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.