following the two Keifra aliens . They continued their trek through the forest. Said forest started to thin in density, the ferns that littered the ground grew few, until Xor noticed a break in the treeline ahead. He heard Applejack sigh in relief, “Finally.” As they exited the tree line, Xor could see a grassy plain that continued onward briefly before ending in a river bank. A stone bridge allowed easy crossing, which marked the transition between a dirt path and a paved road. The road led into a town populated with more Keifra aliens, all having a varied in bright coloring. A few glints of light in the setting sun showed that some of them wore metal coverings, obviously a sort of militia or peacekeeper. “This is gonna to be pleasant,” muttered Applejack as she led the two others towards town. Xor wondered why she said that as they approached the town. Xor found his answer as the first Keifra aliens that spotted them let out a shriek and scattered away. The Sangheili quickly found himself at the center of attention as the Keifra aliens either scattered in a panic or just froze in the spot. Xor put a hand to his sword as two peacekeepers started to slowly approach them. One of them had a primitive looking spear at the ready, not angled directly at them, but enough to indicate he was clearly ready to use it at a moment’s notice. “Miss Applejack? Miss Rainbow Dash? What...is that?” said one, a horned variant, as he eyed Xor warily. “Uh, he’s-” “MONSTER, RUN!” Xor snapped his head to the side to see three Keifra aliens drop to the ground dramatically. Soon after, the remaining of the civilians scampered away. Those that didn’t were part of peacekeepers. The peacekeepers conversed lowly with each other, and Xor watched as a horned variant walked to the unconscious trio. Xor couldn’t help but gawk as the horned one lit up it’s namesake and a similar color surrounded the three Keifra aliens. Then, as casual as picking up trash, the horned one lifted the glowing trio and started to walk away. “Zor!” Xor blinked and looked at Rainbow Dash, the Sangheili now acutely aware of how distracted he seemed to be lately. Rainbow Dash spoke, “They’re asking for your name.” Xor tensed in distaste. He didn’t want his name to be soiled anymore from mispronunciation. All things considered, he had every right to defend it, to regain honor, “You will get no name.” Applejack frowned, “Zor, I know we’re prolly misspeakin’ yer name an’ all, but that don’t give an excuse ta be rude.” Xor snarled, causing the two civilians to back up and the two peacekeepers to tense, “You have dishonored my name more than once with you’re ‘misspeaking’. You will get no name.” Rainbow Dash schootched up against Applejack and started to whisper, “What’s his deals with names?” Applejack shrugged, “Dunno. Though Ah’m getting a feelin’ that they’re important ta him.” “I have also waited long enough,” Xor continued, disregarding the two whisperings, “I demand to be brought to someone to take me home.” “With all due respect,” said a peacekeeper, “You’re not in a position to be demanding anything. You’re in our land, disrupting our peace. By all accounts, I have every bit of a right to bring you into custody.” Xor growled softly, “Is that a threat?” “Just making a reading suggestion, sir.” “As if you could hold me captive, let alone capture me.” “You’d be surprised at the tenacity of the Royal Guard. Capturing you wouldn’t be the issue. Not hurting you while doing it would.” Xor was about to snarl a reply before Applejack butted in, “Now hold on everypony, let’s all jus’ calm down. No need ta start a fight. We’re gonna take Zor here ta Twilight an’ send him on his way. Then we can put this all behind us.” “Then let us find this ‘Twilight’. I tire of this world,” growled out Xor. Applejack frowned at him but motioned him to follow. Despite herself, she found herself wishing that Twilight could do away with Xor as quickly as possible. She glanced at Rainbow Dash and from the Pegasus’s expression she was probably thinking the same. Xor, meanwhile, was only focusing on what he would do once he got home. A nagging, worrying thought was that there wouldn’t be a home to get back to, so he needed to find this Twilight as soon as possible. As the trio walked, Xor noticed that the Guards were following at a distance. He didn’t really care, and turned his attention back to the front. What he saw gave him pause for a few seconds. There was a large tree ahead, easily the tallest structure nearby. It wasn’t organic, however, instead being made out a material that was faintly reminiscent of Blamite. What was far more odd, however, was that there appeared to be an actual castle sitting in the ‘branches’ of the tree. The base of the trunk had a large double door carved into it. Due to the size of these creatures, however, it was more or less fit to be used by a Mgalekgolo. There were two Guards standing on either side of the stairs leading to the door. These were different than the others, having silver armor instead of gold. Applejack picked up her pace a bit once the castle was in sight, “Alright, Twi’s in her castle. Th’ Guards should let Zor in if we’re with him.” As they neared, Xor saw the Guards tensed but otherwise didn’t react. True to Applejack’s words, the Guards didn’t put up much of a fuss. The only thing they did was lit up their horns to allow a wave of light wash over Rainbow Dash and Applejack. They seemed pleased afterwords and opened the door for them with their powers. Despite the outside appearance, it was rather well structured. The ‘trunk’ consisted of a series of floors increased by seats of stairs. The ground floor was mostly empty, only a few Guards and staff walking about. All gave pause when seeing Xor. Said Sangheili ignored them and closely followed Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The two quaderalpeds didn’t seem to have a problem ascending the stairs, the party having gone up multiple flights of stairs before moving to what he assumed was the main part of the castle. “Alright,” started Applejack, “If Ah know Twi,- an’ Ah do- she’d be in her room plannin’ th’ Gala.” “You know where this room is?” said Xor. “Yep,” drawled Applejack as she walked through a large hall with stained glass windows lining the sides, “Only thing we hafta worry ‘bout is Tempest. She’s a might protective o’ Twi.” The names of these creatures were ridiculous. Xor would have a hard time taking any of them seriously. His thoughts were temporarily interrupted by a flash of pink to the side of his vision. He looked to the side but saw nothing, and his motion detector desplaid no abnormalities. He turned back to the alien he was following, Applejack. They walked in silence, save for his and theirs footsteps. Still, Xor couldn’t shake the feeling he was being followed and watched and kept finding himself checking his motion tracker over and over again. They turned a corner and was greeted with a door at the far end of the short hallway. A single female Keifra-alien in armor stood guard. The alien
Chapter 1: Fog Of WarAuthor's Note New revised chapter, Previously named 'Lost...' The cavern sequence didn't change minus some spelling corrections, the changes starting in entering the Castle of the Royal Sisters. Chapter 1: Fog Of War Xor 'Vozomai woke up. He did not wake with a start, nor did he awake gradually. It seemed to him that one moment he was asleep, and the next he was fully awake. He was, however, confused. As he opened his eyes, he found himself in a...cave? Xor simply stared at the rocky ceiling in befuddlement. Why was he in a cave. Wasn't he...he was... He couldn't remember. Xor suddenly sat up, brows contorting in worry. He was in his armor, shields still fully charged, but for the life of him couldn't remember why. The latest he remembered was the Forerunner Guardians starting to police the galaxy. And that was it. What seemed to be a entire year was missing from his mind. The date on his HUD verified that. One moment he was staring into the sky at a Guardian, the next he was staring at the ceiling of the cave he was currently in. He looked around at the cave in more detail. There were crystals scattered about, giving enough light that enabled Xor to see. At first he thought they were Blamite crystals, but these were a variety of colors. He stood up, distinctly aware that he was unarmed other than a single plasma grenade. Thankfully, his motion-tracker showed no movement. The cave had to directional openings, one at about a 45 degree angle from the other. One showed an incline, and Xor was tempted to follow that way. He sniffed deeply, however, his evolved olfactory nerves telling him that the air from the inclined passage was stale and very likely didn't lead outside. The other passage was descending, though, which was something Xor disliked. Still, the air coming from it was far fresher. Grudgingly, the idea of going further below ground unappealing to him, Xor chose the latter. Xor had no idea how far exactly he walked, though the clock on his HUD said it was about half a Unit. The crystals did not continue down the chosen passage, which made the light from them emit not far from the cavern. Xor was thankful that his armor had a shoulder-mounted lamp, the idea of going down in complete darkness much more unpleasing than just the act of descending. Almost an entire Unit had passed before he heard something that made him even more uneasy. His heavy footsteps had an echo to them. He stopped, the echo shortly stopping after him. He continued for a few additional Units before stopping again. And again the echo stopped as well. Xor dismissed it as simply what it sounded like, an echo, and continued onward. Yet again the echo came again. The Sangheili tried his best to ignore it, almost tempted to look back. Instead he stopped again. Xor felt a chill when the echos didn't stop this time. He continued to walk through the passage, at a faster rate this time. Salvation came as something ahead shone against his light. To his disbelief, it was the handle of an energy sword. His energy sword. A sharp pain spiked through his skull, causing the Sangheili to grunt and fall to his knees. A sudden burst of information radiated through his brain. He remembered now...somewhat. He now knew why he was here. He had been fighting an alien. He couldn't remember the name or appearance, unfortunately, but he could positively say it wasn't Human. Or Jiralhanae. Or any other species he knew of. Xor remembered being engulfed in an orb of energy, then blacking out. Despite having received some answers, it left more unanswered questions. What was the alien? What exactly did it do? What happened to the Guardians? He pushed those thoughts to the side when the tempo of the echos increased. Whatever was making them, it was now running. Xor got back to his feet and dashed to the energy sword. He scooped it up and spun on a dime, igniting it. Xor saw what was pursuing him now, and it scared him for a second on how close it had got to him. Less than two meters stood a creature on two legs similar to his own. That's where any similarities ended between him and the creature. The creature was bent forward, a long sweeping tail providing balance. It had only one arm, small and undeveloped, on the underside of its core. It wasn't all that large, around the size of a Doarmir. Its face was similar in shape to a Kig-Yar, with its wide and long jaw. Again, that's where the similarities of any species he knew ended. It had far too many teeth, more than what Xor thought could be possible through evolution. They were needle-like, and to his surprise, seemed to glow of their own accord. It had one single eye, black as the darkness around them. It didn't seem to have any sort of eyelids, not blinking once in the bright light. Xor briefly wondered how it kept the eye moisturized. It's skin was white, the same shade one would expect to evolve into with generations of no sunlight. The skin seemed to shimmer slightly, and Xor found out why. It was covered in short hair. Said hair was nearly completely translucent. The creature shrunk back from the light, growling softly. It seemed to recover quickly, and started to salivate uncontrollably. To Xor's astonishment, and mild horror, the rock below sizzled and crackled. The creature's saliva was acidic, enough to corrode through rock. It threw its head back and shrieked, a noise Xor would most likely never forget. It was high-pitched, primal and crazed. Xor could also hear it's eagerness at finding a potential meal. The creature lowered its head and spat at him. Xor dove to the side, evading the acid saliva. He recovered from his roll to see the beast charging him, giving out sharp barks. Ultimately, though, it was an animal. And Xor was a trained warrior. He waited for the best moment to side-step the charging creature, jutting his sword-arm out. The result was the creature disemboweling itself from its own momentum as it ran past. It gave a gurgle as it hit the floor with a wet thump. Blood bled profusely through the flesh that wasn't cauterized, and the creature's intestines and internal organs started to slide out of the gaping slit in its side. Xor deactivated the sword and stood up straight. He huffed in disgust. Not in the creature, but at himself. How could he have ever felt fear from a simple-minded creature? He was about to inspect said creature more closely when he heard something that did give him a reason to be afraid. Howls. Howls and shrieks echoed out of the passage behind him, undertoned by the thundering of multiple footsteps There must have been dozens of similar creatures all rushing to him. Xor, proud as he might be of his skill, wasn't an idiot. He knew this wasn't a fight he could come out unscathed, let alone alive. He turned around and booked it to what he prayed to the Gods was an exit. The passage seemed to go on for miles, and each second the trample of the animals hunting him came closer and closer. Xor made the mistake of looking back. Their teeth did indeed glow in the dark, emitting a sickly pale green light. It reflected off their glossy black eye, adding to the feeling of unease. Smiles of death stared at him, gleeful for the promise of a hearty meal. There were too many to even think about fighting. One opened it's mouth and spat a wad of saliva at him. The ball of spit went by dangerously close to his head and Xor realized that he should focus in front of him. He didn't want a face full of acid. More spitballs shot by him, and Xor knew it was only a matter of time before one got lucky. That poor luck appeared quickly, as he felt something impact him in his back. In less than thirty seconds, his shields broke and he heard sizzling on his back. Damnation, though, was up ahead regardless if the acid ate through his armor. The passage ended abruptly, spelling certain doom for the Sangheili. At first Xor though his nose had deceived him, but he could make out faint light coming from small gaps in the wall. Xor realized that whoever this planet belonged to must have sealed up the access to the surface for fear of the creatures pursuing him. Time seemed to slow down as he tried to think of a way, any way, that could save him. His eyes caught on one aspect of his HUD. The grenade counter. If Sangheili had the capability to smile, Xor would be beaming. Still, he had to time this just right. He grabbed the grenade from his belt as pellets of acid hit all around him. He primed it and threw straight and true, the now glowing ball landing in an opening. The resulting explosion melted a hole through the rocky barricade, and caused cracks in the ceiling above him to form. Dust and rock rained down on Xor as he gave all he had into his sprint. Behind him he could hear loud thuds, telling him that the passage behind him was collapsing. Xor dove through the hole, thinking he was safe. Not yet, as he found out, as he felt something slam into his back. He shrugged one of the creatures off of him, watching in the corner of his eye the passage fully collapsing behind him, killing the majority of the creatures. The creature scrambled to recover but Xor was far more ready. He lunged forward, kicking the creature with all his might. He felt something in the creature snap and the animal gave a screech of pain as it slammed into the opposite rocky wall. Xor didn't want to waste the charge on his energy sword, his only true weapon left, and instead picked up a large rock. Far too tired for any theatrics, he rushed to the creature and raised the rock above his head. He brought it down on the creature's eye. To Xor's surprise, the black spot on the creature's head wasn't an eye at all. It shattered like bone, revealing flesh beneath. The creature shrieked again, loud enough that it physically hurt Xor's senses. Pushing through the ringing following the noise, he brought down the rock again. And again. The fourth blow was the one that killed the beast, crushing its skull inward. Xor lifted his hand to see it dripping with blood and gore. He dropped the rock and wiped his hand on the creature's pelt. Xor finally gave a sigh of relief and looked around. The light he had saw seemed dimmer now, emanating further up the passage. Xor grunted, displeased he was still underground. He forced himself forward, taking the light as a sign he was almost out of this hell. His footsteps thudded against the bedrock, taking pleasure in not hearing echos. The passage bent up ahead, and Xor quickened his pace. He rounded the corner and stopped. A clear line marked the end of the passage. In its place was a stone room. Xor could see wooden, round containers lining the back wall facing him. Xor stood still, listening and eyeing his motion tracker. Both told him that there wasn't anybody around, but he still gripped his energy sword rather than clipping it on his thigh. He approached the opening and peaked his head through. To his displeasure again, Xor was still not above ground. The light he saw was coming from up a ramp. Curiously, he saw no stairs or other exits other than that ramp. He looked around the room as he stepped into it. In addition to the containers, there were shelves with bottles in them. Xor ignored the features of the room and made a beeline to the ramp. He stopped at the bottom. There was indeed a door, wood with rusty hinges. But it was small, to a point an Unggoy would need to duck. Still, with a little effort, and some broken walls, he managed to get through the doorway. He came out into a hallway, at the end specifically. Immediately something caught his eye. It was a tapestry, located by a wall next to a door. What was on it made him pause. They were bipedal, and quite similar to Humans with the exception of the head and appendages.The two were depicted to be dressed in regal gowns. They both had a protrusion from their heads and what looked like wings sprouting from their backs. The two figures were in front of two circles, one yellow and orange while the other was white with grey dots. Xor guessed they were the sun and the moon, respectively. They were facing each other and looking into each other’s eyes. Their heads reminded him somewhat of the Keifra on Sanghelios. His eyes trailed to the door next to the tapestry. This one was larger, more suited for a Human or Kig-Yar. He reached and pushed it open, the hinges squeaking painfully loud. If anyone didn't know I'm here, they do now. He ducked and stepped inside. It was a bedroom. A bed immediately caught his eye. It was obviously for someone important, and if it was still in its prime it would have been magnificent. The embroidery, despite being worn down from the years, still displayed proudly the skill of the sewer. Intricately carved wooden posts held up the now tattered canopy above the bed. Oddly, there was more of the Keifra-like figures on the poles, and on the hems of the blanket. The other things he saw was a dresser with a mirror that had long fallen down. A nightstand was next to the bed, with a book on it. There was a study desk, covered in rotting paper. The rug on the floor had long lost its splendor of color. Xor suddenly sagged, acutely aware of how tire he felt. Xor picked up the chair at the dresser and moved it to barricade the door. He moved to tear down the sagging canopy when he stopped. This room had obviously belonged to an important individual, and despite the likelihood that they are long gone now, it felt disrespectful to take down the canopy with the force he was originally going to use. Instead he took it down with respect and placed it on the study desk. The bed small for his size, meaning his feet would hang off. It would still be better than sleeping on the floor, he figured. He settled down, somewhat amazed that the bedframe held up his weight. His eyes snapped to the nightstand, and the book on it. The edges of the cover were frayed, and was covered in a thick layer of dust. He brushed the dust off and opened it to the first page. To his amazement, the words were in Sangheili. They glowed of their own light, leaving Xor very confused. The inside of the book's cover had glowing words as well, saying something about the book being 'enchanted' for others. He didn’t know what exactly that meant, so he decided to ignore that for now. Year 1 A.B. A new Age has come, one that I wished never had...
Chapter 2: Of Monsters and AliensSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 3: Shaky NegotiationsAs the owner of the voices came around the corner, Xor could only gawk. In hindsight, it made perfect sense. Now he knew why the 'latest' inhabitants were so fixated on the Keifra-like animals. They were the inhabitants. The two brightly colored beings froze immediately upon seeing the tall Sangheili. Their eyes went so huge that Xor could hardly believe it was possible. Their jaws dropped low enough that Xor briefly wondered if it hurt. The first one's body was in a light orange color. It had a uniform color throughout its body with a few exceptions in certain places in addition to being covered in some type of clothing. It stood two legs like most of the species he had encountered, the difference being that the feet were replaced with what appeared to be hooves. He guessed it had a tail, though he couldn't know for sure due to the bipedal nature of the creatures blocking a clear shot. It appeared to have head hair just like Humans did. The hair color, which matched its tail, was a light tannish-yellow color. It had deep green eyes, freckles on its face, and an article of clothing on its head. The other one was much more exotic in color. It's main color was light blue, bright enough that Xor wondered if it dyed it. The color certainly held no use in camouflage. It was almost identical to the orange one in structure except for one addition: two feathered wings sprouted from its back. It had clothing as well, but was different and covered less of its body. The hair had to be dyed. There was no way that coloration could occur naturally. It was simply a rainbow of colors, also brightly colored that looked out of place in nature. It also wasn't as well kept as the orange one, the blue one simply letting the hair settle wherever it wanted. Xor also noticed that on both of the upper arms of the blue one was a symbol. It took a moment for Xor to realized that the jagged part represented a lightning bolt, the other was likely a cloud. The lightning bolt was also colored brightly. The orange seemed to have symbols was well, though it was mostly covered by her clothing. The blue one finally spoke in its alien language, "~~What is~~ that~~?!~~" The orange one apparently responded, "~~Ah-Ah think it's an animal...maybe...~~" Xor was now certain he heard this language before, but still couldn't recall where. The blue one's dark pink eyes glanced to the floor, "I~~sn't that onna your apples on the floor?~~" The orange one also glanced to the floor before frowning, "~~Yeah...it is...~~" The orange looked at him, "~~Did ya steal mah lunch?!~~" Xor was too busy trying to remember where exactly he heard this language before to notice that the orange one was addressing him. The blue one took to the air, "~~Shoo! Get outta here!~~" Xor did notice the blue one's arms and hand movement. He didn't know what it was trying to convey though. The orange one copied the blue one's movement, "~~Go on, ya varmit! Leave! Shoo!~~" Xor didn't respond, something the other lifeforms seemed to get annoyed by. The blue one looked at its companion, "~~Don't think it understands us. Any ideas?~~" The orange sighed, "~~Other than~~ physically ~~movin' it? Nope.~~" "~~Well, let's try that~~," the blue one said before starting to fly towards Xor. The orange one reacted quickly by grabbing the blue one's tail, which proved that they indeed have them, "~~Hold on there, sugarcube. We don't have no idea what this thang is. We need ta think 'bout this fer a minute.~~" The blue one groaned, "~~So what? We're supposed to~~ wait ~~for it to leave?~~" And then Xor finally remembered. The aliens were speaking Human English. And luckily, he had a one-way translator on board his suit. The Sangheili moved his hand to the back of his head while the orange one spoke again, "~~Ah'm not sayin' that. Ah'm sayin' we gotta think before we jus' rush headlong at this varmit.~~" Xor's hand reached the back of his helmet where a switch was locate. That area was the only place where the Sangheili's energy shields didn't cover. He flipped the switch and his energy shields immediately broke. Well, dispersed would be more accurate. The aliens reaction was immediate. They both jumped a step back, eyes wide open in surprise at the noise and a flash of light. The blue one spoke in a frantic tone, "~~What the hay was~~ that~~?!~~" The two shifted their stances, recovering from their shock quickly enough that Xor was almost impressed. The orange looked at Xor as he took off his helmet, "~~Ah don't rightly know...but it's certainly doin'~~ somethin'~~.~~" Xor quickly turned on the translator program and put his helmet back on. He reactivated his shields, though wasn't particularly worried they could do anything to harm him and live. The orange one spoke, its words now translated to Sangheili, "But somethin' tells meh that this ain't a normal animal..." Xor immedately growled at being called an animal. The two aliens took another step back, the blue one speaking this time, "Woah, okay! It's angry...Uh...AJ? Got any ideas?" Xor soon found out another problem. While he could understand them now, he had no way of communicating back. Properly, at least. He wasn't that keen on learning Human English, and only knew one phrase. The orange one, now known as 'AJ', shook her head, "Nope. But we can't leave it. We don't know whut it wants." "So we're stuck?" said the blue one. Xor decided to at least attempt communicate. Not really wanting to use English, he first attempted to speak in his own tongue on the off change they might actually know what he said, 'What are you?' If Xor thought the creatures' eyes couldn't get any larger, he was proven wrong. They gaped at him like he was some sort of freak, which annoyed Xor. The winged one spoke, "What the buck was that?!" AJ spoke quietly, almost too much to be heard by the translator, "Ah don't think this is an animal, RD..." 'RD' shot a glance at her, "What do you mean? What else could it be?" Xor didn't say or do anything as AJ replied, "Ah don't think it's from around here..." RD's brow came together in confusion, "What...like, not from this forest? 'Cause you're kinda implying that it's..." AJ just simply nodded. RD's head whipped around to face Xor, "No way..." AJ ran a hand through her hair, "Land's sakes, Ah honestly have no idea whut ta do anymore. We've never dealt wit' an alien befer!" Xor concluded that they did not speak his language, and was forced to use the one phrase he knew, "Where is the bathroom?" Awkward silence filled the space between them. RD was the first one to speak, "Did it just ask where's the bathroom is?" Xor narrowed his eyes. He was growing tired of being referred to as an 'it'. AJ spoke, "Y'wanna know where th' restroom is?" Xor shook his head, "Where is the bathroom?" "Do you wanna go to the bathroom or not?" said RD, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Xor took a deep breath and focused, trying to twist his only known English phrase that would suit him, "Where...is the...bath..." AJ tilted her head, "Y'wanna know where th' shower is? Ah thought y'needed to go to the bathroom?" Xor clenched his fists and tried again, "Where. Is." "Where is whut?" asked AJ, "Th' shower or the restroom? We're kinda getting mixed signals here." "Where is?!" exclaimed Xor. RD leaned to her compatriot, "Think this thing has a few screws loose..." AJ ignored her as Xor repeated again. Her eyes suddenly widened and gave a light gasp, "Ohhh...Now Ah understand. Y'wanna know where are you." RD blinked before slapping her face with one of her hands, something Xor didn't understand why, "Wow. Probably shoulda seen that sooner." Xor nodded his head vigorously, "Where is?" "Uh, yer in th' Everfree Forest," said AJ, hoping to clarify, "In ~~Equestria~~." The translator couldn't make sense of that last word, so it just gave a beep. It did, however, tell Xor what he had been dreading since the two other lifeforms showed up. He was on a different planet entirely. Xor sighed, and started to walk forward. AJ mirrored his moves, "Woah there, partner. Where're ya goin'?" Xor was about to respond in his own tongue before realized what the Keifra-alien had said. Where was he going? He had no provisions. He couldn't speak their language. He had absolutely no idea where in the galaxy he was. He couldn't think of anyway that could get him out of this mess. The orange Keifra-alien apparently noticed his sudden slump in demeanor, "Uh...y'can come home wit' us. We'll give ya a bed and feed ya. We can probably figure out how to get ya ta speak, too." "Uh, AJ?" said RD, "Hate to burst your bubble, but you remember what happened to ~~Zecora~~ the first time we met her? Don't think bringing it into town is a good idea." "Ah know it's not ideal, but it's th' best we got. We jus' need ta get ta Twilight, and she can cast a magic ~~doohickey~~ thang on it so it can talk ta us-" Xor growled. He had enough of being called it, 'I am not an it! I am Xor 'Vozamai, a proud Sangheili warrior! And you will treat me with respect!" The two aliens backed away when they heard the anger in Xor's voice, "Woah Nelly!" exclaimed the orange one. "What's it doing now?!" said RD. Xor unclipped his energy sword and ignited it, 'I AM NOT AN IT!' The two shied away from the sizzling blade. AJ gulped, "A-All right now...l-let's all jus' calm down. We didn't mean ta upset ya. Ah know we probably didn't start on th' best of terms...but if we can all jus' calm down and talk..." "Maybe we should tell it our names. We haven't introduced ourselves," started RD, "I-I'm Rainbow Dash." AJ went after Rainbow Dash, "Ah'm ~~Applejack~~. Whut's you're name?" Xor snorted but replied in his tongue, 'Xor 'Vozamai.' Rainbow Dash's eyes crossed as she and AJ tried to make sense of the gibberish. AJ spoke, "Ah...don't know how to pronounce that...Are ya a ~~mare~~ or a ~~stallion~~?" Xor tilted his head, "Where?" "Uh...a male or a female? Blink once fer male an' twice fer female..." Xor stared at her before blinking once. AJ nodded, still keeping an eye on Xor's sword, "A-Alright...An' ya probably didn't like it when we called ya an 'it'." Xor forcefully nodded, causing AJ to wince, "R-right. We're mighty sorry 'bout that. We jus didn't know...uh...what yer were equipped with, if ya catch mah meaning...We're both females, by th' way." Xor then noticed that they had the chest protrusions that human females tended to have. Xor took a calming breath in and out, before nodding. He deactivated his sword and stared expectantly at her. AJ's eyes shifted behind the Sangheili, "Ah'm gonna get mah bag an' then we'll go ta ~~Ponyville~~. Sound good?" Xor clicked his mandibles together, earning him a confused look from AJ before she shrugged and started to move. As she got closer, she suddenly realized just how big the alien was. She was three feet and six inches tall, slightly above the average height of a Pony. She must have guessed that the alien was over eight feet tall. Likewise, Xor realized how tiny they were compared to him. They were smaller than an Unggoy runt, the bottom of the average. AJ's head barely reached Xor's lower pelvis. She was eye-level to his crotch, but Xor, like any self-respecting Sangheili, learned to quell his libido. This wasn't including the fact he had no interest in courting an alien. AJ reached her bag, picking up the fruit cores. She whistled, "Y'sure did a number on mah lunch. Don't know how ya could eat 'em, on th' account ya don't have a jaw. Err, no offense..." Xor simply huffed and looked away. He noticed Rainbow Dash was staring at his sword with interest. She in turn noticed Xor staring at her. She looked away, face suddenly turning red. Xor couldn't think of any purpose the change of tint in her face could serve, "S-sorry." Xor huffed again. These aliens were far too apologetic. From the brief time he'd dealt with them, he had yet to see anything that he considered honorable. Rainbow Dash spoke again, "So...uh....was that, like, a weapon or something?" Xor merely nodded, which seemed to make Rainbow Dash uncomfortable. AJ's voice came from behind him, "Ah sure hope ya don't plan on usin' that thang. We don't take kindly ta killin' if there's no need fer it." Xor's disposition on these aliens dropped more at that sentence as AJ started to come back. The orange female continued, "All right, let's go." The two started to walk back they came, Xor briefly hesitating before trudging along. He had no idea what to expect by following the two female aliens. Only the Gods could know that. For better, or for worse. Author's Note A rewritten chapter that used to be simply 'Negotiations". Unlike last time, most of the changes and additions are at the beginning while the latter part of the chapter remained the same.
Prologue:Darkening Skies ... ...log in confirmed. Welcome, Osman, Serin. ... ... Opening file OI-005: Creation Interrogation. Beginning Playback. "Everything working, Mulder? "Aye. All that's left is to turn the translator on." "Let us begin, then. I grow weary of this abomination's 'face'. I do not know why we need to 'speak' to them." "You know full well, Zot. The latest Creations...well, we know why what they're doing with bodies. "Any ID on the poor sod?" "...yeah. Confirmed Killed-in-Action." "I still fail to understand what we hope to gain from this endeavor. They use only the fallen, correct?" "...Newest reports say otherwise, Nuna." "Enough. Mulder, turn it on." "Yes ma'am, Admiral Osman." CLICK. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA "Jesus fucking Christ!" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH "MULDER! Status!" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaa*sob*rrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA "E-everything's working fine!" "Then why is it-" KIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLL MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! IT HUUUUUUURRRRRRTSSSSSSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! KILL ME KILL ME KILL ME KIIIILLLLLLL MEEEEEEEE!!! "Shut it off, Mulder!" MAMAAAAA!!! MOMMY MAKE IT STOP!!! IT HURTS!!! PLEASE!!! MOMMY- CLICK. "F-fuck..." "B-by the Rings..." "Did we do something wrong? Something that would make it react like that?" "N-no...W-we dulled all nerves in the connection between the cortex and translator..." "...then that means it was in pain before we set this all up..." "Is...is that what it's like? What they're doing to us?" "...you said this one was killed, right?" ... "They...they brought him back. Th-they're bringing us all back!" Playback ended. Serin Osman sat back in her chair, staring at the monitor in front of her with baggy, tired eyes. At the creature in chains on screen. At the monstrosity that was once Human. That was still Human in a certain, macabre and unnatural way. The silence was deafening compared to the cacophony that happened just a few moments ago. It was broken by Osman herself, "God have mercy on us all..." badassgrunt presents A MLP:FIM and Halo Crossover
