Halo- Twilight for a Spartan

Chapters

On broken wings
Unexpected acquaintances
Closer friends
A hundred-thousand years judgement
-And the horse he rode in on...
If this armor could talk
Artificial Intimidation

On broken wings

Halo: Twilight for a Spartan
By: Pegasi Will rule
Chapter 1: On broken wings.
Cygnus System, UNSC Colony world: New Jerusalem.
July, 28, 2539

Chaos; that's the only word to describe the hell that had befallen the colony world, New Jerusalem. No one ever thought the war would come to them, that it would happen to someone else. Nothing ever happens to you, but when it finally does?

It's nothing but chaos.

Nothing more true could be said for a young boy, who was only seven years old. This planet was his home, these were his people, his friends. He had been playing in the fields when the giant ships appeared in the air. He thought they were so pretty that he had to show his parents.

They didn't think they were so pretty at all.

Now they were running, running fast and hard through the city for evacuation. The young boy had only been to the city a couple of times before. He always thought it was so cool, the way the spires touched the sky. Now the sky was falling all around them. People were falling in the streets, being trampled by one another just to get to someplace safe.

The boy was lucky. His father was important enough to warrant them Military evacuation. He was excited more than scared. This was his first time ever being in a space ship and it was the only thing on his mind right now. He had seen some flying overhead for a while now, either shooting at the purple ships, or crashing.

Most of the time, they were crashing...

The fear hit him after that. People were dying all around him. His naive child mind only just pieced it together. It wasn't like it was in the holomovies or things like that. This was the real deal. He could smell death in the air, watch it's morbid masterpiece at work all around him. It became all too real for him as the soldier they were running with scooped him up in his arms. And the boy held on, watching his parents running along behind him.

This boy's name was Nathan; and he was going to be one of the most important soldiers in the history of the galaxy...

They were running; running so fast. He was lucky he didn't have to run at all. He could see the steam rising off the street from the fires that raged all around him. He covered his ears tight, clutching his toy as he screamed to try and block the sound of a crashing Pelican out. The soldier continued to run. All Nathan could hear was the thumping of his own heart and the heavy boot falls of the soldier. He looked to the sky and saw the sickeningly beautiful scene overhead.

The large, purple ships had taken up position over the city, blocking out most of the solid orange sky. Tinier ships chased one another underneath the mighty hulks. Flashes of blues, greens and yellows danced towards one another as large, pulsing lasers struck buildings down to slag. But there was something else up in the sky. Tiny things coming out of the bellies of the ships. Nathan furiously tapped the soldiers shoulder and gestured to the sky.

"What are those things?" He asked the soldier. The soldier looked up at the ships, thinking that was what the young boy was pointing out.

"Those are Covenant ships, kid, and they're glassing the place." he replied. Nathan shook his head and continued to point to the tiny balls of light heading straight for them.

"No, not those. those!" He said again, pointing. The soldier, becoming annoyed, looked back up right as a pod crashed into the ground in between them and his parents. Nathan, his parents and the soldier were thrown to the ground by the force of its crash. Nathan could feel the blood welling from the side of his head, but he paid it no heed. The only thing that had his attention now was the strange pod in front of him.

It was a metallic purple-silver in color. The purple seemed to be below the silvery surface of the pods skin, which was steaming after its quick drop to the ground. While the others struggled on the ground, Nathan was up, making his way over to the enchanting pod in front of him. He placed his hand on the metal and, surprisingly, it was cool to the touch. He was about to inspect it more, but backed away when the door slowly lifted to reveal the monster inside.

It was wearing bright white armor that shown beautifully in the sunlight. The creature's split mandibles cracked as it stepped out, but one of them was missing, giving it an even more eery, monstrous look. It turned, looked down at the boy in front of him. It cocked its head, Nathan mirroring the motion. Then it turned away, looking at Nathan's parents. It snarled as it activated some kind of bright light blade. The monster charged fast, faster than Nathan could have thought possible for something that large. It brought the blade down slashing his mother clean in half with a sizzle. She let out a gurgled scream, sputtering up blood as she crashed to the ground in two.

Nathan screamed for his mother, running at the monster who had taken her life. He nearly reached the creature, but was swept up in the arms of the soldier. Nathan cried and called out to his father as he hid his face in the soldiers uniform. He heard his father say 'run', and he felt the soldiers legs moving again.

"Hold on kid! I'll get you out of here!" The soldier yelled, running as fast as he could.Nathan continued to reach for his father, who stood motionless as the creature brought its blade up. Nathan never knew what happened; he hid his face back into the soldiers uniform.

The solider carried the boy down city streets, in between alley ways, and through half destroyed buildings, avoiding any Covenant threats he could. Nathan could only hold on with all his might as he hoped and wished this was all just a horrible dream... He wanted to wake up now; he practically screamed it in his head. But this was real. The death was real. His parents were dead and he was all alone in the galaxy...

He was nothing but a lost child now.

The footfalls stopped suddenly, making Nathan look up in curiosity. He didn't expect to see more soldiers, a lot of them, around a few small green transport ships. The men were busy loading them with weapons, food and salvage as fast as they could. Nathan had read all about those kinds of ships from a book his father had given him a while back. It was called, The Schematics of the D77-TC. They were Pelican drop ships! And they were sitting right in front of him!

"Private! Where the hell is your platoon?" one of the men yelled at the man carrying Nathan. The child looked up to see a dark skinned man, strong and tough, walk forward, puffing on a cigar. The private straitened up and put Nathan down.

"Dead, Sergeant. On my way back, I found a few civvies. One of them was ONI, but... I only managed to save the kid..." He pointed slowly down to Nathan, who was still clutching his stuffed toy. The Sergeant took a deep puff of his cigar and smiled at the scared toddler at his feet. He eyed the boy over very carefully, as if he'd seem him somewhere before.

"Well, looks like we got some good news from the front after all." He said, pulling out a small data pad, staring at it, then back to the kid.

"Sir?" The private asked, staring at his CO, then to the pad in his hand. The Sergeant quickly put the pad back in his pocket and looked over the marines in front of him.

"Stow it Marine! Time to get off this rock! Get into the drop ships! On the double!" He bellowed. His word was like god as the soldiers ran quickly to their designated ships. The Sergeant looked back down at the boy, who looked up at him, and smiled. "Come on, kid. Let's get you the hell out of here." He said, holding out his hand. Nathan took it and nodded.

"Y-Yes, sir..." The boy said meekly, looking away. The Sergeant smiled as he led him to the supply Pelican. This boy was respectful of superiors, which would serve him well for what was soon to come.

The trip up into space was amazing! Nathan had never been on space travels before! He took in all the scenery he could, savoring each thing that passed as a treasured memory for the future. No one ever forgets their first trip into space.

Nathan had been clutching onto the small window framed on the Pelican door, hanging there by the tips of his fingers for nearly ten minutes. The Sergeant looked at him and smiled. "Tough little bugger."

Marines would be put through something similar like that to test their strength. They usually could only hang by there fingers for little more than half a minute, but this kid would put them to shame. He walked over to the child and sat in the seat next to the door, watching the burning world grow smaller and smaller.

"You like being in space, huh?" He asked, taking a puff out of the cigar. Nathan looked over smiling happily as he nodded. The Sergeants face became more saddened as he spoke again.

"I heard about what happened to your parents." He said sadly. Nathan felt the fresh tears welling in his eyes and fell to the deck, slumping in the seat next to the Sergeant. The man pulled out the same pad from before and looked it over again.

The screen showed a picture of the boy, along with statistics about his gene pool, genetics and why he was a candidate for the Spartan III program. The Sergeant sighed and continued talking. "Kid, I know how you feel. I lost plenty of family in this war, and trust me, it doesn't get easier." He put his hand on Nathan's shoulder, who looked back up in response.

"I want to kill that monster!" He bellowed. "He took my Mom and Dad from me!"

The Sergeant knelt on the ground in front of Nathan now, giving him a hard stare. "What if I told you that you can?" He asked. Nathan perked up, listening intently to what the Sergeant had to say. "The UNSC wants you to be the greatest soldier in the history of mankind. But it will take all the strength you can muster and sacrifice. Do you want to be a Spartan?"

Nathan's eyes shot wide as his smile became larger than life. He had heard stories of the Spartan's actions in the war. He always wanted to be just like them, and now, right here and now, after he lost everything, one dream was about to come true.

"I wanna be a Spartan!" He yelled.

The Sergeant smiled and laughed. "Good to here it, kid. The names Sergeant Major Avery Johnson. and I'll see you again on the battlefield, Nathan. Nathan-?"----

August 30, 2552.
Epsilon-Iridani system. Planet Reach

"NATHAN!!"

Nathan shot up as the adrenaline coursed through his body. He drew his gun, aiming it at everything in sight. His armor had a large burn mark down the side from where the Banshee mortar hit. He was lucky it didn't reduce him to atoms. He could feel his face we with blood beneath his helmet. It was probably just a minor scratch. Pretty much any injury to a Spartan was considered minor by their standards.

Nathan sighed in relief, seeing his company of Spartans next to him; Shelly, Cam, Isaac, and Bill. He was about to speak when a loud droning filled the air. Shelly's head looked to the sky as two Banshees came down on them, fast.

"BANSHEES! HIT THE DIRT!" She screamed, tackling Nathan back to the ground

The others fell to the ground as well as the squadron of Banshees fired. One of the Banshee mortars exploded a car just a few feet away with a defining boom. Nathan could hear the rock, metal and slag hit his and Shelly's crackling shields. The five Spartan's remained motionless until the sound of the Banshee's engines were out of earshot.

Once it was safe, the team stood back up in a crouch, ready for anything that might be thrown their way. Bill, like always, was the one who wanted to get out of the area in a hurry. "Sir, we gotta keep moving!" He said, helping Nathan and Shelly to their feet. Bill was always afraid of being in the open. He was the sniper after all; wanting to be far away from the action, his eye behind the scope to be Deaths long distance messenger.

Nathan cleared his throat from the blood. "Alright. Isaac, Bill, and Cam? You three head up on the fith floor of that building there." He marked the building on their HUD. It was a click to walk there, but with the Spartan armor beneath their feet, a run that would take no less than two minutes. That was if there were no Covenant obstacles in their way. "Shelly? You're with me. We go straight in with the nuke."

She smiled and twirled the small HAVOK nuke in her hand. It looked like an over inflated football. It had the words 'Merry Christmas' stenciled on the top, which the Spartan's thought was a nice little touch to their present. Gotta spread the holiday cheer somehow, even if it was August.

Nathan couldn't help but gaze over at Shelly. He always has; the way her graceful curves could be seen through the skin tight suit beneath her armor, her poise, her wit, her beauty. Nathan admired everything about the woman. He respected her as she respected him. It made him feel safe knowing the girl he had loved would follow him to hell and back, no matter what the cost.

The Spartans went their separate ways, Cam, Bill, and Issac cutting left, while Nathan and Shelly turned right, walking through main streets littered with bodies, both human and Covenant alike. Shelly looked around. She had seen death countless times, but it still always got to her when the dead were human beings. She let out a coughing noise and shut her air vents tight. Nathan heard this and let out an amused chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Shelly asked seriously, clutching her gun close to her chest. Nathan turned to her while stepping on a grunts head with a satisfying 'crunch', then 'squish'.

"After five years of active duty, you're still not used to the smell of death?" He mocked. He knew she was frowning inside her helmet by the way she spoke.

"It's a smell you never get used to."

Nathan just took in deep inhales that he knew she could here. Shelly let out a gagging noise and pushed him away. "That's the kind of thing that creeps people out, Grunt." She said, using his oldest nickname.

"And you know what I think about people's opinions?" He asked, laughing as he pulled out a small empty box he always kept on him. It said, 'Box of fucks' on the top and he opened it, to reveal the empty space inside. Shelly sniggered and punched him in the arm. "Now come on. Let's pick up the pace."

The two ran through the streets as fast as they could; their armor propelling them forward at over thirty miles per hour. They jumped cars, ran through buildings, and took every obstacle in stride. Spartan armor was a marvel to behold and be able to actually use. Nathan was happy his group of Spartan's were given actual MJOLNIR armor instead of that shitty SPI crap. Nathan and his team had worn it once on an op, and it nearly resulted in his death. He practically demanded him and his team be outfitted appropriately for their missions. The brass didn't take to that, but their trainer, Kurt, was more than happy to oblige the request.

Nathan snapped out of his thoughts as the objective came into view. The two Spartan's slowly crawled up a large piece of concrete, hiding them from the enemy, but allowing them to see what they were doing without the threat of being spotted.

The buildings within a 200 yard radius had been completely burned away, creating an LZ for the Covenant troops. They were all milling around beneath the Corvette class battleship dropping them off, distributing weapons to platoons of troops who were heading off in each direction of the city. Nathan sighed lightly to himself and turned back to Shelly, who had her arms folded as she laid on her side.

"So what's the plan?" She asked impatiently, eyeing the enemy over her cover. Nathan slid back down the slab of concrete, Shelly doing the same as they laid in dirt.

"Cam, Bill, and Issac are going to provide cover fire for us while we enter their ship, arm the nuke, and blow them to bloody bits." He said calmly. Shelly looked up at the building he had marked earlier.

"Where the hell are they?" She asked.

Hearing this on the mic, Cam came through and grunted. "We got caught up by a Covie patrol, lost them in the sewers. We'll be there in 5, sir." Nathan heard the mic on Cam's end click off, and, satisfied they'd be there a while, pulled his helmet off and lit up a cigar he had gotten from his old friend, Johnson. They were Sweet Williams, the finest cigars in the galaxy. It was a filthy habit, but this was how he and Johnson bonded whenever they saw each other. Nathan always liked seeing the burly old man. He was getting more headstrong with age, which made him that much more dangerous to the Covenant. Nathan took a satisfying puff of the Cigar and sighed as he twirled his helmet in boredom.

It was an old Security model, worn from many years of use. The gold visor shone in the sunlight and reflected the image of Nathan's face back to him. The scars and dents ran through his face like canyons. He was a jagged man, worn by war like rocks on water. The worst injury Nathan had sustained was to his left eye, glazed over from a near miss from an energy sword. He could still see out of it though, which surprised almost half the people who saw the injury. 'Guess it was from all the augmentations', he would say.

Nathan turned when Shelly pat his shoulder and pointed to the building above them. He put out his Cigar and slipped his helmet back on. Three IFF tags were visible in the wreckage of the building.

"We're in position, sir." Bill said through his mic.

Nathan nodded and pulled out his MA37. "Copy that. Begin firing in five." Green acknowledge lights winked on, signalling confirmation. Nathan clacked a round into the chamber and he held his breath.

At the five second mark, the sound of Designated Marksman Rifles echo across the city. Grunts and Jackals fell to the dirt before they even knew what was happening. Elites began to point to the sky and open fire with Carbines and Needle Rifles, trying in vein to spot the surprise attackers. Nathan turned to Shelly and nodded.

Go time.

They ran out into the chaos, Shelly clutching the nuke while Nathan shot unsuspecting Jackals and Grunts in the back with his assault rifle. He fired until the ammo counter red zero, right as he found himself face to face with a crimson armored elite. It leveled its Plasma Repeater and fired.

Nathan didn't slow down. He whipped his empty assault rifle at the alien, causing it to fumble to regain balance. Nathan dove into the air and barreled into the Elite, bringing his knife down into the creatures throat. It gurgled and clawed at the air as it's life was slowly taken from it. Nathan grabbed its weapon from its twitching hands and continued covering Shelly. They were only 500 feet away from the Corvettes gravity lift. But reinforcements would turn them to putty before they could get their. They needed to step it up a notch.

"Shelly, double time, now!" Nathan shouted, whipping a frag grenade at a group of entrenched Grunts. Shelly clicked her mic in response as she activated her armors overrides. Her legs began to pump at double the speed, propelling her past the Covenant troops around her like a cheetah. She laughed at the sheer power she had, but lost focus on her surroundings.

Then it happened.

A camouflaged Elite snapped out of hiding, smashing its sword into her abdomen, her speed only pushing the blade all the way to the hilt, her shields and armor offering no resistance. Nathan yelled in defiance and ran towards the two, but he knew she had to be gone. The white armored Elite threw her and his sword away, only to pull out a backup. It threw its helmet to the ground to reveal a sight Nathan thought he'd never see again.

The Elite only had three mandibles, just like the one that killed his parents. A flicker of hate and pain echoed through Nathan's body, temporarily catching him off guard, giving the Elite the perfect opportunity to strike.

The Elite jumped into the air, bringing the sword down fast. Nathan sidestepped, but the sword nicked his shoulder pauldron, leaving a deep gouge in the metal. Nathan turned and smashed his fist into the Elites chest, cracking the pristine white armor. The Elite coughed and garbled at him in its alien language, which Nathan assumed to be an insult. He brought his fist back down, striking the Elite in the head.

"I've been waiting 13 years for this!" He yelled, pulling out his knife and slashing it downwards. The Elite sidestepped and slashed the knife in half with its Energy sword, laughing at the now disarmed human in front of him.

But the knife still had a blade.

Nathan whirled and threw the remaining stub at the elite, burying it in the monsters neck. The Elite was caught off guard as it grabbed its throat, gurgling as it pulled the blade out. Blood began to pour from the wound as it looking back to Nathan in hate. It then ran for the ship, entering the gravity lift and escaping Nathan's clutches. Nathan cursed to himself and was about to give chase, when his comms snapped him back to reality.

"Nathan! Get the bomb and go!" Cam yelled into the mic. Nathan looked up at the building where his team was, and then back over to the bomb and Shelly.

Shelly was was lying prone on the ground, curled up into the fetal position. The bomb and the mission could wait. Right now, he needed to be there for his closest friend. Nathan knelt next to Shelly, slowly turning her over. He could see the burn marks the sword made go straight through her delicate body. It ignited the fires of anger in him once again as he ran his hands over her armor.

It took Nathan by surprise when she began to cough, jerking her body as her consciousness returned. Nathan quickly took off her helmet and his as he looked at her in worry. She was pale as a ghost and her eyes were watering as she stared up at him. She looked scared; more scared than he'd seen her look in so long.

"N-Nathan?" She coughed, struggling to keep her gaze fixed on her friend. Nathan put a finger over her mouth and smiled warmly at her, pulling out a small can of biofoam from his medpack.

"Don't talk. Save your strength." He said with a hint of an order in his voice. Shelly sunk back into the dirt, sighing heavily. Nathan placed the tip of the nozzle in one of the holes, causing the poor girl to scream in utter pain. It happened again for the second one and, after a minute of pure agony, the foam finally began to do its work, numbing her injuries so she could continue her duties.

Nathan placed a hand under her head and pulled her up to a sitting position. "Better?" He asked. Shelly smiled and nodded, then let out a surprised breath as she was pulled into a tight embrace. "I thought I lost you, Shel..." He whispered, squeezing her tighter against him. Shelly sighed happily as she returned the gesture with a large smile on her face.

"I thought you did too, Sir." She whispered back, pulling back so their eyes were now meeting. Nathan hadn't done this with her in so long. So long, in fact that it seemed like this was the first time they were expressing their feelings to one another. Nathan wished he knew what would have come next.

A loud roar snapped them back to reality. Nathan turned to see the Covenant ship begin to lurch forward, climbing higher into the sky. Shelly grabbed the bomb and handed it to him. "Go get 'em, sir." She smiled, pushing him off.

Nathan placed his helmet back on quickly and activated his jetpack. Shelly shielded her eyes as he took flight, launching quickly into the air with force. She smiled softly and gave a slight salute. "Go get 'em and come back home..." she whispered, eying her friend's form grow smaller and smaller.

The Corvette was slow to move at first, but was picking up speed quickly. Nathan pushed his jetpack to the limits, flying faster and faster towards hit target. The G's tugged at his skin painfully, as he approached the hull of the craft. His eyes were shut in pain as he reached his hand out for the craft. His hands brush against smooth metal as he tried to reach the gravity lift's hole. That was the only viable entrance he could use. He fought frantically to try and gain purchase on the slippery smooth hull as she ship began to lurch away from him.

"Oh no you don't!" He grunted, squeezing his hands tight, but still finding no purchase. Finally, just as the ship was about to elude his grasp, his hand caught on one of the communication antennas. Nathan could feel the G's increasing as he held onto the ship. His arm was nearly ripped off when his jetpack ran out of fuel.

Nathan was nowhere near the ship's Gravity lift. In fact, a quick look at the schematics on his HUD indicated that he was closer to the engine room than anything else.

"Come on... there's got to be a way in..." Nathan thought, running through the schematics again, looking at underlying structures and layouts. He spotted one little flawed area, the drop pod racks beneath the bottom of the ship. It was only shielded from fast moving objects, such as AA rounds or rockets. A person could easily slip through the opening if he so chose to.

Nathan crawled his way across the belly of the ship as it cleared the upper atmosphere. Nothing but stars and the hull of the ship filled his view. He could see the drop pod openings coming into view. Just a few more feet and-

He reached out with all his might as his hand found purchase. Then his other hand found it's grip on the inside of the ship. Nathan sighed in relief as he pulled himself into the belly of the beast.

He did a quick check over of his equipment. He still had the bomb strapped to his back, but he was severely lacking on the weapons. All Nathan had was his sidearm with one spare clip. Not the greatest armament to have when raiding a hostile, alien ship.

Nathan keyed his mic on as he scanned the room. "Team? Guys, I'm in." He whispered, thumbing the safety off on his pistol. He received no reply. The ship must have been jamming his signal. Nathan cursed to himself as he slowly made his way down the corridor towards the bridge.

He entered one of the doors and continued down a rapidly slopped hallway. It was odd; it was set up like it was expecting a firefight, but there was nothing there. The welcoming party must have been in the fire control room, which was just on the other side of the next door. Nathan prepared himself for the firefight to come as the door slowly slid open.

Nothing. This room was prepared for a fight, but empty of soldiers as well. Nathan sighed heavily and kicked one of the turret controls. "Hey! I'm on your ship! Why the hell aren't you coming to fight me!? Are you scared?!" He taunted, firing a shot into another turret control panel. Still, no Covenant came to stop him.

Nathan let out a grunt of frustration as he continued onto the bridge. Every hall and room he went through then proceeded through the last hallway to the bridge. He should have been relieved that their was no resistance from the Covenant, but all he could feel was angry. He wanted a good old firefight. Something he understood, something that he was good at. Being alone in a Covenant Corvette with no enemy in sight was just nerve wracking.

Nathan knew though that the next room would yield results. Beyond the next door was the bridge. If the crew was smart, they would have all huddled onto the bridge for a massive defense. No way could they take on a Spartan spread thin through the ship. Nathan made sure there was a round in the chamber as he approached the controls for the door. Taking a deep breath, he tapped a button on the control panel and the door slowly slid open.

As soon as the doors opened, a Gold armored Elite charged, bearing it's energy blade. It let out a roar as it swung it down on the Spartan. Nathan ducked as the energy blade wizzed by, nearly taking off his head. The Elite went for a second attack, but Nathan grabbed it's arm, snapping it on his leg. The Elite roared in agony and released the sword, but, before the weapons overrides could kick in, Nathan grabbed it out of mid air and sliced the Elites head clean off. Nathan readied himself for the coming fire firefight as he aimed his pistol into the room.

Nothing.

The bridge was totally devoid of life. Not a Grunt, a Jackal, not even an Engineer in sight. Nathan hesitantly walked in, setting his audible receptors to full, seeing if he could hear anything. Still nothing. Satisfied, the Spartan holstered his weapons, heading for the center of the bridge. He took the bomb off his back and began to set the time. He figured a two minute timer would give him enough time to escape the ship and be home in time to see the Covenant off of Reach.

Swish

Nathan barely heard it in time and ducked out of the way. The sword came down and sliced the bomb in two. He quickly got to his feet to avoid a second strike, only to see nothing but a floating sword in front of him.

The Elite holding the weapon garbled at the intruder as it deactivated its stealth unit. It was the same damn white armored Elite from earlier. Nathan let out a growl of anger as her grabbed the sword from his hip, turning it on with a loud swish. The bright light of the sword filled his vision as he glared at the monster before him.

The Elite charged, Nathan meeting the charge with his own. Nathan had been trained in sword fighting, and it was one of the only tests he ever failed miserably at. He blocked the attacks, but that's about all he could do. He didn't know how to strike back, except swish, swish, stab. So that's what he did, and he nearly lost his mid section for it.

A clean cut now dominated Nathan's chest plate, sending alarms blaring in his ears and him falling to the floor in pain. The Elite laughed and kicked the dazed man into one of the control panels.

The Elite poised its blade and dove into the air, going for a death strike. Nathan smiled and rolled off the panel just as the Elite's sword struck. Nathan looked over to see the panel sparking as the ship began blaring a warning signal. Nathan couldn't understand a word of the alien language. Maybe it was time he learned.

Nathan could hear the hull resonating with thumps, then the sound of plasma cutters being activated. The Covenant were trying to slice their way into this doomed vessel. The Elite, who had noticed that reinforcements were on their way as well, began the fight again, bringing both its fists down in a hard strike. Nathan side stepped, whipping his fist at the beast. Fist fighting was something Nathan was good at. He wasn't exactly the toughest fighter, but he knew how to throw his weight around.

Nathan's knuckles connected with the Elites jaw, sending it shuffling backwards. While it was dazed, the Spartan ran forward, headbutting the Elite in the process.

The Elite's legs buckled as it collapsed to the deck. Nathan took out his pistol, finally about to finish the job, a job he wanted to do since he was seven years old. Finally, this monster would pay for what it did to him for so long; what it continued to do. It plagued his mind every time he slept. But, no more. Now it was time for it to die.

The ship suddenly lurched, sending Nathan careening to the floor. Nathan could feel the engines beneath the decks work harder and faster. "Oh, no no no no no!" He yelled, running to the control panel. The ship was going to enter slipspace with a damaged navigational computer!

Nathan couldn't do a thing to stop it. The ship entered slipspace, but not like any slipspace Nathan had felt before. Mainly because it threw the Spartan into the far wall at over one-hundred and fifty miles per hour.

Then everything went dark

Author's Note

If you're wondering what the Spartans look like, then here's a list of Halo Reach armor selections they wear: Now adding Halo 4 styles so you can make them there as well. :D

Nathan:
REACH:
Armor color- all sage.
Helmet- Security.
Shoulders- Mark V (L&R).
Chest- Security.
Knee guards- FJ/Para.
Visor- Gold.
Utility- Tactical/Trauma kit.
Wrist- Assault/Breacher.
HALO 4: (Note: Some pieces are from the Champions bundle pack)
Helmet: Operator
Torso: Mark VI
Shoulder (L&R): Mark V
Forearms: Mark V
Legs: Outer-Mark V
Visor: Legendary

Shelly:
REACH:
Armor color- all Ice.
Helmet- Pilot.
Shoulders- UA/Multi-threat (L&R).
Chest- Collar/Breacher.
Knee guards- Gungnir.
Visor- Silver.
Utility- Tactical/ Hard case.
Wrist- UA/Buckler.
HALO 4:
Helmet: Strider (or Rogue if you don't have Strider)
Torso: Soldier
Shoulder (L&R): Orbital
Forearm: Contoured
Legs: Contoured
Visor: Frost

Cam:
REACH:
Armor color- All Maroon
Helmet- JFO
Shoulders- Left-JFO

Right- Hazop
Chest- Hp/Parafoil
Knee- Default
Visor- Blue
Utility- UA/Chobham
Wrist- Tactical/Tacpad
HALO 4:
Helmet: Defender
Torso: Air Assault
Shoulder left: Defender
Shoulder Right: Warrior
Forearms: Mark IV
Legs: Over-locking
Visor: Recruit

Bill:
REACH:
Armor color- Main-Steal

Secondary- Olive
Helmet- Scout HU/RS
Shoulders- Sniper (L&R)
Chest- Tactical/Patrol
Knee- Default
Visor- Black
Utility- Tactical/Softcase
Wrist- Tactical/UGPS
HALO 4:
Helmet: Scout
Torso: Recon
Shoulders (L&R): Scout
Forearms: Inner-plated
Legs: Mark IV
Visor: Midnight

Issac:
REACH:
Armor Color- Main- Silver

Secondary- Ice
Helmet- EVA UA/HUL[3]
Shoulders- Left- Commando

Right- Security
Chest- Collar/Grenadier
Knee- Grenadier
Visor- Gold
Utility- UA/NxRA
Wrist- UA Bracer
HALO 4:
Helmet: EVA
Torso: Hazop
Shoulder Left: Commando
Shoulder Right: Scout
Forearms: Outer-plated
Legs: LG-50 Bulk
Visor: Legendary

(Same colors from Reach to Halo 4)

Unexpected acquaintances

Chapter 2: Unexpected acquaintances

"Spikey Wikey, I need you over here for a minute!" Rarity called to her assistant for the day. Spike, having been eagerly sitting off to the side, watching her work on her newest clothing design, instantly perked up with a goofy grin on his face that exuded his deepest feelings for the alabaster mare.

"Coming, my Rarity" He gushed, practically floating over to the mare. He bent over and knelt on all his limbs, giving Rarity the pins that were in his back. Twilight looked over and watched the display her number one assistant was putting on. How Rarity could be oblivious to Spike's blatantly obvious feelings towards her was beyond the mare, but she was no expert on love. Somepony could be on her doorstep with chocolates and flowers and she wouldn't get the hint about it.

Twilight giggled and kicked Spike in the rear playfully as he walked back over to the group. "Jeesh, Spike. The things you won't do for her." She snirked, getting the other mares to giggle. But Spike ignored them as he continued to stare at Rarity, admiring her beauty, charm and beauty.

Oh, how he loved her beauty.

The reason everypony was over Rarity's was because the fasioniesta had been working on a suit for one of her biggest clients ever for over two weeks. She had asked all her friends to be there when it was finished to get their opinions.

"And... Done!" Rarity exclaimed, cutting the last bit of thread away. She put the scissors down on the table and beamed proudly at her five friends and Spikey-Wikey. "So, girls, what do you think? And no holding back!" She said, looking over at Fluttershy, who would never say anything mean about something unless forced to.

They all smiled and nodded their approval. Even Rainbow Dash was impressed by the excellent job on the tuxedo. Twilight was the first to step forward and congratulate her friend on a job well done.

"Excellent job, Rarity!" Twilight exclaimed. "This is some of the best work I have ever seen!" She wasn't lying, either. Rarity had made some impressive bits of clothing in the past, some might even say perfect. But, this article of clothing? It would blow all her past work out of the water.

Pinkie Pie hopped over next, examining every element of the suit with her bouncy charm and erratic poise. The bubbly mare stopped after a moment and tapped her chin, getting an idea. "Hmm... Could use more candy!" She said pulling out a bag of treats from no where. Rarity's eyes were pinpricks as she pulled the suit away as fast as she could before Pinkie could dump the candy on it. "Aw. You're no fun." Pinkie pouted as she folded her forelegs across her chest and slamming down on her haunches.

Rarity rolled her eyes as she turned to the other mares who had yet to say anything about her work. "Fluttershy, Rainbow, Applejack? What do you think?" She asked. The three smiled and gave their approvals as well.

"Well, that there's a mighty fine suit, Rares." Applejack chuckled. "Ah think it's a real winner."

"I'll say!" Rainbow Dash whooped. "You're to making silly frue-frue things like I am to being the best flier in Equestria!" She boasted, puffing out her chest. "Consider that an honor, girl."

"It's... very, very nice." Fluttershy said with a soft voice. "The in seams are absolutely perfect. It's such a fine suit."

Rarity smiled at the approval, but noticed the time was 11:00 in the evening. "Well, thank you girls so much for coming, but goodness is it getting late! I think I'm ready for some well deserved sleep." Rarity yawned, stretching her forelegs above her head.

Twilight nodded and began to head for the door, followed by the other four. "Alright, Rarity. Thanks for having us over. And great job. Goodnight." She waved. The other mares said their goodnights as well as they all parted ways back to their own dwellings.

Twilight merrily trotted down the road with a ever so tired baby Dragon nestled into her back. Spike let out a groan as Twilight's skipping jostled him from getting to sleep.

"Ugh, must you skip? Why are you so perky at eleven at night anyways?" He asked, craning his head over Twilight's.

Twilight smiled and looked up at the sky. "Because, Spike! Tonight's one of the most splendid meteor showers in Equestrian history! I'm so excited I could burst!" She squealed, jumping in the air.

Spike let out a surprised yelp as he grabbed hold of Twilight's mane to keep from falling to the cold dirt. "Well, you can count me out. I'm beat. Let's just get home and get to bed, huh?" He yawned, curling up on Twilight's back.

Twilight giggled and turned, nuzzling her little brother's cheek. "Oh, Spike. Alright, we're almost there." She assured, picking up her pace a bit.

Twilight arrived at the Library at a little past eleven thirty. She promptly put Spike to bed and gathered her equipment for star gazing. "Telescope, check. Book on star gazing, check. Snacks, check... Alright, that should be everything." She said to herself, heading for the balcony above her bed.

The night sky was absolutely perfect tonight. The stars in the heavens twinkled with majesty. Twilight stared in awe at Luna's night. Every star twinkled and the moon glowed a bright yellow in the heavens above. Twilight sighed happily and began to watch the stars, just before the meteor shower was set to begin.

Twilight turned her telescope in the direction of the horse head nebula, when she noticed the first falling star of the night. It trailed through the sky with a purple tail of fire behind it. Twilight had never seen a meteor look like that before.

"Oh my! That's beautiful." She exclaimed, aiming her telescope up to it. She let out a shocked gasp at what she saw. The 'shooting star' was smooth and metallic. She could barely see the structure beneath the flames, but she could just barely make out the grooves and openings dotted along its surface.

Twilight moved her telescope aside to see if she could get a view with her own eyes. It turns out she could. The object was falling right towards the planet!

"Oh my gosh!" She squealed, running inside and grabbing a book she never thought she'd ever read. It was called 'Space Aliens and other Myths of the Universe'. Twilight didn't really like myths or legends, since there was no scientific evidence to back it up. Still, this occasion called for it, since Twilight didn't think that was a meteor falling towards the planet.

She ran back to the balcony and flipped through the pages rapidly. She finally found what she was looking for on page 24. On the page was a drawing of what an alien space ship might look like. To Twilight's surprise it looked almost like the one that was falling out of the sky.

It was getting closer and closer, ripping through the upper atmosphere with a defining roar. Twilight covered her ears as it burned a brighter purple and tumble through the air as it hit a series of air pockets. Twilight screamed and ran inside as the ship touched down deep in the Everfree forest.

The earth shook violently, sending Twilight to her knees. She crawled over to her bed and hid from anything that could fall and harm her.

Spike shot out of his bed, waking from his slumber with a start. "Earthquake! Twilight, get under the table!" Spike shouted, shooting across the room and hiding underneath Twilight's writing stand. The shaking of the earth, however, caused a bottle of ink to fall right onto Spike's head, causing him to groan in pain.

"Ow... I shoulda just stayed in bed." He muttered to himself, eliciting a slight smile from Twilight. But, now was no time for laughs. She got up and began to run for the door, Spike hopped on her back, knowing there was an adventure to be had. He didn't want to be left out like all the other times. "Where are we going?" He asked, holding onto Twilight's mane as she quickly galloped out of the house

"We have to get the girls!" She shouted, running to the nearest friends home. Twilight noticed the lights in Ponyville beginning to switch on as worried citizens began milling about in the streets, wondering just what was going on. Ponyville was used to many strange things, like Nightmare Moons return, Discords attack, but probably nothing like space aliens.

Twilight ran around the next block and sighed as Sugarcube Corner came into view. Pinkie Pie was already outside on the front step, her tail twitching violently.

"Pinkie! Are you okay?" Twilight yelled, coming to a skidding halt at the sleepy mares feet. Pinkie grabbed her tail and jammed it in Twilight's face.

"Twilight! Something really, REALLY big fell from the sky! Did you feel it? Did you?" She asked ecstatically, shaking her friend violently.

Twilight wobbled a bit as she pushed Pinkie away, trying to regain her balance. "Yes, I noticed! Come on! We have to go round up the others. I'll go get Rarity and you go get Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. then we'll all meet at Applejack's place and see what we can find out what crashed in the Everfree. Okay?"

"Aye aye, Captain!" Pinkie saluted, bolting off in the direction of Rainbow's place. Twilight turned to Spike and smiled wide.

"Well, Spike? Let's go meet some aliens!"

After about an hour of rounding everypony up and going over just what happened and what Twilight saw, the group of heroins headed into the Everfree Forest, with some reluctance from Fluttershy and Rarity.

They ran quickly through the forest, following the trail of smoke rising high into the sky. Rainbow Dash was the first to ask Twilight just what she saw, still not believing the story she was told.

"So, are you sure that thing wasn't just a weird shaped meteor or something? I mean, aliens? Come on, Twilight! That's crazy, even for you!"

Twilight sighed and turned to the Pegasus giving her a raised brow. "It was a space ship! I could see it clear enough to tell it wasn't natural!"

All the girls looked to one another in worriment, but kept going all the same. They trusted Twilight well enough to know when she was serious. Granted, she was serious about ninety-nine percent of the time, but this time she was absolutely sure of what she saw. The mares had no idea what they were getting themselves into though. What if there were monsters on board? What if the monsters attacked and ate them? It was what was going through all their minds, and they were all scared.

The crash site was coming into view, just beyond a thicket of burnt out trees. Fluttershy let out a shutter as she looked over the carnage before her innocent eyes.

"I-I hope the woodland critters got out of the way in time." She stuttered, looking over the decimated forest for any wounded or, worse, dead animals.

The ship sticking out of the ground was enormous! It could probably be easily seen all the way from Manehatten! The hull was bright orange from the heat, which wouldn't let the girls get closer than a hundred yards without the proper protection spells. Luckily, Twilight knew just the one for this.

"Okay, girls? stay close to me. I'm going to use a heat protection spell." Twilight said, letting her horn glow a brilliant purple. A large, purple bubble surrounded Twilight, giving her friends enough room to squeeze in beside her. The five others huddled close to Twilight as they stepped towards the burning wreckage.

They made their way right to the edge of the crater. Looking down yielded no visuals, since the hole was full of smoke. Pinkie Pie leaned down into the hole excitedly. "Oh, oh, I wonder if anyones down there! Hello? Anypony down there? Hellooo?"

A faint garble echoed from bellow, then the sounds of clawing and climbing. Whatever was coming up sounded rather large. Twilight and the others backed up slightly while Pinkie leaned in closer to see through the smoke. She let out a shrill screamed in terror when the alien face came up over the hole. She scuttled away as fast as she could hiding behind Applejack.

Twilight studied the creature climbing out with wide eyes. It was probably three times as tall as a pony with scaley black skin. It wore impressive blue armor, which didn't seem to be damaged in the slightest from the crash. It's eyes were reptilian in nature, just like Spikes. It led Twilight to believe these creatures might be Dragon in nature. Although, the split jaw was a new feature she'd never seen before.

Twilight stepped forward, giving her best friendly smile. "Oh wow! Hello? Can you understand me?" She asked.

The creature, not sure of what they were, cocked its head to the side in puzzlement. It just stared at the six colorful creatures in front of it and garbled incomprehensibly.

Pinkie Pie, feeling braver however, went forward. getting right in the aliens face. "Hello, Mr. Space guy!" She yelled. "My names Pinkie Pie! What's yours?"

The alien yelled, pushing Pinkie away and grabbed something on its hip. Twilight, no fool to what the device could be, grabbed Pinkie with her magic and pulled her back as the device shot out a green glob of something. Twilight wasn't quick enough to get Pinkie out of the way. The bolt struck her in the knee, making her scream in pain.

The alien aimed its weapon at the six girls and fired. Twilight was no stranger to more protection spells and quickly raised a shield, blocking the bolts as they came. She could already feel the strain from the force of the blasts weighing down on her. She turned to see the others tending to a hysterical Pinkie, who's leg was burnt open. Twilight gagged and nearly lost her focus on the spell.

Suddenly, more monsters began to climb out of the wreckage. Some were small and wore strange, triangular packs on their backs, and others were bird-like in nature, carrying shields into the fray.

Twilight didn't know what to do. She could lower the shield and try to fight back, but something told her that would be the stupidest thing she could do. These creatures had technology beyond her comprehension, and it was all aimed at her. She did the one thing anypony could do in a situation like this.

"Somepony! Anypony! HELP US!!" Twilight screamed as the creatures fired all at once.

Nathan could feel his consciousness slowly returning to him. He opened his eyes slowly, blocking out the searing pain in his head. He had no choice, he had to open his eyes, despite the splitting headache he felt. He looked around to find he was no longer on the bridge of the Corvette. Instead, he was embedded in a crater of glass, the Corvette sticking out of the ground high in the sky next to him. "Where the hell am I?" He pondered, rubbing his helmet as if it were his head.

Nathan shot his head around upon hearing the whine of plasma fire above. If there was a firefight going on and people were dying, he wanted to be at the heart of it. A Spartan's job is to protect humanity, and damn it all if he wasn't going to do just that.

Nathan advanced up the hill as fast as he could, only going faster when he heard the cries for help. "We must have crashed on another colony world." He thought. Although, that didn't make much sense since ever UNSC world was now lost to the Covenant. Where the hell could he be?

Nathan was almost to the top, slowing when he heard the gibbering of Grunts, screeches of Jackals, and warbles of Elites. He placed his hand on a rock at the top of the crater and pulled himself up slowly.

Leaning his head over, he saw the Covenant firing at... something. He couldn't be sure what, but it looked like a purple shield. Could this be some kind of secret military project? Was he on a top secret military planet?

The screams continued to echo from behind the shield. The Covenant continued to fire, causing it to shimmer and crack. Nathan could just barely make out the huddled forms beneath the glowing purple surface. People were in danger, and he had a duty to save them. He cocked his pistol, counted to three, and went.

The mares and Spike looked over at the sound of more commotion. They didn't know what was happening, but it seemed like another alien, this one completely green, with a black undercoat, began fighting the others! A loud popping sound from the device in its hand knocked one of the smaller aliens to the ground. The creature slumped and ceased moving, letting them all know it was dead. Twilight could feel her friends shifting uneasily behind her as they all held each other for comfort in their most frightening hour.

The green alien reached over to one of the bird-like creatures with the shield, snapping its arm clean off. Twilight gagged at the scene, her face turning the shade of green he was. The alien used the shield still attached to the arm to block an incoming ball of blue light, which exploded three seconds later behind him, casting its threatening shadow back at the monsters. Some of the smaller ones began to cower and flee before it, but it wouldn't let them escape. It whipped the shield at them, cleaving them in twain.

The new alien had completely decimated the smaller ones, to the shock of Twilight and her friends, who couldn't help but watch the gruesome scene. Now, only left the bigger aliens were the last to deal with. One of them charged the green creature, who simply sidestepped, smashed its fist into its back. Twilight heard the snap of its spine as it cried out in agony. When it fell to the dirt, the green alien stomped his foot down on the monsters head, crushing it with a sickening crack and squish, killing it instantly. Then it did the last thing Twilight or the girls expected it to do; It spoke! In clear Equine no less!

"Come on ugly! You want to end up like your friend here?" It taunted, placing its hand on the side of its hip. Twilight couldn't tell what it was, since that side of its body was facing away from them. The split jawed monster garbled something unintelligible and rushed forward. The green alien ripped something off its hip, activating it. A strange white blade jutted out and it slammed it into the rushing alien. The alien tried to fight back in its death throws, but the green one simply pulled its popping weapon out, pressing it to the creatures skull and firing. Twilight and the others recoiled and watched as the red armored alien slumped backwards, its brains gushing out the back of its head. Twilight could hear the gagging from behind her, but never took her eyes off the gruesome scene.

"W-What are you..?" She pondered in shock, watching as it threw the alien to the dirt, placing its weapons back on his side.

"And stay dead, you pieces of shit!" He yelled, turning towards Twilight and the others. Twilight could feel her heart racing at a thousand miles a minute. The creature knew it was there, and now it was going to tear them apart, piece by piece. Twilight, Spike and the girls huddled close and waited for the end, but it did something completely different.

"Hello? Who's behind that shield? I'm here to help!" It said, stepping forward. Twilight's eyes shot wide. It wanted to help?! After what it just did, it wanted to just help them?! This creature was extremely dangerous, that much was obvious, and wouldn't hesitate to hurt them. How could she just trust it?! She had her friends to look out for. But... she couldn't keep this shield going much longer. Even now, she could feel her magic begin to wain.

Twilight gulped and steadied her voice as she bravely addressed the monster before her. "How can we trust you?" She asked, trying to sound as brave as possible. The creature threw its weapons to the ground and held its forelegs all the way out, a gesture she guessed meant, 'I'm unarmed'.

"Now can you?" it asked, taking a few more steps forward.

Twilight sighed and looked back to the girls. Applejack cautiously whispered to her friend. "Pinkie Pie needs help. We can't hide behind this shield forever." She stated. That was the truth they'd find out any minute now. Twilight was barely keeping it going as it was.

Spike rubbed his chin and glared at the monster before them. "I don't know Twi. It could hurt us like it did those aliens!" The others gulped and looked at one another for answers. No one spoke again, just stared at Twilight. It was up to her what they should do. Trust a monster, or run from it. Pinkie did need to get help though...

Twilight thought furiously, but the creature, hearing the exchange between them, spoke up once more. "Is one of you hit? I heard the screaming. I have medical training and can be of assistance." It said again, coming closer. "Please, lower the shield."

Twilight sighed heavily, contemplating the new development. This alien had medical training, and Pinkies leg looked absolutely horrific. Twilight couldn't even bring herself to look at the ghastly wound on her friends leg. Still, this alien sounded convincing enough. He showed no ill will towards them and, with no alternatives, decided to trust him.

"Alright. I guess we have no choice." Twilight sighed, ceasing the spell and bracing herself for what was to come.

Nathan stood there in total disbelief. These creatures weren't human! Heck, they weren't even Covenant! They were like nothing he had ever seen before. They were... wait, horses?

He looked them all over more carefully. They had large eyes and somewhat human like features. Two bared the resemblance of normal horses back on Earth, except their color scheme. Two had wings, Pegasai, from what he knew from Greek mythology taught by Deep Winter, and two had horns. Unicorns.

The purple one came forward cautiously, causing Nathan to instinctively get into a defensive stance. The little purple pony cocked its head up at him. "Can you help my friend now?" It asked. Nathan could tell by the voice that it was a female. He could tell she was just barely managing to suppress her tears of fear at what she'd just witnessed.

Nathan snapped out of his state of shock and went over to the pink pony who had tears in her eyes as she cradled her leg, saying 'owwie, owwie, owwie' over and over again. Despite them being aliens, despite first contact protocol, Nathan had to do something for them. It was his duty to protect, and these aliens made no attempt to attack him. Maybe there were peaceful civilizations in the Galaxy. Oh, the brass would love to hear about this place!

Nathan knelt on the gound, placing his hand on the pink ponies cheek, a comforting gesture as big as a Spartan can muster. "You'll be okay, miss. I've been hit worse than that plenty of time." He chuckled, opening up the medical kit on his side. The pony looked up at him and began to shake violently, trying to scoot away. She was still fearful of him, that much was obvious to the Spartan. " Jeez... Can't I go somewhere without being feared?"

Nathan grabbed the last tube of biofoam he had out of the small pack. He looked over to the other ponies, who stared at him with either fear or glaring hate in one blue Pegasus' case. Nathan had to alleviate those fears if he was to gain their trust. He needed someway off this rock, and they would be the only ones to help him.

Nathan grabbed the pink mares leg, causing her to twitch and try to pull it away. "Hey, hey, it's alright." He soothed, showing her the tube. "This is biofoam. It'll seal the wound and sterilize it so you wont get an infection. Now, it'll sting a little at first, but after that, the pain will go away. Okay?"

Pinkie slowly nodded as the alien before her placed the nozzle in the middle of the deep hole in her leg. She let out an ear piercing scream that echoed through the forest as the foam came spurting out. She launched backwards in pain, falling to the ground in fits of sobs.

The blue pony launched forward, getting between Pinkie Pie and the alien. "What the heck did you do to her, bub?! If you touch her again, I'll knock you into next week!"

Nathan should have taken her threat more seriously, but she was a rainbow haired talking pony. How serious could he take her?

"Noted." He said monotone, pushing her aside and going back over to the pink pony.

"Hey!" Rainbow shouted, flying full speed into the alien, giving him a solid buck to the head. Nathan didn't even feel a thing, but the groans and yelling from the ground next to him let him know that she had.

Nathan turned his attention back to the pink mare. "Miss, are you okay?" He asked. Pinkie shook in fear, but, her leg actually began to feel much better. She gave it a little shake and nodded slowly at him.

Twilight went over to examine the bottle the alien threw away. 'Biofoam' was labeled clear as day right on the side of the bottle. It also had a red cross beneath it, the universal symbol for 'medical'. She cast her attention back on the alien, who was now helping Pinkie to her hooves.

Pinkie hopped back from him when she was on her feet, climbing behind Rainbow.

She turned to see Pinkie's wide eyes staring at him hard. "Just stay behind me, Pinks." Rainbow said, getting defensive again. "I wont let this thing hurt you again!"

Pinkie may have been scared, but she wasn't sure if she should be or not. She looked down at the semi-hard foam that filled the wound in her leg, then back to the alien, who just sat their, staring at her curiously. Pinkie knew he must be all alone, and being that scary meant he couldn't have a lot of friends. Maybe... she could be his friend?

Pinkie came out from behind Rainbow and slowly walked forward. Rainbow Dash tried to pull her back, but Pinkie pushed her off. She got to within a foot of the creature and sat right down in front of him. Her large, blue eyes stared into his golden vizor curiously.

"D-do you have a name?" She asked shakily, obviously still feeling intimidated, but that wouldn't deter her from making a new friend.

"Name's-" Nathan hesitated for a second. He didn't want to give out any data to anyone, let alone an unknown species. "Just call me Grunt." he said flatly, giving them his nickname.

The pink mare nodded and smiled. "M-My name's P-Pinkie Pie. Do you want to be my friend?" She asked hopefully.

Nathan's grin became wider under his vizor. Not only were these creatures just a bit ridiculous, but their names were, too! He was about to answer the mare, when a sudden sound from the hull shot him back to the here and now. These ponies had no idea what could happen to them if they stayed here.

"Look, unless you all want to end up like Swiss cheese, we should leave. And quickly." He emphasized, running over and grabbing his weapons. He aimed his pistol at the ship, waiting for the creatures to bust out at any moment.

Twilight had to agree. If there were any more survivors from the crash, then the last place she wanted to be was ten yards from it. "Come on! We'll head back to my place." She said, getting everyone up on their hooves.

Nathan looked back down at the pink mare, who still sat on the ground where he left her. "Can you walk?" He asked hastily.

Pinkie began to put weight on her leg, but winced when she couldn't. She looked up at him and shook her head 'no'. In one swoop, Nathan scooped her up causing her to yelp when he did so.

Nathan cradled Pinkie on his shoulders and turned to the others. "Alright, lets go." He said, setting off following the purple Unicorn back to her dwellings.

The group spent the next half hour running out of the dark woods, down a dirt road, and into a small village. Nathan had never see such a small, rustic place before in his life. All the planets he had been to were just covered in large population centers. It was nice that this world was still untouched by modernization. It made Nathan feel a bit at ease.

"Just up ahead!" The purple Unicorn shouted. Nathan looked up and spotted a large tree, which had windows and doors on it. Nathan assumed this was their destination, which was a bit ludicrous in his mind. "She lives in a tree? Who the hell lives in a tree?" He thought, following her nonetheless to the very strange dwellings.

The seven entered, panting as they were out of breath from the long run. Nathan put Pinkie down as he ran to the window, his weapon drawn as he looked for anything that might have followed them back. But there was nothing. The streets were completely emptied and there wasn't a sound except for him, and the mares in the room.

Finally able to relax for once, Nathan slumped to the floor, catching his breath quickly. It wasn't that he was out of breath, it was just that he was tired. Being knocked out like he was on the ship was the only sleep he'd gotten all week. He had been fighting nonstop on Reach, trying to push back the Covenant war machine as best he could. But, he knew in the end that Reach would fall... if it hadn't already.

Nathan opened his eyes quickly when he felt a slight pressure on his knees. He looked over to see the purple unicorn, smiling childishly into his faceplate. "I can't believe aliens are real! This is so cool!" She squeed, suppressing a silent scream as Nathan continued to stare her down.

Her enthusiasm made it apparent she had a LOT of questions to ask him, most of which Nathan probably couldn't answer anyways. Nathan rolled his eyes and looked over to the other mares. Each one was staring at him, unsure about his presence within the group. That was okay. Nathan was an outcast from society anyway. He was used to this kind of treatment. He then looked over to Pinkie, who was gazing at her wound, silently crying to herself. Nathan brushed Twilight off of him and crawled over to Pinkie, sitting by her side. The girls all stared at him in shock as he began to take off his head!

They were amazed by the spectacle, Twilight more so. Then she gasped when she saw the face coming into view from beneath the green and gold mask. It wasn't his head, it was a helmet! Twilight thought of how dumb she felt for not realizing that in the first place. She looked this alien in wonderment. He had pale white skin and scars running across his face. His left eye was cloudy and made his appearance all the more intimidating. But, despite all that, she couldn't help but think he was... kind of handsome. "Is that even possible? To think an alien's handsome?" She thought, looking at the creature before her. Granted, he was a striking alien, more so than the split jawed ones, or the bird ones, and way more than those fat little toad looking ones. Twilight watched in interest at what he was about to do.

Nathan leaned against the table, looking down at the pink mare. "Pinkie Pie, right?" He asked her. She nodded, looking up at him with a soft smile, he smiled back, making her feel a bit more at ease. "Want me to wrap your leg up? It'll keep the foam in, and the infections out." He said, pulling out a roll of gause from his medical satchel.

Pinkie nodded again and Nathan set to work. He took her leg in his large hands as gingerly as he could and began to wrap her leg up tight.. She winced at first, but looked up at his still present smile. She found some kind of comfort in it and smiled back, resting her head against the table.

Twilight couldn't take it anymore! This alien may be a killer, but he was probably the kindest killer she had ever seen! She had to ask it questions and she had to ask them now!

Twilight hid her enthusiasm as best she could as she walked forward, taking a seat in front of the kind, yet deadly creature. "So... where did you come from?" She asked innocently, twiddling her hooves.

Nathan looked up at her, still keeping his grin. "I came here from the colony world Reach. But, if you're wondering where I was born, I was born on a different colony world called New Jerusalem." He said, finishing up Pinkies bandage. "There. All done." He said, helping Pinkie to her hooves. The mare smiled and began to put weight on the wound and, satisfied it no longer ached, walked over to the others.

"Colony world?" Twilight asked curiously. "Does that mean your species inhabits other planets?" Nathan nodded, causing Twilight's eyes to shoot open in excitement. "Wow!"

Nathan cocked a head. "So, let's forget me for just a minute." He said, looking over to the others in the room. He pointed to Pinkie and smiled. "I know your name. I have yet to know all of yours."

"I'm Twilight Sparkle."

"I'm Applejack! Um... Pleasure to be makin' yer acquaintance, I s'pose..."

"I'm Rarity... Charmed..."

"I'm the one and only Rainbow Dash!"

"I-I'm F...t..shy"

Nathan looked back at the yellow Pegasus. "What was that?" He asked, leaning in closer. She let out a squeak and backed away quickly, cowering behind her bright pink mane. Twilight rolled her eyes and giggled a bit.

"Her names Fluttershy. Don't worry about her, she's just kind of a shy." She assured.

Nathan made an 'oh' shape with his mouth and nodded. "Well, you don't have anything to fear. Any enemy of the Covenant is a friend of mine." He assured them.

Twilight took in this new revelation of the aliens she had just seen. Now it was time to ask more questions."What's the Covenant?" She asked. The other mares stepped closer as well, hoping to hear about the creatures who nearly killed them.

Nathan's smile faded as his mind was now forced to focus on the main enemy of his species. It wasn't something he liked to think or talk about. But, Twilight had asked, and it'd be best to arm a peaceful culture with knowledge about the most dangerous enemy in the galaxy.

"The Covenant are a collection of alien species bent on the extermination of man kind and anyone else who gets in there way. The big ones with the split jaws? Those are Elites, some of the best warriors of the Covenant." He said, remembering a few close calls of his own with those fuckers.

Before he could continue, Twilight jumped in with another question. "But you took care of them with such... ease. If they're the greatest warriors around, you should have had a much harder time." The others nodded in agreement, looking back at The Spartan.

Nathan could only chuckle at the praise he received. "I said they were the best warriors the Covenant had to offer. I'm the best humanity has to offer."

"Humani-what?" Applejack asked next, scratching her head. Nathan let out a long sigh. This was going to be a long night and he knew it.

"My species, human, or homo-sapian, in scientific terms, is the species the Covenant wants eradicated." He said, trying to get comfortable on the floor. Spartan armor wasn't really meant for sitting for long periods of time.

The ponies all 'ooohd' and continued to ask questions throughout the night. Some questions were about his armor, which he couldn't answer, some about his home world, which he could. Then some were about his life as warrior, which he definitely couldn't answer. But, most focused on the Covenant, which he didn't mind telling them about. The questions he couldn't answer were answered with the standard, 'It's classified'. Every time Nathan did so, it elicited a small huff of frustration from the purple Unicorn, which made him laugh internally every time. It was kind of... cute, in a way.

Then they began to ask him about the space ship in the woods.

Nathan got so caught up in the Q and A, that he almost forgot about the crash sight. He ran over to the window and looked outside, looking for any signs of Covenant. Satisfied they hadn't found the town yet, he ran over to Twilight and picked her up quickly.

"Is there anyone we can report to about what happened tonight to your president, ruler, king, queen- Whatever? Those Covenant troops are still out there and I don't want them setting up shop on this planet." He said with a hint of disgust, placing his helmet back on.

Twilight nodded, turning to her assistant. "Spike, take a letter to Princess Celestia. We need to inform her of what has happened." Spike nodded and left for Twilight's room to get the writing supplies.

"That won't be necessary."

The girls looked behind them, shocked to see Princess Celestia in the doorway. The regal, white mare payed attention only to the human in their midst.

Twilight ran forward excitedly. "Princess! We have a big prob-" Princess Celestia just walked past her. "-lem.. Princess? Are you okay?"

The Princess looked back to Twilight as if noticing her for the first time. "I'm fine, Twilight. I should be asking you if you're okay. He didn't hurt any of you did he?" She asked, fear in her voice. The girls their heads, but the Princess' features didn't soften.

She turned back to Nathan, glaring. They were both almost exactly the same height, which was very impressive to Twilight. Nopony was as tall as the Princess, or as powerful. "Why are you hear, Alien?" Celestia asked in a threatening tone. Nathan barely moved from his spot as he stared down this 'Celestia', getting an inch from her face. All Celestia saw was her own angry reflection staring back at her.

Nathan smiled a bit as he explained the situation. "Well, I was in the middle of a battle on the Planet Reach, defending it from a Covenant invasion. Mine and my teams mission was to board a Covenant Corvette, the ship you see in your forest, and destroy it. But, my nuke was destroyed and so was the navigation console during a fight I had with an Elite. The ship malfunctioned, sending us into Slipspace with no coordinates. And that's how we ended up here, ma'am." He finished.

Princess Celestia barely understood a thing he had said. Nukes? Covenant? Navigation Console? It was all so foreign to her. Still, it didn't lessen the stare she continued to give the alien. If anything, it only intensified it.

"Why did you girls bring him back here? How could you trust him so easily?" Celestia scolded, never taking her eyes off the Spartan.

Twilight went over to the aliens side, prepared to defend him and defuse the situation at hoof. The Princess didn't see what happened out there in the Everfree, and it was probably for the best. But, it made Twilight angry that she thought of him as just a monster. "Because, Princess, he saved all our lives! Pinkie Pie's more so. He took out the other creatures attacking us at the risk of his own life! We couldn't just leave him out there."

The Princess nodded in understanding, but still glared harshly at the alien. It appeared she had a few trust issues in her. "That doesn't change the fact that he's extremely dangerous. He is to come with us to Canterlot. He is to be detained until either we can rule out he is a threat to us, or he gives us enough information on his world, his life, and this 'Covenant'. Guards?" She called out.

Nathan was about to fight back, when a sudden pressure on his leg stopped him. He looked down to see Twilight shaking her head. He didn't know why he relaxed at her word. Maybe he trusted her enough to know that no harm would come to him if the Princess brought him in. After all, he was an alien on a foreign, undiscovered planet. If one of these creatures was ever found on Earth, they'd probably be shot on sight. Humanity was too xenophobic for their own good.

Nathan allowed the Royal Guards to place the shackles on his wrists and ankles without struggle. Nathan looked back up to the Princess, who was smiling like she just won. Nathan could have easily broken out of his bonds and throttled her before anyone knew what happened. Still, he restrained himself for the good of the situation. It was one of him against how many others of them. Not the best of odds, even for a Spartan.

Celestia let out a chuckle and gestured for her guards to march the Alien out. One of them shoved Nathan forward with the butt of his spear. Nathan just chuckled and marched onwards towards the transport without another word.

Celestia turned back to the six mares and nodded. "Now follow me, girls. We're going to Canterlot." She said, gesturing them all with her. Some of them were a bit hesitant about leaving on such short notice, but it was an official order from the Princess, so they had no choice. They all followed without hesitation.

The Pegasai guards were having a hard time carrying the weight of a 1,000 pounds of armor clad alien now in tow, let alone all the other ponies now in the large carriage. Nathan sat in silence the whole way, as the girls talked amongst themselves about trivial things like work and duties they couldn't do because they were being towed into the capital alng with him. But, Nathan noticed that the only one not engaging in a conversation was Twilight. He noticed this because she had been doing nothing but staring at him the entire time.

Twilight was completely enraptured by the 'Spartan'. From what he described himself as, he sounded like a warrior of unparalleled strength and ability, but, he had the heart of gold when it came down to it. He was one of the most understanding and thoughtful creatures she had ever met in all her life. He didn't care about his own life when he saved her and her friends, and he gave up his own medical equipment to help Pinkie Pie. Something told her that he was different from most of his species.

Nathan, who had enough of the little staring contest with Twilight, closed the vents on his helmet. This made sure no one in the carriage could here him talk. It was just him and her now.

"Almya, you can speak freely." He said quietly, reclining in the seat as he watched the scenery that past by the window.

A frustrated voice came over his helmets speakers, shattering his perception on the silence around him. "Oh thank God!" She yelled in relief. "Do you know what it's like for an AI such as myself to stay quite for 1 day 14 hours, 56 minutes, and 24 seconds?! It's like three of your lifetimes!"

Nathan chuckled at his quirky AI. She had been assigned to him just almost two months ago, but she felt a lot like family already. She had gotten him out of some of the heaviest situations he'd ever been in intact. She was more than family. She was blood.

"Sorry, Allie. So any idea what planet this is?" He asked her, hoping she knew the answer to the already hopeless question. It was obvious that this planet was undiscovered by man, otherwise there would be human civilizations all over the place.

Almya gave a clicking sound she always did when thinking. "Unknown, as well as its inhabitants. Sorry. Oh and by the way-" She began slyly, letting out a slight laugh. "That purple one has been looking at you the entire time we've been in flight. From what I'm reading..." She trailed off. "Heart rate, blood pressure, and pheromone levels... Let's just say, she's interested in you..."

Nathan shifted uneasily in his seat at that, casting another glance at Twilight, who was still staring at him like a curious child. "'Interested'? Well, this planet is getting a whole lot stranger by the second..." He muttered, getting Almya to giggle a bit.

The carriage lurched forward as it hit solid ground, causing the occupants to jostle in their seats. The sudden jarring of the rough landing, however, caused Twilight to tumble out of her seat and fall directly into Nathan's lap. Nathan caught her with lightning quick hands before she fell to the unforgiving ground.

Twilight braced for the impact that never came. Instead, when she opened her eyes, she found herself in the arms of the alien, who was staring down at her through his solid gold visor. Twilight could feel the heat emanating from her cheeks as she stared up at the alien whose arms she was in.

"You alright?" He asked, getting her back on her hooves. Twilight coughed a bit and nodded, looking away from Nathan quickly.

"Y-Yes, I'm okay... Thanks." She said shyly, walking over to her friends.

Almya let out a chuckle as Nathan watched her walk away. "That was smooth, Casanova." She said sarcastically. "How will you be courting your alien?"

"Stow it!" Nathan warned, getting another laugh out of Almya. The Princess stood and opened the carriage door, walking out into the castle courtyard. Nathan was shoved out by the carriage after everyone was out, falling headlong into the street. Twilight was about to step forward and protest the treatment he was receiving, but was stopped by Celestia, who gave her a hard eye.

Nathan grumbled as he got to his feet, getting a good look at the castle before him. The sheer might and beauty of the place took his breath away. The large spires, the colorful structures, not to mention the whole place was built on the side of a mountain. This city was the very definition of posh and high life.

Princess Celestia turned her glare off the human and turned it to the others. "Girls, I've already set up accommodations for you in the castle. There is food waiting for you, in case you're hungry from the journey. and as for you-" She said turning towards the Spartan. "You are to remain in the dungeon until I deem fit. Is that understood?"

Nathan sighed, but didn't protest. This was for the best. For now at least. If things got worse, he'd be able to escape in no time at all. "If that's what you feel is best, ma'am." He said, falling into step with the guards at his back as a group of around fifteen more came up to meet them.

Twilight stepped forward again and began to voice a protest, but Celestia shot her a glare, halting her in her tracks. Twilight glared back at Celestia, but ultimately relented to her teacher. She turned her gaze to the man as he was marched away to his incarceration .

It just wasn't fair! Sure this creature could be dangerous, but he proved he was a friend when he saved all their lives! If it wasn't for him, Celestia wouldn't even be talking to her student right now. Celestia's behavior towards the alien also left Twilight a little flabbergasted as well. She seemed to have an unnatural hatred towards him the instant she laid eyes on him.

Twilight let the mysteries settle in her mind as she let out a long sigh. She cast one last look at the alien before falling in step behind her friends and the Princess. For the first time in her life, Twilight was unsure of what to do next.

Closer friends

Chapter 3: Closer friends
September 1, 2552
Planet: Unknown 22:45 hours

The guards threw Nathan into the old, stone dungeon. It seemed like something that one would see in old holovids. It was damp, dark, and very poorly maintained. If it was like that for intimidation, that wouldn't work on the Spartan. He had been captured by Covenant forces back in the day, and he certainly knew how to escape places more heavily guarded, not to mention way more advanced, than this dump.

Nathan waited for the guards to leave before breaking the chains around his wrists with a simple tug. Once he was no longer burdened by the simple devices, he pulled Almya's AI chip out from his helmet, setting her on the floor, watching as Almya's holographic image danced out from the small device. She stood at the full height of a normal human female, taking the form of a librarian, but a very, 'quirky' librarian. Her hair was in an elegant bun, bangs curling down over her glasses, she wore a mini skirt and a partially unbuttoned blouse. She looked a little bit like an adult movie star. At least that's what Nathan thought.

Nathan smiled and leaned against the wall of the cell. "So Almya, what do you think of our new quarters?" He asked, taking off his helmet. Almya walked around the dank space, running her 'hands' along the cobblestone walls. She turned to Nathan with a quizzical look on her face.

"Why are you opting to stay here? One punch and you could easily break down this wall." She pointed out. "Now, I can read structural weaknesses here, here and here." She said, gesturing to three spots on the wall that could easily be plowed through with the strength of the MJOLNIR armor. Nathan rolled his eyes at her haste to escape the cell. Almya may be a 'smart' AI, but she certainly didn't know about patience.

"This situation requires diplomacy. Something I thought you'd understand." Nathan scolded, refusing to move from his spot. Almya shot him a glance but quickly smiled, taking a seat next to him. It never ceased to amaze Nathan how AI's could be so damn human. It was scary, but also amazing at the same time. Something that someone just fabricated was more human than most humans Nathan had met in his life.

"So, what do you want to do while we wait?" She asked, undoing her bun and letting her holographic hair flow freely.

He shrugged, thinking it over. One of his favorites with his AI had been boardgames. "I don't know. How about a game of chess?" He asked. Almya smiled and brought fourth a holographic chess board already set up. "Ladies first." He said, gesturing to the board.

Almya smiled back at him and moved her first pawn. "Always the gentleman, aren't you?" She asked sweetly. Nathan winked and took his turn.

"Sorry ma'am. But I can't allow you to see him." The guard said as he and his fellow guardsman put their spears in front of the door. Twilight huffed in irritation and began to protest. She was the Princess' loyal student! Why wouldn't she be aloud to see the alien? The alien that she discovered no less!

"I have every right to see him! After all, I was the one who discovered him!" She voiced, trying to get her point across. The guards just kept a straight ahead gaze, ignoring her. Twilight groaned in exasperation and began to pace around the dungeon door. She was too riled up with what happened last night to sleep. All she wanted to do was see her new friend again. She had so many questions to ask him.

"Pretty please?" She begged, giving one of the guards the puppy dog stare. This one had to work. This is how Twilight got passed some of the guards as a little filly back when she first started tutelage under Princess Celestia

The guard rolled his eyes. "No! I'm under orders of Princess Celestia not to let anyone down there!" He yelled, trying to get his orders across to the bookish mare.

"What about us?"

Twilight turned to see Luna standing behind her, her poise as regal as a Princess could make it. Twilight smiled and nodded to the Princess of the night, while the guard behind her began to stammer in fear and surprise.

"P-Princess Luna. I-I'm sorry but you can't go down there, either." He stuttered, shrinking a bit in himself in fear of the former Nightmare of Equestria.

Luna huffed and stepped forward. "We demand to speak to the human at once!" She said regally. Twilight blinked for a minute. How did Luna know what he was called? As far as she knew, neither of the Princesses were told what his species was by wither her or her friends. Pushing that odd thought aside, she continued to watch on as Luna continued to argue with the stallion.

The guard still looked scared out of his mind, but stood firm. "I-I'm sorry, Princess. But I'm under the Solar Guard, and not at liberty to take commands from you."

Luna stepped forward and the guard took an involuntary step back. Her horn began to glow as she spoke low and forcefully. "You WILL let us pass, guard." She seethed, her eyes beginning to glaze over pure white.

The guard gulped and stepped aside, his tail firmly between his legs. "O-of course, m-ma'am.." He stammered, letting Luna pass. Luna turned to Twilight and smiled.

"Art thou coming, Twilight Sparkle?" She asked. Twilight shook her head of what had just happened and followed Luna down into the dungeon.

"That was... dark." Twilight said flatly as the spiraling stairwell became darker and darker. Luna simply chuckled and smiled at the young unicorn before her.

"He blocked our path. What else could we have done?" She asked curiously. Twilight shrugged off the incident as she and Luna arrived at the long hall of prison cells.In one of the cells, Twilight could see a strange light, accompanied by laughing and talking. Twilight motioned Luna to remain quiet, while she snuck over to see what was going on.

Nathan was sitting in the cell with another one of his kind! But, this one was different. Her body was transparent and she was at least a foot shorter than the 'humans' six foot frame. They were both leaning over a chess board as transparent as she was, enjoying the game together. Twilight couldn't help but feel a little left out.

"Ahem!" She coughed loudly, getting the Spartan's and the see through human's attention. Nathan turned to Almya and gave a swift nod of his head. With that, the woman disappeared into a little chip on the floor. Nathan picked the chip up and put it back in his helmet quickly, placing it back on his head.

Nathan wanted to be fully defensible right now. There was a new Equinoid in his presence, and this one looked a lot like the white Princess. And, if that one had disdain for him, then this one was sure to have some, too.

Nathan watched as Twilight tried to peak around his head at the AI chip, clearly confused as to what it was. "Who was that? Where did she go?" She asked surprised.

Nathan stood and went over to the bars, resting his arms on the horizontal beam that went through them. "It's classified, ma'am." He said with authority.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Please don't call me 'ma'am'." Twilight said with a giggle. "Call me Twilight, Grunt." She said his name as if it were honey, which Nathan noticed, making him and cringed internally. Almya began giggling hysterically into his helmet speakers. Nathan grunted in anger, slapping the side of his helmet to shut the rambunctious AI up.

"Sorry." She retorted sarcastically, still giggling slightly.

Twilight barely noticed the exchange that the human was seemingly having with himself and turned to the darker pony before them. "I want you to meet Princess Luna." Twilight said happily, stepping aside and allowing the Princess by. Luna stepped forward, her gaze on the human was as if he were nothing more than a measly peasant. "Luna? This is the alien who save my friends and I. His name is Grunt."

Nathan carefully examined Luna's features as she approached. Luna was as dark as the night, her mane and tail blew in an invisible wind and looked as if they were filled with stars. On her flanks were large purple blotches with crescent moons in them. Nathan was in awe by her appearance. It wasn't imposing like that Celestia's was. This pony seemed like she knew what she was doing when situations like this arose.

"We are charmed to meet thee." Luna said with fake sincerity. "When we heard there was a human on Equis, we had to meet it." She extended a hoof, which Nathan stared at oddly. "Do you not know how to shake? I thought that is what you do." She pointed out.

Nathan conceded that point and extended his hand through the bars, shaking the Princess's hoof lightly.

Luna smiled after the handshake ended, wiping her hoof on her foreleg, which seemed a bit rude to the Spartan. He didn't care though. He was used to being in rooms full of brass who paid him no heed. No one ever pays attention to a soldier who was built solely to die.

"So do you have a real name?" Luna asked suddenly, taking the Spartan completely off guard. How did she know the name he gave was only a nickname?

Nathan just stared at her, remaining silent. Luna let out a long sigh and leaned forward. "You're lucky we did not kill you the moment you set foot on this planet, Human. Tis rude to ignore a question from somepony who literally holds your life in her hooves."

Twilight stared fearfully at Luna, then to 'Grunt', or whatever his real name was. Why did he lie about something as simple as his name? Surely he must have used it plenty of times! After all, he was military, that much was obvious to the small Unicorn. But, did he really have to lie to her?

Nathan chuckled and propped his head in his hand. "Think that if you want, if it helps you sleep at night." He shot back, not a single ounce of fear in his voice. Luna leaned away, blinking dumbly at his response.

No, she couldn't show any signs of backing down, not with something this important. She needed to try something new, something that even she wasn't used to.

She had to bring out the friendly.

Luna smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes. "Can thou please tell us thine name? We would very much like to know that much about you. Please?" She said with a hint of begging.

It was Nathan's turn to stare dumbly at the Princess. Was she really trying to use the puppy dog look on him? Granted, it was doing a fine job, considering how large these ponies eyes were.

Nathan let out a sigh and shook his head slowly. "Will it get you off my ass?" He asked.

Luna shuffled awkwardly. "We did not know we were on your... 'ass'." She said awkwardly, eliciting a snort from the Spartan.

"Cute. Well, my name is Nathan. That's all you need to know about me." He said, walking to the back of the cell. Twilight watched as he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms smugly like he had the upper hand in the situation. She really wished he'd stop acting like that. The last thing she wanted to see was him executed for something Celestia and Luna do not like him for.

"Well... Nathan. We shall leave you now. But, we shall be back to ask thee questions later. You can be sure of that." She said with a threatening tone.

Nathan nodded and waved. "I'll look forward to it. And like I said, I am only behaving because of First Contact protocols. The moment you consider me a hostile to you, or your race..." Nathan trailed off and let the weight of his words sink in, making Luna flash a glare of anger, which disappeared as soon as it came.

"Think what you will!" She hissed, heading back towards the stairwell. "Twilight? Come. Leave this beast to rot in his hole."

Twilight sat on the floor, staring at the human before her. "I-If it's alright, I think I'll stay a bit longer... For research purposes." She added at the end, turning to Luna with a smile. "I'll be fine. Don't worry."

Luna glared at Nathan, then at Twilight. "Be warned, Twilight Sparkle. He is a very dangerous creature. Stay outside of the cell at all time." She warned. Nathan snorted at her very accurate rendition of him.

"Yes, Princess." Twilight bowed, waiting for Luna to be fully gone before turning her attention back to the human. Once the two of them were alone, Twilight approached the cell door, placing her horn in the lock. The lock clicked open, allowing Twilight to enter.

Nathan watched as she did, not heeding Luna's warnings in the slightest. He had to respect that; someone who stands up against a higher authority when you believe in something strong enough is pretty admirable. It had gotten Shelly nearly court marshaled a few years back to save his life.

Still, Twilight was acting foolish. If she had shown this kind of acceptance for a Covenant soldier, she'd already be dead right now. "Aren't you going to listen to your Princess?" Nathan asked, still leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

Twilight just smiled at him and took a seat, stretching her back and forelegs. "Whew. Twenty hours without sleep can catch up to you pretty quick." She said, ignoring his question.

Nathan let out a chuckle and walked forward, sitting on the ground near Twilight. "Only twenty hours? I've been up for about one hundred forty-four hours. Give or take."

Twilight stared at Nathan, slack jawed. How could anypony stay up for almost an entire week?! How was he even keeping his eyes open, let alone forming a sentence!

"H-How-" Nathan held up his hand and smiled.

"Military training, that's all I'm going to say." He chuckled, leaning back. Since the other pony was gone, he felt comfortable enough to take off his helmet. He didn't feel threatened around Twilight. She seemed to be the only one who thought he was any good around here.

Twilight smiled softly when the helmet came off, staring at the face she became so fascinated with. So damaged, yet so innocent looking. Two opposites clashing to create something Twilight didn't expect; otherworldly beauty. Nathan was such a fluid creature in his design.

"So," Twilight began, moving closer to the Spartan. "How about a game of chess? I saw you playing it before with... that see through thing. What do you say?"

Nathan thought about that for a second. She wasn't asking any questions about Almya or anything else, and a simple game of chess wasn't classified... "Sure. But, I know you want to set up wages. So, what do you get if you win?" He asked, pulling Almya's chip from the helmet to his side and placing it in between the two of them. "Allie? A game of chess, please." A chess board snapped out of the small holographic device, making Twilight 'ooh' like a kid seeing a shiny thing.

Twilight composed herself from the image and smiled. He may have known her plan, but what he didn't know was that she was a whiz at chess. Never defeated once in her life. So, with that, she decided to go for all or nothing.

"Well, if I win. I want you to tell me one story. I want to know how your life came to... this." She gestured to Nathan with her hoof.

Nathan thought hard about that. Spartan training was highly classified. It even went under the noses of some of the highest brass out there. Nathan couldn't risk military secrets over a measly game of chess!

Still, he had never been defeated, except by Almya, but she's a machine, that's what she does. No way was some talking pony going to out-chess him. Besides, if he did lose, what would she even do with the information he gave her anyway? It was just a story, nothing more.

"Alright. And if I win, I get a good, long nights sleep tonight. You have your match." He said, making the first move. Twilight stared at the chess pieces curiously, unsure of how to move them. "Just hover your han-, hoof over the piece you want to move and where you want to move it to. It'll know."

Twilight did as instructed, moving one of her pawns across the board. "Wow! That's so cool!" She squealed, smiling up at Nathan, who was smiling back at her enthusiasm.

But, what Twilight didn't know was that he was mostly smiling because he knew he was going to beat her. He wouldn't have to blab anything to her, and everything would be right as rain. There was no way he was going to lose.

He never looses.

"Ah-ha! Check!" Twilight cheered, placing her knight a few spaces from Nathan's king. Nathan moved his bishop between his king and her Knight, also setting up a check.

"I'll check you back." He chuckled, waiting for her to make the next move. Twilight grinned and moved her queen in front of her King, which also gave her a clear shot at Nathan's king once more.

"Check again. Why not concede the game? save yourself from the humiliation?" Twilight teased, filing a hoof on her chest smugly. "I've never lost a game of chess. Ever."

Nathan sighed, seeing almost nothing he could do. He could move his king and prolong the game, or he could just end it all, tell a tale, then finally get some well deserved R and R.

"I guess I have no choice." Nathan chuckled, flicking the holographic king down. Twilight did a double take to make sure she was seeing what she was actually seeing. She didn't understand why he would just throw the game away like that. He had a slim chance to beat her, but... why?

"So, you want to hear that story now, or are you just going to sit their with your mouth hanging open?" Nathan asked, picking Almya back up and placing her in his helmet.

Twilight blushed slightly and recomposed herself. "Heh. Sorry, Nathan... But, yes. I would like to hear that story you promised me." She beamed, scooting closer to the Spartan so the two were only a half a foot apart from each other.

Nathan leaned back against the wall, rubbing the stubble on his chin. "Alright, how I came to be... this. Well, it all started back when I was just a kid. I was only seven when they started training me on the military planet Onyx. Well, we had just barely gotten there and gotten to sleep, when the guards sounded the wake up call..."

August 5, 2539
UNSC Military planet, ONYX
0500 hours

"Wake up, boots!" A large voice yelled from across the barracks. Nathan's eyes shot open quickly, thinking that everything that had happened the night before was just a dream. But, he was still in the large, metal building, or the barracks, as the soldiers called them. Nathan had only gotten to sleep, and didn't bother heeding the man's orders to wake up. He just rolled back over and covered his head with his pillow. He had never been so tired in his life.

Nathan jumped in pain as a jolt of electricity pierced his side. If he wasn't awake before, he was now. The spasm the shock had induced sent the boy to the floor. Nathan painfully opened his eyes and looked up to see a small white man with beady eyes staring down at him.

"Didn't you hear the man, slug? Time to get up!" The man yelled, getting into position to jab Nathan again with the shock stick. Nathan growled in anger, side stepping the mans swift jab. Nathan grabbed the hilt of the baton, and smashed his small elbow into the man's groin. Everyone in the room watched as the soldier let out a yell of pain and fall to the floor. Nathan ignored the man he put in pain and promptly crawled back into bed, sighing as he shut his eyes again for sleep.

Nathan wasn't in bed for long. He let out a surprised yell as he was suddenly lifted by his left arm straight into the air. He was now face to face with none other than Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez. Nathan gulped at the intimidating man before him. He was short, but Nathan could already tell he was very strong. His face looked like it was carved from marble and, judging by the smell of his breath, he enjoyed Sweet Williams Cigars, the same kind his father, and his new friend Johnson smoked.

"What's your name, boot?" Mendez asked, smiling slightly. Mendez then turned his gaze on the man at his feet, groaning as he clutched his testicles in utter pain. This made Mendez let out a slight laugh, something he rarely did.

Nathan just sighed and tried to shake his arm free, but to no avail. He decided just to answer the man's questions "I'm Nathan, Sir." He said flatly.

Mendez just kept on smiling. "You seem to be in high spirits. Looks like we'll be one trainer short today. Boots! Hit the shower and head for the yard! Double time!"

Mendez dropped Nathan to the ground and ushered him on towards the showers in the back. Nathan didn't realize just how many other kids were with him. Some were older, some were younger, ages ranging from five to nine years old. Nathan followed them all into the large showering room, which was about the size of a basketball court, with nozzles spaced every foot on the ceiling.

"Enjoy the showers, worms!" One of the trainers yelled, turning the water on full. Some of the kids screamed when they were blasted with the ice cold liquid. Nathan held his ground, letting out a small grunt of displeasure from the surprising cold. He didn't let this get to him. From what he saw back in the barracks, these soldiers wanted nothing more than to seem intimidating to the kids. They wanted all their trainees to know that they were in charge, that they controlled them.

Nathan was adamant that no one was going to control him.

After about a minute of scrubbing in the freezing shower, the kids were ushered back into the barracks. "Alright, maggots! Get dressed! Move, move, move!"

Nathan went back over to his cot to see a gray sweat suit on the mattress. This wasn't there before when he got up. Did they just put these there while they were all showering?

Nathan held the matching black t-shirt up to him. There was a name tag on the front left breast that read, Nathan G129. What was G129?

Once he and the other children were dressed, they were all marched out into the yard. "Alright! One straight line! Now!" Once of the trainers yelled. The kids instantly obeyed, falling into one long line.

Nathan leaned his head over to see the row stretch from one end of the camp to the other. There had to be at least three hundred kids here! Nathan's eyes came back down the row to the child standing next to him. She was probably a year or so younger than him, with reddish hair that still glistened in the morning light from the quick shower. She still seemed exhausted as she wearily closed her emerald green eyes. Nathan was about to warn her about that, but one of the men beat him to it. He came over as fast as lightning and shocked her right in the spine. The poor girl let out a scream of pain and fell to the dirt, writhing in agony.

"Stand at attention, shit bag!" The man yelled in her face. Nathan stared at the poor girl on the ground with concern, then back at the pitiful man with hate. "Alright, you want to do this the hard way?" He asked, setting the stun baton to its highest setting. "Wake-y wake-y!" The soldier jabbed the shock stick down, but ultimately did not expect Nathan to reach out with lightning quick reflexes. The soldier stared in shocked anger at the boy now grasping the device with a vice like grip.

"Leave. Her. Alone!" Nathan said forcefully, spitting on the mans pants for emphasis. "How would you feel is someone shocked you for being tired, huh?" He asked angrily, snatching the baton and threw it away from the soldier. No sense in letting an enemy keep their weapon.

The soldier chuckled, cracking his knuckles for the fun he was about to have. "Oh you asked for it, maggot!" He yelled, pulling his fist back to punch the disobedient child. Nathan smiled as the slow punch came, ducking under it and slammed his head into this man's privates in one swift move. The other kids turned and watched the soldier squirming on the ground, screaming obscenities at the child who had put him in that position. Some kids, and even soldiers, began to snigger while others completely bawled laughing.

Nathan smiled as he walked over to the girl still on the ground. She stared at him in utter shock as he outstretched his hand to her. "Are you okay?" He asked

She smiled up at him and took his hand. Nathan quickly pulled her to her feet and began checking her over for any injuries. "Mhmm. I'm okay... Thank you." She said quietly, rubbing the spot where the soldier shocked her. Nathan, once he was done making sure the girl was okay, looked back down at the pitiful man, hate lingering in his eyes. He picked up the shock baton he'd thrown away earlier and marched over to the soldier, whose eyes were wide in fear.

"Okay. How about a taste of your own medicine?" Nathan asked, bringing the device down on the man.

Mendez stood with Kurt in the building just behind the children, watching the scene with the young cadet and the soldier. Kurt shuffled slightly as he turned to Mendez.

"What's that ones name?" He asked curiously. Mendez began to laugh that, even though he had only been here for little more than four hours, Nathan was already getting the attention of the Spartan in charge.

"His names Nathan, sir. call sign G129. That's the second marine he's sending to the infirmary in about fifteen minutes tops. I think we got ourselves a firecracker on our hands."

Kurt smiled beneath his polarized face plate. "Reminds me of John." He reminisced, gesturing Mendez to follow him out to the yard.

Nathan jabbed the baton into the soldiers chest again. The man caved in on himself, screaming in agony. "It doesn't feel so good, does it?!" Nathan yelled, jabbing the man in the neck this time.

"Please! Stop!" The soldier pleaded. Nathan just stared dumbly at him. How many kids had asked him to stop? How many had he hurt with one of these things? Nathan had enough of this anyway. He gave the man a solid kick to the head with his tiny combat boots. The marine instantly went limp, knocked out cold by the blow. The other children began to back away from Nathan, either out of fear, or what the marines would do to them if they got involved. The girl stayed where she was though. She wasn't afraid of the boy. If anything, she thought he was really sweet for what he did for her. She quickly ran over and gave him a hug, sighing happily.

"You're really sweet. My names Shelly." She said, letting him go. Before Nathan could tell her his name, six more marines rushed over, tackling the boy to the ground. Nathan fought wildly, trying to punch and kick at them to get them off, managing to get in a few glancing blows. One of the marines, fed up with the boys attitude, gave Nathan a straight punch to the chest.

Nathan saw stars as the breath was knocked out of him. His vision began to spiral as the beating began. He looked over through the haze to see Shelly holding her hands to her mouth in shock and fear. The other marines followed their fellow soldiers lead, punching and kicking the boy as hard as they could, possibly to death.

"Stand down, Marines!" A loud voice echoed through the dawn. The Marines instantly climbed off the boy and gave crisp salutes. The new man didn't return any salute. All he did was point towards the barracks. The men quickly scurried off, leaving the mysterious armored man leaning over Nathan.

Nathan's vision began to return, and all he could see was the figure of a fully clad soldier in front of him. His armor was olive drab, with a black suit underneath. Nathan could see his own battered reflection in the polarized visor. He looked like shit.

"You alright?" The new man asked, his voice low and full of authority. Nathan nodded, slowly getting his feet with the help of Shelly. Kurt turned to the rest of the children, placing his hands behind his back with authority.

"Let this be a lesson to all you! Respect your superiors, and they'll respect you back. Don't pull what G129 did here today, or you'll be regretting it later. Part of being a Spartan is learning to obey orders, no matter what they are. NEVER question a superior. But also being a good Spartan is to know when to stand up and defend yourself and your men. G129 demonstrated that here today with G230." The large man looked at them both. "You two shall be partners into tonight's activity." He whispered. Shelly and Nathan smiled and stood close to one another as Kurt continued to address the children.

"I never caught your name." Shelly whispered, standing as close as she could to her new friend.

Nathan smiled and wrapped his hand around hers, hopping to keep her safe from anything that tried to hurt her. "I'm Nathan. And I won't let anything happen to you."

The day was spent doing almost every exercise under the sun; push ups, sit ups, and anything else the superiors had in store. They had to do a five mile run to one of their training areas, which caused Nathan to throw up at least three times on the way. But, despite that, Shelly never left his side once throughout the day.

The duo pushed through the each of the challenges together, even in the free for all game. The FFA objective was to climb the tower and be the first to bring the flag back to Mendez. Nathan and Shelly brought it back together, receiving harsh stares and threats from the other children.

The entire time the children were training, Kurt watched the pair complete each test together through a small camera Mendez had on his jacket. Kurt knew G129 and G230 would be an unstoppable pair in the future. He needed more men like that; men who would be willing to do anything for the one next to them.

Kurt sighed and looked away from the monitor, setting his gaze on the picture on the wall. It was of all the Spartan's who survived the augmentation process. Only thirty-seven of them out of the one hundred-fifty had lived, which still sent chills ups Kurt's spine to this day. Would the war have already been won if all of the Spartan's had survived? That did matter now. What mattered was the five soldiers he was focusing on.

His old team. Kelly, Fred, Will, Linda... and John.

John was probably the greatest Spartan Kurt had ever known. John was still going strong as far as he knew, and Kurt had the feeling in his gut that John would win this war and go on to do great things for the UNSC.

Kurt tore his gaze away from the photo, sighing heavily. He went back to watching the duo, seeing so much of Kelly and John in both of them.

"I miss them everyday." He thought bitterly, snapping a salute at the picture of his fellow Spartans. Soon, the galaxy would have a new generation of Spartan's. And this time, they would all live. They would not die, not on his watch.

Not again...

The children had been led back to the yard where all of this had begun. The sun now setting, just inches above the horizon. Nathan and Shelly fell to the ground, trying to catch their breath from the run back. They both looked to one another and smiled bright, keeping their hands clasped firm in the others. This was the happiest Nathan had been since he lost his home.

"Alright, boots!" Mendez called out happily. "You did one hell of a job today! But, tonight is where you'll really be tested. Line up!" He yelled, gesturing us all back up.

The children were lined up and split into groups. Nathan and Shelly clung to one another so they wouldn't be separated. Kurt said that they would be partners for the day, and Nathan wasn't going to let that stop. It seemed Shelly wasn't, either.

Mendez began filing them into the Pelicans that were parked in the yard, waiting to take flight for the evenings final lesson. Mendez smiled when he saw Shelly and Nathan approach him.

"I wanna wish you two the best of luck tonight." He said, gesturing them up into the Pelican. Nathan entered, helping Shelly into the crew compartment. She began to blush as the two took their seats right next to one another.

Mendez made a propeller motion with his hands and, instantly, everyone's ears were assaulted with the sounds of jet engines. It was the loudest thing Nathan had ever heard. He covered his ears tight as he felt the ship lurch upwards into the sky.

Most of the kids covered their ears the entire trip. Nathan got used to the noise quickly and just sat there, kicking his feet in boredom, waiting for what the final exercise was going to be.

Mendez waited until a green light was lit in the crew compartment before touching a button. Nathan watched in shock as the back door slid open, sending the entire cabin into shear chaos.

Children screamed and scurried towards the back of the Pelican, afraid of falling out into the blackness of night. Mendez, on the other hand, stood just a foot from the door and nothingness. The sky behind Mendez painted the inside of the pelican a soft orange, which made the scene a bit surreal. Nathan could tell Mendez had done this before.

"Alright, meat!" Mendez yelled over the roar of rushing air. "Time for the bravery test! Each of you has a parachute under your seats! Put 'em on and we'll get this started!"

The children hesitantly dawned their parachutes, Nathan more so. He hated heights! he was scared to death of them! He looked behind Mendez at the howling emptiness of the sky and nearly threw up. Nathan looked over to Shelly, his pleasant distraction. He could see she was having trouble getting her parachute on, so he offered his hand to help, which she was very grateful for.

"Shelly, you want to step forward please?" Mendez suddenly asked, making Nathan's eye's widen. Shelly took one last look back at Nathan as she hesitantly walked over to Mendez. Nathan stared shocked as she approached the ledge, standing next to Mendez expectantly. But, Mendez didn't look at her. He kept his eyes on Nathan the whole time.

"Shelly, you'll be okay, I promise." He said. but before she could inquire as to what he meant, Mendez snatched her parachute off her back, kicking her out the door.

"Alright, Who's gonna-" But before Mendez could finish his sentence, Nathan ran for the door, diving into the howling wind. Mendez looked down at the two falling forms in the night. "Well, I'm glad I had time to explain to him how to open that thing." He said sarcastically to himself. "Didn't expect the bugger to go so fast."

Nathan felt the air whip at his face and neck. He squinted through the rushing air, trying to find his friend who was free falling in the dark. He could barely see his hand in front of his face with the sun now gone bellow the horizon. How was he supposed to find Shelly like this?!

The sound of screaming suddenly reached his ears. Nathan turned to the noise and angled his body, gaining speed at a monumental rate. He knew he was catching up. He had to catch up! He promised Shelly he wouldn't let anything happen to her. Nathan was a boy who kept his word, and he wasn't about to let his promise become a lie.

"Hold on Shelly!" He called out into the air, hoping she could hear him.

The ground was coming up faster and faster to meet him. Nathan suppressed the urge to vomit as he continued to listen for Shelly's screaming. He looked to the left to see a dark figure falling, screaming her little head off. It was Shelly!

Nathan reached out, feeling his hand brush against her sweat suit. He pulled her in and held her against his body as tight as he could. He let out a sigh of relief that she was safe. Now all he had to do was open the parachute and... Shit.

Nathan fumbled with the straps desperately. He couldn't find the cord that would save them both! Shelly kept screaming and Nathan kept fumbling, the ground only about 300 hundred feet away. Nathan yelled in defiance and struggled one last time. His hand caught something, which he prayed was the ripcord. He pulled it with all his might, and the chute slowly opened.

Too slow!

The ground was now about fifty feet away when the chute fully opened. "Hold on tight!" Nathan yelled to Shelly. He tucked his legs over her body, shielding her mid section from internal damage in the fall. He winced in pain as his legs hit branches and he and Shelly crashed through the forest canopy.

Nathan hit the ground, tumbling with his friend for about forty feet before slamming into the trunk of a tree. Shelly rolled from his grip, screaming in pain as her leg twisted completely backwards. She saw stars, but she had avoided death! She had survived, thanks to Nathan! She looked over to Nathan to thank him, but was greeted by the sight of her new friend; battered, bloodied, and possibly dead.

Shelly crawled over to Nathan quickly, ignoring the searing pain in her leg. She shook his prone form gingerly, turning him over to face her. He was covered in bruises and caked in cuts and blood. "Nathan? NATHAN!" She yelled. He was unresponsive. "Please, Nathan, get up!" She sobbed, falling into his chest.

She heard a thump a couple yards away and turned to see the fully armored man rushing forward. She gave him the most pleading look she could muster. "Please! You have to help him!" She yelled out, hoping the man would do something.

Kurt leaned over, taking out a small first aid kid from his pack. He checked Nathan for a pulse. It was there, but it was very weak. Kurt pulled out a pack of smelling salts to try and wake the boy up. When that didn't work, he went straight for the adrenalin shot.

Kurt turned to Shelly. "G230, I need you to hold him down, okay?" He said calmly. Shelly nodded, crawling over and squeezing herself behind Nathan, pressing her back into a tree. She wrapped her arms across his mid section, nodding to Kurt to signal she was ready.

"Okay." The Kurt said, flicking the cap off the needle. "I'm going to count to three. One. Two. THREE!"

Kurt slammed the adrenalin shot into Nathan's chest. The boy let out a yell of pain as he tried to thrash out, but Shelly hugged him tight, intent on never letting him slip her grasp. Kurt placed two firm hands on the boys shoulder to try and calm him down.

"You're okay, Spartan! You're okay!" Kurt yelled. Nathan stopped thrashing, taking in deep gulps of air as he looked himself over. He was alive... He was alive! But, where was Shelly?

Nathan felt two arms on his stomach, accompanied by a slight whimpering. He turned around and, to his relief, saw Shelly planted firmly against a tree, crying softly to herself as she continued to hold him tight. Nathan whipped around and hugged her just as tight, crying with her.

Kurt removed his helmet and looked at the two before him. He couldn't help but feel proud of them. Their teamwork, their courage, and their spirits were some of the strongest he had seen in all his recruits to date. Nathan and Shelly would be unstoppable, not to mention inseparable. Kurt smiled and pat both of their shoulders lightly.

"I can tell you two are going to make great Spartans someday." He said, standing and giving them crisp salutes. Nathan returned it as did Shelly, though very weakly. They had still just fallen out of the sky and nearly died.

Kurt turned around, pulling out a flare from his bandoleer. He ignited it on his armored thigh, sending a billow of green smoke into the night sky, alerting one of the Pelicans to where they were located.

Nathan suddenly fell into Shelly, his breathing becoming more labored. "I don't- I don't feel so good..." Nathan said shakily. Shelly just hugged him tight, even as he threw up blood all over her. She never let go. She never would. He had sacrificed everything to save her. He was a friend; the first true friend she had ever had. No way was she going to let him get hurt again. Not while she lived.

"It's okay, Nathan. You'll be okay." Shelly whispered, rocking Nathan back and fourth in her arms. Nathan heard her voice echo around his skull. To him, it was the voice of an angel. He smiled and felt the warmth from her body embrace his own. He didn't realize how cold he was until then. Not to mention tired... Nathan shut his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next three weeks for Shelly and Nathan were spent recovering from their grievous injuries. Nathan didn't care about his injuries. All he kept asking the doctors was if Shelly was okay. That's all that mattered to him now. Once he was cleared for visitors, they had Shelly's bed moved into his room.

It was now about eleven o'clock at night. Nathan was sound asleep, but Shelly couldn't sleep a wink. All she thought about was the accident that got the two of them here. All she dreamed about was falling into nothingness. It scared her, more than anything. Shelly rolled over in her bed, gazing over at the sleeping form of Nathan. He looked so peaceful, like he wasn't even hurt at all.

Shelly got out of bed and hopped into her wheelchair, rolling over to Nathan's bed. She smiled and grabbed Nathan's hand in hers, giving it a light squeeze. "Hey, Nathan? Are you awake?" She asked quietly.

Nathan groaned, sluggishly opening his eyes. His gaze slowly found Shelly's, but when it did, he instantly snapped out of his half asleep haze. "Hey there! Are you okay?" He asked quickly, sitting up. His body protested the endeavor the entire time, but it was worth it to see the smile on Shelly's face.

Shelly giggled and turned her chair so he could see her leg in the bright green cast. "Yeah. The doctors say I'll be out of this in a few weeks. But I heard things weren't good for you, huh?"

Nathan was about to answer, but a loud voice echoed at the door, answering for him. Shelly turned quickly and Nathan jump in fright.

"Five broken ribs, cracked A and D vertebra, shattered pelvis, and internal bleeding to be exact." Kurt exclaimed strolling into the room. Nathan sat up straighter, trying to salute, but fell back down from the effort. Kurt returned the terrible salute anyway.

"Hey, you're the same man who helped us in the woods!" Shelly exclaimed, barely recognizing Kurt without his armor.

Kurt smiled and nodded, pulling over a chair from the corner and taking a seat."Affirmative, G230. I wanted to talk to both of you privately, if that's alright with you."

Nathan chuckled, but coughed as his decimated lungs filled back up with air. "You're a Spartan. You don't have to ask permission." Nathan rasped.

Kurt nodded and continued. "I wanted to ask you both if this is what you want. You two have been through more in the first day of training than I have in my first month. If you want to op out, I won't hold it against you." Kurt leaned back in his chair, watching the mixture of confusion and uncertainty wash over the young children's faces.

Nathan turned to Shelly, who looked back at him. Nathan knew the answer the moment he heard the question anyways. "If it weren't for the Spartan program, I never would have met my best friend. I'm staying, and I promise I won't let you down, Sir." Nathan looked back to Shelly who nodded in agreement.

Kurt smiled and stood, saluting the children again. He was proud of them for sticking with the program. It wasn't everyday determination and bravery walked in. Kurt admired the two children even more now than he had before.

"Get well, Spartans." Kurt said, heading for the door. "You have training to complete."

February 19, 2551
UNSC Hopeful
0420 hours

Kurt had just finished talking to Ash G099, watching as the young man strolled into the makeshift hospital area. Ash was a fine Spartan, hell, all of Gamma company were some of the greatest soldiers Kurt had ever known. Now, he was waiting to spot the two cadets he had his eyes on for twelve years. He turned back to the last Pelican to arrive as it touched down on the pad, sending out a blast of air that ruffled Kurt's uniform.

Kurt watched as only two figures strolled out of the crew compartment. One was a strong, tall young man, who had grown into his form perfectly over the years. His brown hair was cropped short with a lightning bolt shaved down the left side. Walking with him was a slender, curvacious woman. She could stop a troop transport at twenty paces with a swing of her hips. Her emerald eyes were hard and cold, reminding Kurt of Linda every time he saw them. The woman walked with a sensual sway in her hips, which caused a few, if not all, of the crewman who were working nearby to turn their heads and stare. The two were none other than Shelly G230, and Nathan G129.

Kurt nodded to his Spartan's from Beta company, Tom and Lucy, and set a brisk pace towards the two soldiers. They seemed a bit in awe of the Hopeful. Most people were the first time they set foot on her. She was the ugliest, but the most helpful ship the UNSC fleet has ever had.

Shelly and Nathan stared on in awe at everything that was happening around the ship. Doctors and scientists were running every this way and that, setting up the machines that would transform all of the trainees into true blood Spartans. Nathan looked over to Shelly, who was as nervous as nervous got. He squeezed her hand and smiled at her.

"Hey, relax. It's gonna be alright." He assured her. Shelly smiled and squeezed his hand back.

"How did I get so lucky to find a friend like you?" She asked, resting her head on his shoulder. Nathan mock pondered her question, tapping his chin with his pointer finger.

"Hmm... Maybe it's because I know how to choose my friends. Now come on. We got a mission to complete." He chuckled, pulling her towards the medical area.

Kurt stepped out from the side, stopping the two Spartans in their tracks. Shelly and Nathan went rigid, giving off powerful salutes, which Kurt returned in kind.

Kurt lowered his arm and smiled."You two came far from that first day. I'm proud of you both." The two young Spartan's smiled to one another, taking in the praise from their superior officer. "You two have your own medical tent. It's practically impossible to separate you both anyways. Good luck, Spartans. I'll see you on the other side." Kurt gave them a final nod and went to the observation deck, followed by their other trainers, Tom and Lucy.

The two Spartans looked to one another. "Well, let's get going." Shelly said happily, grabbing Nathan's hand and pulling him towards the area Kurt directed them towards. Both Spartan's were unsure of what lay ahead, but they knew, for better or for worse, this was going to be one of their most difficult missions.

Kurt, Tom and Lucy entered the observation deck, which had security monitors for all the medical tents on the floor. Kurt grabbed the medical files for the procedure and went over the list for solutions he was giving the young men and women of Gamma Company. Kurt had convinced the Colonel to allow the illegal augmentations to these Spartans. It was the only thing that would save them, which couldn't be said for the Alpha and Beta company Spartans. These solutions would make them virtually impossible to kill under combat situations. They could go on for two miles with half of their stomachs missing and not miss a beat.

But, there was one mutagen that he was giving to G129. The reason he was using it on Nathan was because he had been told it must be used. Kurt didn't know what the solution was, just to trust it. He promised to never reveal who it was that gave him these chemicals. It would cause to many problems if it were revealed.

Kurt sunk into the chair, forgetting about the very strange incident he had the previous night. Pretty soon, he'd have a new graduating class of Spartans. He smiled and thought watching Gamma company as they began the task of becoming full fledged Spartans.

"I promise you I'll do everything I can to keep you safe."

"And then we went through the augmentation process without a hitch, turning us into the finest soldiers human kind had ever seen." Nathan finished his tale, turning to Twilight as she sat there, dumbstruck.

Twilight remained silent as she went over his story again in her mind. He had been through so much in only eighteen years of life. One thing she got out of the story was that he cared deeply for Shelly, and the same vice versa.

"So-" Twilight began, shuffling her hooves. "Are you and Shelly special someponies?"

Nathan thought about the phrasing, 'special somponies'. He assumed that meant, 'were they together', to which he shook his head 'no'. Twilight let out a mental sigh of relief, smiling at the stoic Spartan before her.

"So... Thank you for telling me that story. It was such an eye opener on human culture and behavior." Twilight said happily, standing up off the cold floor. Nathan remained seated as she continued to stare him over.

"So, you heading off then?" He asked, fidgeting with his helmet. Twilight smiled and nodded, walking for the cell door.

"I'm really tired from everything that happened today. But... I'll see you around." She assured. Before she left, Nathan called out to her, halting her in her tracks.

"Can you come back tomorrow night? I still want a rematch at chess." He said, pointing at the mare. "I never lose. And if I do, I come right back and try again."

Twilight giggled at his little joke and nodded. "Alright. Tomorrow night sounds good. I'll see you then." She smiled, walking out of the cell and up the spiral stairs.

Nathan watched as she left, sighing heavily to himself. He shouldn't be so trusting of these ponies. He wasn't really trusting of them as a whole; he really only trusted Twilight. Nathan put his helmet down on the floor and walked over to the window, looking up at the night sky.

Almya ejected her chip from the helmet, displaying her very displeased holographic figure in full height. "What the hell was that? You just divulged military secrets to an alien unnecessarily." She said angrily, crossing her arms.

Nathan didn't bother turning around. He didn't bother saying anything either. He knew it was stupid to tell Twilight all of that, but he had wanted to tell someone that story for a long time now. Someone he felt he could trust outside his unit. Twilight may have been an alien, but she had proven herself to be loyal to him, despite barely knowing who or what he was.

"Oh, don't tell me- You like her, don't you?" Almya scoffed, leaning against the wall. Again, Nathan said nothing, just continued to look out the window. Almya walked over, leaning next to him as she stared up at his face curiously. "Okay, if you don't want to talk about that, answer me this. Why did you throw that chess game away? One move of your rook to A6 and you would have had her in checkmate."

Nathan smiled and finally acknowledged his AI, who continued to stare at him in puzzlement. He still didn't answer her though. He just placed her back into his helmet and placed that on his head as he laid down on the hard, stone floor. "Wake me up at 0600, will you?"

Almya sighed into his speakers. "Alright, clocks set. Just be careful of these creatures, okay? You don't know what they're capable of."

Nathan nodded and shut his eyes for real for the first time in over a week. "Acknowledged. See you tomorrow, lovely." He chuckled, swiftly falling off to sleep.

Almya didn't know what to make of Nathan's forging bond with Twilight. He was becoming too complacent around her, and it led to him spilling a military secret! How could he trust an alien species so quickly? Could it be because they were the only aliens in the galaxy who didn't want humanities head on a platter? Well, at least that purple one and her friends didn't. The rulers of this land, however, were quick to cast their judgement on him.

And just how did those Princesses know what Nathan was so quickly? Something didn't sit right with Almya, and it was eating away at her neural processors. She had a lot of thinking to do tonight.

She was going to get to the bottom of this sooner or later.

Luna set an angry pace towards her elder sisters room. Luna wasn't one to get her feathers ruffled so easily, but the human managed to do it with barely a single sentence. He was an arrogant creature, a creature of nothing but death and destruction.

That was something Luna did not want on her peaceful little world.

Luna approached Celestia's chamber doors, giving the guards guarding them harsh stares. They bowed out of fear, quickly trotting away and letting Luna enter.

Celestia turned and smiled at her little sister who quickly stormed into the room. "Good evening, Luna. You seem to be in a sour mood." She pointed out, gesturing her to sit on the bed. Luna obliged, hopping up into the emperor sized mattress with a huff.

"I think you know why we are in a sour mood already, dear sister." Luna pointed out. "That... creature. Why do we just not kill it? If what the stories of humans from our ancestors is true, then why do we let him live?" After all Luna had heard from the stories of old about humans; how they did nothing but raid and murder countless worlds, why would Celestia choose to keep this one alive?

Celestia let out a long sigh. "If what my student says is true, that he saved hers and her friends' lives, then we must take that into account. Human kind could have changed in those one hundred-thousand years since the great galactic flood, could they not?"

The Galactic flood, something Celestia hadn't thought about in ages. From what she was told by her parents, and her parents were told by their parents, an unstoppable wave swept through the galaxy, wiping all life out. Only those who were aloud shelter in the 'Ark', were offered safe passage through the flood. Once the storm was over, they were sent home to start again.

Luna conceded her elder sisters point. Maybe human kind could have changed. But, that didn't change what the human said to her in the cell. "Tia, it seems our guest thinks he has the upper hand in the situation. He has even threatened us. Tia, I do not think we should be so kind to this creature." Luna's tone was one of warning to her elder sister. She was playing with fire when it came to that creature, and Luna suspected Celestia knew that, too.

"I share in your concerns, Luna." Celestia said, trying to ease her sisters worries. "But, we have to look at the facts. He saved our subjects, six of the most important mares in Equestria no less. I feel that humanity may have changed a bit... But, I feel we still need to take... those measures." Celestia hinted to Luna, who smiled deviously.

"Tomorrow morning then, sister?" Luna asked. Celestia took one last look out the window at the vast reaches of the galaxy before her. She took a deep breath and nodded, making Luna giggle happily as she skipped out of the room.

"We shall organize a few of our strongest Stallions for the job. I think Shining Armor might be willing to volunteer, considering how close the Alien and Twilight are becoming."

"Wait!" Celestia called out, turning quickly to Luna, who halted mid skip. "Twilight and the Alien... are still interacting?" She asked, a hint of anger in her voice.

Luna nodded. "Indeed. When we left the dungeon, Twilight asked to stay a bit longer. We warned her not to enter the cell, but, like the headstrong mare that she is, she did not heed our warnings. We were worried that the creature might hurt her when she entered, but he seems to be taking a shining to young Sparkle."

Celestia's eye twitched a bit as she mulled the information around in her head. "My faithful student and... the human?! No, she must be studying him, that's all. Still, it pays to be safe..."

"Keep Twilight away from the human. I do not want him to try and sway her to his ideals. Get Shining Armor to preform the task at hoof, and I'm sure the human will show his true colors. Now, please. I am tired." Celestia said, waving Luna off.

"As you wish, sister." Luna bowed respectfully, trotting out of Celestia's bedroom with an evil smirk on her face. "You shall not foul the galaxy a second time, Human. We will make sure of that."

Author's Note

Alright! Chapter 3 is up! And, now that I know how to write more fluidly, the love situation won't happen until a bit later in the story, with completely new chapters to boot. It'll help space it all out in the end, and I'm sure the result will be the Halo/MLP fic I've pictured in my mind since day one. Hope you all enjoy this one, and I'll see you in the next chapter. :)

A hundred-thousand years judgement

Chapter 4: A hundred-thousand years judgement
Planet: Unknown; September 2, 2552
0550 hours

"Get up, monster!"

Nathan's eyes flashed open just in time to see a hoof brought down on his bare face. He instinctively went to push it aside, but was instantly bound by some sort of energy in his feet and wrists, locking him in place and allowing the hoof to slam onto his face. Nathan groaned in pain as he looked up at the aggressor.

Before him stood the night Princess from last night, and a fairly burly Stallion with a blue mane and tail. He was dressed in very ornamental purple and gold armor, different from the standard gold armor he'd seen the soldiers around here wearing. It obviously signified this one was of high authority. He was also holding onto Nathan's helmet in a purple glowing field. That's probably why he didn't feel the stallion take it off his head.

"Ah," Luna smiled, walking around the Spartan threateningly. "What was that about last night? About us not having the upper hand? Now, we want answers, and we are going to get those answers, one way or another. I want you to meet Captain Shining Armor. Twilight's older brother."

Nathan turned his bloody face to the stallion, who was flaring his nostrils in anger. So, Twilight had a very jealous older brother? Nice. This was going to be a fun morning for everyone then.

"Captain." Nathan said simply, making Shining cock a brow in confusion.

Shining Armor stepped closer, eying every inch of the Spartan. "So, monster, what kind of armor is that?" He asked, going in to tap Nathan's armor with his hoof. As soon as his hoof made contact, the golden shimmer of Nathan's energy shield became visible, causing the stallion to back up in confusion.

"Classified." Nathan said simply. Shining grunted and sent another powerful hoof into Nathan's face, which was unshielded without his helmet. Nathan grunted from the force, but ultimately remained unfazed, even as more blood trickled from the second wound.

"Okay, my turn. What's Twilight going to think of you torturing her new friend? Probably nothing nice." Nathan shot back. Shining yelled in anger and Pinned Nathan to the wall, pressing his hooves to the mans throat.

"You leave Twilight out of this! What is she to you anyway?!" He shouted, pressing further into Nathan's throat. Nathan rasped as he laughed, coughing up blood onto Shining's face.

"Maybe you should ask her that question." Nathan pointed out, spitting a glob of bloody mucus on the floor at Shining's feet. "Now, I'll forget this happened if you two walk away right now." He threatened, lightly headbutting Shining Armor away from him. Shining stumbled back and groaned from the force of the blow to his snout.

The Stallion looked enraged and was about to attack again, when Luna stopped him with an outstretched foreleg. Luna pulled him aside, speaking to him in hushed tones, hoping Nathan wouldn't hear. Nathan's hearing, however, was almost super human, which aloud him to hear every word they spoke. "Speak to Twilight of this matter. She should be more well informed than us."

"Yes, your highness." Shining bowed, glaring one last time at the Spartan before exiting the dungeon. Luna turned back to Nathan and released the magical bonds around him, positioning herself in a defensive stance as her horn glowed bright. Tia's orders or not, she was going to eradicate this human off the face off the planet!

"We will not allow you to conquer our world! Not like so long ago!" Luna hissed, watching, hoping for the Spartan to try something. She didn't expect for him to just simply laugh again at the situation.

"Look lady, I'm not here for conquest, or whatever you think. I'm only here because my mission to destroy that ship buried nose deep in that forest was a complete wash and ended up jumping here!" Nathan's voice rose in more of desperation than anger. He just wanted to be back home and get some well deserved R and R with his team.

Luna mulled over his words, trying to find any hint of a lie in them. For the life of her, she couldn't find a lie anywhere. This young man was telling the truth about his intentions. Luna stepped forward, her face now taking more of a concerned appearance. "But why? Why didst thou crash here?! Why would that craft come here?!" She asked hastily.

Nathan could hear the fear coming from Luna's voice over the threat. It was something he was used to, which was kind of horrible to think about, really. Countless people had begged him for help on evacuation missions. He never said a word to those people, because he couldn't look a dead man in the eyes and say 'you'll make it out of this. I promise'... That was something the young Spartan would never be able to do.

But, now that he thought about it, why did the ship come here? There was no way the ship randomly jumped through slipspace and ended up here. That could only mean the coordinates for this planet were already locked into the ships navigational computer. Maybe when that Elite damaged it, the ship automatically set its course for the next set of coordinates.

It was a theory, and a very scary one at that. If this ship had the coordinates to this planet, then that meant the entire Covenant armada had them, too.

This peaceful land of Ponies was about to become fire and ash soon.

Nathan ran to the window and looked up at the sky. Thankfully, there was still no sign of any fleet; his own or Covenant. He turned back to Luna and scooped up his helmet, placing it firmly on his head with a muffled click.

"Princess, your world is in danger! If that ship knew how to get here, then others will! You don't want me locked in a jail cell when the Covenant arrive." He warned, grabbing hold of her shoulders.

In an instant, Luna teleported outside of the cell, locking the door behind her. She was afraid when that creature touched her; more afraid than she'd ever been. She didn't know why that simple action had frightened her so. All he did was grab her shoulders. Why did it startle her so much?

"Does this creature really inspire that much fear? Gods above only know what his enemies feel when they face him." She thought coldly, eying the Spartan over clearly for the first time.

The way he held himself, the way he constantly looked over his shoulder, trying to find the danger that wasn't there. Or was it? Could Luna just not see it? It could be right in front of her and she probably wouldn't notice.

But, there was a danger right in front of her.

No, she couldn't let this aliens words get to her. She had a duty to protect her subjects. After letting them down a thousand years ago, she could not be held responsible for letting an unknown monster run loose on the streets of Equestria.

"We... shall discus this matter with Tia. You will not go free until we deem fit you are no threat to our subjects. The council will then hold a vote on the matter if Tia agrees to the terms."

"How long will that take?" Nathan asked, shifting from foot to foot in anticipation. He knew there was a fight coming. He could practically smell the plasma in the air already. If there's one thing you can ever trust in this galaxy, it's a Spartan's intuition to know when danger is coming.

And it was on its way.

Luna stared at the Spartan intently. "I dost not know. It could be up to a week before the council settles the vote. That is, if Tia is open to the idea of setting you free in the first place, which I myself am against." Luna pointed out, wondering why she was even entertaining the idea of him being free.

"Why? What did I do to deserve to be locked up? I saved Twilight and her friends, and stopped what Covenant were on that ship from turning your civilians and this planet into glass. I didn't know saving lives resulted in incarceration here..." He sighed, walking back over to wall.

"Think of this from our point of view." Luna stated, heading towards the stairs back up to the real world. "You are quite used to different species from across the galaxy, while this is our first contact. We must be cautious, as you must have been when your species had first contact, yes?"

Nathan shook his head. "Yeah, we were cautious all right... Lost two ships in an instant and about a third of our fleet to the Covenant in the first year. That's why I'm telling you to let me out. I know how to fight them, you don't. Thousands will die if you think your armies alone can stand up to them."

Luna let the weight of those words sink in. This creature was adamant that he was on their side, but just what could she believe? What should she believe. Then she had an idea, an idea she knew would help get the answers she and her sister sought.

Luna smiled and trotted up the stairs. "I shall see you again, human." She called down, happily leaving the dank dungeon behind her.

Nathan watched her leave with anger laced in his eyes. Once she was gone, Nathan let out a frustrated yell, punching at the wall, cracking the solid stone with the force.

Almya let out a low whistle. "Wow. She really knows how to get under your skin, doesn't she?" She chuckled, getting an aggravated grunt in response. "Still think diplomacy is the best option here?"

Nathan couldn't see any other option. Diplomacy had failed him, the first time that he had ever tried using it. He was the only one from the UNSC with authority here on the situation. He had to think like the top brass if he was to get out of this one without starting another war. But, Almya was right. Diplomacy had failed him hard. But, what could he do? He was locked up tight in the cell. The walls and bars wouldn't budge, he knew since he tried the night before, and the Equines had taken his weapons-

But not his grenade launcher ammunition!

Nathan looked down to see all ten rounds of the M319 Grenade launcher ammo still attached to his armor. He smiled underneath his helmet and turned to the back wall. "How structurally sound do you think this wall is?" He asked, pulling the grenades off his belt and placing them against the wall.

Almya took a second to think. "Well, judging by the radar scans, a well placed explosion could- Ah, I see what you're getting at." She chuckled.

Nathan continued to smile as he placed the last grenade against the wall. "Allie, charge up Armor Lock." He ordered. Almya popped a status bar up in his HUD that was already halfway full. Nathan couldn't believe he was ditching first contact protocol to escape a dank dungeon, but he had no choice. These creatures were too ignorant to see the dangers that were waiting. How many Covenant were really on that ship? How many survived and were still out there, possibly butchering civies right under their governments nose?

"Alright. Armor Lock is fully charged. This is going to be risky, and I'd suggest finding another way, but you're practically unkillable anyways so the argument is moot."

Nathan chuckled as he curled into armor lock, letting his shields charge up to their max before bursting. "Pretty much." He said through the strain in his voice. Armor Lock, though you probably wouldn't be able to tell, was extremely painful to the user. It did what its name suggested. It locked, and locked everything. But, there was one side affect that Nathan needed for what was about to happen. The EMP shock it released would set off the electrical timers in the grenades, detonating them all at once. Nathan was the fuse to a very crudely set up bomb.

The final seconds ticked by to the last. Nathan's shields flared out in a five foot radios, detonating all twelve explosives which sent the Spartan sailing into the cell bars, denting them from the force of the impact. Nathan groaned and got to his feet, his armor smoking.

"Someone probably heard that!" Almya warned. "The crash site is twenty clicks South-East of here, if I'm assuming that's where you're going?" She pointed out, marking the craft on his HUD.

Nathan walked over to the hole, looking down at the sheer drop down the face of the mountain. It was about a five hundred meter free fall to the forest floor below, which didn't look good any way he sliced it. The sudden sounds of frantic hooves galloping down the cobblestone stairwell made up Nathan's mind. He took a deep breath and, just as the Guards entered the dungeon.

"That's the plan." He confirmed, falling forward in a dive, officially declaring his freedom in free fall.

(twenty minutes prior.)

Shining Armor made his way through the halls of the castle, grumbling to himself over the failed interrogation that never even started. He prided himself in his duties to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. After all, he was Captain of both the Solar and Lunar division of Guards. He had to be good at what he did.

But, after only three questions, one pertaining to his little sister, he had been asked to leave and go find her. He had plenty of things to ask her about this creature, one being what he was to her... That didn't really sit well with the Captain. Sure, inter-species relationships happened, not commonly, but they did. But... What if his little sister was... feeling things for this alien? It unnerved him to his bones

Rounding the last corner to the guest wing, Shining made his way towards the door that literally had paper busting through the seams. He chuckled a bit and knocked on the door a few times.

In an instant, Twilight answered, a cascade of papers falling into the hall, surrounding Shining Armors hooves. He looked down at them with a blank expression, then back up to his sister. "Do I even have to ask what all this is about?" He said sarcastically, entering the former room that looked a bit more like a war zone.

"Well, if you're going to ask if it's about Nathan, then yes." She beamed, reorganizing her stacks of paper. "Can you believe it? First contact! Oh, I can't wait to learn more from him!" She squealed excitedly, rushing back over to the parchment she was currently working on.

Shining stepped over mound of papers, finally finding the couch and taking a seat. "Aren't you at least a little afraid of it? One, you don't know what it is, and two, it's a soldier; an alien soldier who takes no remorse in killing! How are you okay with that?!" Shining Armor's words came out a bit harsher than he intended, but they did the trick to get Twilight's attention off her work and onto him.

"I'm not okay with it..." She admitted, sighing heavily. "But, if he hadn't done what he did, you and I wouldn't be talking right now, two fillies would be without sisters, Ponyville's favorite smile bringer would be gone, injured animals would be without a caretaker and the weather team would have lost one of its finest. Not to mention the Elements of Harmony would become dormant again, useless in case anypony wanted to try and take over Equestria. He didn't just save my life, he saved all of Equestria's last night, too."

Twilight's words were bold truths, truths Shining Armor hadn't realized up till now. His sister and her friends controlled the most powerful weapon in all of Equis, and if they were gone, it would be free game for evil deities and tyrants to try and take the reigns of the peaceful country.

"Twilight... I have to ask you something. You and the alien are getting... a bit close, wouldn't you say?" He asked, rubbing one foreleg against the other.

"I'll say!" Twilight said excitedly, the implication of Shining's words going right over her head. "He's told me so much about his way of life, his military training... It's all so fascinating, and scary... very, very scary... Shining, do you know just what he went through as a child?" She asked. Shining Armor sat there for a second before shaking his head. "Well, I do. At age seven, his home planet was destroyed -destroyed mind you- by those other aliens. His parents were killed right in front of him as an added, horrible bonus."

Shining Armor remained silent as Twilight went on. "While he was evacuating the planet, somepony asked him to be a soldier; they asked a seven year old child to take up arms and learn to fight." She practically yelled. Shining Armor's mind was blank as he mulled that thought over. Joining the military as just a young colt? That's scary even in itself at the adult stage. Celestia knows what he felt.

"Shining, the things they did to him... The things they made him do... I-I can't fathom what his life is like; to be nothing more than a soldier, on duty day in and day out, going on missions too risky for normal soldiers, having your body augmented like some-"

"Whoa, wait a minute," Shining interrupted. "You're saying his body has been... enhanced?" Twilight nodded. "Like how?" He asked worriedly.

"I don't know, just that the chemicals made him stronger, faster and harder to kill... Horrible, I know... Why do you ask?" She asked him, raising a brow.

Shining gulped. "Because, we just left a walking chemical lab alone in his cell!" He shouted. As if to confirm his fears on the subject, a loud explosion detonated a few floors below them, shaking the castle to its core.

Twilight and Shining ran for the window, looking down as the Spartan went into free fall towards the forest bellow. "Oh my Celestia! Nathan!" Twilight shouted, getting on the windowsill.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Shining shouted, grabbing Twilight with his magic and pulling her back in. "What in the hay do you think you're doing?!" He scolded her like one would a disobedient child.

"I have to help him!" Twilight shouted, rushing the windowsill again, only to be pulled down, physically, by Shining again. She fell to the floor and glared at him.

"Twilight, you are NOT jumping five hundred meters off a mountain! That just crosses the line from stupid to crazy! For all you know, he probably can fly, and that's why he jumped." He pointed out, looking back out the window with Twilight to see a tiny dot smash through the forest bellow. "Oooh... maybe not, huh?" He winced, trying to peel his eyes off the hole in the canopy bellow.

Shining ran for the door, stopping in the threshold as he turned to Twilight, a stern look on his face. "Now, I have to go organize a search for this thing. Stay here, and don't do anything stupid." He warned, rushing down the hall. Twilight could hear him shouting orders to passing soldiers as she shut the door, leaving herself alone.

Then she smiled as she approached the windowsill, standing on it as she gazed down at the hole. "Sorry, Shining! I have to make sure my friend doesn't end up getting hurt." And with that, she took a deep breath and jumped down to the forest bellow.

Nathan braced as the ground approached faster and faster. He knew his armor would protect him, after all, it was only five hundred meters. He'd fallen from orbit once and walked it off just fine... with two broken legs.

Nathan tucked his body into a cannonball as he set the suits gel layer to full, crushing his body in a painful, protective goo. Nathan had his eyes shut in pain as he slammed through the forest canopy, imbedding himself into the ground below.

Almya deactivated the armor overrides, preventing the dazed Spartan from being killed by his own armor. "Come on, sleepy, time to move!" She shouted, rousing Nathan to his feet. As soon as the Spartan was up, he was off, following the nav marker deeper and deeper into the woods.

Nathan continued his sprint through the forest, ignoring the protest from his crushed body. Locking down the gel layer could result in death if it is used for too long. That's why when a Spartan is falling from an incredible height, it's imperative they activate it at the last possible second.

With his body screaming, Nathan pushed on, watching the distance to the ship becoming increasingly less with each stride he took. Nathan had to make sure the ship did in fact have this planet in its navigational database, or if landing here was just a huge cosmic coincidence. If the former was true, then this planet had only days, if not less, to live.

“Alyma? ETA on the crash site?” Nathan asked, sliding down a steep hill, landing in a murky swamp. The water barely slowed the Spartan down.

“About five minutes at your current pace. Although, this swamp might slow us down a bit.” She pointed out. Nathan halted for a moment, making sure the area was secure.

There was a sign half buried in the muck, reading 'Froggy Bottom Bog'. A very apt name, since the air was being raped by the sounds of croaking and splashing. The water was a murky brown, with no visibility whatsoever. Anything could be lurking underneath the water right next to him and Nathan wouldn't be able to notice it in the slightest.

"Almya, boost radar power by thirty percent... I got a bad feeling about this bog." Nathan pulled out his knife, keeping a firm grip on the hilt.

Almya seemed a bit perplexed by her Spartan's request. "Doing it. What are you expecting from a swamp called 'Froggy Bottom Bog'? Sounds pretty- Hold on..." Almya trailed off. "Something big is heading this way."

"How big?" Nathan asked. Almya pulled up the boosted image of the radar on his HUD. The entire radar was completely covered by a massive yellow blob, which Nathan instantly changed to red.

Something was lurking under the water. And, it was heading straight for him.

Before Nathan had time to inquire whether or not it was Covenant, he was launched into the air from below, sending him flying across the swamp. Nathan righted himself before he hit, landing on his feet as he slid thirty feet through the muck and muddy water.

When Nathan looked up at what hit him, he wasn't expecting a multi-headed leviathan standing before him. The creature had to be fifty feet tall. It's body had no arms, but it made up for that in the head department. Five heads were now staring down at the Spartan, their large, reptilian eyes dilating in anticipation of the kill. The creature opened all of its maws, roaring angrily at the man in their territory.

"Almya?! What the hell is that thing?!" Nathan shouted, poising his knife, which was most likely going to be useless in this situation. It was all the Spartan had, and it was better than nothing.

"Do you really think I know?! What I do know is, get your ass out of here!" She screamed as one of the heads came down. Nathan sidestepped at lighting speed, slashing his blade diagonally down, carving it beneath the thick scales. It passed through the spaces of the scales easily, carving the thin flesh like a hot knife through butter. The creatures roared as one of their heads hung limply, half torn off by the small, but sharp blade. That was one head down, four more to go.

What Nathan and Almya didn't expect, however, was the four remaining heads to rip off the dying one, letting it flail and thrash on the ground in front of the perplexed Spartan. "Almya? What's it doing?" Nathan asked, scuttling backwards in case it tried to charge again.

Almya didn't answer. She was obviously transfixed on watching this thing through the helmets feeds. The creature began to roar in pain as the spot the head and neck were torn from began to sprout two more heads, which shot high into the sky, joining their brethren in glaring at the little Spartan.

Almya let out a gasp as Nathan ran, the creature hot on his heals. "I can't believe it! I-It's a Hydra!" She squealed excitedly. Nathan wasn't all too excited about finding out what the creatures name was that was about to eat him.

"What the fuck's a Hydra?" He asked, rolling out of the way as three heads came down in a pecking motion to try and knock him off his feet.

"A Hydra is a mythological animal in ancient Greek folklore. It was virtually unkillable. The young hero, Heracles, was able to finally kill one of the beasts by chopping off each head and cauterizing the wounds with a torch." Almya stated as the Spartan kept thumping through the swamp, the squishes and squelches of his feet ringing in his ears.

"So, cauterizing huh? How about an Energy Sword? That should work." He pointed out, kicking one of the heads right in the snout, breaking the bone with a loud crack.

"That should do it. There's bound to be some at the crash site! Go!" She ordered. Nathan picked up the pace, leaving the hydra somewhat in his wake. The ship wasn't far now, just a couple hundred more yards to go, and he'd finally be able to complete what he set out to do.

But, it wasn't meant to be. Nathan took a wrong step, sending him from calf deep water to waist deep water. Nathan felt his right leg being sucked into the thick muck below. He pulled and pulled with all his might, but he just couldn't get it out. The bog gunk held on with a vice like grip.

Nathan continued to struggle as the Hydra neared, hissing in victory as it brought its heads back, poised to strike. Nathan just watched in shock and anger; shocked because it was going to be a mythological creature that was going to kill him, and angry for the same exact reason. He thought it would be the Covenant that would do him in, but no. It was a stinking multi-headed lizard!

Nathan closed his eyes and braced for the end as Almya screamed nonsense about escaping into his ear. Nathan ignored it and just let his life flash before his eyes; his life on New Jerusalem, joining the military, his friends, his team... He'd never see any of them again. Although, the last thought he had was of Twilight; something he didn't expect his mind to ponder on in his last seconds. The Hydra roared, bringing Nathan back to reality. It's heads shot downwards and Nathan prepared himself for the end.

Author's Note

So, my little self hiatus is over. I really needed that break. I love writing, but damn, I just need some me time to sort out some things. :P So, while I was sorting things out, I just went over and proof read this. Now, it's time to post this chapter, and see where things take us. So, see you next chapter! :3

-And the horse he rode in on...

Chapter 5: -And the horse he rode in on...
Planet, unknown; September 2, 2552
0640

All Twilight could think of after jumping from the windowsill, was how absolutely, incredibly stupid her decision was. But, it was the quickest way down, and given the fact that time was a factor in whether or not this alien would be recaptured, dead or alive, fastest was, indeed, best.

When Twilight was about fifty feet from the tops of the trees, she used her magic to surround her body in a purple, magical bubble, allowing her to float gently towards the forest floor. Once she landed, the bubble popped like a balloon. She took off towards the south-east, and all she had to do was follow the large, heavy boot prints that were pressed into the soft soil. It was no surprise as to whom they belonged.

Twilight was shocked with how far the footprints were spread out. It indicated just how fast this Spartan's top speed really was. No doubt it was probably faster than anypony could gallop. A pony's average running speed was twenty miles per hour. Nathan must have been able to run double that, easily.

Twilight didn't dwell too much on his speed. She just followed the imprints as best she could, hoping the Spartan hadn't run into any trouble. She wasn't a tracker by any means, she was a librarian who was following a real life pony's tale. After about ten minutes of running, she was in a very familiar part of the Everfree. Froggy Bottom Bog.

Twilight knew better than to venture into the swamp, lest she disturb some of the dangerous beast that dwell in the depths. Last time she and her friends were here, they had a dangerous run in with a Hydra. That was the last thing she wanted to encounter on this trek. She already had aliens to deal with, she didn't want to add more danger to the plate.

A sudden deafening roar echoed across the bog, causing an eery silence to fall over the area as frogs, crickets and birds went silent, hoping to avoid being placed on the menu of the obviously large creature that emanated that roar. It looked as if Twilight's wish wouldn't be granted. She deftly hopped from isle to isle, heading towards the sounds of battle in the distance. Twilight couldn't help but feel scared; scared that the soldier who had saved her life was now on the receiving end of one of the deadliest creatures in the Everfree.

Twilight made her way around one of the larger islands in the center of the bog. Once she made her way around, she was only a fifty feet away from, what she feared, a Hydra. She watched as it fought against the Spartan, fear tugging at her gut. Stuck in the murky mud was Nathan, trying desperately to free himself from the prison while simultaneously trying to fend off the beast with a measly little knife. Neither of his attempts were working, and Twilight knew once you were stuck in the deep muck, there was practically no way to get out without the assistance of incredible brute strength, or magic. Nathan was stuck fast, with the Hydra only meters away, ready to strike. Twilight had to act, and she had to act now.

Twilight took a deep breath, channeling her magic through her horn. In an instant, she was in front of Nathan and the Hydra. She let out a struggled yell as she focused some of her most powerful magic into one, powerful blast, sending the Hydra sailing a hundred feet back.

Nathan stood there, stunned at the panting Unicorn before him. She had just... appeared out of nowhere, risked her life against some mythological creature, and all in an attempt to save him? Why would she do that? She wasn't a soldier, she had no obligation to even care for his well being. She was just a civilian in the wrong part of the woods. The part of the woods that Nathan was assuming to be hostile territory, not.

Twilight turned around, smiling lightly. "Are... you okay?" She asked a little winded, using her magic to pull Nathan out of the muck with, what seemed like, a very high amount of difficulty.

"Fine." He replied dryly, stretching his arms and neck. "You should go back to the Capital. Between those things and any Covenant survivors, this area is definitely is definitely not safe. And I'm not going back to prison, if that's why you're here." He began walking off, but the roar of the Hydra behind him made him turn back around with a sigh.

The Hydra rolled back to its feet and was now glaring at the small purple unicorn who had stopped it from feasting. Twilight let out a small eep of fear and hid behind the Spartan. He looked down at her. A Spartan always knew when the going got too tough, the tough eventually had to get going. He couldn't fend off the beast without any weapons, and with Twilight in tow, he had to insure her safety as well. With that in mind, the Spartan looked to the little purple unicorn and uttered,

"Run."

Twilight and Nathan turned on a dime, booking it across the swamp to the safety of the forest on the other end. Twilight was right about her assumption before on the Spartan's speed, which was faster than anypony she ever knew. He could even give Rainbow Dash a run for her bits... if she wasn't using her wings that is.

Twilight, however, wasn't able to match his speed. By a longshot, even. She found herself becoming weighted down by the mud, which she tried to trudge through as fast as she could. Her speed was cut by half because of it. She waved a foreleg and called out, "Wait!", hoping to get the Spartan's attention. The Hydra was gaining on her much more quickly than she could move. She could have tried to keep up, use her magic to help her. But, after using a teleportation spell, then immediately using one of her strongest attacks on the Hydra, she was completely spent.

Just as she was about to give up the struggle and accept her fate, she felt herself being scooped up. The feeling of cold metal pressed against her light fur and skin. She let out a surprised yell and looked down to see nothing but sage armor. She let out a sigh of relief that the Spartan had come back for her.

Although, Twilight didn't consider them out of this mess yet. The Hydra was right on top of them, and Twilight watched as it brought one of its heads back, then brought it down like a bolt of lightning. Twilight was about to warn Nathan, but even before the first syllable could escape her lips, the Spartan sidestepped as fast as lightning, plunging his knife into the creatures eye. Even carrying Twilight on his back didn't slow him down in the slightest.

The creature roared angrily as blood and viscus fluids seeped from the wound, plopping into the swamp with muted thumps. Nathan kept one arm around Twilight as he rocketed them across the swamp into the woods beyond. Just to be safe, Nathan kept running until they were deep enough in that the Hydra couldn't get past the brush and trees.

Once he thought they were a relative safe distance away, Nathan looked back to see the Hydra making a hasty retreat back under the swamp. It wouldn't have the two of them as meals this day. Nathan let out a sigh of relief, and smiled, remembering the words of one of his old Spartan III team members, G141 Axel, who had managed to kill one of the larger predators on Onyx with nothing but a combat knife. 'Nothing makes a snack out of a Spartan'. Nathan missed that Russian bastard quite a bit.

Nathan sifted the thought of fallen brothers and sisters aside as he gently placed Twilight back on her hooves. Once back on the ground, she checked herself over for any injuries she might have sustained, and, satisfied she was unharmed, looked up to thank the human who saved her life again.

"Thank-" Was all she was able to get out of her mouth before she noticed Nathan was already walking away. "Hey! Wait!" She called out, catching up to him in a gallop. Nathan ignored her as he closed his vents once again to give him private time with his AI.

"Almya? ETA to target?" Nathan asked as Twilight scooted up beside him, keeping a brisk pace to his walk. Almya chuckled a bit, and he knew what Almya was giggling about.

"Five minutes out. But, it also seems like you have a companion with you." She snickered again. Nathan slapped his helmet, shaking his head in frustration.

"I swear, I'm going to have you decommissioned when we get back to the UNSC." He sighed, cutting past a large thicket with his knife, then barreling the rest down with his weight.

"Oh, you always say that." Almya chided. "Now do your job and I'll do mine. I'll scan for any Covenant frequencies on the high and low bands."

"Copy." Nathan said, as Almya got to work. Now, his attention was going to have to be on his little companion. He half turned to her, reopening the vents on his helmet. "So, what made you want to follow me?" He asked, pushing aside a bush for her to pass.

Twilight ducked under the foliage and smiled at her protector. "Well, I couldn't let you wander around Equestria without a watchful eye on you. The Princesses might be lenient on your little break out if you give me a good explanation." She stated, looking back up at the masked man of steel trudging along.

"You want a good explanation?" He asked, slowing his pace until he finally stopped. "If this Covenant ship knew how to get here, then others will. You'll have a full fledged war on your hands, er, hooves. A war you can't win." Nathan stated coldly, almost mournfully. Twilight could read it in his voice. All the things he lost to this war, all the people, all the planets... How many had died, Twilight wondered. How many had he seen die?

"They're... that bad, huh?" She asked, Nathan turned quickly, making Twilight realize her choice of words were very, very poor.

"That bad? They've destroyed all but two of our colony worlds! Out of the hundreds we had! They've killed billions, are continuing killing... I lost my home, my family, and friends to those monsters! We never win! So forgive me if I want to make sure another world doesn't fall to their grubby fucking hands!"

Twilight cowered back lower and lower as he approached her with each word. She could see her fear etched face in the golden visor of Nathan's helmet. "Good job, Twilight" She thought to herself. "You just angered the soldier who's the only thing keeping you and your home safe."

"I-I'm sorry..." Twilight whispered, turning away with regret on her face. "I-I didn't know..." Nathan backed away and continued on, parting the brush in his wake.

"And I hope you never do..." He muttered back. Twilight slowly got back into pace with the human, avoiding meeting his gaze. She had a general idea of how bad these 'Covenant' could be, but she hadn't realized what they had actually cost the human race. And now, all alone on an alien planet, he was going to make sure they didn't do the same thing to hers.

"Hello? Twilight? Are you receiving?"

Twilight jumped a bit, roused from her thoughts by the human by her side. She looked up to see him staring down at her. "I asked you what this planet is called." He stated, apparently, for a second time.

"O-Oh... We call it Equis. Why do you ask?" She pondered curiously. Nathan simply shrugged and snapped a tree branch with a swift push of his hand.

"Needed to know what to call this new place." He stated. "Almya, we almost there?" He asked his companion.

"Oh, so it's 'we' now? Is Twilight now a part of the team?" Almya chuckled. Nathan just rolled his eyes, forced to play along with her little game. It was easiest, as Almya was never known to give up on something that got under one's skin.

"How do you know I wasn't talking about you? We've been a team for a while now." He pointed out.

"True," Almya stated, her words becoming more playful. "But, you always say 'I', not 'we'. This Equinoid has grown on you, hasn't she?"

Nathan slightly turned to Twilight at his side, who was looking around the forest anxiously for anything that could pose a threat to them both. "She's smart, has great situational awareness, and knows the terrain and what kind of dangers to expect from the local wildlife. She's a valuable asset, whether she knows it or not."

Almya hummed innocently. "To the mission, or you?"

"Can it." Nathan warned. Almya giggled in response and clicked off the mic, going back to her work. Nathan checked the nav point on his hud. The two were only a few hundred yards away now.

"So," Twilight began, breaking the silence of the walk. "Why are we heading back to the space ship? It's nothing but a wreck now." She stated, staring at the Spartan curiously.

"Because, I have to be sure of something." Nathan said simply, looking up into the sky to see the tail end of the Corvette sticking out above the treeline.

Nathan and Twilight could now see just how wrecked the ship really was in the light of day. The hull was breached in hundreds of places, with coolant leaking to the forest floor from broken tubing, causing the soil and mud to turn to frozen glass. Sparks were sent out occasionally from destroyed electrical systems, which fell the the ground with sizzles. This was going to be a dangerous trek, even in MJOLNIR armor.

Nathan turned to Twilight, crossing his arms. "I take it I don't have to tell you how dangerous it is in there?" He asked, raising a brow beneath his helmet.

"Nope." Twilight replied, smiling.

"And even if I did, you'd still follow me."

"Yep."

"Even if the ship could be full of hostile aliens?"

"Well, I have you. Um, to protect me, that is..." She coughed, turning away to hide a slight rosiness tinting her cheeks. Nathan pretended not to notice that, leaving it where it was.

"Fine. Be careful in there though. There's a lot of things that can hurt you with a ship in this condition." Nathan turned and pointed to the pool of bluish green sludge. "Like that Coolant. It's negative two hundred degrees Celsius . Don't let it touch you." Nathan let her stare at the pool and entered the ship through one of the breeches in the hull. Twilight shuffling in behind him.

The ship was tilted at a forty degree angle, which meant Twilight had to use some of her magic to keep a grip on the floor. She was still a bit tired from the fight with the Hydra before, but the spell she was using didn't require much focus. Nathan was forced to magnetize his boots in order to maintain his footing as well.

"So, which way?" Twilight asked, looking down the darkened halls, which occasionally brightened when a flash of sparks shot out of the damaged walls, revealing the burnt and mangled corpses of Covenant soldiers. Twilight nearly puked at the sight of it.

Nathan pointed downwards, not even caring about the bodies strewn about. "We're going to the bridge. I'll find out what I need to know from there." He stated, his boots thunking as he lifted them up, then got sucked back down by the magnets.

Twilight followed closely, using the faint, blue lights on the Spartan's armor as guidance. "And when you find out what you want, then what? You do remember you broke out of the dungeon, right? Princess Celestia won't look too kindly to that." Twilight stated, carefully ducking away from a sparking conduit.

Nathan pulled open a busted door with a slight grunt, then entered the destroyed turret control room. Sparking plasma coils hung loosely from the busted ceiling and walls. Twilight followed exactly in the Spartan's footsteps as he made his way over to a large, purple crate.

Twilight stared at the octagonal pattern on the panels, pondering what the device could be."What is that?" She asked curiously. Nathan's answer was to rip one of the purple panels from the box, which revealed a few rows of the same weapons the other aliens used the night before to try and... Twilight got rid of that memory quickly.

Nathan happily grabbed a Plasma pistol, some grenades, and two Plasma rifles. He turned to Twilight and passed her another Plasma pistol, which she caught in her magical aura. He finally answered the mare's question with, "It's a weapon's crate. We're going to need these if there are still more Covenant out there." He stated.

Twilight instantly dropped the Plasma pistol from her magic, shaking her head violently. "No! I refuse to kill anypony! How... how could you expect me to do that?!" She asked in angry astonishment.

Nathan simply shrugged and put Twilight's discarded pistol on the other side of his hip, the magnetic holster activating to hold it in place. "I didn't want you to walk around unarmed." He stated, pushing ahead.

Twilight scoffed as she trailed him, giving him her best disapproving glare. "Unarmed? See this?" She asked, tapping her horn with a hoof. "I can use magic, so I'm never unarmed!"

Nathan didn't reply. He simply left the argument where it was as he kicked the half knocked in bridge door completely down. To say the room was a wreck was a complete understatement. All the windows of the view port were completely smashed in. The holographic reader in the middle of the room was blinking, casting the room in a bright flash, then back to shadow as it tried to come back to life with no avail.

"Whoa. This place is... Amazing!" Twilight gawked, rushing over to one of the holographic terminals, tapping one of the buttons with her hoof.

All at once, the lights came on, miraculously at that. Twilight, though she didn't know it, had activated the emergency generators, or at least that's what Nathan was assuming, going off of memory of the ship during the briefing. Now that the area was lit up, he made his way to the navigation console, taking Almya out of his helmet and placing her inside.

A tiny blip of the woman appeared above the panel as she gazed at the room. She let out a whistle and said, "Wow. This place took one hell of a beating. Alright, this won't take long." She stated, placing a hand on her head as her mind swept through layers and layers of Covenant code with ease.

Twilight approached the terminal, gazing at the tiny woman. "Hey, I saw her last night in your cell. Who is she?" She asked curiously, reaching out to touch Almya.

Nathan grabbed her hoof out of the air, slowly lowering it back down. "That's Almya, and she doesn't like to be touched without permission." He stated as Almya refocused on them.

"Alright, I got what we needed." She said proudly, then faltered a bit. "Um... do you want the good news, or the bad news?" She asked.

Nathan sighed and looked down at the Unicorn to his side. She was so set on not inflicting pain or death on anything, yet in just a short time, the war would be coming here, either turning her into a soldier, or a burnt corpse in a sea of glass. The thought unsettled Nathan a bit, picturing Twilight like that.

Nathan shook his head of the thoughts and turned back to Almya. "Well, why don't we start with the good." He sighed.

"Well, I lied. There is no good news; only bad and worse. The bad news is, I found a star map in the ships databanks. When I flip it around, the stars match ninety-eight percent with this system. The Covenant know where this planet is."

That was Nathan's worst fear confirmed now."And the worse news?" Nathan asked.

"Well... I've been scanning movement and com traffic around the area. Let's just say there were more survivors on board than we realized." Almya flickered the main hologram to life, showing a 3-D image of the ship in the ground, surrounded by a couple dozen red dots. "Twilight turning on the lights seems to have brought the squid heads home."

"Oops..." Twilight grimaced, blushing in embarrassment as she turned away. Nathan grabbed Almya out from the computer, readying his stolen Plasma Rifles.

"Don't sweat it." Nathan assured her. She didn't know that would draw the Covenant back. Hell, she didn't even know what she was touching. "It saves me the trouble of hunting them down. So, are you sure you don't want a weapon?" He asked as one of the doors to the bridge began to flash bright. The sound of plasma cutters could be heard as the Covenant tried to claw their way in to get the intruders.

"I-I told you already, I won't use a gun!" She yelled, backing away from the door in fear. "B-But, I'll try my best to help yo-"

"No." Nathan interrupted her, turning his head. "If you won't use a weapon, you're a liability. Under the main computer is an Engineer hatch. You should be small enough to hide inside. If I don't make it, follow the tunnels until you make it out, understood?"

Twilight looked to the hatch the Spartan was talking about, then back to him. "B-But-"

"That's an order!" Nathan snapped, making Twilight jump. "You're in a war zone now, Twilight. My chain of command is the only chain of command you'll be listening to out here. Understood?"

"Y-Yes... Sir?" She added at the end, remembering a military book her brother once owned. That was what you called your CO, right? Nathan chuckled and kicked over one of the strewn about weapon crates, creating a bit of cover.

"Now go. I'll be fine." He assured, lifting his visor to give Twilight a confident smile. Twilight gulped and nodded, accepting his confidence enough that he'd be okay. She quickly trotted over and lifted the hatch to the Engineer compartment and crawled inside.

"Letting the girl get away while you sacrifice yourself for her." Almya giggled. "Ah, romance is such a fleeting thing..." Nathan rolled his eyes as he awaited the Covenant assault. Any minute now, they'd rush in, guns blazing. The Covenant weren't a species to change tactics, even when the going got tough. It was always brute force, or die trying.

As quickly as the sounds of cutting and un-welding came, the room was plunged back into silence. The cutting had stopped, the garbles of excited aliens on the other end had died down to nothing. A pin could drop back at the castle and Nathan would have probably heard it. Maybe the Covenant-

Whatever thoughts Nathan was about to have about the Covenant giving up were completely erased as the doors flew across the room, embedding themselves in the wall from the force of the blast. Through the smoke, Nathan could see a flurry of Elites, Grunts and Jackals enter, firing wildly into the air, hoping to hit something.

From his cover, Nathan was able to melt a few Grunt faces before being forced to move as a grenade was thrown his way. He dove down into the crew divot in the floor, allowing the lower ground to provide him some bit of extra cover. Once he was secure in his new entrenchment, Nathan continued his assault against the boarding party.

Little by little the aliens were gaining ground on the Spartan. Nathan was keeping a steady stream of fire, hoping to pin them down, but it wasn't good enough. It was one against dozens, and these Covenant were well trained. More trained than what the Spartan was used to. They were actually using cover tactics. That was a new one.

Nathan shot a kamikaze Grunt that was making a beeline towards him and opened up communication with Almya. "Ally? You got any suggestions here?" Nathan asked quickly, yanking a charging Elite into his cover and promptly putting a knife between its eyes. He resumed the suppressing fire as Almya thought frantically for a solution. The only one she found wasn't the smartest, but it would have to do.

"The control panel over there! We can activate the ship's self destruct sequence!" Almya placed a nav point on the computer across the room, which wouldn't be impossible to get to. The problem was, Twilight was undoubtedly still crawling through the Engineering tunnels, trying to find her way out.

"No. I can't risk it. Twilight might still be on board! What else have you got?" He asked, pulling out his plasma pistol, shooting a Jackal in the face who had gotten a bit too close for his liking.

"Nothing!" Almya shouted, trying to get her Spartan to see reason. "You either blow this ship, or risk everyone's safety on this planet! One death isn't as tragic as millions!"

"And no deaths are better!" Nathan shouted, fed up with hiding and waiting. His weapons were almost empty, which was a problem that would have to be fixed soon anyway. Using what remained for power in his Plasma Rifle, he charged one of the squads of Grunts, sending a torrent of burning plasma their way. Skin and armor sizzled and melted as the Grunts succumbed to the final bouts the Spartan's weapon had to offer. Quickly reaching down, Nathan picked up a fallen Needler, sending a hail of crystals at a nearby Elite. The spikes embedded in the beasts chest, and before the alien had time to scream, they quickly exploded, sending bits of flesh, bone and blood in all directions.

Many of the remaining squads began to fall back, hoping to escape; regroup and take the Spartan out in greater numbers. Nathan felt a bit of anger that some of the Covenant were going to get away. He couldn't chase them all down, so he relented and let them flee for now.

Nathan let out a sigh of defeat and threw the Needler away as he made his way over to the highlighted panel. If Twilight was off the ship, then he'd press the self destruct button; killing the remaining Covenant, but also himself. "Almya? Is Twilight off the ship yet?" He asked, his hand hovering above the flashing red activation switch. As soon as Almya gave him the all clear, his hand would come down, no ifs ands or buts about it. If a larger force was on its way here, then at least the Princesses could try peace talks without a human trespasser to rile up the Covenant. Who knows; maybe they would avoid a war, simply because they weren't human.

Almya let out a sigh. She knew her Spartan's plans. Heck, she was practically a part of him. She knew how loyal he was to those around him; those who made nice with him were those he'd lay his life down for. Almya did a quick scan of the Covenant ship, but couldn't get a reading. "Unknown. Too much interference from this hunk of scrap. You'll have to assume she's out."

Nathan's hand hovered dangerously close to the red flashing button. It was now or never, but he just didn't want to risk it. If he did, then Twilight would be killed, he'd be killed, and all her friends and the Princess would be left in mourning for her. Nathan didn't want that to be the last thing on his mind before the end.

"Nathan?" Almya said softly, cutting through his thoughts of doubt and fear. "You know what you have to do... Be brave, and know that this decision will save millions of lives. I'm sure Twilight found her way out in time, so, just do what you have to do..."

Nathan shook his head. There had to be something he could do, something that- "Hold it!" He yelled, smiling wide. "Ha! If I'm right, and this works..." Nathan pressed a few holographic buttons, just barely deciphering the alien language. "And... Ah-ha! There we go; I have a two minute timer set in! That should-"

Whatever the Spartan was about to say after that was interrupted by a blow to the back of his helmet. Reeling about, Nathan saw his attacker face to face. Three-Jaw was standing there, its armor and skin cooked and crispy from the crash landing. A fire raged inside Nathan's soul as the Elite came down with another strike, which Nathan quickly countered, sending the Elite's fist into the control panel.

All at once, alarms began to blare through the ship. The Elite had just activated the self destruct sequence. Nathan only had a minute fifty-eight before the whole ship, and he, were reduced to atoms. Nothing said fist fight with an alien like an entire ship about to explode at your feet.

Nathan couldn't let that distract him. He focused on the Elite, throwing wild punches his way. While MJOLNIR armor increased the wearers strength by about three times the norm, it made Spartans just as strong as the Elites. The only even fight a Spartan would have in his life was one of these creatures.

Nathan grabbed the alien's wrist as it punched again, and flipped it over his shoulder. The Elite hooked his boot around Nathan's neck, dragging the Spartan to the floor with him. While on the ground, the Elite ripped Nathan's helmet off, throwing it against the wall with a loud thunk. With Nathan's face now exposed, the Alien went to work, straddling the Spartan's chest as it let loose punch after punch.

Nathan saw nothing but stars and black with each strike the Elite let loose. He was lucky his bones were enhanced, otherwise his skull would have caved in on the first blow. Nathan couldn't move his arms, couldn't use his legs to leverage his way out of the straddle, and could barely think with the blows he was receiving. All he could do was lay there, accept it, and try not to choke on his own blood.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Elite finally stopped his assault, panting heavily as it reached behind Nathan, grabbing a fallen Energy sword off the ground. It raised the blade high, yelling, "DIE, HUMAN!"

Nathan braced himself for the end, for a second time that day. He may not escape, but at least the ship would blow, killing the Covenant still aboard. In his mind, Nathan won, and that was all that mattered.

Nathan smiled, looked up at the Elite and muttered, "I win..."

Author's Note

Finally! YAY! UPDATE! Now, for those of you wondering why it was taking so damn long to update, I'll just let you know it was some really heavy personal shit going on. My grandfather passed away Thursday morning, after 20 days in hospis unit. (Where terminally ill people go to die). He had been fighting lung cancer for 2 years now. Sadly, he couldn't fight it any longer. I have a funeral to go to on Wednesday, and we get to view him in the casket one last time before the service starts. I'm going to be there, holding my mother's hand as I help her though the most difficult challenge of her life. Loosing your father in such a terrible way can't be easy, but we all know no one lives forever. So, now that my life is becoming a little less hectic, I'll be updating more frequently. Hope you all understand the delays and what not. It's been a very rough couple of months.
See you next Chapter!

If this armor could talk

Ch. 6: If this armor could talk
September 2, 2552
1300 hours

Twilight could feel her heart beating out of her chest as the sound of those odd weapons firing erupted behind her. She had no idea if the Spartan was alright; no idea if he would have lasted this long, or even had been able to put up a fight. Twilight didn't want to think that human could ever be hurt. In fact, he seemed incapable of that fact. No one was invulnerable, although this Spartan thought he certainly was. She couldn't bear the thought of him being hurt, or worse. He was a friend now, and she knew that friends helped friends. That was why he let her get away while he stayed behind, to fight off an impossible amount of enemies. All just to save her and her planet.

He was like a knight in shining armor, really.

But that's what ate away at the mare. He let her go, instead of taking her offer to help. Just because she didn't want to use a weapon, didn't mean she was helpless. In fact, she saw herself stronger for that fact. Weapons were nothing but tools of destruction, and that Spartan should learn that a better weapon than any gun or sword is ones brain.

Twilight stopped her long crawl through the tunnels, thinking over the decision in her mind. Should she keep going, get out and tell the Princess what he did and why he did it? Or should she stay and help Nathan in any way she could, no matter what he said. That is what friends do, after all; they stick by each other through thick and thin, which is why the decision was rather easy to make.

Twilight awkwardly turned herself around in the confines of the tunnel, crawling her way back up the way she came. She didn't understand what was driving her towards this decision, other than the obvious, 'he's my friend' argument. But Twilight couldn't help feel she needed to do this, that if she didn't it would haunt her for the rest of her life.

The closer Twilight got to the bridge, the more she noticed how eerily quiet it had gotten. After all the sounds of sizzling and the splatting of molten lasers, the silence seemed even more ominous. Twilight crawled up the slight incline that led to the entrance hatch, cautiously peeking over the edge to see.

It wasn't pretty at all.

The sight of dozens of dead and dying alien corpses littered the bridge, with one triumphant Spartan standing amidst it all, his stance strained and his body shaking from adrenaline overload. Twilight could tell that this kind of feeling wasn't new to the Spartan in the slightest. Or maybe it was, she didn't know. He seemed like a calm and collective one when in the heat of battle, but something about the way he held himself now, after the bout, spoke volumes to just how hard he had been fighting the now lifeless corpses.

The Spartan quickly made his way over to a nearby control panel and threw one of the weapons he held away, which housed an array of glowing, pink crystals on its bulbous top. "Almya? Is Twilight off the ship yet?" Nathan asked, his hand hovering above a button, if Twilight's point of view was correct. He was obviously talking to that blue human that he kept in his helmet, but Twilight couldn't hear what she was saying. To an outsider, it would appear as if the Spartan was talking to himself.

After a long moment, the Spartan finally let out, "Hold it! Ha! If I'm right, and this works..." Nathan pressed a few buttons, Twilight not having any clue what the Spartan was doing. "And... Ah-ha! There we go; I have a two minute timer set in! That should-"

Before the Spartan could finish talking, a very, very large alien, the ones with the four jaws, appeared out of thin air, slamming its four fingered fist into the back of Nathan's helmet. Twilight let out a silent gasp as her hooves went to her mouth in shock. Twilight had no idea of the technology involved with these creatures, but it terrified her to know they could be hiding in plain sight, but couldn't be seen until they wanted to, or it was too late.

Nathan whirled about, blocking another blow, and sending the massive alien's fist into the control panel. All at once, alarms and red lights began to blare, alerting whoever remained on this ship something was about to happen. Twilight remained stapled in place, too shocked to move by the scene that was unfolding.

The fighting between the two was practically a blur, each one going at each other with a flurry of punches, blocks and kicks; moves that would make the best of the Royal Guard look like a bunch of colts tussling on the playground. Even though the two seemed dead even, Twilight knew the fight was all over the moment Nathan's helmet was ripped from his head.

The Elite threw the helmet into the wall just above Twilight, with the mare letting out a startled eep in surprise and fear. She watched as the alien delivered blow after blow to the Spartan's exposed face, sending droplets of blood flying every time the man's head was rocketed to the sides from the blows. finally, the Elite stopped, winded, reaching across the floor for something. Twilight saw what it was, and knew it was game over for Nathan.

That is, unless she did something.

Twilight didn't even hear their words exchanged, all she did was fix her eyes on the Elite, raising the Sword high, about to strike, but she was already in motion as well, unaware of the fact until she noticed a curved gun in her magical aura, firing wildly at the Elite. She was yelling, too; her voice high and a bit croaky from trying not to cry during her friends beating.

Many of the bolts went in random directions, but a few managed to hit the Elite, burning armor, and one lucky shot hit the Elite in the side of the head, melting through its helmet just enough to burn the skin beneath. That momentary laps in the beasts judgement gave the Spartan ample time to come back with a massive strike to the inside of its mouth between the tree jaws.

The Elite stumbled off Nathan, running as fast as it could off the ship. The Spartan went to give chase, but a panicking hiccup escaping Twilight's lips stopped him cold. He turned to see the poor mare, breathing heavily, limbs shaking, and her breath coming out in rapid gulps. Nathan could tell she was in emotional shock. He had seen it dozens of times with new boots who had gotten their first kills. It was traumatizing, and if someone wasn't their to guide them through the shock, the might never recover from the trauma.

Without saying a word, the Spartan got to his feet, grabbed his helmet and went to her side, grabbing the gun from her aura before finally saying, "Hey. You did good, Twilight. You did really good." Twilight finally snapped out of her stunned stupor upon hearing Nathan's voice. She looked up at his bruised and bloodied face, and oddly found a sense of peace in it. She thought that would be the last time she saw him when he ordered her to go into the tunnels, when he was about to be stabbed through by that monster's glowing sword.

The scared mare let out a large breath, smiling as she hugged Nathan around the neck, her eyes running with tears as she held him tight. "I-I couldn't... I couldn't let you stay all alone! I had to c-come back! That's what friends do! They help each other, and-"

"HELLO?! THIRTY SECONDS UNTIL VERY BIG BOOM?!

The two looked down at Nathan's helmet when Almya spoke. Nathan put the helmet on, and nearly froze when he heard what his AI actually said. As soon as he heard the words, he grabbed Twilight, placed her on his back in a piggy back fashion and ran for the busted bridge windows.

Twilight screamed as the two slid down the slanted ship back below the tree line. All along the ships hull were explosions, which Twilight assumed meant the ship was about to go up in a huge ball of flame. The two kept sliding, faster and faster. They were going down the ship like a roller coaster, and Twilight wasn't one for carnival rides. Once they reached the bottom, Nathan didn't miss a beat and was off again, as fast as he could run.

"Ten seconds! You two aren't going to clear the blast zone in time!" Almya warned. A Covenant ship, even that small, could let off an explosion one thousand meters in diameter. The two weren't even close to that distance away. At best, they'd get five hundred feet away, maximum, before the ship went critical.

Nathan quickly turned around to Twilight, yelling, "Twilight! Teleport us!"

"Where?! I have to be able to see it!" Twilight yelled back, her voice full of fear and unintentional excitement. Nathan looked around, and noticed the woods clearing to the bog from before.

Nathan pointed to the bog. "There! Now! Farthest end!" He ordered. Twilight nodded, sucking in her breath as her horn lit up, surrounding the two in a field of light. Once the Spell was ready, and Twilight had her destination in mind, the two vanished from their run-

Appearing just above the mucky water. Nathan splashed down, bringing Twilight to his front. "Deep breath!" He yelled just before plunging the two of them into the water. Twilight sucked in all the air she could, but managed to get a lung full of water. Couging beneath the surface, she tried to struggle back up, but Nathan held her tight as an enormous shock wave washed over the area, pushing the two back down.

Nathan noticed her distress and, knowing the incredible heat above would kill Twilight, he did the only thing he could. Ripping his helmet off, he plugged Twilight's nose and sacrificed his own air to allow Twilight the precious seconds to stay bellow the water line and live.

Twilight's eyes shot open, and she barely saw Nathan's face pressed to hers, their lips now joined. She felt the hot air from his lungs fill her own, cooling the burn from lack of oxygen. Twilight knew this was just a life saving technique, but she couldn't help the feeling of her heart fluttering and the millions of butterflies now taking refuge in her stomach. Twilight had never been kissed before, but she heard Rarity talking about her first kiss. She said it was the most magical, most intense thing a filly can experience.

And she was one hundred percent right with that hypothesis.

Twilight let out a little moan, wrapping her forelegs around the Spartan's head. She felt her tongue make a darting motion for his lips, giving them a lick. This caused the Spartan to let out a surprised grunt into her mouth, which caused her tongue to slither its way through. Twilight could feel her body getting hotter and hotter. She couldn't tell if it was because of this intense moment, or because the swamp was heating up due to the incredible heat of the ships detonation. Either way, it was glorious.

Nathan pulled his head away, bringing them both back up to the surface. Twilight took in a breath, but nearly suffocated on how hot the air was now. What magical moment may have just occurred was now destroyed by the horrible scene before her. For a very great distance, trees were pushed down to the scarred and glassed earth. The bones of animals unlucky enough to be on the surface when the explosion happened now littered the area, which caused Twilight a huge amount of distress. She began to hyperventilate as she continued to look at what was once the Everfree.

Nathan paid no attention to the destruction they had miraculously survived. Instead, he focused on Twilight, going over what in the Hell just happened between the two of them. He had no choice but to give her some of his air, but the whole pulling him in and tongue thing was definitely not a part of the deal.

"I-It's... It's all gone..." Twilight muttered, wiping her eyes. "Everything is gone..." She was in total shock for a second time in under a minute. It was amazing that only a minute had gone by since their escape from the ship. Honestly, to her, it felt like an eternity. It felt like the world had aged around them a million years, turning into nothing but a barren wasteland of death and destruction.

Nathan shook off the bizarre moment and donned his helmet, carrying Twilight back onto solid ground. The Spartan had to climb their way back up the bank of the swamp because the water level had gone down about four feet. luckily they were deep enough to not be vaporized by the blast.

As soon as Nahtan's head popped over the surface of the bank, he was face to face with over five dozen guards, each one trying to point a various weapon in his direction, some flying overhead with bows and arrows trained down. Only the Spartan knew that those weapons wouldn't do a thing, but kept that to himself. Didn't want the locals to feel hopeless about their defenses.

Nathan, however, wouldn't let the guards faze him. He climbed his way back up and gently placed Twilight back on the ground, where she was immediately surrounded by guards and guided away. Once she was a safe distance away, the Captain from before, Shining Armor, stepped forwards, glaring daggers at him.

"You... You could have gotten my little sister killed!" He spat, pulling Nathan's head down towards his, only getting his own angry stare back from the Spartan's helmet. "Come on. Take the helmet off and face me like a stallion, you coward."

Nathan could feel the anger building up in him. He wanted nothing more than to headbutt the stallion, give him a solid knee, whatever, to show him that he was nothing of the sort. However, the soldier complied, removing his helmet to show Shining Armor his bruised and bloodied face. Shining seemed taken aback by the injuries the soldier had received. This asserted that he was never in combat, never had seen the brutal death and mutilation a body could endure during war. This Captain was as green as grass, and the Spartan could see it clear as day. Beating the Stallion in a fight would be like fighting a little Grunt.

"There. My helmets off, Captain. If you truly are what you say, then you would have known how to handle civvies during a city wide emergency. Unless they don't teach you that in daycare..." Nathan's words were harsh, but he felt them true. The Royal Guard, all of them, were about the worst trained military he had ever seen in his life. And he could tell that just by looking at each and every Guard around him.

Each Guard, now feeling insulted, pointed their spears closer, with Shining Armor exhaling smoke through his nostrils. "You think you're special, just because you have that fancy armor, huh? How would you fair against my soldiers without it? How many seconds before you fell like the hideous slug you are?"

Twilight rushed passed the guards, getting in between the two feuding soldiers. "Both of you! Stop! This isn't helping anything! Nathan was just-"

"Don't you dare give it the satisfaction of calling it it's name, Twilight!" Shining yelled, turning to his sister, who recoiled in fear. "When we get back to the castle, I swear, you're in for-"

Shining Armor never finished that sentence, because a light slap across the muzzle by the Spartan sent him tumbling to the dirt. Nathan didn't know why the stallions words towards Twilight angered him so, but made it a point that she was not to be threatened by bullies, even one who is related.

Twilight looked up at the Spartan, shocked. "N-Nathan! Why did you do that?! He was just being overly-protective! You didn't have to hit him!" She shouted, rushing to her brother, who was groaning as he sat back up.

"Sorry, ma'am. It was just a tiny slap. Barely used any of my strength there." Nathan rebutted, walking forwards, but stopped as each spear poked at his armor. Shining Armor got to his hooves and dragged Twilight to the back of the formation.

"Alright, we're executing him! Right now! Stallions, prepare your weapons!" He ordered. Each stallion in the formation readied whatever they held; be it sword, spear or bow, and encircled the Spartan, who rolled his eyes and placed his helmet back atop his head.

"Really? Well, alright, if you're going to let your emotions run how you engage an opponent, I won't stop you." Nathan said, smiling beneath his helmet. Twilight was aghast as she tried to rush forwards and stop the madness, only to be restrained by Shining Armors magic and a firm hoof on her tail for good measure.

"It was nice knowing you, freak!" Shining shouted. "You may attack when ready, Stallions!"

Once that order was given, each one of the guards let loose whatever weapon they had, firing arrows, rushing with swords, stabbing with spears, but each hit jut bounced off with Nathan unmoved, arms crossed as he glared at Shining Armor through his visor. The stallion could tell that the alien was staring at him, feel the weight of those eyes boring into his skull like a thousand needles. The rising fear caused Shining to gulp a bit nervously in response.

Just as quickly as the execution started, it stopped, with each guardspony realizing their weapons were meaningless to the Spartan. Each soldier backed away in fear and disbelief as Nathan marched forward, the guards parting like a sea of gold and white. Nathan's soul target was Shining Armor, the arrogant, poor excuse for any kind of leader. He would make sure this stallion never made the same mistake again.

Time for a training exercise for the Stallion.

"Almya, disengage armor locks. I want to get this suit off." He ordered. Almya was taken aback by the comment, but complied nonetheless, releasing the locks around his armor. Nathan stopped right in front of the Stallion as he began taking off his armor, bit by bit, starting with the feet, then moving his way upwards gradually until nothing but the black mesh suit remained.

Shining Armor, Twilight, and the rest of the guards stood there in disbelief, looking over the man, who now seemed so much smaller compared to what he once was in his armor. "No armor, no shields, just me. You want to see how a real soldier operates, you tell your men to try again. You have their blood on your hands, and you deal with whatever consequences befall you. I was no threat to you, Captain, but it's clear you are a threat to me. So, go ahead, give the order. I won't kill a single one of these stallions. I'll just send them to the hospital for a month."

Shining Armor weighed the aliens words, turning to each of his men, who had confident smiles adorning their faces. Without that fancy armor, what was he anyways? He couldn't be as strong as he gloated. A stallion trained in the Royal Guard was the strongest creature in Equestria. With that proud thought in mind, Shining Armor shouted, "Well, here's your wish granted. Stallions! Attack!"

"No! Please don't!" Twilight shouted, but it was too late. Each guard ran in, surrounding Nathan once again. The Spartan laughed as two guards with swords rushed in sloppily, one with a sword, and one a spear. Nathan jumped over the first stallion's swing with the sword, and kicked the second stallion with the spear in the jaw before it even got the chance to make a move, breaking his teeth against the metal hilt of the spears shaft. The other stallion received a swift punch to the jaw, knocking it out cold.

An archer high above, feeling confident, shot an arrow Nathan's way. The Spartan dodged it with super-human reflexes, grabbed the arrow off the ground and whipped it back at the archer with tremendous speed. The arrow flew through the air like a throwing knife, eventually embedding itself in the archers shoulder blade. The pony screamed as he plummeted to the earth, landing in the glassed ground with a solid thud and crash as glassed earth and bones broke.

Another daring pony threw its spear like a javelin, only to have his efforts dashed when the Spartan sidestepped and swiped it out of midair. Breaking off the spear head, The Spartan began spinning the shaft about, hitting any other pony who dared charge him.

Shining Armor began backing away, his eyes wide and his heart racing. He dragged Twilight along with him, who no longer protested. She felt her heart sink as she saw so many ponies fall to the Spartan's violence. This was a side of the soldier she had never seen, nor wanted to see. This was his angry side. Was this side only showing because of Shining Armor? Was he just... trying to protect her? She couldn't help but feel her heart flutter at that. What had that kiss done to her?

"Come on, Twilight! Stop dragging your hooves! We have to leave, right now!" Shining said quickly, still dragging his stunned sister away. Twilight simply couldn't get her body to work any longer. All the shocks, all the surprises of the day had finally done their toll on the poor mare.

Shining Armor continued to back away, keeping his eyes on his sister, lest she end up slipping away again somehow, and the fact it was comforting to finally see her again. He didn't want this to be the last time he saw his little sister. He wanted to see the two of them grow old, each one having their own family. He had completely underestimated the alien, and now he was making-

"Oof!" Shining grunted as he backed into something as solid as a rock. He thought it was a rock, until he turned to see the Spartan, with nary a scratch on him. While Shining was so focused on his sister, he hadn't noticed that each of his Stallions were now laying in the charred dirt, some un-moving and some groaning in agony, cradling their respective broken bones.

Shining's pupils were pinpricks as he got between the beast and Twilight. Even though he was riddled with nothing but fear, he had a duty to protect his sister. He wouldn't let anything happen to her as long as he was alive. "S-Stay back! I won't let you hurt my sister, you monster!" He bellowed, pulling out the dagger from his armor. Nathan lunged forward, snatching the object from Shining's magical aura and crushed the blade like a tin can in his grasp.

"You don't get it, Armor! I. Am. Not. Your. Enemy! The only reason I still say this is because your sister has faith in me! She, I can't believe I'm admitting this, saved my life! I owe her that much, and I want to see her safe as much as you do! Now, stand down, and round up your men! You're lucky-"

Shining Armor and Twilight watched as the Spartan was launched like a rocket across the battle scarred swamp, a mixture of a yellow and blue aura wrapped around his body. Knowing who it could undoubtedly be, the two ponies looked up to see two very disgruntled Princesses descending from the sky. Approaching the Spartan who was now pinned against a burnt out tree.

"EXPLAIN THIS!" Luna bellowed, grabbing the Spartan by throat with her magic and squeezed. The Spartan knew he couldn't do anything against it, so held his breath as long as he could. "EXPLAIN WHY THE FOREST LAYS IN RUINS AND OUR GUARD LAY IN HEAPS!"

Celestia approached as well, using her own magic to release Luna's grip around the Spartan's throat. Nathan took in a quiet gulp of air, glaring at the two of them. They wanted an explanation, he'd give them the short of it. "Ship detonated, and I was to be executed. There you go." He stated, a bit harshly at that.

Celestia narrowed her eyes at the Spartan as she spoke. "The forest will reclaim this area again soon enough. Trees can be replanted, wildlife reintroduced, but the lives of my little ponies cannot be replaced. You did not kill anypony today, thank whichever God you believe in for that. For if any one of them had been killed, you would not be here to discuss this matter."

"Sister, I say we end this, right here, right now! The creature is too dangerous to be kept alive!" Luna argued, but Celestia held up a hoof, silencing her.

"You are to be placed in a magically sealed room, Spartan. Obviously dungeon walls cannot hold you or your strength. We will confiscate your armor and you will be released if we deem it fit you are no longer a threat. Is that understood?" She asked, letting Nathan fall to the ground.

The Spartan got to one knee and looked up, wanting to just fight his way out of the mess he was in, but knew he'd never make it. Not with the Princesses "magic" to help them. The Spartan nodded, but added a condition. "I request to keep my helmet, if that is alright with you."

"This is not alright with me." Celestia stated harshly. You are to be given nothing but confinement for what you have done. We will deliberate with the Council Elders on whether or not you should ever see the light of day again. You will come with us, right now. Is that understood."

"Clearly." The Spartan grumbled, feeling a set of cuffs lower onto his wrists again. He tried breaking them, to show that he wasn't held so easily, but these cuffs held fast, and any struggle only tightened their grip around his wrists. Nathan stopped his struggling, and Celestia smiled smugly at his arrogance and helplessness.

"You will not be breaking out of anything this time." She said to the Spartan as he was led out into the open, where a chariot came down from the sky. Four guards jumped off the open vehicle, surrounding the Spartan as he was forced aboard.

Now that the Spartan was aboard her chariot, Celestia now turned her attention to Shining Armor with a frown. "You could have caused the death of your entire platoon, Captain. You foolishly pitted your stallions against an unknown force, without provocation. I'm sending medical ponies to bring them back to Canterlot for treatment. I am very disappointed in your actions, and disciplinary action will be taken against you. You are to come to the throne room this evening for your punishment."

Shining Armor hung his head low and accepted the reprimanding. "Y-Yes, your Majesty." He sighed, bowing. The Princess was right, of course. He could have gotten each one of them killed. Ponies with families, dead because of his anger towards the creature. Whatever punishment Princess Celestia had in store for him he would take without question.

Celestia turned to Twilight now with the tiniest hint of a smile on her face. "And you, my young student, have gotten yourself into quite the trouble over the past two days. We have much to talk about when we arrive back at Canterlot. Come on." Twilight obeyed and followed Celestia aboard the chariot, taking a seat across from the Spartan, who gave her his own slight smile before resuming looking at the floor. Once the Princesses were aboard, with Luna carrying the heavy armor in her magical aura, the chariot was off, with some degree of difficulty.

Once back at Canterlot, Nathan was hauled off in magically bound chains to the dungeon once again. Twilight, Luna and Celestia stayed back with the chariot for a moment, before Celestia instructed Luna to take the armor inside the Castle for study. This just left teacher alone with student, a student who seemed to have a lot on her mind.

"Twilight, I hope you know what you did today was very, very foolish. You don't know who this human is or what he is capable of, nor should you be so trusting of him." The Princess scolded. Twilight frowned, shuffling her hooves against the ground. She had never been scolded by Celestia before, and this was just a lot to take in for the young mare.

"B-But... I didn't mean to... I mean, I do trust him, because he did save me and my friends... And... well, I... um..." Twilight stammered on, unsure of where she was going with her argument. Princess Celestia narrowed her eyes in suspicion, wondering why her student was so tongue tied. Twilight had never, ever been a mare easily tied up with words, but here she was, blabbering on nonsense, her cheeks red, and her voice cracking.

Celestia suddenly realized that this was something she had seen many times before in her long, long life. Many ponies go through it, and it's always awkward the first time, just like this. Twilight... liked this human! And Celestia was sure of it.

"Twilight!" She suddenly gasped, causing the mare to snap her lips shut as she looked back up at Celestia with concern. "You... have feelings for him, don't you?" She asked.

Twilight felt as if her brain hit a wall when Celestia asked this. "N-No! What? D-Don't be ridiculous! Why would I..." Twilight could see Celestia's 'you're a terrible liar face', and let out a long sigh. "O-Okay... fine." She relented. "But, I don't know what to do about it! I mean, he's brutish, rough, and dangerous, but... I've seen his other side, and it's absolutely wonderful! I mean, when we were in the swamp and he kissed me-"

"HE KISSED YOU?!" Celestia shrieked, her eyes as wide as saucers.

Twilight shook her head viciously. "W-Well, not exactly! I mean, when we were in the explosion, we had to hide underwater so we wouldn't burn to death from the incredible heat. I accidentally got water in my lungs, and he gave me some of his air. It was a kiss of life, Princess, but... I was the one who turned it into something more..."

Celestia, who was just about to run that human through with her own horn over what Twilight said, calmed herself. Clearly he was only trying to save her, but the fact of the matter was that that 'kiss' brought forth these foreign emotions in her student. Emotions not easily gotten rid of once acquired.

"Twilight, no matter what, you cannot give into your feelings for this human. No ifs, no ans, and no buts about it. Am I understood?" Celestia asked. Twilight shuffled her hooves, remaining silent, until Celestia affirmed her previous words with a firm stomp of her hoof. "Am I understood?"

"Y-Yes, Princess... Y-You are." Twilight muttered, quickly walking into the castle. Celestia could hear the sniffles coming from Twilight as she walked away and felt bad for making her student feel like that, but she had to be stern about the situation. The human was no good for Twilight, and he would only bring her pain. A soldier of his caliber would always die, not because they weren't good enough, but because they were too good. Celestia had personally seen the training of advanced soldiers back in her younger days, back when war was rampant in Equestria. The soldiers who were the best, were always given the most impossible tasks, and would almost always die, but not without giving the rest of their people a chance to live another day. Was that what this 'Spartan' was to the rest of the human race, a beacon of hope to light the way to the next day? Would anyone even notice, or care, if he died?

It was clear to Celestia that the only way to get these answers was to talk to the Spartan face to face, and in a magically sealed prison, she would be in absolutely no danger from him. Celestia decided that would be the best place to start, and set a course for his holding cell.

Before the Princess could get there, however, she was stopped by one of her personal scientists on site. She smiled at him, but his face was more of concern that happiness. "Yes, Test Tube? What seems to be the matter?" She asked the worried scientist.

Test Tube gulped and rubbed his hooves together nervously. "W-Well, we brought the armor back to the lab for analysis, but, we've... hit a snag." He said. Celestia raised a brow, and Test Tube went on. "W-Well, this... human mare won't let us access the armor, and she's... um... how do I put this?"

"She's what?" Celestia asked, trying to get down to the matter at hoof before she asked where this other human even came from. That was just one more annoyance added to her plate of BS for the day.

"Well," Test Tube went on, "She's... threatening to detonate the armor."

"What?!" Celestia yelled, rushing for the lab station. She knew her scientists were only here to study and help create new plant life to introduce to environments, and uneducated in the way of this kind of technology. Still, the last thing she expected them to do was turn the Spartan's armor into a bomb!

Celestia could hear Test Tube hot on her heels, but paid him no mind. The only thought on her mind right now was to stop this new human from blowing up the next scientific breakthrough of the century and kill innocent ponies.

She just hoped there wasn't going to be another explosion in one day...

Author's Note

Update! Not much to say really. Things are slow, works killing me, and the only time I get to relax is when I'm smoking and drinking with my pals from work. hopefully updates come out quicker, but, eh... At least they're coming out. See you next chapter

Artificial Intimidation

Chapter 7: Artificial Intimidation
Planet: Equis
September 2, 2552
1800 hours

Princess Celestia had everything finally under control. Her student was safe, nopony was killed, although some were certainly hurt, and the human was now safely behind magically enchanted bars. Yes, Celestia thought everything was going well, that was until reports of a human woman threatening to blow up the entire science lab, and maybe even the castle itself, came to light.

"Princess! Please, wait for me!" Test Tube called out, hoping Celestia would slow her gallop. There was no chance of that. If anypony was in danger, she would be there as fast as possible to defend them. Celestia could indeed hear the voice of a woman coming from the lab as she got closer. Peering in, she saw the armor laying on the table, but no woman in sight.

"You there! Pretty pony!" The voice said, clearly talking about Celestia, who was peaking around the corner. "You get in here and you tell me why in the hell my Spartan isn't with me!"

Princess Celestia was a bit confused by the voices statement of 'my Spartan'. Celestia was under the impression that the 'Spartan' didn't have a handler, which would obviously be a hazardous job for anyone to undertake.

"I'm sorry, but it seems we haven't been introduced, whoever and wherever you are. I am Princess Celestia; co-ruler of Equestria. And, who might you be?" Celestia was trying to be civil, lest she anger the phantom woman and cause her to send them all to Tartarous.

"Introductions aren't needed." The woman said back, almost mechanically. "All you need to know is that if you so much as lay a hoof on my Spartan, I'll send this castle plummeting to the ground. I did scans of this place, and I know that this area of your castle contains a very important support beam. So, how about you return me to Spartan G129, and I won't blow you all to hell, hmm?"

Celestia felt her anger rising. This woman clearly had no remorse for the lives that would be lost if she did such a thing. And how could she do such a thing in the first place? What was she, the Armor itself? Celestia took a deep breath and stared at the large bulbous helmet of the Spartan, which was where the voice was coming from.

"You must control this armor, obviously, miss. I would like to know where you are and how you plan on detonating a simple suit of steel." Celestia said, running her hoof down the bulbous chest plate of the armor.

"Hmm, well, I guess it doesn't hurt to tell. I'm UNSC AI 473-1148A. Just call me Almya. While I'm not technically in control of the armor, I do assist my Spartan with missions and the like, including saving his life every now and then. I hold residence inside the helmet of this armor, and I literally plug into my Spartan's cerebral cortex, which allows me to get a reading on my Spartan's stress level, blood pressure, and heart rate. I am my Spartan, and I want him back."

Celestia took in everything this 'AI' said. She and the Spartan were one, and it seemed she was intent on getting back to him. The way these two, a machine and a human, could be so intimately bonded was very... perplexing to the technologically deficient Princess.

"Well, Almya, while I would very much like to give you back to your Spartan, I'm afraid I can only do so if you help me. We want to know what this armor is, and see if we could duplicate it for our own soldiers." Celestia went to grab the chest plate, but a flashing red light made her put it back down.

"That was a warning!" Almya said angrily. "Touch the armor again, and this whole place goes up in fire." Her warning was clear to Celestia and everyone else listening in the room, who all backed away as a precaution. "Just like the Covenant, you lot. You are imitative, not innovative. Maybe you should join them. I'd look forward to seeing my Spartan kill you on the battlefield."

Celestia's anger had finally bubbled over as she wrapped the helmet in a magical glow and thrust it to her face, forgetting the AI's warning. "Listen to me, machine! You will not threaten such things upon myself or my citizens. You are highly xenophobic, and the fact that you think you have the upper hand is very, very annoying. You want to blow this place up? I have enough power to contain your puny explosion and then some. Go ahead, end your wretched existence. Maybe I'll have your Spartan join you in hell!"

The room was as silent as the grave as these two had a stare off, being that Celestia was just gazing into the helmet angrily. The only thing that ended the silence was the door opening slowly, with Twilight and Princess Luna walking in. Both looked about in confusion at the worried scientists and to a very pissed off Celestia.

"Um, Sister? What art thou doing with the human's helmet?" Luna asked perplexed. Celestia flashed her eyes towards her sister and student, then threw the helmet back onto the table.

"Nothing... I was just getting to know the Spartan's charming companion." Celestia gritted her teeth as the words left her mouth, flashing a death glare back at the large golden visor of the helmet. "She wants to go back to him, but I don't think it's a very good idea."

"Nor do I." Luna agreed, nodding.

"Well, I see no harm." Twilight said, which got everypony in the room to look at her in confusion and surprise. Almya, who had remained silent, finally let out a sigh, saying, "Finally! Someone who isn't an ass!"

"Twilight, that creature, even without his armor, is dangerous." Celestia stated. "Giving him just a bit of it could put us all at risk!"

Twilight looked to the helmet and smiled. "Princess, forgive me for being so bold, but it's just a helmet. Nathan is in a magically sealed prison, and the last thing I think will help him break out is his friend and a helmet."

Celestia looked to the helmet, then back to her student. "I... If it keeps everypony safe, then I guess I have no choice. Machine? You get your wish, but we get to study the rest of your Spartan's Armor."

"Good luck getting passed the safeties." Almya teased, not letting Celestia know she had full control over the safety features and protocols of the MJOLNIR systems. With that, Celestia took the helmet in her magical aura and began to make her way to the Spartan's holding cell, followed closely by Twilight and Luna.

While the Princesses held nothing but contempt and spite for the human, Twilight held only content and happiness whenever the thought of him crossed her mind. It was confusing, to say the least, for the young mare. She had never felt this way about any stallion before, least of all another species all together. She was just reading too much into the kiss, which it wasn't even really a kiss. It was just him giving her air! Why was it confusing her so much?!

Twilight was so lost in thought, she hadn't noticed that the hallway the three of them just entered was completely full of guards, outfitted in full suits of armor, with swords, spears and shields at the ready. Two guards, whom Twilight knew as the best of the best in the unicorn division of the Royal Guards, stood at attention at the door. With Celestia's nod, the two of them brought the shield down on the door, allowing them entrance to the cell.

Inside was one of the blandest rooms Twilight had ever seen. It was pure white, almost blindingly so, with nothing but a blanket and pillow in the corner, and a hole in the floor and ceiling in the back corner, which is where Twilight guessed was where one was to bathe and... do their business.

On the floor, doing push ups, was Nathan. The floor beneath his face was completely wet, as was his face. How long he had been working out was a question for another time. Had it been since he got in here? Who knew, but seeing him in that skin tight black suit, covered in sweat, caused Twilight to blush a bit.

"Here, human. You and your companion both get their wish." Celestia said as she threw the helmet on the ground. Nathan quickly sat up, grabbed his helmet and placed it on his head, happy that his face was covered up once again. He felt so exposed without his armor, and was very thankful to get the piece that had both Almya and retained his anonymity. "I suppose you might be hungry." Celestia went on. "Dinner will be served in an hour, and after you eat, you will be questioned. Vigorously. You will tell us about the human race, and you will tell us about this 'Covenant' you and your people are at war with. Is that clear."

Nathan remained silent as he leaned against the wall, smiling beneath his visor. They wanted to know about humanity and the Covenant. He'd be happy to tell them about the latter, but he was now standing firm on his silence about humanity. He trusted information to Twilight, and she hadn't spilled anything to Celestia and Luna, which was a good thing. The only one Nathan could trust on this planet was Twilight, and that was a frightening thought.

Just as the three were about to leave, Almya took control of the outer speakers, saying, "You. Purple one. I want to talk to you. I'm sure Celestia will agree, lest she want her city to be at ground level."

Celestia looked at Nathan in sheer rage, more importantly, focusing on Almya inside the helmet. Turning to Twilight, who simply nodded in agreement, she relented. She knew if anypony could find anything out, it would be her student, and Twilight was more than capable of defending herself, so safety wasn't an issue really.

"Alright, fine. If either of you try anything... I'll think of something very fitting, trust in that." And with that, the two Princesses left, leaving Twilight and the Spartan alone. Once they were gone, Nathan removed the AI chip from his helmet, which projected another chessboard before them.

Taking off his helmet, Twilight saw that Nathan was actually smiling. "Well then, care for round two? I feel the need to relieve some stress after today." He said, making the first move. Twilight was unsure why he was being so... cheery. He was locked up tight in one of the most maximum security places in all of Equestria, yet it was as if he could just walk on out anytime he chose.

Twilight slowly walked forward and took a seat down in front of the chess board opposite Nathan. She slowly lifted her hoof and took her first move, with Nathan instantly making his.

"Okay, I can't take it anymore! What do you have planned? I know that look, and it's the look of smugness, like you've already won or something! Tell me what's going on!" Twilight demanded as she rushed through the hologram, getting face to face with the Spartan.

"I honestly don't know what you mean, ma'am. I'm just enjoying the fact I get some R and R after all I've been through these past few weeks." He stated, moving Almya's chip to the side. Clearly a game of chess would have to wait until later. "Almya? Clearly you wanted to discuss something with Twilight. Go ahead."

Almya's hologram burst from the chip, taking Twilight a bit off guard. This was the first time she had ever been face to face with Almya, and it was a strange thing to see; a see through human woman, with scrolls of tiny 0's and 1's going up and down her body. It was kind of hypnotic to watch the number display, and Twilight did her best to listen to Almya without trying to go all scientific on her.

"Well, Miss. Twilight, it's very nice to officially meet you face to face." Almya greeted. Twilight smiled nervously and waved as Almya went on. "Since you are the only one that my Spartan trusts, God knows why, we have a request for you."

Twilight sat back down slowly, hesitantly listening to the holographic woman. "W-What could I possibly do for you? Do you want reading material or something? A bed? A-"

Almya cut the mare off, saying. "We want you to help us escape." If Twilight had been drinking something, it would have been spat out in utter shock.

"Escape?! What?! After what happened back in the Everfree, you want to defy the Princesses again and escape?! You... You two are insane!" She shrieked, getting back up and heading for the door.

"I know you won't leave." Nathan called out, halting Twilight just as her hoof touched the door. "Not until you've heard the why." Twilight turned back around slowly, her eyes heavy with concern.

Twilight hesitantly pulled her hoof from the door, turning back towards the Spartan and his AI. "Alright... Why? Why do you need to get out of here so badly?" She asked softly, with concern.

Nathan leaned forward, his face grim. "Because, if you don't help me escape, every single citizen on this planet is going to be nothing but chard glass. Do you know how many times I've seen it happen? Seen the death and destruction caused by the Covenant?" He asked, to which Twilight shook her head. "Too many. Twilight, you're a smart girl. Do you believe your princesses could achieve peace with them? After what they've done to you? Your friends? Do you even want that peace? It'll just lead to nothing but war with my kind, Twilight. I don't want to have to face you on the battlefield."

Twilight turned to the Spartan quickly, her eyes a mixture of concern and dread. She didn't want that. Any of it. Sure, maybe the Princesses could achieve peace with the Covenant, but how would humanity see that? Would they view it as a progressive step in helping cease hostilities? Or just another alien race joining the Covenant?

Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat and turned away. "I... I'm sorry, Nathan... I can't do anything. I can't use magic in here, and I'm certainly not going to attack the guards outside. The best I can do is... maybe talk to the Princesses on your behalf and see if I can get them to understand."

Nathan frowned, placing his helmet back on. "Then I don't think we have anything more to discuss, Twilight." He said, making his way over to the pillow and blanket in the corner of the room. Twilight steeled her emotions away and nodded, making towards the exit.

"Then... I guess I'll be going... Have a good night, Nathan." She said, but quickly left when he gave no response. Once she was outside the room, and away from the guards did she let a small tear roll down her cheek. She never thought she'd end up getting the cold shoulder from her new friend, after all he had done for her. Was she just a means to an end for the Spartan? Did he even care about her or anypony else on the planet?

Did it even matter, though? He had made it clear that any Covenant threat he would deal with, but the Princesses saw him as the monster. Maybe they were right...

Princess Luna hummed a light tune as she brushed her long, ethereal mane. She hadn't realized how much she missed these mundane activities since being banished for a thousand years. And one activity she had oh so missed was going to be done for the first time in a very, very long time.

She was going to enter the dreamscape.

But, it wasn't going to be anyponies dream, no. She had her sights on just one pony, make that person, in particular. The Spartan who wore a stone facade, who cared little for the alien lives he ended, the ponies he hurt. How much machine had taken over man, and how did it affect him?

Luna was going to find out all about this Spartan in just one night.

Luna yawned happily and crawled into bed, shutting her eyes and letting the spell take over. Once it was complete, the Princess looked down at her body, which looked as if it was just sleeping. In reality, her body was actually 'dead'. With no soul to give it life, it was just a husk, only breathing and nothing more.

Luna's spirit hummed an enchanted tune as it made for the prison room. One problem was the unicorn guards, preventing any sort of magic from going in or out.

"Time to rest, my little ponies..." Luna chuckled to herself, releasing a wave of magic. All at once, the many guards in the hall began to wobble on their hooves, then yawn and eventually topple over. Once the Unicorn guards were out, the spell lifted, allowing Luna to enter the room without any problems.

Once inside, Luna saw the Spartan, sleeping on his back with his arms right to his side; the look of machine etched into his very body, his posture. It was unnatural to the Princess, grotesque even. Either way, the human was asleep and radiating dream energy. Smiling at the fact the Spartan actually dreamed, Luna quickly entered his mind and dream.

And immediately wished she hadn't....

August 20, 2552
Epsilon Eridoni System
Reach, 'The Glass lands'

It was hot, but there was no sunlight. It was humid, but the air was as dry as sand. The ground was but burning glass and the sky was lit aflame. Through the flames could be seen who was responsible for the planets destruction, and every so often, another pulse of plasma would shoot towards the ground, burning anything within a thousand yards.

Nathan looked up to the sky one more time, before realizing it was never going to change. Reach, the mightiest military planet to ever exist, was falling just like all the rest. Reach was home to, what the young Spartan assumed, hundreds of warships, thousands of men, and not to mention whatever was left of Gamma Company. Unfortunately, Nathan was separated from the rest of his squad for this assignment. Shelly, Cam, Issac and Bill were sent on Evac duty in New Alexandria, while Nathan was sent on a mission to see what happened to the refugee camp in an area now being called, 'The Glass Lands'.

"Lieutenant? Are you alright? Your vitals are spiking."

Nathan jumped a bit in his armor at the sound of Almya's voice. This was the first operation the Spartan was going to be working on with Almya, his first AI partner. To the Spartan, it felt weird to have to form a relationship with this AI, since they would be working together indefinitely.

Nathan cleared his head and focused on the Warthog ride across the arid, cracked planes of what was once Reach's most beautiful lake. "I'm fine, Almya. What Intel do we have on this op?" He asked, looking over his Assault Rifle one final time, making sure it was in working order with all the dust and debris flying about.

Almya pulled up a satellite view of the area on the Spartan's visor, which showed real time how far they were from the OZ. "The Marine forces are stationed there. The UNSC hoped that, since this spot was already glassed by the Covenant, they would ignore it. That wasn't the case. We had over two thousand civilians here waiting for evac... We don't know what happened to everyone since the Covenant set up jammers in the area."

"Who's bright idea was it to build a refugee camp behind enemy lines?" Nathan asked with a sigh. Just having a refugee camp on a world being invaded by the Covenant painted a target on your back in neon green. It was suicide to have one, but to have one this far out behind enemy lines? That was just above and beyond insanity.

"Vice Admiral Whitcomb thought it would be the safest way to get civilians off this planet who weren't able to catch the first rides out." Almya confirmed. Nathan just left it at that, watching as the first checkpoint came into view through the haze of the lake bed.

The checkpoint was completely destroyed, with evidence of a hard, bloody battle. The guard buildings were in shambles, the bodies of Marines and civilians littered the ground, and the carcasses of a Warthog and Tank still burned. Nathan held up his hand, and halted his company of three other Warthogs. All four vehicles came to a stop, with the occupants looking on in horror at the gory scene before them.

"Alright, men! Secure the area, I want a gunner to stay on each of those Warthogs. The rest of you, fan out and see what you can find!" Nathan ordered, to which the Marines hastily obeyed. Nathan walked slowly towards the guard shack, his heavy boot falls causing the glass underfoot to crunch loudly in the roaring wind.

Peering inside, Nathan could see two Marines, one curled up on the floor with his abdomen completely blown open, and the other pinned to the wall with a flurry of spikes piercing her body, with a final one embedded in her right eye socket, pinning her head to the wall, her dead face glaring into the Spartan's.

"Oh my God..." Almya muttered, horrified. Nathan quickly shook off the shock of seeing the two Marines like this and examined everything before him.

"Almya, I've never seen this kind of round used by Covenant, have you?" He asked, pulling the spike out of the unfortunate woman's face. It seemed very simplistic, just a metal spike. The Covenant weren't known to use projectile weapons, and this was even more archaic than basic projectiles used by humans.

"No records of any kind on a round like that... I don't like it, Lieutenant... I think we should leave." Almya advised. The AI seemed scared, which was something Nathan was unsure an AI could even feel. Then again, every sentient thing cares for its 'life' in one way or another.

"Not until we find out what happened to Camp Alamo. We have to know what happened to them." Nathan confirmed, turning back to the Warthogs. "Alright, men! Saddle up! We keep moving!"

As the Warthogs sped farther into the camp, the feeling of being watched crept more and more up the Spartan's skin. He and his team were essentially in a bowl, and were easy pickings for snipers and Wraiths, but nothing was happening, and a Spartan doesn't just get a feeling of being watched...

If he can feel it, he knows he's being watched.

"Almya, are you picking up anything on the enemy comm channels?" Nathan asked, casting a glance up the ridge, thinking he saw something moving through the haze. Or maybe the heat was playing tricks on him...

"Nothing." Almya replied. "They're being unusually quiet... I really don't like this..." Nathan looked over to the Marine driving the Warthog, and saw the fear etched in his face and the white knuckled grip he had on the steering wheel. They were all scared. No one knew what happened to Camp Alamo, and if it was up to a twelve man squad to find out, they seriously underestimated what happened here.

Before long, the shape of the main buildings came into view through the haze, along with an intact stock of Evac transports. Barely anything had been touched, save for a few bodies here and there. The four Warthogs parked just outside the main gate, and everyone exited their vehicles, guns ready.

"What in the world happened here? Hello?! Anyone home?!" A Marine shouted, quickly getting a glare from the Spartan, who had that same question in his mind.

"We'll go in squads of two from here on out. Wessman and Davids, you're Alpha. Sorola and Burns, Bravo. Leif and Harmon, Charlie. O'Brady and Haynes, Delta. And Erickson? You're with me. We're Echo. Alpha and Beta, I want you to check the mess hall for survivors. Charlie, you see what we can salvage from the Armory. Delta, I want you to check the ships, see if there are any survivors hiding inside and that the ships are in order to fly. Erickson, we're going to check out the Command Center, make sure the Covenant didn't get any kind of data out of us."

A chorus of quiet "Yes, Sir!" rang out, and each group went to their specific tasks. Nathan still had the nagging feeling of being watched. Looking up the lakes ridge, he saw nothing. But their was something there, and he knew it. Erickson, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to the fact, and just walked around like nothing was going on. The young Marine turned to the Spartan and smiled.

"Man, can I just tell you how awesome it is to serve beside you, Sir? I mean, really, it's amazing! Ever since I was a boy, it was you Spartan's that made me want to join the Military. You're the best we'll ever get!" Nathan remained quiet through the praise, watching the ridge above. "You alright, Sir? What's wrong?"

Nathan finally realized. Whatever this was, it wasn't standard Covenant activity. Usually the Elites would set up a base of operations in their conquered land and defend it to the last Grunt, but this place... the tactics used here were... almost animal, luring them in. This wasn't operating procedure for the Covenant and Nathan knew why.

"We're being hunted..." The Spartan whispered to Erickson, who seemed to go pale as he trained his assault rifle all around the area, looking for anything that moved.

"W-What do we do?" Erickson whispered loudly, his hands trembling against the cold metal of his gun. Nathan remained perfectly still, watching his radar. For a fraction of a second, a blip appeared behind him, then quickly vanished. Nathan slowly, ever so slowly, pulled his knife from its sheath, watching for that blip to reappear. The wait was almost unbearable. Nathan could feel his muscles tighten in anticipation. He knew something was behind them; waiting, watching, ready to pounce and tear them to pieces.

Erickson had no time to react as the Spartan threw him to the ground whipped his knife as fast as a bullet across the landscape. Nathan watched as the metal of the blade struck home at something through the mist, which howled like nothing he had ever heard before. He could see the creatures silhouette through the heat. It was big, probably eight feet tall, and very, very muscular. Were these the creatures responsible for what happened here?

Nathan quickly unloaded his assault riffle into the still upright mass, which roared in defiance and fired it's own weapon, which launched a concussive grenade straight into Nathan's chest. The Spartan's shields failed instantly as he was hurled backwards, smoking and completely winded by the force of the blast.

The seemingly invincible beast let out another mighty roar, which resulted in many more erupting throughout the camp. Nathan sat up just in time to see Erickson, who had been trying to crawl away, hoisted by his midsection. The Marine yelled in fear, trying to squirm away from the beast's mighty clutch, but it was just too strong for him. Nathan reached for his pistol, but by the time he brought it to bear, it was too late. The monster squeezed with all its might, snarling as it squashed the Marine until his insides burst from his mouth and nose, and his eyes exploded from their sockets.

Nathan was mortified by the animals morbid killing technique, feeling his usually steel facade fall faster than a Drop Pod. Nathan hastily opened fire with his pistol, putting tiny holes in the creatures hide. This didn't seem to deter it in any way as it turned to the Spartan and quickly hoisted him up by the midsection in the same manner it had with Erickson.

Nathan was no fool to this trick. Using his MJOLNIR to his advantage, Nathan placed a foot on the creatures chest and kicked it away. The beast let the Spartan go and skid backwards, giving Nathan time to charge forward again and deliver a solid kick to the throat. The beast let out a large cough of blackish-purple blood and fell to the ground, where Nathan proceeded to stomp its head in, taking four tries to do so.

"Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta! We are leaving! Get to the Warthogs! Now!" Nathan ordered, only receiving static as a response. Had these horrible beasts killed his men too? "Fire teams? Report in, now!"

"Sir! It's Bravo! Alpha is down and we're taking fire from these... things! Sir, you have to help us! We're pinned down in the Barracks! Help!"

Nathan wasted no time making a beeline for the Barracks as fast as he could. The Spartan could hear the sounds of those grenades thumping, men screaming and eventual silence. Nathan halted his run to a pace, then stopped, realizing that Alpha had just been wiped out.

Nathan knew the rest of his men were dead, and that it would be suicide to face these creatures alone without any backup. There was nothing on the comms and he couldn't see the IFF tags on his HUD anymore. It was time to go and report this new threat when he was debriefed. He just hoped he lived long enough to do so.

Many more ghostly howls began to echo through the camp. Nathan, knowing they were still on the hunt, quickly ran for a nearby bunker, jumping inside to, hopefully, remain hidden. The Spartan peered out the small slit in the bunkers front, watching to see if there was any movement behind the haze. For now, he was safe, but those creatures were still out there, and they knew he was, too. They wouldn't stop hunting until he was found.

Nathan took a minute to try and calm himself, but the thought of any sense of calm died when he saw the bodies, burned, charred and eviscerated, all around the floor of the bunker. Some were stuck to the walls with those spikes and tortured. Their dead faces still screaming in pain and agony. Chunks of flesh had been eaten from a few of the bodies, and some were missing eyes and tongues. The young Spartan had seen death before, but he had never seen it like this. There were bodies of men protecting their wives, children...

Infants... still cradled in their mother's arms...

Nathan tore his helmet off and instantly vomited at the sight, then vomited at the smell. The horrible, God awful smell of burnt flesh and decay stung his nose like a thousand knives, causing his eyes to water. Nathan quickly threw his helmet back on, taking in deep gulps of scrubbed air.

"Spartan! Calm down; breath! Your vitals are all over the place!" Almya warned, trying to soothe the Spartan down. Nathan could barely hear her over the sound of his heart pounding in his ears. He was still so young, a child to most who saw him. He shouldn't be seeing things like this! No one should be seeing things like this!

He should be preventing them!

"What the Hell are these creatures, Almya? Does the UNSC have anything on them?" Nathan asked again, beginning the arduous task of searching for anyone who might still be alive in the mess of dead bodies. Nathan could feel his heart sinking as each second ticked by.

"There seems to be some files relating similar accounts of mutilation we've just seen, but it's restricted." Almya confirmed, tsking at the end. "Well, restricted hasn't stopped me before now, has it?" Almya asked in a mischievous tone, opening up each and every file on the creatures, finding exact matches to what she and the Spartan had just seen. "It appears that ONI calls them 'Brutes'. They're a race of ape like creatures, tremendous strength, yada yada yada... Wait... here's something."

"What is it?" Nathan asked as he turned over another burnt corpse, sickened by the sound it made as it came back down. Whatever Almya found, it better be important and help him out of this mess, because he was beginning to think that this whole mission was a huge wash.

"It seems that these 'Brutes' were first encountered at the start of the Human Covenant war! The UNSC has known about them all this time, at yet they send unprepared troops against them? Why keep the Brutes classified?" She asked angrily, scanning through files of casualty reports by the beast's hands. The numbers were staggering.

"I don't know, but I intend to make sure the UNSC doesn't make that mistake again." The Spartan said menacingly as he clacked the bolt to his Assault Rifle.

"Good. Now, how do you plan to get us out of here?" Almya asked curiously. Nathan took another peak over the wall of the bunker. The dust storm that had been brewing when he arrived had grown into a full blown sandstorm, limiting his vision to but a foot in front of his face.

Nathan sunk back down and checked his weapons one last time. "We can't fight these things. The only option we have left is retreat. I don't like it, but that's how we're going to survive this. Increase my armor's sensors as much as you can. I want to know where these creatures are and avoid them as best I can."

"The storm is going to make it nearly impossible for me to track any hostile movements. I can guarantee about a twenty-six percent accuracy on my part. You're lucky I can do that much." Almya replied. Nathan nodded and got to one knee preparing himself for the long sprint he would take. He began to count down in his head for the moment he would be running for his life.

It was funny, really. A Spartan was rarely seen running from a fight, staying until the last footing of a planet was glassed. A Spartan would stand tall and proud midst the gore and destruction, victorious. If a Spartan was running, then it was a very smart idea to follow in his or her footsteps just as quickly. And this Spartan was going to run, in three, two, one...

"M-Mommy..."

Nathan barely moved his foot when the tiny voice called out. He turned about as quick as he could, spotting a little boy, who could have been no more than four years old, standing in the gore, covered in crusted blood and burns. His clothes were burnt and tattered, barely clinging to his tiny frame. How long had that child been there? How long had he been hiding in the bodies, laying in the melted flesh of his mother and father? Brothers and sisters? How did he manage not to cry when his parents cried out in agony, burning alive as the monsters from nightmares laughed at their slaughter? This child was brave; braver than any child should ever be or should have to be...

Nathan knelt back down, slowly, putting his gun to the floor beside him. "Hey now... Why don't you come over here?" Nathan asked, extending his hands. The child sunk back down to the ground, covering himself back up. "No, no. Look, see?" Nathan said quickly, pulling off his helmet. "I'm a human being, like you. I'm not one of those monsters..."

The child peered back up over the bodies, seeing not a monster, but another face, young, like his. A face that held onto the last strands of innocence, a face that child needed to push through the darkness and despair that consumed him now. The boy ran forward into the outstretched arms of the Spartan and clung to him, crying, tears he held in since the ordeal began.

"Sh... It's alright... I'll get us out of this. I'll keep you safe..." The Spartan assured, making sure his facade as a steal hearted super soldier stayed down while he was taking care of the child. He wouldn't want to scare him any more than he already was. "Almya? How do you think we can do this?" Nathan asked,closing his helmets vents so the boy couldn't hear him.

"Well, you'll have to carry the child, which complicates things... No gun means no protection; just your shields and armor. It's about a two-hundred yard dash to the Warthogs. Think you're up to it?" Almya asked the Spartan as he stared out over the bunker window, listening as the howling got closer and closer.

Nathan scooped the child up and held him close to his chest. The boy reciprocated by clinging on to the Spartan's armor for dear life. Good, he knew what was going to happen. If not, then he'd know as soon as the Spartan's feet kicked in.

Nathan counted down in his head from ten again. Finding this child was an act of whatever God was watching out for the little boy. He wouldn't die here, in this dreary, nightmare of a base. This boy might just become something greater than anything the Spartan knew. Maybe even a Spartan someday if the program was still around.

As soon as Nathan's mental timer reached zero, he burst from the bunker with the screaming child. All at once, explosions and detonations echoed all around him, kicking up dirt and glass in front of, and behind both of them. All Nathan had to do was follow the waypoint Almya had left on the Warthogs, and he and this child would be home free. A failure of a mission in the brass's eye's, but to the young Spartan, the most successful mission of his life.

The yells of the Brute's could be heard echoing all around them, getting closer and closer. They were chasing the Spartan, hunting him and the young boy. This was their sport, and Nathan was playing into it. He had no other choice, though. It was either sit in the bunker and rot like the bodies in their, or let the Brutes find him and tear him apart like all the others.

"Hold on, kid!" Nathan yelled, jumping over an explosion just in front of his path. "We're almost there!"

Indeed they were. Just a few more yards, and that would all be true. Nathan kept running, pushing his armor to the limits with how fast it would carry him. His legs burned from friction they were creating, pumping so fast. His heart raced, pounding in his ears like a drum of war, canceling out the sounds of the Brutes and explosions. All Nathan was focused on was the child and the Warthogs, all that mattered to this mission now.

Nathan bolted through the checkpoint where the Warthogs were waiting and jumped into one, putting the child in the passenger seat beside him as he hopped into the drivers seat. The Spartan slammed the activation button, and the Warthog roared to life. As soon Nathan heard that engine, his foot slammed on the gas. The Warthog dug into the sand, but eventually found purchase and rocketed forward, leaving the base behind them. Nathan let out a mental sigh of relief as the base became nothing more than a bad memory now. They were both-

What had happened? Where? Nathan looked up, and all he could see was his Warthog in a ball of flames, half melted from whatever had happened. He remembered the child, and forgetting the pain in his body, rushed over to the Warthog to see if he was still alive. "Kid?! Where are you!?" He called out, peering inside.

There was nothing left. The passenger side had been completely slagged, and all that remained of the boy was nothing but a charred lower half. Nathan fell to his knees, his eyes clouding over as the roars and cheers of the Brutes could be heard from the distance, drawing closer and closer.

"Spartan? I'm sorry, but we need to move..." Almya whispered, the pain of the Spartan inside of her. The two of them were one; whatever he felt, she felt. She felt his pain, his rage. The fire that was building inside of him that could only be extinguished with the blood of the enemy that had hurt him so. Nathan stood back up, pulling the Assault Rifle from his back. "Spartan?! What are you doing?!" The AI asked in shock, watching through the helmets cams as the Spartan marched back towards the base.

"They want me? They want the sport of killing me? Then they're going to have to try their hardest to claim me as their kill!" Nathan leaned towards the base, yelling as loud as he could. "I WILL NOT LET THIS CHILD'S DEATH BE IN VEIN, YOU HEAR ME?! IT WILL BE THE LAST KILL YOU EVER GET!"

And then the hulking shadows stepped through the haze.

Nathan aimed his assault rife, and fired the first shot of the bloodiest battle he would ever have.

Then, the dream ended. Luna left the Spartan's mind and quickly raced back to hers. The horrors she had seen, the pain she felt, the feeling of death breathing down the nape of her neck would haunt her for quite a long time. She had never experienced war like that, never knew the pain of watching innocence die in a manner so horrific and disturbing, it left one wondering how it could be fought against.

Luna knew the only way to do so.

The sun was rising as Luna returned to her body, and the Princess knew just what to do. Leaving her bed, with tears still streaming down her cheeks, Luna made her way to the throne room, where Celestia sat atop her throne, speaking to Shining Armor about something. Luna didn't care what it was. She was there with only one thing on her mind.

Upon Luna's entrance, Celestia looked up to see the state her sister was in. "Goodness, Lulu! What's the matter?!"

Luna ignored her sister's worry. "Call a council meeting. NOW!" She ordered. Celestia, taken aback by the sudden violent nature of her sister, Celestia simply nodded dumbly. "I will be waiting in the meeting hall. This is urgent, my sister... More urgent than you can ever hope to imagine..."

Celestia watched Luna leave and turned back to Shining Armor. "Well, it appears we have an emergency. Captain? Help me round up the council members, send emissaries to their doors, and tell them this is an urgent matter that requires there immediate attention. I'm assuming Luna wishes to discuss that matter of the alien."

Shining Armor bowed to the Princess. "At once, your highness." He said, quickly dashing off to do what he was told. Celestia sighed and looked out towards the sky, once seeming so small, now full of horrors she couldn't hope to, or want to, imagine.

Twilight awoke from her sleep with a start as the sound of bells echoed across the city, followed by, "All Council Nobles, report to the Castle immediately! All Council Nobles, report to the Castle immediately!"

In all of Twilight's life living at the Castle, she had never once heard the emergency council meeting system used. Whatever was going on, it must have had to do with Nathan! Twilight quickly threw the covers off of her and raced towards the door. She knew what they were deciding, and she wasn't going to let anypony hurt him! He was unique! He was one of a kind! They couldn't end his life simply because of who he is! All of Twilight's friendship studies had taught her that much.

Twilight thought it would be a simple run back to the Spartan's prison, but as soon as she opened the door, she was met with a face full of white fur. Twilight looked up to see Princess Celestia standing in the doorway, looking down at her with a smile. "Ah, I see someone heard the news. Come with me, Twilight. You're going to join the meeting. A meeting which hasn't been this urgent since the time of Discord."

Twilight gulped and said nothing, simply following her teacher to wherever she was leading her. "I take it you know why we're calling this meeting and what it's about?" Celestia asked, breaking the silence.

Twilight gulped and said, "I-I have a hunch. Are you going to execute Nathan for who he is?" The mare asked in a shaky tone.

Celestia tsked and turned to Twilight, kneeling down so they were eye level with one another. "Twilight, that is not what this meeting is about. I do not want to hurt this man, but if the safety of my little ponies is at risk, then as Princess, I may not have a choice. But, this meeting is something different. Luna came to me earlier in a state I have not seen her in in many centuries."

"What's that?" Twilight asked Celestia curiously.

"She was in tears." Celestia revealed, confusing Twilight. The only time Twilight had seen her cry was during the last Nightmare Night when everypony was frightened of her, even then the Princess wouldn't let anyone see her in that state, nor admit to it. To have Luna enter a room with tears in her eyes spoke volumes as to the severity of the situation, whatever it may be.

"She was crying?" Twilight asked, shocked. "D-Do you know why?"

"I do not. But, it has something to do with the Spartan, and if I know my sister, I think she may have done some prying last night, which showed her things she may not have wanted to see..." Celestia said in a chilling voice, which caused the hairs on the back of Twilight's neck to stand on edge.

"What do you mean, Princess?" Twilight asked, but the question went unanswered as the two of them entered a heavily guarded room, which housed a large, round table, with two thrones standing at the far end, elevated above the rest of the chamber. The seats were all filled with old ponies, each of them with different emotions on their faces. Some were tired, others were frustrated, and some were even excited that this meeting was called.

On one throne already sat Princess Luna, her face an expressionless mask, a stark contrast to what it was just an hour ago. Celestia took to her throne, while Twilight remained in the center of the chamber. Celestia looked down at her student and smiled. "Twilight? Can you tell us all you know about the alien?"

Twilight waited for the surprised and confused murmurs to settle down before she spoke, saying, "Well, he came from the large ship that crashed into the Everfree the other night. My friends and I went to investigate, and were met with a... horrible situation. A creature... A horrible creature climbed its way out of the wreckage, and when Pinkie tried to communicate with it, it... shot her..." More surprised whispering. "I pulled her back and put a shield over all of us as more aliens, diverse in nature, began to climb from the ship and fire at us, speaking in garbled gibberish. That's when another alien, this one different from the others came forward and protected us, saved our lives from the monsters we see in our nightmares. He speaks our language, has a name... He even gave Pinkie medical attention for her leg. If there were ever an alien we could trust in all of this, it would be him. He knows the other aliens well. His people are in a war across the stars with, what he calls them, the Covenant. He fears for our safety, and has told me time and time again that him being locked up is a huge mistake. He knows how to fight these monsters, and I say we let him."

"As do I!" Luna declared, surprising her sister and Twilight. "I hath entered the Spartan's dream during the night, and what I saw..." Luna hesitated as she remembered that awful nightmare. "...affirmed his words. This Covenant is ruthless, shows no mercy, and will stop at nothing to eradicate anything it considers beneath them. We have been marked for death by them, and I say we give the only creature on this planet his wish. If he wants to fight this Covenant and protect our home, then I say we let him. Who else is with me?"

The chamber scared stiff by what they were told, unanimously erupted into a chorus of 'Ayes', which Twilight responded to with a large smile on her face. Celestia noted that and smiled as well, saying, "Very well, everypony. We shall release the Spartan, and if this Covenant should return, then we will be ready. With him leading us, we might just stand a chance."

The chamber clapped their hooves in approval and soon disbanded, with Twilight, Celestia and Luna staying back to speak alone. Once everypony was gone, the Princesses flew down and landed next to Twilight.

Luna spoke up first, saying, "I am truly sorry I did not believe thee on this matter, Twilight Sparkle. Your friend shall be set free, and whatever he needs, we shall be happy to give."

"I have other plans in mind for him." Celestia said, her sister and Twilight staring at her curiously. "We need him to train our soldiers. They have no idea what they are up against, and the Spartan could help them at least be ready."

"You're asking our Guard to fight a war they cannot win..." Luna warned, to which Celestia narrowed her eyes and stepped forward.

"I do not know what you saw in his dream, Luna, but whatever it was, you must feel very uneasy about. Our Guard will be ready when the threat returns. The Spartan and I will make sure of that. What did you see to cause such a hopelessness in you?"

"Do you want me to show thee?" Luna replied back with a sharp tongue. Celestia nodded and Luna placed her horn atop her elder sisters head, relaying all she saw into Celestia's mind. Twilight watched as Celestia's face was etched into horror, the death and destruction she saw. The Spartan's humanity shining through, then snuffed out like match in the rain. "Do you believe us now, dear sister?"

Celestia remained quiet as she left the council chambers, leaving Luna and Twilight alone. Twilight looked up to Luna and asked, "Can I see? I want to know what happened."

Luna turned away and headed for the door, replying, "If I showed you what I saw in his dream last evening... I do not think your heart could take it..." And with that Luna left, leaving Twilight alone to wonder what it was that now haunted both the Princesses.

Maybe it was better she didn't.