Contact Harvest

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 8

Prologue

There are no accidents without intentions.
-Alex Miller

The soft sound of hooves rang through the crystal hallway, in front of me a Pegasus filly was niftily passing doors as to prevent detection from anyone in the castle. “Scootaloo, Ah don’t think we’re supposed to be here.” I whispered.

Scootaloo looked back at me and rolled her eyes as if she had been expecting me to say somethin’ like that. “Come on, Bloom where’s your sense of adventure! Twilight’s castle is massive, there must be some awesome secrets hidden in these rooms!” The orange Pegasus squealed and she swiftly turned around to continue the search for ‘hidden artifacts’. Talkin’ sense into the Pegasus would be nearly impossible…
…And to be honest, Ah was very curious as well.

CLANG!

A loud noise that sounded as if Tartarus itself had just closed its front gate rang out from behind us, mah heart raced as both mahself and Scootaloo jumped around to look at what had caused the sound. The perpetrator, a white unicorn with a purple and pink mane stood behind us looking guiltily at a previously open door. “I didn’t mean to!” She nearly cried with her usual high pitched voice.

We stood in silence, waiting, Twilight could teleport in any second now. Seconds turned to a minute and we sighed in relief, “That was way too close, Sweetie.” Scootaloo whispered as Ah tried to get mah breathing back under control.

“Spike?” The voice echoed through the empty hallways, terrified expressions returned to our faces as the echo faded further into the castle.

Ah knew this was a bad idea!

“Quick! In here!” Scootaloo said, holding open a large metal door. Seeing no other option Ah quickly run inside, the sound of hooves behind mah betraying that Sweetie had also followed.

Past the door there was a small hallway that led to a spiral staircase, the walls were no longer the light blue crystal that made up the majority of the castle but a dark purple just as there were torches that let off a looming dim purple glow. “Girls, Ah reckon that we should quit while we can.”

Sweetie immediately nodded in agreement with the proposal, Scootaloo just seemed to grin. “Oh well, I guess your sisters will be disappointed when Twilight tells them you were sneaking around her castle.”

Ah grimaced, Applejack would be furious would probably and assign all the terrible chores to me for months! Scootaloo slowly walked past me and Sweetie, putting a hoof on the door handle, slowly pushing it down.

“Wait!” Both mahself and Sweetie said jus’ before the door would’ve sprung open, Scootaloo slowly released the handle of the door. “You win, Scoots.”

The orange filly trotted back past me and flung her tail into mah face, “Come on, AB. Just look around! Dark and gloomy hallway lit by underpowered torches leading to a spiral staircase into the earth. This looks like the start to an awesome adventure story!” Ah grumbled as we headed down the stairs, what does that filly see here that was so ‘awesome’ anyway? Ah mean, it’s only a dark and wet set of stairs... in a magical castle... leading into the deep darkness of the earth.

Darnit, why does that filly always manage to drag us into these situations?

Ah found the filly pushing against a thick wooden door at the base of the stairs, "Bloom give me a hoof, the door won't budge." Sweetie pushed Scootaloo aside and took hold of the door handle, "Let me."

The door creaked open, Scoots should probably have pulled instead of pushed Ah grinned. The room in front of us was shrouded in complete darkness except for the entrance as the light from a torch in the hallway lit up a couple of furniture pieces covered by white tarps, the musty smell of the room hit like a brick as we entered. "Whoa" Scootaloo gasped, her voice slightly echoed through the chamber, "Sweetie can you grab that torch?"

We looked over to Sweetie as she lit her horn, projecting her magic around the torch in the hallway. A bead of sweat running down her forehead as her magic flickered, "Gah! Stupid solar storm! I'm sorry girls I can't lift it."

"Really, Sweetie? I've seen you lift stuff twice of heavy!"

Ah horseapples, this ain't gonna go well.

"O, so you're the expert on magic now? Why don't you use your Wings and just Fly up there and get it for us?"

"Take that back!" Sweetie and Scootaloo standing nose to nose ready to dish it out on each other. Ah stood up on mah back legs and reached for the torch, nudging it out of its frame makin' the thing clatter to the ground.

"Now y'all can stop arguin' about nothin', Ah got you your torch Scoots." Sweetie tried to angrily glare at Scootaloo but failed, sighing in resignation.

"I'm sorry about making fun of your wings Scootaloo." She apologized.

"Me as well, I know that solar storm is messing with your magic. I'm just so excited about exploring around here." Scootaloo apologized and grabbed the torch, clamping it between her barrel and a wing. "Now let's go find cool stuff!"

The chamber was large as after Ah entered Ah couldn't see any walls in the distance, just row after row of pillars and arches to support the weight of the castle above. More boxes and furniture covered by tarps and pieces of cloth were neatly stored in marked sections, we lifted every tarp as we passed them.

"Scootaloo, Ah don't think we're gonna find anytin' down here." Scootaloo had stopped walking and was twitching her ears as if she heard something.

"Shh, do you hear that? Come on, follow me!"

She completely ignored me!

Passing row after row of pillars the noise Scootaloo had heard became louder, the best way to describe it is as a low humming that seemed to shudder your gut. An object was standing between four pillars and Ah could see blue light coming from the tarp that was thrown across it.

"I think we just found one of your artifacts, Scootaloo." Sweetie said as Ah could see the three of us gawking at the object, Scootaloo slowly took a step forward and pulled off the tarp. No dust came off the piece of cloth indicating that the thing underneath had only recently been placed there. As the tarp fell down on the floor so we could finally see what was underneath.

A large mirror, the frame in the shape of a purple horseshoe and magenta gems embedded into it. on top of it, there was another smaller horseshoe with a mirror that had a rearing pony etched into it.

The mirror pulsed a light blue color and was constantly rippling, "Whoa, that's so awesome! What do you think it is?"

Somethin' ain't right here, we shouldn't stay "Scootaloo this is going too far, we're leavin', Ah don't care if you tell mah sis but this might be dangerous." Ah could see Scoots roll her eyes, a clear sign that she wasn't gonna listen. "Come on AB what's scaring you so much about this thing? It's just a mirror." As an example Scootaloo tapped the crystal mirror with the torch, the blue glow and rippling immediately stopped and the surface turned regular again.

"See, nothing to be affrai-" The torch's magical flame was sucked into the mirror as it suddenly started glowing bright blue again, its surface reaching much further out than it did before it was touched. Sweetie's horn started glowing in its signature emerald green as the mirror seemed to draw on her magic as it had done on the magical flame. The more magic the mirror sucked in the more noise it started to make and the brighter it became.

"Sweetie get out of here!" Ah tried to shout but the bellowing roar of the mirror was already too loud for me to be heard by the others. Purple swirls started forming in the mirror as it felt like somepony was pushing mahself towards it.
Nononono, Shut off stupid thing! Scootaloo suddenly lost grip and Flew into the mirror, disappearing in the pink swirls which immediately made it light up brighter and suck in Sweetie as well. "SCOOTALOO, SWEETIE BELLE!"

The force pushin’ me to the mirror strengthened once again and Ah felt mahself slipping towards it, inch by inch. Screaming didn’t help a darn bit as the sound of the mirror was drownin’ out everythin’ Ah was saying as I felt mah tail hit the mirror.

Lookin’ back at the mirror once again revealed that half mah tail was already stuck in the purple swirl that seemed intent on devouring me whole…
…And it was winnin’.

Ah’m sorry Applejack. The purple swirl finally managed to get a good hold on me and dragged me into the mirror,

into the deafening silence.

"Spike?" I’m sure I heard a door close over here, that lazy dragon, I need him in the library to help with Starswirl’s cross-dimensional Communications magic guide!

No more sound came from the hallway as I entered it, yet a couple of the doors seemed to be left open which is something I don’t do. Walking to the first door I looked into the room, it only contained a set of unused furniture which were covered by dust blankets. The second and the third rooms yielded similar results but when I reached the fourth I finally found what I was looking for.Gotcha!

The green and purple dragon was sitting on a couch with a stack of comics besides him.

“SPIKE!” The dragon yelled and tumbled off the couch. “I told you I needed your help in the library! Ever since that solar storm hit Equestria my communication with Sunset has been down, The only thing I can send and receive are garbled messages!”

Spike wrung his claws nervously, “Can’t you just ask Discord? He’s in the library with you, I’m sure he’s much more helpful than me!”

That was it, I hadn’t slept in two days because of trying to warn my friend in another dimension not to take the portal back. The reason being that it might just kick them out somewhere into yet another dimension, the stress this caused had fried my nerves too badly by this point to care about the little dragon’s relaxation time. My coat momentarily turned to a brilliant white while my purply mane lit on fire as my magic released itself in an uncontrollable burst.

“Discord, as you already know, has lost ALL HIS CHAOS MAGIC ABILITIES due to this solar storm making him literally nothing more than dead weight I have to drag along since he never bothered to learn even BASIC MAGIC THEORY, WHICH IS LITERALLY TAUGHT TO FOALS!”

The flames died down and my coat turned back to its usual color as I glanced at Spike, the little dragon had lost all color in his scales.

I might have slightly overdone that, my magic reserve never drops to a level that's this low.

“I’ll head for the library right away!” He quickly said and ran out of the room, taking a right turn towards the library as he left for the library. My intervention might have been a little cruel but given circumstances I hope Spike understands why he’s seriously needed. I’ll ask for some extra gems in the princess’ next delivery, fire rubies if possible since he always seems to like those.

I suddenly felt a tug on my horn as something was trying to draw magic from my reserves, my hairs standing on end as I realized the direction of the magic pull.

Down.

The Portal.

I had placed the portal in the cellar in an attempt to counteract the effects of the solar storm but the magical disturbance was so strong that in the end it didn’t really matter where I would’ve put the thing.
Not wasting any more time I flung myself at the door, due to the solar storm interfering with magic teleportation was out of the question forcing me to take the stairs. The torches that usually lit the hallway to the cellar brightly now shone dimly due to magic starvation, the wooden door at the bottom was open indicating that somepony had gone down there without my knowledge. A loud roar was coming from the direction of the portal, running as fast as I could to where I placed the portal two days ago I saw something that made my heart skip a beat.

Applebloom was trying to hold onto the floor as the portal had managed to get a grasp on her tail.

“APPLEBLOOM!” I could only shout as the filly was dragged into the portal. Moments later all sound stopped for a moment, my heartbeat rang through my ears while every breath sounded like a strong gust of wind. A small flicker of light escaped from the top of the mirror and before my eyes could blink turned into a magical shockwave which launched me into the nearest pillar.

I watched as a last few sparks of magical energy arced over the mirror before it went back to its inert state and the darkness of unconsciousness took me.

Author's Note

Well, here it is. After some deliberation, I thought to myself.

You can keep staring at this prologue to see if you can make it better but that would only delay the launch of this for another week.

So I just clicked submit.

The next chapter is going to have to wait for a bit because of some lore things I want to figure out first, anyway I hope you guys will enjoy! :twilightsmile:

*Edit: Future chapters will not use the accent for narration.*
need to fix that in this chapter at some point

Chapter 1

Two possebilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not.
Both are equally terrifying.
-Arthur C. Clarke

"Rarity?" I weakly asked, my head pounded as if somepony had just bucked it. Opening my eyes seemed to be a bad decision as it only increased the splitting headache but a groan coming from beside me made me try again. A strange creature with long red hair was laying in the waving grass, it yawned revealing a set of sharp canines in its mouth.

Oh no, it's going to eat me! I struggled to get as far away from the predator as I possibly could... And froze as I got my first look at my claws, they were furrless and unlike Spike's claws didn't have sharp endings to them. My mind was running in overdrive as I individually bent and stretched the claws and eventually touched my face experimentally, There's no muzzle! Celestia no I'm a monster like that one!

Wait... If I'm a monster like that one, who is that?

"Sweetie? Scoots? Y'all here?" The monster said in a southern drawl I would recognize anywhere,

"Apple Bloom? Is that you?" I asked, my fear of the creature was lessening as it seemed to be my friend.

The former earthpony opened her eyes as well and was just as scared of me as I had been of her moments earlier before she made the same realization as me. "Sweetie? What's goin' on, why are you... that?!"

"I-I don't know." I stammered and started looking around our immediate area, we were on a hill that on one side had a large orchard and on the other, there was a massive field of grain that seemed to go on for forever. In the distance, we could also see some sort of tall buildings and a couple of... wires? running so high into the sky that they disappeared from view, "Where's Scootaloo?" I asked, suddenly realizing that the orange pegasus was the only one of my two friends that wasn't with us.

"AAAH, oof." Branches snapped in one of the orchard's trees just before another creature like the two of us fell to the ground.

Is it wearing clothes? wait... I'm wearing clothes as well?!

Apple Bloom hobbled over on her back legs to the creature and raised an eyebrow as she studied the newcomer. "Scoots?"

"Yeah? what's up?" Scootaloo replied clutching her head with the dull claws while also trying to use a tree to get at the same eye level as her red-haired friend.

"Good, just checkin' to make sure I've got the right creature." Apple Bloom fist hit the former pegasus square on the jaw, the dull thud of Scootaloo hitting the ground made me wince, "YOU HAPPY NOW?!" Apple Bloom shouted, enraged at our friend. "YOU GOT YOUR ADVENTURE BECAUSE Y'ALL HAD TO TOUCH THE GLOWIN' MIRROR, DIDN'T YOU!"

"How was I supposed to know what was going to happen?" She defended herself but this didn't seem to matter to Apple Bloom. I hobbled over to my two friends and helped Scootaloo up on her back legs while Apple Bloom was shooting a glare in her direction, this was incidentally also the first time Scootaloo got the chance to study our new bodies, "Sweetie? Where's your horn?" The friend in front of me was immediately forgotten as I touched my forehead with my claws to check my horn.

N-No this can't be happening! How am I supposed to use magic now?!... Why is Scootaloo so calm? Hasn't she lost her wings as well?

The answer to that question followed almost immediately as Scootaloo spoke up, "This stupid jacket is pinning my wings to my back!"

She still has them?! That's not fair! But... wouldn't they be just as useless as in Equestria? Ugh, now I feel bad.

"Quit whinin'. We got them clothes for a reason so we're keepin' them on." Apple Bloom snapped, "Our sisters can't help us fer at least five more days 'cause that solar storm, so we're gonna go to that city to get some food and water before goin' right back here."

The bulge that formed on the clothes on Scootaloo's back as her wings tried to shoot out were a good indication that she wanted to protest but for some reason, she kept her mouth shut. The grain in the fields around us waved in the wind as we made our way to the large structures, the closer we came the more the air seemed to smell of something being burned. The other side of the city seemed to have thick black clouds coming from while at the same time irregularly flashing of purple light that were more defined due to the setting sun was corresponding with new black clouds rising up from behind the buildings.

"Scoots is it just me or are those clouds not natural?" We had just entered the city proper and there was seemingly nothing alive, my voice only a little over a whisper. Scootaloo's face also had a frown painted upon it as she studied the black clouds.

"They're rising." She stated, more flashes of light appearing as well. "The light isn't coming from the clouds, it's from the ground. Those are smokestacks and the light is a fire of some sort." The pegasus' final conclusion sent a shiver up my spine as the smokestack was easily large enough to engulf Canterlot whole.

"Maybe we should turn around and get out of here if the city is on fire?" I suggested to Apple Bloom who was still steadily moving forward into the city. She huffed but didn't change her pace.

"We ain't gonna leave before we find somecreature, we're gonna have to get some food and water before we can go back to the hill."

Moments after Apple Bloom spoke Scootaloo forcibly grabbed Bloom's foreleg, "Maybe my words didn't get through your thick skull, WE ARE WALKING TOWARDS A MASSIVE FIRE!" She snapped, my two friends standing muzzle to muzzle, but that wasn't what had my attention. A strange buzz came from further up the street, breaking the relative silence which reigned the city previously.

"AN' WE WOULDN'T BE HERE IF YOU HADN'T TOUCHED THE DARN PORTAL!"

"Girls?" The buzzing was growing louder more rapidly as the two were shouting at each other.

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE SHOULD BE WALKING INTO ANOTHER DANGEROUS SITUATION!"

It wasn't long before a swarm of brown bugs came swirling around a tall building further up in the street. Are those Changelings?! "Girls!"

"WHAT!" The two simultaneously shouted at me but their rage immediately vanished as they followed my gaze towards the approaching bugs. Their eyes went wide, the three of us slowly walking backward as the bugs approached.

"Y'all think those are the reason why this city is so quiet?" Apple Bloom grimaced, her gaze thoroughly fixed on the rapidly approaching swarm. The tool of the leading bug began glowing a bright green and it pointed it at Scootaloo. Time slowed down for me as the green glow shot forward. In a panic, I automatically lifted my claws and made a pushing motion, a green glow that looked similar in color to the bolt flying straight at Scootaloo enveloped the claws and the former pegasus seemingly got knocked out of the way by some sort of a mysterious force just before the projectile would have hit her.

The green bolt hit the ground where Scootaloo had just stood and scorched it black. Loud noises not unlike thunder suddenly started coming from a street further up the block, holes appearing in the insects making them drop to the ground as their green blood spewed out of their backs. In the corner of my eye I could see something green rapidly approaching us from the side, already in a panicked state I swirled around to the thing and raised my hands once again but this time nothing happened. My heart beat faster than it ever had as I looked at the approaching creature, it was the same species as we were only larger and it was wearing a completely green outfit with heavy looking plates that reminded me of guard armor.

D-did he kill those bugs? Is he going to kill us?! My mind rattled off before going almost completely blank as the creature reached us. All those times I had heard ponies talk about fight or flight, always telling that somepony would have one of two responses to a situation.
They seemed to never recognize that there is a third option that could happen,

Freeze.

As the creature stopped in front of me I did absolutely nothing, neither running nor fighting. Nothing. "You three girls are the luckiest to be alive right now but to stay that way you're going to have to come with me." Daring to look away from it I glanced at my two friends, the two of them were also clearly in distress as our eyes darted between each other.

"C'mon girls let's go." Apple Bloom spoke up while taking a hesitant step forward, both me and Scootaloo following suit as a box on the creature's chest suddenly started speaking,

"Someone, report! Who the hell fired those shots?!"

Have they figured out long-range communication spells?! Not even Twilight has managed that yet!

"Three civilians were being attacked by the bugs, I took them out." The creature replied, we were running at a decent speed further down the alleyway we had been led into.

"Jenkins, is the primary diverting any assets?"

The gruff voice from the radio asked as the creature that had led us up to another armored individual of his species,

"Negative, Sergeant Major, Primary is still on course steadily burning settlements." Another voice came from the box answering the first voice's question,

"Copy that, Jenkins. Wick, get those civilians to the tether asap."

"Copy that, Wick out." The creature replied before looking straight at us, "You three, stay close to us and if we say you have to do something you do it. Am I clear?" The creature looked... Satisfied as we greedily nodded. "Good, let's go"

We once again ran through the abandoned back street after the creature, these were clearly guards of some sort as even with its equipment it still managed to outpace us the majority of the time. Although that assessment might not be too fair to Scootaloo as she seemed to have no trouble keeping up with the creature. As we passed streets we managed to get glimpses of what seemed to be causing the fires in the distance, a purple metal 'ship' of some sort was hovering in the air on the horizon, beams of fire seemingly being shot from its belly as every time the light touched the ground it created another stack of smoke. Eventually, we found ourselves in front of one of the building complexes that had one of the cables we had seen from a distance running into the sky. Even being this close didn't reveal the top of the cable as it seemed to be running into infinity.

"Is that thing running into Luna's space?! Who are these things that they can build something this big?!"

Inside there were hundreds of the creatures huddled in groups and standing in line to enter further into the facility, "You three go stand in line over there, the loading is almost complete any later and you might have been left behind." The three of us nodded and went over to the creatures that were standing in the line as the armor-clad one ran off again, the voice from the box giving him new orders.

The three of us quietly stood between the creatures, they all seemed to be just severely on edge as we were. After some more observation of the creatures some more differences between us and them became extremely obvious, for one, they didn't have the vibrantly colored hair ponies had, with only a couple of exceptions to the rule they mostly had shades of brown and black hair. Our own hair was faded a little as well but it was colorful enough that it would stand out in the crowd.
The second and much more important thing I noticed was that none of the creatures were using magic or had any wings, even in Equestria earthpony villages had at least a couple of unicorns and pegasi living in them to do jobs like clearing the weather and such. Seeing none of that in the crowd made it very clear that neither Scootaloo's wings nor my magic were normal.

"Scootaloo? I don't think we're exactly normal." The noise of the other creatures in the building made it that only my friends heard me talk.

The former pegasus rolled her eyes, "I figured that out already." Annoyance rife in her voice as we followed the crowd to wherever they were going.

"Not that, I mean that they don't have wings and magic!" Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked over the crowd and scanned for the two features, both finding nothing.

I could see Apple Bloom grimacing before she spoke up, "Ah reckon they won't be too kind if they figured out we ain't one of them, with them bugs flying around and such."

I nodded to my friend, "We should hide it for now while we figure out how to get back home."

We eventually made it to where everycreature seemed to be going, a massive metal 'box' of some sort was attached to the cable with machinery. "Where are we going?" I asked one of the creatures that was working to get everyone seated somewhere in the contraption.

"Hell if I care, as long as it's not Harvest though if I were to hazard a guess Jericho VII is the most likely planet we're headed to since I remember that star-system to be closest to this one."

D-different star-system?! Have these creatures found a way to teleport that far?! That should be impossible, not even the princesses can teleport that far!

My mind grinding to a halt as I tried to apply my limited knowledge of magic, the creature meanwhile had strapped the three of us into chairs and left to finish up with the last of the passengers.

"Girls? Did he just say star system?" Scootaloo's mask of 'coolness' breaking as she looked horrified at the prospect of leaving the planet entirely.

"Ah think he just did, but Ah don't think there's any gettin' off this thing now." Apple Bloom grimaced as well as we heard metallic clangs from where the door was supposed to be followed by red lights going on and a male voice with an accent similar to the former earthpony's one came from seemingly everywhere at once.

"Everyone, Ah need y'all to stay calm as we ascend the elevator. Y'all be pulling a lot of G's in the ascend so it'll be okay to black out on the ride." My hands were sweaty as I suddenly felt the 'elevator' start moving up, initially it felt the same as the elevators in Manehattan but that soon changed as the pressure on my body increased and increased to a point that it felt like somepony had dropped a closet onto it. Black spots formed in my vision as I heard Scootaloo breathing strangely while Apple Bloom had already seemed to have passed out some time before that.

The black spots in my vision were growing to extreme proportions as the force on my chest was increasing further,

I'm sorry Rarity, I guess we'll be here for a while longer.

The final thought flashed through my mind as unconsciousness took me into its dark embrace.

Author's Note

:yay: I've been gone for a while, taking a little break from writing and getting some new inspiration. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next one will be from Scootaloo's perspective as she cooks up a stupid plan to get back to harvest and Equestria in turn! :ajsmug:

See you next time! :twilightsmile:

Chapter 2

When I joined the Corps, we didn't have fancy-schmancy tanks.

We had sticks! Two sticks, and a rock for the whole platoon- and we had to share the rock!

-Sergeant Avery Johnson

Spacetravel is boring.

In my comics, the ponies traveling from star to star would always blink there in an instant and do all kind of awesome stuff before leaving again. Reality though was much less exciting than fiction, after being shot into space away from Harvest by some sort of elevator we had been traveling through what Sweetie had figured out to be something called 'Slipspace' for almost four months now. The former unicorn had also managed to figure out many more things about the creatures. Sweetie with her seemingly unnatural ability to blend into a crowd and talk to people, something she must have picked up from Rarity, had figured out that they called themselves ‘Humans’. I believe that I heard Lyra rant about a creature like that once. Something about hands, which is funny because that’s what our claws are really called.

Anyway, life in these big metal ‘grease buckets’ was rather bland and unexciting. Food was rationed and there was little to do with all the spare time we had, Apple Bloom and I mostly spent time in the makeshift gym the other humans had set up to make life more bearable in our lifeboat.

Sweetie on the other hoof… hand… whatever, had mainly focussed on lame stuff like learning as much about our new world as possible. But despite that, she had still come over to the makeshift gym to work out with us as even she got bored of constantly reading books since she wasn’t called Twilight Sparkle.

But all that was soon coming to an end, a voice over the speakers had announced that we finally had arrived at our destination and other spaceships were on route to pick us up. Gathering up what little possessions we had the three of us were standing in line waiting to be picked up and brought to the surface of the world the humans called Jericho VII.

Scratching my back in an attempt to get rid of the itch that my wings were causing, we had already used long sheets of fabric to wrap around my torso and hide the wings even further, that didn’t change the fact that the feathery limbs on my back that almost touched my flanks were an almost constant source of itchiness. “Scootaloo to Sweetie, we’re about to get out of this stupid box and you’re still stuck to that tablet.”

My friend looked up from the object that the humans used as books, a flat device that could store an incredible amount of information. “Sorry, some of these subjects are just so exciting!” She squealed, I just rolled my eyes at the behavior. It wasn’t that I hadn’t also read up on some subjects, enough free time will drive you to do anything, I had read up on our new biology as I had always enjoyed Cheerilee’s anatomy and biology lessons but that’s something I’d never admit to anyone as it’s so not cool.

A metallic clang rang throughout the vessel as the airlock opened up to reveal more humans standing on the other side of the door, "Everyone, stay in line! we have space for about two thousand of you!" One of the newcomers called out as the crowd slowly moved into the new ship, as we moved through the airlock we were approached by a woman in a work outfit, a logo of a stylised Eagle that was sitting on a planet with the letters UNSC on a scroll below that signified her as a crew member of the ship.

"Hello there, would you three be so kind as to follow me? We have a fresh set of clothes and some food ready further up." She told us, we silently followed her to a small room which contained four beds which had a set of clothes put on top of all of them. "Please stay here until we reach the planet, the authorities downstairs are working to get emergency housing set up." She told us, waiting for us to agree to her before leaving for the airlock once again.

The room looked almost as bland as the one we had used on the grease bucket except that on the far wall opposing the door was a poster of a soldier, the words 'Stand, Fight, Serve' in bold below the human. "So, what are we going to do now?" It was a question we hadn't really thought about yet as there was little we could do about our situation while we were stuck in slipspace.

"Ah'm not sure" Apple Bloom admitted as she started switching out her clothes for the one on the bed, "But Ah reckon we ain't gonna get back to Harvest any time soon"

Although I knew that Apple Bloom was right the fact that getting back to Equestria was going to be a monstrous task but I wasn't going to sit idle like the last four months, "Then we'll just have to think up a solution to that problem, won't we? The first problem would be to get back to Harvest, I know of only one group of Humans that are going to go back there for sure."

"You mean the army?! Scootaloo, that's insane! We could get hurt, even killed if we went back there!" Sweetie looked aghast as I proposed my plan, of course it was dangerous but that wasn't going to stop me.

"I'm not going to wait until someone else is going to get the planet back! If to get back home I have to put myself out there I will do it!" The two of my friends remained quiet as I stared them down for a moment longer, turning around to put on the new clothes as mine were starting to wear out due to constant use.

"Alright, darnit Ah'm goin' as well, you two are the closest thing to family Ah have right now and Ah don't want to split up." A wave of relief came over me as at least one of my friends would be joining me, looking over at Sweetie she could be seen shuffling nervously but eventually, she sighed and gave in.

"Fine, but for the record; this is a terrible idea." She stated as she lay down on her bunk.

A large grin was plastered on my face as I followed suit, "Cutie Mark Crusader Marines?"

Both Sweetie and AB rolled their eyes, "Yeah, Ah guess so." Bloom finally said with a deep sigh. The next few hours we waited for the ship to go down planetside and when we eventually did the first thing we did was walk up to one of the soldiers that was overseeing the moving of the refugees.

"Hello, sir. Could you point us to the nearest recruitment office?" Sweetie's voice had shifted to a tone that made it seem as if what she asked had no significance at all. The soldier looked at the three of us curiously for a moment before he pointed at the other side of the spaceport.

"At the end of the dock take a right, should be able to find it easily with the posters they have there." He instructed, we thanked him and made our way to the building. None of us really spoke along the way, for me that was due to adrenaline but I'm sure Sweetie was just trying to hide her nerves while Apple Bloom probably just didn't feel like talking. A couple of minutes later we found the building, posters of soldiers hanging behind the windows of the office building. Inside there was a woman sitting behind the main desk, she immediately sat straighter as she noticed the three of us enter.

"Hello there, could I help you ladies?" She asked seemingly just as curious as the soldier on the dock had been. Sweetie once again stepped forward to talk to the lady.

"We want to sign up for the marines," Sweetie informed her which made the woman raise an eyebrow as she typed a few commands into her console.

"Of course! do you have a way to Identify yourself?" She asked as her fingers were rapidly tapping more buttons.

Ah crap we don't have those.

I grimaced but Sweetie continued as if it wasn't a problem, "I'm afraid we don't have those ma'am, we lost everything on Harvest."

The lady looked at us and then got out a device, "Please stand in front of the camera." She instructed, the three of us standing in front of the device one by one while the lady was intently watching her screen. "None of you are a match with any known insurrectionists and without Harvest's population register I wouldn't be surprised if there will be more requests for new Identification papers soon." She passed us a set of tablets, "If you put in your personal information here I might be able to get the application going at the same time as a request for new ID's."

We diligently filled in the information, skewing the age by a bit as these humans didn't really have to know that we weren't old enough to join the marines. The lady took the tablets back an motioned for us to sit down on a couch, "Wait there while I put these through the system, if it goes smoothly I might even be able to get you on the next boat to Reach for basic."

"When is that one going?" I asked in interest as we sat down, the sooner we got going the better as we had no bits so we would have to find a shelter to sleep tonight.

"The barge was scheduled for departure tomorrow so with some luck I might be able to add you three to the roster," she replied as she continued working for a while longer before she spoke up once again. "Bureaucracy seems to be working in your favor today, both requests are through. Do any of you have a tablet?" Sweetie nodded and gave the one she had gotten in the grease bucket to the lady who transferred a couple of files to it. "You can report to the Revenant, she's docked in sector 9A. I put in your admission files on the tablet and sent the update to the transport vessel."

We thanked the lady and headed out towards the ship, sleeping in there instead of a shelter was kind of appealing. That lady was way too helpful... or did we just get really lucky? Eh, as long as we get to go back to Harvest it probably won't matter. What could possibly go wrong anyway?

The itch, it was terrible! After boarding the transport ship we had been put into cryo-chambers, it spared us the boring trip but at the cost of having incredibly itchy skin. Making the situation even worse was that right after we had gotten out of cryo at a planet called Reach we were put through an initial fitness test to gauge how well the trainees were prepared for boot camp. Me and Bloom had passed with flying colors, the two of us somehow amazed the instructors with how strong Bloom was and how far I could run. Sweetie, on the other hand, was only managing to reach the bare minimums in the physical tests but would probably be able to get by much better once we would have to actually learn things.

The following thing we went to do was get all our clothes and equipment before being given a few basic instructions on how to behave and brought to a barrack to get some sleep. That was yesterday, now I was lying in bed trying to get some sleep before the real training would start which would probably be soon as the first rays of light were already coming through the window.

The door suddenly slammed open waking a couple of the others who were still asleep, "WAKE UP!" someone shouted as the lights momentarily blinded me. All other trainees were simultaneously jumping out of bed and trying to find clothes to put on before standing at attention as they had been instructed the day prior. "THREE MINUTES, YOU SLOWPOKES THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE QUICK ENOUGH WHEN YOU'RE OUT IN THE FIELD?!"

Everyone stayed silent as none of the thirty recruits had any idea how to react to the soldier. "WHEN I ASK A QUESTION I WANT AN ANSWER!"

"Sir, Yes Sir!" A couple of my our fellow recruits shouted in an attempt to please the soldier.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" He shouted back as he looked at every single one of us.

"SIR, YES SIR!" We all shouted in a single voice, hoping he would accept it.

"GOOD! NOW IF I HEAR ANY SINGLE ONE OF YOU SHITS EVER CALL ME SIR AGAIN I'LL PT YOU ALL UNTIL YOU FUCKING DIE! I'M NO SIR, MY NAME IS GUNNERY SERGEANT RICHARDS, YOUR SENIOR DRILL INSTRUCTOR OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. AM I CLEAR?!"

"Yes, Sergeant!" We shouted back, I'm pretty sure I could see a wet puddle forming below the feet of one recruits standing on the other side of the room.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU! SOUND OFF LIKE YOU HAVE A PAIR!"

"YES, SERGEANT!" Richards looked around the room, his eyes stopping at the recruit who had pissed himself.

"RECRUIT DID YOU JUST PISS ALL OVER MY STAINLESS FLOOR?!" The sergeant shouted as he stormed up to the recruit, the puddle growing slightly.

"Yes, sergeant," He replied immediately, looking horrified afterward as he realized what he had just admitted to.

"HONESTY? THAT'S SOMETHING I CAN APPRECIATE, YOU HAVE EXACTLY FIVE SECONDS TO CLEAN THIS SHIT UP!" the recruit dove down, using the sleeve of his sleeping shirt to wipe away the piss.

"I JUST WANT TO INFORM YOU THAT WE ONLY WASH OUR CLOTHES ONCE A WEEK." The sergeant shouted as the recruit stood back at attention before he moved on, "NONE OF YOU ARE GOING TO LIKE ME BECAUSE I'M HARD. BUT I'M ALSO FAIR, I DON'T CARE WHAT COLONY YOU ARE FROM NOR IF YOU'RE A NIGGER, FAGGOT OR A DYKE, UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED BASIC TRAINING YOU'RE ALL EQUALLY WORTHLESS IN MY EYES! DO YOU MAGGOTS UNDERSTAND THAT?!"

"YES, SERGEANT!" We all shouted in chorus, Sergeant Richards turned around and walked back to the exit.

"BREAKFAST IS AT O'SIX-THIRTY, IF YOU'RE NOT DRESSED BY THAT POINT YOU'LL GO THE DAY WITHOUT!" He thundered just before he slammed the door closed behind him

For a couple of seconds after the sergeant had left as everyone was too stunned to react or do anything, I was the first of the group to finally make a move as I rushed to my locker and started quickly dressing in the green fatigues we had gotten the day before. Next to me, I could see Sweetie and Apple Bloom similarly putting in the effort to get on their clothes. Rushing outside the group formed up and stood at attention, "PLATOON, ATTEN-TION!" Everyone changed their stance to a rigid one waiting for a new order,

What the hell did I get us in to? I asked myself as we started marching towards the mess hall.

After two weeks of being dragged through the dirt by the sergeant, it was strange to be sitting in a classroom once again, the group of thirty had shrunk to twenty as a third of the recruits had quit over the two weeks. Bloom and Sweetie were sitting next to me in class just as the only other girl in our unit, Ana Edwards, the other girls having quit before the first week had ended. When training had started the unit had initially singled us out to pick on due to our hair and names but that got quickly beaten out of them by the drill sergeant making the group tighter in the end.

The class we were attending was about military first aid, a topic that for some reason really interested me. My cool reputation be damned if it meant I could patch up my friends when they got hurt. We also already knew that later today we would be learning about ammunition and explosives, something Bloom had become excited about for some reason. But the most surprising was Sweetie as she couldn't wait to fire a rifle for the first time, even though the former unicorn was still deterred by the possibility of violence with the tools she still had developed the interest of firing the things.

Another thing that was still going relatively well was hiding our special abilities due to our... unique heritage. The female showers, unlike the male ones, had walls between them allowing for privacy. Only once was I almost caught as I was quickly preening my wings a large primary slipped out of my fingers and had dropped underneath the shower door where Ana had found it, we eventually managed to convince our roommate that I had found it in the field.

She's still holding onto that primary like it's a damn trophy.

I sighed as I took a couple of notes, Sweetie unlike me had been having a much easier time hiding her magic as it wasn't literally stuck to her back. Her practice had been paying off as well as every time the three of us were alone she was trying to levitate items, by this point she was already able to levitate all of her field equipment which is about twenty kilograms give or take.

The only thing that she hadn't made any progress on was portal magic, Twilight had taught her the basics of teleportation but even back in Equestria, she had proven useless in attempting the spell. Creating a spell from scratch that would have to rip a hole in dimensions was going to be a slight problem.

I felt a nudge in my side as Ana was leaning in, "Don't look now but I think there's a woman outside watching you." She whispered into my ear, resisting the urge to take a look out of the window I whispered back.

"What does she look like?"

Ana relaxed back in her chair but I could see her glancing out the window before she whispered once again, "Black suit, no patches or name. She just stood up and left, might just have been an officer taking a break."

I nodded, Still strange but it's probably nothing though.

Forgetting about the strange woman my attention returned to class as the corporal started explaining how to patch up bullet wounds.

"MOVE YOUR LAZY ARSE FASTER!" Gunfire came overhead as I crawled through the cold mud, my entire body was screaming at me to stop and take a rest but the little voice in the back of my mind was warning me of what the gunnery sergeant would do if I slowed down. It had been light when we had started with the obstacle course but by this point the lanterns beside the obstacle course were the only source of light beside the muzzle flashes. The moment I left the muddy pool I made a sprint towards a tall wall and jumped up against it, dragging myself on top of it. Next to me Ana also jumped up against the wall but failed to get a good grip and fell back down.

"Ana! Grab a hold!" I shouted down over the relentless firing of blanks in the background, the brown-haired trainee immediately jumping up and grabbing my hand. A short struggle later the two of us were on the other side of the wall and running towards the next obstacle. Ana wasn't the fastest runner of the group, that was me by a long shot, but somehow whenever we were running obstacle courses she always managed to be tied with me in first place.

"DUCK!" A corporal shouted, Ana immediately pulled me down onto the ground with herself. Blank rounds from the corporal's rifle went off over top of us as he held down the trigger, the instructors would do this ever so often and if you didn't respond quick enough you'd be considered 'dead' and have to redo the course.

"Thanks for that." I gasped as we continued running forwards, my lungs were burning from exertion as we reached the final obstacle, a bunch of ropes hanging over a pool. The two of us both picked one of the ropes and started crossing the gap to the other side, it wasn't long until I felt someone else grab onto the same rope I was hanging of off indicating that the rest of the group were catching up to us.

Dry ground appeared below me as I was nearly at the end of the rope, a couple of moments later I hit the ground with a dull thud and looked back at the ropes, Ana was also almost on my side of the rope while I could faintly see AB and Sweetie getting on the other end. Turning around I made the last Dash as fast as my body would allow and flopped down in the grass after I crossed the finish line of the course, not even the instructors were so cruel to stop any of us from taking a breather after they dragged us through an obstacle course.

Ana flopped down beside me as she too made it to the end, "Not bad, Firewing." I cringed slightly as she used my made up last name, it would have been a good cover name among pegasi but with humans, it stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Hey you kept up with me almost all the way, that's pretty awesome as well," I said as the rest of my fellow trainees started finishing, within two minutes everyone was in the grass breathing heavily.

"Commanders report!" Sergeant Richards shouted, Bloom and a couple of the guys swiftly got up from their resting place and made their way over to him. Every few weeks a couple of commanders would be chosen and placed at the head of a squad, I absolutely hated that job but Bloom had taken a liking to it and had volunteered for it multiple times making her our unofficial leader.

After the five commanders finished getting their orders from the sergeant AB came over to us to relay the information. "Gather 'round girls." She ordered as Sweetie, me, and Ana got up and stood in front of us, "After we reach the base we'll have 'bout forty minutes to get washed, our stuff stashed away, and into bed"

The three of us tiredly nodded as we got into formation with the other trainees for the movement back to base. A small smile creeping onto my face as I thought back on the day,
Still the most awesome thing I've ever done.

"five tango's in a three-sixty at the objective." Sweeties voice alerted us via radio as we snuck forward, a burst of static came over the radio as Bloom pressed the button on her radio in confirmation as we kept low to the ground within the high grass. Our objective, the flag that was planted in the middle of the field, barely visible as the only light we could rely on was coming from Reach's two moons. Over the last one and a half hour we had very slowly crawled up towards where our opponent had dug themselves in, Ana, Bloom and a male member of our platoon named Andrews were somewhere to my right.

Two more bursts of static came over the radio, the signal Apple Bloom had assigned as attack. Two three shot bursts came from the treeline taking out one of the defending forces, having been thoroughly informed by Sweetie who had the group's night vision equipment as to where our opponents were located. The four of us jumped up and opened fire on the four remaining defenders, Apple Bloom hitting another one of the defending forces with an m45 shotgun. meanwhile, more burst shots from Sweetie's rifle rained down on the three defenders who got out of their shock and started firing back at us only to be cut down by automatic fire from me, Ana, and Andrews.

"All tango's eliminated, retrieving objective for extraction." Andrews reported into his mic as he took down the flag, "Guess it's one - zero for the gir-" The trainee didn't get to finish his sentence as a large red spot of paint splattered over his helmet, the anesthetic that it contained immediately knocking him out.

"SNIPER! GET DOWN!" Not fancying to get shot I immediately followed Bloom's order dropped down on my stomach into one of the foxholes the defenders of Bravo team had dug to defend their flag.

"What the fuck! there were only supposed to be five of them!" Ana cursed as another shot impacted near to the hole she had jumped into.

"Unimportant, it's probably the staff trying to screw with us," Apple Bloom growled as she picked up an MA5 assault rifle of one of the defenders. "Sweetie do you have a visual on that sniper?"

"Negative! Get him to shoot again so I can see his muzzle flash!" I could hear Bloom silently cursing somewhere next to me. A plan formed in my mind as I pulled off my helmet and slowly raised it higher out of the Fox hole, a red paint splatter appearing on if almost immediately followed by the gun report of the sniper. "Spotted him! He's in one of the buildings at the side of the field!"

"Take him out," Bloom ordered, pulling a pin from one of the smoke grenades she carried. Burst fire from Sweetie's battle rifle flew over our heads towards the building while simultaneously two canisters dropped on the ground in front of us, spewing white smoke to obscure vision of our location just in case the sniper was still up. "Scoots, get the flag. Edwards, find Bravo's BR-55 and help Sweetie with suppression fire!"

We jumped from our cover immediately after Bloom finished giving her orders, I grabbed the flag and Ana quickly found the battle rifle to start firing on where the sniper might still be sitting. Bloom picked up the unconscious form of Andrews and started sprinting back over the open ground followed by me and Ana. The following sprint towards the treeline almost a hundred meters away from our location were probably the most nerve-racking seconds of the entire operation. To say this was the type of awesome stuff I had signed up for was an understatement, the adrenaline surge alone was epic.

The moment we reached the treeline we jumped into a ditch to take cover, Sweetie's rifle silencing moments after as she too retreated. "Everyone good?" Apple Bloom asked as sweetie slid into the ditch we were using as cover and took a defensive position just in case more surprises lurked in the forest, the three of us giving her a thumbs up. "Good, keep your guard up gals we don't know if there gonna be more surprises in store for us."

The four of us carefully got up and out of our ditch. Moving through the forest in tight formation with Sweetie at the front due to her having the night vision equipment, both me and Ana taking the left and right flank while Bloom was walking the middle.

How the hell is Bloom still carrying Andrews?! That must be more than one and a half times her own weight she's carrying!

Eventually, we reached our designated extraction point where, surprisingly, three members of staff were waiting for us. Not knowing if they were part of the exercise we carefully approached, weapons raised while scanning the environment for any traps. "At ease trainees, the exercise is over." The three of us calming down a bit but were still slightly on edge due to the excess adrenaline that was still coursing through our bodies. "We've been evaluating your performances over the past twenty weeks and this was our final test as to how you would react to changing mission parameters, you three passed with flying colors."

"Evaluatin' us fer what, Lieutenant?" Apple Bloom asked as she carefully lay Andrews on the ground.

Wait, that's the Lieutenant?! How the hell did I miss that? In the corner of my eye I could see Sweetie and Ana changing their stance appropriately.

"Every rotation of training we pick a couple of candidates who have shown outstanding performance and give them the opportunity to join the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers" My jaw must have hit the floor as the lieutenant finished his sentence,

They're recommending us for special operations?! That's so awesome!

"I understand if you four will have to think about this, the sergeant has pulled you out of tomorrow's roster so you can have some time to yourselves." The lieutenant continued as a couple of Warthog all-terrain vehicles came driving into the clearing, "You're dismissed." The Warthog roared as it left with the lieutenant, a couple of corporals and gunnery sergeant Richards being left behind.

"I've got a pelican on standby that can take the four of you to New Alexandria, the LT will want to know if you want to join the ODST's by Monday so give it a thought," Richards said in a tone that we hadn't really heard from our drill-sergeant before.

"We will, sergeant." Apple Bloom said as she saluted our superior. A couple of minutes later we were sitting on the back of one of the warthogs that were driving back to base, Ana had been glancing at the three of us constantly for some reason. "You know ah ain't gonna bite you, right?" Applebloom asked as she also picked up on the behavior.

"Well... since you three are also headed to New Alexandria would it be possible that I stayed with you?" She asked nervously, "Ever since I joined boot camp I haven't exactly been welcome at home anymore."

I raised an eyebrow at that comment, I knew the war against the insurrectionists was unpopular but ever since the UNSC had announced that they were now in a state of war with the aliens that had attacked Harvest I would have guessed disdain for people joining the military would lower. I guess I was wrong.

"I don't think that's too much trouble, you girls have any problems with it?" I asked both Sweetie and Bloom shaking their heads.

"We'll just have to hire a larger suite for the weekend than we normally do," Sweetie commented, ever since we went into training we had been paid a full salary but without anything to spend it on we had quite a lot of savings built up, so renting a room for four wasn't that much of a big deal.

"Thank you girls, I wasn't sure what I was going to do if I couldn't stay with you," Ana admitted as the tension that had built up left her body.

After arriving at base we changed into civilian clothes before being shuttled off towards the city, a short taxi drive later we entered the hotel where we had stayed whenever we got leave. Greeting the regular clerk at the front desk we got a four-person room to stay for the weekend and store what little stuff we had. "So what do you three usually do on leave?" Ana asked as she stuffed her duffle bag into a closet.

Wing maintenance, but that's something you don't have to know about. I thought as I scratched the back of my head before answering, "Sit around for a bit, play card games, talk, that kind of stuff."

Ana looked at us with a bewildered expression on her face, "You three never go out or anything?!"

Me, AB, and Sweetie looked at each other unsure if it was a good idea to go out, none of us really had come up with the idea before, "I guess we could do that." Sweetie admitted, "Do you know a good place where we could go?"

Ana's smile reminded me of one Pinkie would give you when she heard you needed a party as she quickly led us out of the hotel once again into a cab, "I know this place that's not too crowded most of the times, we'll get a booth there and enjoy the music for a bit while we can discuss the LT's proposal."

"Sounds pretty good to me" Both Sweetie and Bloom nodded in agreement, the cab came to a stop fifteen minutes later in front of a very well lit up building, music booming from the entrance. After getting past the bouncer we headed for an empty table that wasn't too close to the stage so we could talk to each other a waitress immediately approaching us.

"Welcome to the prancing pony, what can I get you ladies?" The woman asked.

"Y'all have cider?" Applebloom asked, the waitress immediately checked her data-pad and nodded. "Ah'll have one of those then."

"Another one for me, please." Sweetie squeaked as the waiter looked at her.

"Me three," I said as I heard Ana snickering beside me.

"You three are adorable ordering the same drink." She laughed as she turned to the waitress, "I'll just have a beer."

The waitress nodded and moved off to get our order, "So, since we're still fresh we should probably discuss the LT's proposal."

"Ah guess we should," Applebloom asked as she comfortably sat back in her chair. "So, what do y'all think about it?"

"I'm up for it!" I immediately answered, "I mean, Helljumpers. That probably the most awesome job in the UNSC and we'll be an autonomous unit meaning we don't have a CO breathing down our necks constantly!"

“But it’s also the most dangerous job in the UNSC, the orbital insertion pods don’t always make it to the ground.” Sweetie countered, “But I guess the autonomy will be nice.” She added as she probably realized it would help with our secondary priority.

“Ah’m in. We’ll kick them varmin off that planet one way or another.” Bloom nodded as the waiter came back with our drinks, AB immediately took a large gulp only to recoil slightly and suddenly start laughing. “Darn that’s some hard cider if I ever had some, Ah remember mah sis’ givin’ me a flank tanning ‘cause I got into the cellar.”

The smile AB had on her face was infectious as the four of us shared a laugh, imagining how angry Applejack would have been at Bloom.

“You sound like you really care about your family,” Ana commented as she took a sip from her beer, I could see Apple Bloom frowning as our fourth friend hit an extremely touchy subject with a sledgehammer. Both me and Sweetie had avoided talking about the Apple family as much as possible as out of the three of us Bloom had taken the sudden loss of her entire family the hardest, this was something Ana didn’t know because we didn’t talk about it on base and we generally kept to ourselves when we were on leave.

“Yeah ah did,” Bloom said as a tear rolled over her cheek, Ana immediately looking guilty as she saw the change in AB’s mood.

“I-I’m sorry I didn’t know,-”

“Don’t worry about it, Ya couldn’t have known,” Bloom said, cutting our friend off. The insinuation wasn’t exactly the truth but without the ability to travel between dimensions it might as well have been.

“So, Ana, you haven’t told us yet if you’re going to join up,” Sweetie said, tactically steering the conversation away from the Apple family.

The human snorted, “I made my decision to join the moment they proposed. I just wanted to know if you were going too.” She told us as she gulped down more of her beer.

"To us then," I said as I raised my glass, "Helljumpers!"

I was rummaging through my medical bag and checking its contents while Sweetie had her M99 Stanchion sniper rifle disassembled in front of her and was diligently cleaning and reassembling every part. Behind me, Ana was sitting in the grass reading a book while Sergeant Applebloom was sharpening her titanium combat knife.

The last few days had been relatively peaceful compared to what we had endured in training, after finishing the regular marine basic we transferred to the ODST basic which in my opinion is properly described as eternity in Tartarus condensed into six weeks. Every single one of us reached a point where we just snapped and broke down crying but every time one of the other girls would pick the other up and help them continue on.
All that for the black beret that was now gracefully sitting on my head but looking back on all the crap we had done I can't deny that it has given us a whole bunch of awesome bragging rights for when we would get back home.

Luckily after basic ended and we were attached to a unit in Battlegroup X-Ray we got much more freedom to do and go as we wanted. Which meant we could now prepare for deployment as the battlegroup was assembling in orbit above us, in a couple of days it would leave for Harvest and go take the fight to the 'Covenant', the alien alliance that had attacked the UNSC.

I closed my medical kit as I finished checking my equipment: one canister of biofoam, a medical scanner to detect broken bones and internal trauma, an extra battery for the scanner, a whole lot of bandages, antibiotics, and a couple of other Items that might help save lives in critical situations.

Now it was just waiting for our ride with the space elevator to get up to the fleet and eventually our arrival at Harvest.

That Covenant was going to encounter a nasty surprise if they thought they could get between me and home.

Author's Note

holy shit, writing that boot-camp scene was so much fun to do :rainbowlaugh:
It's partially inspired by FMJ and partially by experience.

On another note, the family of an author here on fimfiction is in deep financial trouble and could use a couple of words of encouragement and/or a couple of bits in support. I already donated some bits but I think all the support would be appreciated.
An Intricate Disguise

Next chapter's Quote! :ajsmug:

The Universe is in under no obligation to make sense to you.
-Neil deGrasse Tyson

Remember that comments are like authors' food, we gain energy from them. Constructive criticism is welcome.

Chapter 3

The Universe is in under no obligation to make sense to you.
-Neil deGrasse Tyson

"Ya sure it's safe ta go through now?" Applejack asked as me and my friends stood in front of the statue that was placed before the entrance of Canterlot High. Spring break had started and the coming two weeks I would have free time to do whatever... which meant I had plenty of time to figure out why my journal was receiving garbled messages from Equestria.

"Yes, Applejack. I've done some tests and the portal seems stable though and even if I run into trouble I would probably be able to fix it, you don't just get to become Princess Celestia's student." I told her as I looked through my bag, I had a small lunch box to get by just in case I got spit out somewhere randomly in Equestria for some reason, a bottle of water, and some magically infused chalk Princess Twilight had left me last time she had come over that I could use in extreme emergencies. The final thing I had with me was the necklace I had gotten at camp Everfree, Princess Twilight would surely love to study it.

"If you think it's safe enough darling then we won't stand in your way, do make sure to get the book up and running to tell us what's going on when you get there, Sunset." Rarity commented as she held my journal which was supposed to be connected to Twilight's in Equestria.

"I'll get to work fixing that the moment I arrive," I said as I closed my backpack and touched the portal experimentally, the base of the statue rippled but other than that nothing really out of the ordinary happened. "I guess I'll see you guys soon."

"Say hi to my counterpart for me, Shimmer!" Dash said, I nodded and turned back to the portal. Taking a deep breath I pushed forward and stepped into the magical portal.

Nausea overtook me as I was sucked into the magical vortex, where all my other trips had been relatively smooth this one felt as if I was stuck in the trunk of a car that was driving over rough terrain. Eventually, the ride that was already taking longer than normal smoothed out...

...only for me to smash into a magic wall and get thrown out of the realm I had traveled through.

My head was feeling really light as I lay on what seemed to be grass, in the distance I could hear the soft sound of hundreds of small pops while the general smell of burning things entered my nostrils. "That went horribly wrong." I groaned as I got up, stretching my arms as I obviously hadn't ended up in Equestria. I found myself sitting on a hill that had a slightly overgrown orchard next to it on one side and an unattended field of grain on the other side. In the distance, smoke was rising from what seemed to be the ruins of a large city. Incidentally, that was also where all the sound was coming from.

I guess I know now what the garbled messages from the princess where now... I mentally chastised myself as I sat up, it made sense that if something were to go wrong in Equestria Twilight would try to warn me not to come and I stupidly just walked into the portal thinking everything would be alright.

A flash of light suddenly came from the city followed by an ear-deafening boom fifteen seconds later as one of the skyscrapers started tilting to the side and fell over, creating a massive dust cloud. "What in Tartarus was that!" I said to no-one in particular as I reached for the magic chalk in my backpack only to stop as I made a realization, I've got literally no clue what dimension I am in, it's going to take me at least a week to figure out how to connect back to Canterlot high or Equestria.

I grimaced as I looked at the city, I didn't have the food or water to last that long so I would need outside help and one way that I could get that was in the city...

...which seemed to be falling apart due to explosions.

Sighing in resignation I got up and started walking towards the city, I already learned to behave like a human in once so I could do it again, right? The sounds of explosions only got louder as I approached and every time an explosion came from the city I'd hide behind whatever object until the sounds momentarily died down again. This is insane, Shimmer! What are you going to say when you get there? Oh yes hello there could you be so kind as to give me some food so I can get back to some lonely hill outside the half-destroyed city?

I shrugged off the thought as I remembered that without supplies I wouldn't last more than a few days. I was now walking through urban areas where humans probably would have lived were it not for the apparent conflict going on, I carefully turned the corner coming face to face with what seemed to be a large creature of some sort. The thing's jaw was split up in four separate pieces and lined with sharp teeth, behind it, a small group of different smaller creatures stood looking at me.

Before I could say anything the large one's hand wrapped around my neck and lifted me off the ground. I panicked as I was trying to grasp for air, kicking the creature to almost no effect. The little creatures seemed to be cheering while the large creature was talking to me in a strange language.

Then suddenly... Blood.

One moment the large creature was holding me and the next it had lost half his head and collapsed, covering me in its purple blood. I scrambled away from the corpse while filling my lungs with new air as the loud explosions suddenly were really close, the little creatures running around, panicking, as they too were being filled with holes. At the corner of a street three grey-armored individuals pointing what looked like guns in my direction as they carefully approached, their body structure giving away that they were human even though their faces were obscured by helmets.

"Firewing, check if any of them grunt's are still breatin'." The front one of these humans said with an accent that reminded me of Applejack's. Getting out of my stupor I jumped back on my feet and held out my hands which were immediately were encased in my cyan magic.

Wait, WHAT! How did I miss the fact that I have a wellspring!

"S-Stay back!" I stammered as one of the three armored humans immediately raised her weapon and seemed to be ready to fire.

"What the fuck? Sarge, orders." It said as I tried to cast a shield but failed as I had no idea how to cast spells with my hands. the human that had been checking the bodies of the small creatures somehow suddenly appeared next to me and tackled me to the ground and pinned me down.

What the?! Only pegasi should be that fast!

"make sure none of them other varmin heard our firefight, Andrews." The leader ordered but this only seemed to enrage her subordinate.

"FUCK that Bloom! That bitch just had glowing hands, she might just be another alien in disguise!" She-the voice sounded female-shouted back at the leader, I tried getting out of the grasp of the third human but the moment I tried getting loose I was pushed back down onto the pavement.

"No getting away, lady. We've got no interest in killing you, hell if Sweetie hadn't spotted you that elite would have happily chocked the life out of you. Anyway, you might as well tell me your name while those two bicker." The one holding me down said, the voice was a bit like Rainbow's, raspy but definitely also female. Seeing no way out I relaxed a bit with the knowledge that they at least didn't have the intention to kill me as the large creature had.

"Sunset Shimmer," I answered, the human suddenly burst out laughing. Is my name that ridiculous?

"Holy crap, that's one of the most unicorn names I've ever heard!" She laughed which in turn attracted the attention of the other two though before they could say anything a fourth human that was carrying a massive rifle of sorts on her back. The attention once again off me I quickly grabbed hold of the human that was sitting on top of me,

They seem to know way too much about me, though I have a tool of my own to figure out why that is.

My eyes started glowing as I looked into the memories of the human that was holding me down,

A small pegasus was walking through crystal halls followed by an earthpony and a unicorn...
The mirror portal going haywire and sucking the three fillies in...
Corpses of some kind of bug laying on the floor...
A man shouting at the now human forms of the three fillies...
A small box with windows that seemed to be on fire as if plunged down to the ground...

Thud

Stars went through my vision as a hard object impacted me on the back of my head but by that point, I'd had already seen enough. "You're Equestrian!" I groaned as I suppressed the urge to empty my stomach on the pavement.

"Calm down, Ana!" Someone shouted as the human that had been angry was looming over me with her weapon at the ready, looking over to where the voice had come from I saw that the fourth human had taken off her helmet and was looking straight at the one on top of me.

"Seriously, Sweetie. What the fuck is going on here, you three obviously are hiding something, that was obvious to me even when we were in basic."

Sweetie grimaced as I saw the remaining two humans nodding and also taking their helmets off, "Ah think she deserves an explanation girls," their leader stated as she turned and looked me straight into the eyes, "Ah haven't heard 'bout you before, did Princess Twilight send ya?"

They know Twilight?!

"N-no, I was on the other side of the portal. The princess' messages weren't getting through so I went to investigate but instead of going to Equestria I ended up here." The leader nodded as she seemed to understand the explanation but 'Ana' obviously did not.

"What the fuck does she mean about portals?!" She shouted as she also pulled off her helmet, long curly brown hair falling down as it wasn't being held in place by the helmet.

"She means that none of us were exactly born human, Ana," Sweetie said, answering her colleagues' question.

Wait, the leader is called Bloom, she's called Sweetie, the three of them are Equestrian... No way are they the crusaders?!

"Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo?" The similarities were suddenly glaringly obvious, Apple Bloom's accent, Scootaloo's speed, Sweetie Belle's purple curly hair.

Ana ignored my revelation as she was purely focussed on what Sweetie had said, "Not human" she muttered, taking a seat on the sidewalk, laying her weapon next to her as she dug through a pocket and pulled out a large orange feather. "So what is this then?"

"It's one of my primaries, I'd show you where it's from but my wings are pinned beneath the armor," Scootaloo replied, placing her assault rifle on her back and releasing her iron grip on me. "Ana, we're scared of what would happen if anyone finds out what we really are since the only other aliens you guys know about are trying to commit genocide."

Ana rubbed her head as she thought about Scootaloo's words and sighed, "I think I get it, so if you're not human what are you?"

"We're ponies. A unicorn, pegasus, and earthpony specifically." Sweetie answered, "Yes it sounds stupid but it's true." Her hand lit up with an emerald green aura. "I used to be a unicorn."

"Pegasus" Scootaloo raised her hand.

"Earthpony" Apple Bloom followed.

"Unicorn" I added, finally being able to sit up instead of being held down face first.

Ana sighed deeply and stood up again. "The moment we get back to the base you're going to tell me everything but now we should get to somewhere safe before we get ambushed."

My three fellow Equestrians seemed to agree with the statement as they nodded and put on their helmets, "Ah'll take point, Scoots you're behind me. Shimmer you stay in the middle. Sweetie, Ana y'all got the rear." Apple Bloom ordered, "Shimmer if Ah give an order you follow it, no questions asked, am Ah clear?"

I nodded as the tone Apple Bloom used didn't allow for debate, the base personalities of the three girls I knew as the sisters of my friends at Canterlot High seemed to be still intact but these three seemed much harder and were obviously much less opposed to using violence...

...Or even lethal force when they deemed it necessary.

The group of us moved through the outskirts in the direction of the city center, burned husks of some sort of cars lined the streets and sometimes various types of corpses like the creature that had held me. This close to the city the skyscrapers were being obscured by vast clouds of smoke and dust as the sounds from the city clearly indicated vicious fighting.

"Since you girls are from Equestria do you know what happened that might interfere with the portal?" I asked as we came up to an entrance to what looked to be an underground metro station.

Sweetie answering my question, "That was a while back, there was an arcane solar storm of some sort raging for a day or two." She told me as we stepped into a train station of some sort confirming my idea that we had stepped into the underground transport system.

Two days? It has been three days since the garbled messages from Twilight had started, Could it be...?

"How long have you been here?"

"A bit over a year, why do you ask?" Sweetie replied once again as she seemed to be the only one interested in conversation but before I replied I went over all the knowledge on alternate dimensions in my head.

Before running away from the palace and Princess Celestia's tutelage I did extensive research on portals and such before I actually committed to the plan, one of the things I made absolutely sure of was that whatever world I would end up in had the same timestream as Equestria. I wanted to at least be able to get back within a pony lifetime to exact my plan of conquest. Another complication was that sustaining a portal that would change timestreams was... difficult. Though being thrown into a random dimension just might have pulled off that feat.

Which meant that it was entirely possible that a year could pass here while Equestria would only have progressed one day.

Tests would still have to be conducted to verify that theory but circumstantial evidence supported it, After the second day of garbled messages the amount of them had increased by several factors prompting me to investigate the portal. That could just have been an attempt by Twilight to ask if the three crusaders had ended up in my new world.

"Sunset?" Sweetie asked, snapping me back to reality.

"Sorry, I got stuck in thought." I answered as I scratched my head.

"That could get ya killed 'round here, Shimmer." Apple Bloom stated from up front, my face going slightly pale as the point drove itself home.

"Sorry, I was just going over some theory. I think time is passing much faster in this world than in Equestria then here." Apple Bloom's had immediately shot up which halted our column.

"Ya sayin' that even though we've been for a year only a small amount of time passed in Equestria?" The former earthpony asked to which I nodded, "Ya think you could get us a way back?" She followed up to which I nodded again. The three other Equestrians looked at each other through their visors as they seemed to be holding an internal debate.

"So you three are going to..." Ana asked but was stopped by Scootaloo.

"No. At least, not me." She said which seemed to surprise Sweetie and Apple Bloom.

"Scoots, you were the most adamant of the three of us to get back to Equestria!" Sweetie said, as Scootaloo lowered her rifle and turned to face her friend.

"I know, and I want to really badly but look around! If I left now I wouldn't be able to forgive myself, you know why?" She paused for a small moment before continuing, "Loyalty. It's something Dash taught me, you never leave someone down who needs you it's so not cool and the humans can use whatever help they can get!"

I'm sure the pony Dash would be proud at the proclamation although, even if she wouldn't admit it, she would be terrified of her 'adopted' sister doing the things she seemed to be doing. It took another few moments before both other Equestrians responded.

"Yer right Scoots, Ah'm staying too."

"Me three."

They have some serious dedication to each other. Looking at the three in wonder as the conversation turned back to me. "We'll help you get back to Equestria but Ah'm afraid we won't be coming with you." Apple Bloom informed me as I bit my lower lip in deliberation.

Rarity, Applejack, and Dash will never forgive me, not to mention what the others would think of me If I left them without a way home.

"I'm not leaving either." I finally sighed, "I'll stay here until you girls want to go."

Ana having sat at the sideline for a moment spoke up once again, "Glad to hear my teammates aren't going to bug out on me."

Apple Bloom chuckled, "Don't worry Ana, we ain't leaving ya." Ana returning a respectful nod as Bloom turned her attention back to me, "We're 'bout to enter our base of operations so you should act a bit like a civilian survivor. Just act as if you're very skittish and afraid of getting attacked by everytin' and everyone."

Like that's going to be hard to do. I thought but nodded, Applebloom ordered us forward through the tunnel where we eventually ran into a barricade that was held by more human soldiers, though these had different armor than the Crusaders. After telling their cover story we were let through further into the tunnel which after passing a couple of other checkpoints opened up in a large underground station which seemed to be filled with tents, storage crates, vehicles, and most importantly: Soldiers.

"Whoa, this is massive!" I gasped as the station alone would be able to hold a decent sized village and all of this was built underground!

"This is nothin', New Alexandria is much larger than anythin' on Harvest." Applebloom proclaimed as she and the others took off her helmets in the safe area. "Hell, Harvest don't even have an orbital... Oh, horseapples." The sergeant stopped as a group of similarly armored men came walking towards us. A black and white circular logo that housed the shape of a pyramid which in turn had a smaller circle on it with the words 'Office of Naval Intelligence' written in the outer circle placed in the middle of the main armor plate

"Sergeant Apple, please have your team surrender their weapons and follow us." Their leader stated as the four girls around me tensed up which in turn prompted the opposing men to also tighten their grip on their weapons, whatever was going on here it wasn't good by any stretch of the imagination. "Give 'em up girls." Apple Bloom ordered, the four of them putting their weapons onto the ground and stepping forward where the men took off any explosives, ammo, knives, and any other equipment other than their armor off of them.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Sergeant." The leader said as the four of them had their hands cuffed behind their backs, "Now there are some people that want to ask you some questions to all of you." He stated as two of the humans grabbed me and cuffed my hands as well before dragging me along with the others.

The only thing stopping me from going into a full-blown panic was the stoic and calm expressions Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie, and Ana had as they were led away. My mind screaming in fear as I was dragged into an unwanted adventure.

Author's Note

And another one!
Next chapter will be from multiple perspectives as the all-seeing eye of ONI was bound to show up at some point. :ajsmug:
Though I really should get another update on Helljumpers now as I promised to do that last time before getting side-tracked by this chapter. :twilightsheepish:

Remember that comments are like authors' food, we gain energy from them. Constructive criticism is welcome.

Chapter 4

If you can't wake up from the nightmare,

maybe you're not asleep.

The door had been closed behind me as I sat in the enclosed room with my hands cuffed to the top of the table. undoubtedly there would be someone on the other side of the mirrored window watching my every move so I sat still, not moving a muscle while looking forward. Letting someone sit in a silent and empty room for a long while would wreak havoc on the mind if one was not sufficiently prepared for it.

Fortunately for me, I was one of the people who could do so as interrogation training was part of boot camp and snipers had to have incredible patience anyway. But the ONI officers would know that as well so it stood to reason one of them would be coming in to try something else soon.

After staring at the empty wall in front of me a while longer I could hear the metal door opening behind me and two people entering.

Let the dance begin.

"Specialist belle." One of the two, a lady who had her black hair in a tight knot on the back of her head, said as she dropped what seemed to be my personnel file on the table, a large red stamp that said classified on the middle of it. "We've been watching you and your friends for a while now, I must say we've never seen such an interesting trio as the three of you."

I looked the woman straight into her blue eyes, and waited for her to sit down across to me, "I have no clue as to what you're talking about, maybe you could tell me why so I can get back out to face the covenant." The interrogator smiled a bit while I, in contrast, was shooting an Icy glare back at her.

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen, specialist Belle. Specialist Firewing and Sergeant Apple have shown interesting features but you remain a mystery to us and with the appearance of miss Shimmer we want answers." The lady's smile didn't change the slightest as she spoke. I considered my options for a moment longer, even though she had been dancing around the subject the interrogator definitely knew we weren't normal.

I could've possibly kept denying that fact but that would just draw out the entire interrogation for hours longer. My hands lit up with the to me familiar emerald glow, the lady immediately took distance from me and grasped for her pistol...

...Finding nothing as I gently placed the weapon in front of me, dissipating my magic aura as I heard a gun being cycled directly behind me. "Neither I or my friends have any intention of harming humanity, ma'am. We're just stuck here and even though we found a possible way home we've decided that we're not going to go."

The lady carefully stepped forward and picked the handgun of the table and tightly secured it back on her hip, "We'll see if that's true soon enough, Specialist Belle." She said with an icy tone as the door opened once again and the two left which left me alone in the room once again.

I had no idea what was happening, my hands were locked to a table while the rest of the room was completely empty. My thoughts were going all over the place as tears rolled down my face, Where are the others, what are these humans going to do?! Oh sweet Celestia, I'm still covered in blood!

I twitched as the door behind me opened and turned my head around to see two people, a man and a woman, coming into the room. "H-Hello?" I stuttered with a lump in my throat as the lady sat down in front of me, her black hair in a tight knot.

"Hello, miss Shimmer. Normally I know everything about the people I meet but not you, you're still an enigma to me and that's something that's going to change." The lady in front of me said with an even tone, sweat forming on my forehead.

"A-and if I don't want to talk?" My voice barely above a whisper.

The lady let out a single laugh before she turned deadly serious once again, "People who don't exist won't get missed when they disappear. I'm sure section 3 would have a field day with the four of you." Her icy tone sent a shiver up my spine, "Let's start at the beginning, where were you born?"

The possibility of lying went through my head but my gut feeling was telling me the lady in front of me would immediately notice, "C-Canterlot, Equestria."

"And where oh where might that be?" She asked as her blue eyes seemed to be staring right into my soul.

"It's not on any planet here. I tried to use a portal to get to another world but accidentally ended up here, just like the crusaders." I explained, the lady was listening intently to what I was saying.

"Crusaders?" She asked as she folded her hand in front of her, her tone of voice softening a bit.

"Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo." I nervously chuckled at memories of the three Crusaders in my human world, "When they're committed to a goal they won't stop until they've achieved it, I remember them blowing up a chemistry classroom once because they wanted to try to see if they could become Alchemists."

The lady stayed silent for a moment before asking her next question, "And what might the 'Crusaders' next goal be?"

"I honestly don't exactly know, they have made clear that they wish to stay until they have helped humanity to some point but I don't know how far they want to go," I answered, the lady nodded in satisfaction.

"Thank you miss Shimmer, though there's one more thing I want to know." The lady started, her hand going down to her hip. "Specialist Belle has shown us a rather peculiar ability, now I wonder if you have similar qualities."

My heartbeat sped up as I realized what she was talking about, "W-what do you mean."

"Now now, miss Shimmer, you've been wonderfully cooperative, don't let me have to do this the hard way." The final part of the sentence was said in the icy tone she had started the conversation with as she put her handgun on the table in front of her.

Seeing no other option I pushed magic from my wellspring into my hands. "I can't use it like Sweetie as she has had a year of practice but when I get the hang of it I'll be able to use it to much better effect than she can due to my magic education." A bead of sweat rolled down my face as I hadn't told them about my secondary ability that my necklace gave me...

"You're hiding something else." The lady stated as she stood up and picked up her gun, pointing it straight at my forehead, "Five..."

"I-I'm a telepath! I can read minds when I touch people." I blurted out, a grin immediately forming on the lady's face.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" she reholstered her weapon and brought a hand up to her ear as if she was listening to someone, "It was nice talking to you miss Shimmer, but it seems Specialist Firewing is demanding some attention."

The door opened once again as the two humans stepped out, the moment I heard the door close I broke down sobbing.

Please just let this end.

"THIS IS JUST AS BORING AS WHEN WE WERE STUCK AFTER WE ESCAPED FROM THIS PLANET!" I shouted, there was bound to be someone behind the damned mirror watching me.

Still, nothing happened and the room just remained quiet. I sighed deeply as I tried scratching off some dried blood from below my nose while a grin crept onto my face. When the four ODST's had forced me to take off my armor they had unwittingly released my wings. The first one, who had been holding my right arm, had received a face full of feathers as I extended it and whacked him at full force. The second ODST who was holding my left arm had then received a right hook with the freed arm but, sadly, number three and four had tackled me to the ground and restrained me more thoroughly until they had cuffed me to the damn table in this room.

The door clicked open behind me finally breaking the boring silence in the room, "Took you guys long enough." A lady who didn't look amused in the slightest, sat down on the other side of the table, "I was expecting to see those ONI pretender ODST's, did you know that you spooks only have to take two weeks of ODST training before you can drop alongside them? You should have seen how mad I was to see those shits get a black beret after only two weeks where we still had four to go!"

"I sincerely don't give a crap what you think or want right..."

"What I want?!" I slightly rose from my chair and my wings flared out, they were pretty large compared to my human form unlike in Equestria where they were tiny. "I want to do what I came here to do and get back out there and kick those Covenant bastards off this planet!" I shouted, the lady just sat there stoically as I dropped back down on my chair. "Fine. Ask your questions."

The lady straightened up and threw a file with a picture of me on the table, "First I'll have to thank you, If it wasn't for the initial medical scans you provided us with you'd have just fallen off the radar." She opened the file she had on me and showed me a set of medical scans that clearly showed my wings. After that she pulled a sealed transparent bag that was filled with smaller feathers from a pocket, "You'd be surprised of what you find in the shower drains of a military base and an apartment in New Alexandria."

Seeing this I pulled my wings closer together and frowned, "What do you want?"

"I want to know your mind, and you've already given me a wonderful insight into it when you started shouting at me." A grin cracked through the lady's mask, "I also wanted to know where you were from but miss Shimmer provided me with an adequate answer for the moment."

"Don't you dear touch Shimmer, she's just a civilian," I growled at the lady in front of me.

"Oh don't worry about miss Shimmer, she has told us about a skill of her that's far too useful for us to pass by." She said as she picked up the file and stood up from the chair, "Try to stay calm this time, I still have two of your colleagues I need to talk too."

I groaned and slammed my head into the table as the two interrogators left the room and left me to wander my own mind once again.

Everything had gone to hell, my friends who I trusted with my life and had fought the covenant with had turned out to be aliens themselves and now ONI had gotten involved. Sitting in the empty room was boring as hell but it wasn't as if I didn't have enough things to think over in my mind.

The locked door clicked open and Two people came walking inside, "Specialist Andrews, you must be questioning why you are here." A black haired woman stated.

"Not really Ma'am, I think I can give a good guess as to why I'm here," I answered as the lady raised an eyebrow and took place in front of me, opening a file.

"In that case, I want to know how exactly you encountered miss Shimmer." She asked as she closed the file again and put it on the table next to her.

I sighed as I sat straighter up, "We were running recon to the west of the city, killed a couple of Covenant units on the way when Sweetie, who was on overwatch suddenly shouted she had spotted a damned civilian wondering into the outskirts."

I smiled a bit as I remembered the events of earlier in the day. "At first none of us believed her but after Sweetie described how Sunset looked the others immediately wanted to get her, not that that's surprising now. So eventually we found her being chocked by an elite, Sweetie took the shot taking out half its head and we annihilated the squad of grunts. After that Sunset freaked out and nearly attacked us, Firewing tackled her before it could escalate but by that time I'd seen enough and wanted an explanation, which they gave. After that, we headed back to base and encountered the lot of you."

The lady looked into my eyes for a moment before standing up, "Thank you, Specialist Andrews. We will return shortly." She stated before turning and walking out the door.

"Goddammit, this had to happen to me, hadn't it?" I grumbled.

The moment the door opened the suppressed sound of artillery fire rang through the room until it closed again, "Sergeant Apple, I'm afraid I will have to hurry up since the Covenant isn't about to give us breathing space down here."

"Ya could just let us go and we'd help ya push 'em back." I said annoyed at the fact that I was stuck in the room instead of preparing for the next operation.

"That's not my call, Sergeant." The lady who had sat down in front of me said while placing her helmet in front of her on the table. "Your squadmates have been ever so helpful in answering my questions, though, any further course of action will be run through higher offices than mine."

"DARNIT! Ah know you know we ain't human but that don't mean we want to kill you!" I shouted as I smashed my fist down on the table as hard as I could with the cuffs on, the lady flinched back as two small dents were in the places where my fists had come down. Even in training, I hadn't used my full strength as it hadn't been necessary, and I hadn't gone to the edge of my ability still.

The room shuddered as the sound of an explosion came through the isolated walls, "We'll be back after beating back the assault." The lady said as she put on her helmet and rushed out of the room.

Waiting for a couple of seconds after the door closed I rose up from my chair and braced against the cuffs. "To Tartarus with waitin'," I grunted as the metal started groaning and a trickle of blood streamed from my wrist as the cuffs dug into them.

SNAP

I flew back into the ground as the cuffs broke and immediately fell off my wrist due to the mechanism had being destroyed. Ignoring the pain I threw myself at the locked door and crashed through it, no-one was in the hallway as I could hear gunfire outside.

After kicking in a couple of doors I found Scootaloo sitting behind a table, her wings drooped behind her while she was repeatedly banging her head on the table. "Ya done yet?" Scootaloo looked back to see me standing in the door opening.

"Our equipment is two door to the left, please for the love of Celestial go get something to get me out of here." She grunted as I grinned and nodded. Running two doors further the door similarly came down and I could see all our equipment neatly stacked up in separate piles and our weapons stored in weapons lockers. The locks on the simple weapons lockers didn't stand much of a chance as I pulled them open, checking the ammo of my magnum after pulling it out before sprinting back to where Scootaloo was seated.

"Hold your hands as far away from your body as ya can," I told her as I put the magnum against her cuffs, the shot I took ripping the cuffs in half as the armor piercing round did its job.

"Find, Sweetie, Ana, or Sunset yet?" Scootaloo asked as we ran into the hallway. I kicked down another door before answering.

"Found Ana just now." The human looked back at me in shock as I was probably the last person she expected, "Sit back, Ana, Ah'm gettin' ya out." The shot from the magnum destroyed her cuffs.

"And what are we going to do then? There's nowhere we can go, Bloom. ONI is on one side while the Covenant is on the other." Ana sighed but got up anyway.

"We're gonna do what we were trained for, Ana. We're gonna kick these bastards off this planet, and even if ONI don't want our help right now they're gonna get it anyway. Gear is a couple doors down." Ana nodded and sprinted down the hall as I kicked down another door. Sunset was the next person I found as I barged in, my fellow equestrian had her head lying on the table while she was softly crying.

"Sunset, Ah'm gonna need you to hold out your hands." The red-haired woman looked up with swollen and teary eyes but immediately followed my order when she saw who I was. "Two rooms down you'll find Scoots an Ana, go there and listen to them." She didn't answer but left the room and entered the one where Ana and Scootaloo were gearing up.

Finally approaching the last door prepared to kick it in only for it to simply swing open. "Good to see we're on the same page, did you get the others?" Sweetie asked as she pushed past me.

"Yeah, they're already gearin' up," I told her as we ran into the room that housed our gear. Scootaloo and Ana had already gotten on their undersuits on and were in the process of securing the straps of the armored plates. Sunset was sitting on her knees in the corner of the room with four rows of magazines in front of her and was loading bullets into them.

"Ya good, Sunset?" She looked up at me and nodded.

"Y-yes, Scootaloo told me how to fill up these and which goes in which." She said as she finished filling another magazine.

Knowing that Sunset was doing as well as could be expected I quickly grabbed my undersuit and pulled it on, Ana helping me with my armor plates as she finished putting on hers first.

"Bloom, catch!" Scootaloo shouted as she tossed my shotgun at me. Checking the ammo I found it to be full.

Sunset meanwhile was passing out the filled ammo clips which the four of us who were armored took and stashed away in the appropriate pockets.

"Sunset you're gonna stay here in cover while we go out, clear?"

"Yes, sergeant." She replied, I pulled my magnum and offered it to her.

"Just point it and pull the trigger, jus' make sure whatever you're shooting at ain't human." I waited for Sunset to nod before turning to my squad, "Y'all set?"

"I'm a go."
"I'm too, Sarge."
"All good here."

Ana, Scootaloo, and Sweetie sounded off as they were ready. "Good, now I would give a darn good speech right now if it weren't for the fact we're needed out there. Let's move out!"

The four of us put on our helmets and rushed outside, smoke and gunfire coming from the eastern tunnel entrance and from up top. Making a quick decision I took the lead to one of the staircases that led up to the surface as the eastern entrance had warthogs swarming towards it.

"Sweetie, get a vantage point on barricade north!" I shouted as a swarm of grunts had broken it and surged forward with support from a Wraith tank. My sniper immediately broke off in another direction while we continued forwards.

"Hey, Helljumpers get over here!" A marine sergeant major shouted as we slid into cover behind one of the concrete barricades we had set up days prior when we initially had created our foothold on the planet. "Listen up, we had heavy weapons located at one of the forward barricades but the guys who were tasked with getting them back here got killed at the second barricades, without those weapons or some serious miracle we're going to get crushed."

"What's our call on fleet support?" I asked the sergeant major who shook his head.

"Archer missiles would collapse the station as well, we're on our own for this one!"

"Darnit. Firewing, we're gonna get them weapons. Andrews, Sweetie give us cover." I ordered my squadmates, before turning to the sergeant major who was shouting orders at his men, "Sergeant major, I'm gonna need suppression so I can get them weapons!"

"You've got it!" He shouted over the roar of plasma- and gunfire before shouting into his radio. "Everyone suppression fire on my mark!"

I looked over to Scootaloo and Ana who both gave me a thumbs up.

"Mark!"

Scootaloo sprinted ahead at full speed as the sergeant major gave his order, the roar of the gunfire momentarily growing louder as the marines gave us cover. Firing at grunts along the way we took cover behind a barricade at the second defensive line. A grunt jumped over the concrete wall we sat behind and was powering up its plasma pistol but before either me or Scootaloo could respond the little creature practically exploded, sending the plasma bolt into the air.

"You've got more incoming so please hurry up." Sweetie said over the radio as more grunts just disintegrated from seemingly random fire. Scootaloo looked over the barricade only to immediately duck behind the cover once again.

"They have a wraith." She simply stated as a blob of blue plasma impacted the barricade the marines were using. "One of the heavy weapons cases is over there at the next barricade. If we use it to kill that wraith the marines can come up to push out the assault."

I looked at the case and its surroundings before giving two taps on Scootaloo's back who immediately took off towards the other barricade, plasma fire impacting the concrete behind her as she managed to reach the barricade on the other side. I primed two grenades and lobbed them over my barricade, getting hit by a plasma shot on my main armor plate in the process, as Scootaloo opened up the weapons case and pulled out a SPNKR rocket launcher. Scootaloo took aim just after the grenades had taken out most grunts surrounding the wraith that had just moved up, the two tubes of the launcher releasing their deadly load onto the purple tank the frontal armor buckling and partially melting off but the tank remained alive as it slowly turned to face my friend as she loaded a new set of rockets.

"Darnit. Sweetie take a shot!" I shouted at my friend as the Wraith started charging its plasma turret. The weakened frontal armor suddenly buckled inwards and the tank started shuddering. Scootaloo who had finished reloading fired another rocket into the tank for good measure, which sealed its fate as blue plasma fire escaped from openings in the vehicle before it exploded. The grunts who had been relentlessly pushing forward suddenly lost their momentum as a couple of them started panicking and running, something that quickly spread throughout their ranks.

The other thing that happened was that four warthogs that had come up from the underground roared past us as they opened fire on the grunts which emboldened the marines who surged forwards to my position and started picking off any covenant footsoldier that they could see. A couple of minutes of hard fighting later we had pushed them out past the base's outer defenses and stopped there as the assaulting forces retreated back into the city.

A cheer came from the marines who still stood on the walls as the last covenant soldiers were killed ending the battle for our base, Ana and Sweetie came jogging up to me as I walked back to the stairs leading to the underground structures, "You still in one piece, sarge, and where's Scootaloo?" Ana asked as she saw my partially melted battle plate.

"It only got the plate, nothin' important got damaged and Scootaloo ran off to help the other medics out." I answered as we entered the underground section of the station, "By the way, Sweetie, ya made that shot on that wraith just in time."

Sweetie shrugged, "Scoots damaged the armor already. If she hadn't then my round wouldn't have penetrated, fifteen thousand meters per second gives my baby some punch but covenant heavy armor is a tough nut to crack." I nodded and we quickly made our way back to the building where we had been locked up in the first place, quickly moving down the hall where we had left Sunset.

"Shimmer? Ya still in there?" I asked waiting next to the door as I didn't fancy being shot by a panicked, trigger happy civilian.

"Apple Bloom?" She called back her voice less of a quiver as when we left her.

"Ah'm coming in so please don't shoot me," I said as I crossed the corner into the room where sunset had used a table as a makeshift barricade, a row of full magazines lay next to her along with a couple of empty ammunition boxes. "Are ya still in one piece?" I asked as Sunset lowered the pistol.

"Yeah, nothing came in here after you left." She answered as I approached and held out my hand, dragging Sunset back onto her feet and guided her back to the hallway where Sweetie and Ana were waiting for me.

"So what do we do now?" Ana asked as Sunset gave me my magnum back.

"First we're gonna get Sunset here a bunk to get some sleep, after that we're gonna help clean up the base until the spooks find and take us in again," I explained, hoping that it was going to take a while for that to happen. We stepped outside and started leading Sunset to one of the containers that were used for housing either five marines and ODST's with their gear. Sunset winced every time we passed one of the deceases marines even though they were covered with tarps by this point.

"That's them!" Someone suddenly shouted from behind us as we had almost reached the container.

Darnit, I was hoping for a little longer than that.

We turned around to see two marines running up to us, "You guys the ODST's that repelled the assault up top?" One of them asked as they came to a stop in front of us, the four of us glanced at each other before I took off my helmet.

"Not entirely us, we just destroyed the Wraith," I told him.

"That's what caused them to panic and retreat so that counts as repelling the assault to me." He countered before continuing, "The Colonel has been trying to find your team after you left the northern barricade for a while now so I need the four of you to come with me..." He cut his explanation off as he spotted Sunset, "Holy shit is that a civilian?!"

"Yeah, do you mind if we get her to a bunk first before reporting to the Colonel?" The marine shook his head.

"Nah, just make it quick. We'll wait here." He told us. We quickly made our way over to our place of residence where we gave Sunset one of our bunks to sleep on, which she did almost the moment she touched the bed. Running back to the marines we set off towards the command building while also opening a COM line to Scootaloo and telling her to head over there as well. We ran into the medic in front of the command building before we were let in by the two escorts, one of the marines entered the Colonel's office and announced us while we stood outside. The moment he came out he motioned for us to enter.

"I'm sorry Captain, but I don't give a damn about your escaped prisoners right now because, frankly, I have more important things to do like securing this base to make sure we don't lose our foothold." The Colonel said as he saw us entering, "Now I want you to leave while I talk to these soldiers."

The Captain grumbled and got up, my heart skipped a beat as I saw that it was the female ONI officer that had briefly entered my room. "YOU!" She shouted as she recognized us.

"US!" Scootaloo replied with a grin on her face, angering the captain even further. She pulled her magnum and pointed it in my direction.

"Surrender your weap..."

"CAPTAIN, PUT AWAY THAT MAGNUM!" The Colonel thundered making every one of us flinch back.

"These are my escaped prisoners, Colonel!" She said as she lowered the gun. The Colonel's face was red with anger as he looked at the captain.

"I don't know what the FUCK ONI was locking them up for but these four broke the assault at the northern barricade, if they hadn't done that when they did the Covenant would have been able to bring up more wraiths and annihilate our foothold and kill everyone here. LET ME BE VERY CLEAR, WITHOUT THOSE FOUR WE WOULD ALL BE CORPSES RIGHT NOW!"

The captain seemed taken aback by that and looked from the Colonel towards us, "I-I'll take my leave."

"Yes, I think that's a good idea, Captain." The Colonel responded as the captain pushed past us. "I've got no idea why she was keeping you locked up and I don't want to know. But what I want you to know is that I've put you in for promotions and decorations at Highcom, every single marine on this base is in your debt"

"Just doin' our job, Colonel," I replied as he cracked a smile.

"Good to hear, though I need to get back to work now as the base is a wreck. You're dismissed." The Colonel said, we saluted him and left the command building. The moment we stepped outside the captain approached us.

"For the love of Celestia, if you're gonna try an' arrest us again Ah'm gonna punch you through a wall." I groaned as she stopped in front of us.

"No, I want to apologize, I let my personal feelings get in the way of a mission and refused to pursue any other scenarios other than that you were hostile to Humanity." She admitted, the four of us staring dumbfounded at her since she had held us at gunpoint a couple of minutes prior. It took us a moment to collect ourselves before Ana asked a question.

"Personal how?"

"I was born on this planet." The simple statement explained a lot, the evacuation of harvest hadn't been without casualties as almost forty thousand had perished on the planet before evacuations were completed. "My parents were on strand number seven as it snapped while I was in another star system entirely."

"Darn, Ah'm sorry."

"There's nothing you could have done about it and I took the anger I should have been reserving for the Covenant out on you." She admitted, I stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder.

"As long as you stop trying to lock us up Ah've got no hard feelings against you," I told her which seemed to make her smile as I released her but sighed after a moment.

"I can't just let the three of you go, they'd just send someone else to deal with you. Though since you're willing to work with us I think ONI would be open to keeping you in rotation as long as they have some supervision on the four of you." The Captain explained to us.

"Ah think that's fair but that leaves Sunset out of the picture." I replied as I wanted to know what would happen to the newest Equestrian addition to this world, "Since she can't stay here with us."

"Sunset told me that one of her abilities is reading someone else's mind, there's no way ONI is going to pass on a skill like that so she's probably going to be asked to join up." That revelation genuinely surprised me, Scoots, and Sweetie as that wasn't something that ponies could do.

"Ah'll tell her that when she wakes up. Thank you, Captain... Uhm" I didn't know her name as ONI operators didn't have their name written on their armor.

"Lindsey" She finished for me and held out her hand, "I'll go write up a report for my superiors and you should get some rest."

"Will do, Captain Lindsey. Ah'm lookin' forward to working with you." I replied as I shook her hand. She nodded, turned around, and left.

I sighed as a heavy burden was lifted off my shoulders as we could now focus on getting the planet back before going home.

Author's Note

You know, I wanted for this chapter to be a nice small 2800-3000 word chapter.

I think I missed that mark. :twilightsheepish:

Anyway, writing is going to slow down a bit again as I probably won't get another chapter out before Sunday and I'll be on base next week which means no writing at all.

And if anyone is interested in more Halo x MLP crossovers, go give this story some love Halo: Twilight of a Spartan

Also, in the odd chance that any of you happen to go to Epic Con in Munster, Germany on the 23rd or 24th: Feel free to drop by the 405th booth and say hi to me, I'm one of the Master Chief cosplayers :twilightsmile:

Remember that comments are like authors' food, we gain energy from them. Constructive criticism is welcome.

Chapter 5

Live for something rather than die for nothing.
-General George Patton

"I'll keep you three updated on my progress in finding a way back home," Sunset said as she glanced at the pelican that was going to carry her to orbit.

"We'll keep ya to that." Apple Bloom replied as she shook Sunset's hand. The moment Sunset had woken up after the attack of the base we had told her about ONI's interest in her, initially she had been... resistant to the idea as the only experience with a spook was Captain Lindsey interrogating her. But after some convincing that Naval Intelligence would be able to help provide resources in her endeavor of designing a spell to take us home and an apology from the Captain she accepted, not that we would have had her stay in the first place as we couldn't guarantee her safety.

"I almost forgot to ask, could you send me spell matrixes for easy spells that might be useful out here? Since I can only really use a levitation and a light spell right now." Sunset nodded at me as I pulled a tablet out of the bag I had with me and passed it on to Sunset. "I linked my financial account to this, we have only limited use for it out here anyway so you might as well take it so you have some money you can use."

Sunset looked at the tablet and, seemingly reluctantly, took it. "Any tips you three have for me out there?" She asked, Applebloom being the first to respond.

"Find a friend ya can trust and talk to since we won't always be there to talk to ya." Sunset sighed and then smiled.

"That's probably the most Twilight Sparkle thing you could have said," She grinned, the four of us sharing a chuckle at the truth of that statement.

"Sorry to break this up but we're burning time and our window for departure is closing soon." The pilot called from out front, urging Sunset to strap into one of the pelican's chairs. The roar of the engine got louder as we cleared the tarmac and after a last wave to Sunset the dropship sealed itself and took off into space where our fellow Equestrian would be transported to a spaceship on an outbound vector back to another human colony.

So long Sunset Shimmer, I hope you'll find us our way home at the end of this.

"We should get back to Ana and prepare for our next mission," Applebloom said as the pelican disappeared from view, Neither Scootaloo nor me disagreeing with that idea as we started making our way into the underground where a lot of the barracks were situated. The base over the last couple of days had expanded to encompass a large portion of the city center and had been hardened to resist any and all assaults on it. In the lower levels a series of stores, tattoo shops, and other small businesses had sprung up and were crewed mainly by support personnel to give the marines some respite as even the hardest of soldiers couldn't be fighting non-stop. After the walk back down to our quarters, we found Ana performing maintenance on her assault rifle, something I was also planning to do on my sniper rifle.

"So, your friend finally left?" She casually asked as she cleaned the old oil of a part and put new oil onto it before re-inserting it back into the rifle.

"Yup, but she'll be back at some point," Scootaloo answered as she started removing the cloth holding her wings to her body, even though the secret was out it was still required to make sure no-one other than informed ONI personnel would be aware of them since the regular infantry would probably react... poorly in the current situation.

"You know I'm never going to get used to seeing that," Ana said as Scootaloo was stretching her wings, the tips of her primaries reaching past her outstretched arms.

"Just imagine having to get used to changing species entirely." Scoots replied, Ana visibly shuddering at the thought.

I ignored the rest of the conversation as the deconstruction of my stanchion rifle took all my attention. The others, though understanding the need for maintenance, didn't understand the work required to keep the specific sniper rifle functioning. The rifle had magnetic coils running along the barrel which would propel a small slug to hypersonic speeds, the side effect of this was that due to the sheer speed of the slug leaving the barrel the coils would wear out at extreme speeds which meant they had to be regularly replaced. After checking all the coils, and replacing two sets of them, I continued on to check the batteries. The batteries took much less maintenance and would last for a good thousand shots but I always made sure they were completely full and bug-free as you didn't want them failing on you in the field.

Finally, after having checked the inside of the rifle I reassembled the thing and put it in front of me.

This thing is way too bland, it could use some... customization.

Pulling out a can of dark purple spraypaint and a bottle of black paint along with a brush, one of the stores on base was selling it to potentially help spruce up any living quarters though I was going to use it for something else.

Grabbing a piece of cloth and oil remover I started working on cleaning my rifle. While doing this I also took the time to look at my friends who by now were doing their own thing once again, Scootaloo was lying fully armored on her bed while scratching at the ONI logo that was now in the middle of it. As part of the deal Naval Intelligence had come up with we were now attached to their Section One which was responsible for 'Military Intelligence' though from what we heard they were also responsible for hit jobs so every now and then. Apple Bloom meanwhile was tending to her shotgun, diligently cleaning parts now she had the time to do so, Ana meanwhile had her tablet and seemed to be reading something.

Turning my attention back to the now clean rifle and pulled out some tape to carefully cover the parts I didn't want to paint, in the corner of my eye I could see Ana curiously starting to glance at my activity while I worked. About fifteen minutes later I had finished taping off everything important and had taken off the scope just in case and took the rifle outside. Getting my can of spray-paint I pointed it at the weapon and started spraying according to the instructions the soldier who had sold me it had given.

Waiting for about ten minutes I picked up the now painted rifle again and walked back inside. Ana was the first to notice me coming back inside and let out a laugh, "You know that's not going to sit well with the higher-up, you know, regulations and that kind of crap."

"I know. I'll just file it under a 'custom modification', snipers get a lot of freedom with those." I reasoned as I set down my rifle and removed the tape, and levitated my brush along with the black paint to continue painting.

"Hey, Bloom. If she manages to get away with it, would you mind if I also did some 'customization'?" Scootaloo asked as she was lazily watching me work.

Apple Bloom chuckled at that, "Ah don't have anythin' against it, hell I'd do some mahself."

"Hey, don't leave me out! I'd be up for some customization!" Ana chimed in, Applebloom shaking her head as she finished re-assembling her own weapon and cycled it to check if it worked. I meanwhile had finished what I was writing on my rifle and stepped back to look at my work, my writing had always been incredibly neat due to Rarity's lessons combined with the levitation lessons from Twilight my name and the other text I had written onto the rifle had come out very nicely.

"Nice one, Sweetie," Scootaloo commented as I turned around the rifle to show the others, setting it down on the table afterward as it needed to dry further. Having done the thing I wanted to do and having all my gear ready to go at a moments notice I grabbed my earbuds and put on some relaxing music with my tablet. The lullaby slowly lulling me to sleep as I had nothing else to do anyway.

I opened my eyes as someone was violently shaking my body, groaning as light assaulted my eyes.

"Get up you lazy unicorn, we've got an op! Briefing is in fifteen, get dressed for it." Scootaloo told me as she had noticed that I was no longer enjoying my sleep.

"Copy, I'll be there," I replied as I swiftly got out of bed to get into my armor, Scootaloo leaving the room as she was probably dressed before she had received the message herself. Quickly opening my locker I dragged out my armor and started putting it on, an idea suddenly forming in my head. My hands started glowing as I called upon my magic to levitate all the individual pieces of armor and strap them to my body simultaneously, what would have taken me five minutes now only took me a little over twenty seconds as all the straps were fastened with my magic.

Behind me I heard a gasp, making me turn around to face it, Ana was halfway through putting on her own armor but after seeing me put on my armor she was standing completely frozen while staring at me. It was then that I realized that even though my friend knew of my magic and had even seen small acts of levitation, seeing the manipulation of so many objects at once with perfect precision must have scared the life out of her. The best comparison to the situation would be earthponies experiencing magic for the first time.

Oh no, please don't freak out!

"Ana, are you okay?" The question was asked as gently as possible to attempt getting the human over the initial shock. Something that seemed to work as my friend slowly nodded and got back to putting on her armor, seeing that we were still on a schedule I helped her put on further pieces of armor.

"How much effort did that take?" Ana suddenly asked out of the blue, nearly being finished with her own armor. It was a question that was to be expected after what she had just seen.

"Powerwise? Not that much, but I've been practicing on the fine control needed for the manipulation of so many objects for months." I told her and waited for her to nod in understanding before continuing, "In terms of raw power Sunset is much stronger than me and knows a lot of spells where I only know two, the reason she couldn't use those spells was that when we met she hadn't figured out how to use said power. I'm positive that If she did we would have been crushed regardless of our skill."

I saw a shiver running down Ana's spine as she realized how closely we had dodged a bullet. A minute later we were on the run towards the briefing room where Bloom and Scootaloo were certainly waiting for us. No more conversation happened on the way there as the two of us had shifted our thoughts to the upcoming mission, something that was undoubtedly going to require all our focus and skill to survive.

Finally reaching the building where the mission briefing would be given I checked the time it had taken us to get there.

Twelve minutes, just in time.

When we entered the room we found Bloom and Scootaloo already standing at the holotable at the center which was displaying the current state of the city and every unit in it. At the head of the holotable stood Captain Lindsey, the officer who had been assigned as our ONI handler.

"We've got a developing situation in the north end of the city, we're losing strongpoints at an accelerated rate and the survivors that we've managed to recover claim to have seen a massive walker of some sort." The intelligence officer told us as the hologram of the city zoomed in on the northern section which would be the site of their mission. "The covenant is currently using cloaking fields of some sort to mask their presence from our watching eyes in orbit, so the only information we can currently work with are from the outer defensive positions that are being wiped out."

"You're being sent to infiltrate the enemy lines, conduct a reconnaissance of the weapon and if the situation permits destroy it." She finished as she looked at the four of us who were studying the layout of the buildings around the supposed area of where the weapon was supposed to be.

"Consider it done, ma'am," Applebloom replied as she zoomed the holo-table in on a particular flat, turning to us before explaining the plan she had cooked up. "If we climb up this flat here, we can use a rope to get over to the other side an' rappel down while usin' the roofs to get behind enemy lines. If we're lucky we might even be able to spot whatever that weapon is from up there."

Looking at the building I took my turn to manipulate the hologram and looked at the surrounding area, it didn't have too many tall buildings left meaning that I would have a clear line of sight from the tower with my sniper to cover the others. "I'll set myself up somewhere around here, as long as you don't leave my line of sight I can take out any hard targets without the covenant finding out about my location."

Apple Bloom nodded, Ana being the next person to speak up. "It sounds as if communications get cut just before this thing attacks, ma'am. Any intel on that?"

The captain nodded, "Although there's no direct evidence for it, the loss of communication every time it shows up does indicate that it might possess jamming equipment. If at any point there is a loss of contact with command your primary objective is to retreat to friendly territory with any intel you might have acquired, you're much more valuable to us alive than dead."

"What's our squad's callsign?" Scootaloo asked as she kept studying the hologram for possible routes they could take and routes that would possibly be guarded by enemy units.

"As your squad is newly formed it hasn't received a callsign yet If the four of you have a good one in mind you can use that." The Captain told us, the two of my Equestrian friends looking at one another while grins formed on our faces.

"Uhm, should I be concerned right now?" Ana asked as she felt like she was completely being out of the loop, which wasn't completely inaccurate. We'd have to tell her about our... exploits in Equestria at a later date as we had to focus on the mission.

"Crusader one-one," Apple Bloom said with a grin, Me and Scootaloo immediately approving with the proposal.

"That seems reasonable though I would like to hear the story behind that name at some point." Captain Lindsey pointed out, something that I for one didn't have any objections against telling our reasoning.

"Alright Crusader One, y'all have forty minutes to prepare for the op, we leave at dusk," Applebloom said as I saw her inputting all relevant information she required into her VISR. The three of us who similarly acquired the mission data nodded and turned to get any additional equipment we might need for the upcoming mission.

Operation Black Night was officially a go.

Author's Note

And there's another one!
And just in the case any of you have missed the most recent Halo news:

The Master Chief collection is coming to PC!!! :pinkiegasp:

Needless to say I'm stoked to finally be able to finish the fight on my PC after Halo 2 came out almost fifteen years ago!

Anyway, the final Helljumpers chapter is also coming along nicely and I've also started working on Game of Harmony again after a couple of months of hiatus.
See you all in the next chapter! :twilightsmile:

Remember that comments are like authors' food, we gain energy from them. Constructive criticism is welcome.

Chapter 6

"...The only way they'll detect us now is if we start singing the Russian national anthem."
-Jeff 'Joker' Monreau

After the briefing, I alongside the other crusaders had gotten a warthog and traveled to one of the strong points that lay adjacent to the part of the city that was still in Covenant hands and after performing a final check on our gear we headed out into the city.

Silently moving up the skyscraper we could hear the constant firing of artillery as the UNSC was pounding Covenant positions in an attempt to push the aliens out of the city. After reaching the top of the building we made a sweep of the roof while Sweetie scoped out the rooves of adjacent skyscrapers to see if they had any jackal snipers on them.

"Scoots, get the rope across." Apple Bloom ordered as we finished checking the roof. I immediately pulled out a launcher from under my backpack, the device having been designed to fire a long rope with a grappling hook on the end over long distances. Setting up the device took me about ten seconds flat... well... more like twenty but still in a relatively quick time before firing the device, the rope being flung across the gap towards a skyscraper on the Covenant side of the city.

"Line secure," I reported as I checked if the grappling hook had got a hold of something, and secured it on our side. Apple Bloom went ahead and started moving across, the journey between the two skyscrapers being among the most dangerous part of the mission as hanging between the building would leave us open to any fire from jackal snipers. Luckily for the four of us, we made it to the other side without being spotted by any enemy forces.

Looking down at the streets below the sight of occasional streams of tracers followed by the sound of machinegun fire, though those sounds were often drowned out by the constant harassing barrage of artillery fire the UNSC army was throwing at the Covenant side of the city, it was a wonder the skyscraper we were standing on was still standing though I guess that was probably because it was standing too close to our own forces. Brass wouldn't want to risk collapsing a skyscraper on top of their own lines.

Ana meanwhile had broken open one of the roof's emergency exits, the four of us swiftly moving into the relative safety of the building. "Do you have the claymores, Sarge?" Sweetie asked as we had made it halfway down the skyscraper, the sniper would stay behind to give them long range cover if they required it.

"Got 'em right here," Bloom responded as she passed the explosives on to our the sniper who was going to use them as an early warning system just in case Covenant troops approached her from the rear.

"Thanks, you three get moving. I'll have your back." Sweetie thanked as she positioned her rifle on a tripod, we nodded and left the sniper to do her thing. The three of us who remained moved down the stairs of the tower very slowly as to avoid getting heard by any potential covenant footsoldiers. Contact with Sweetie by this point would require us to break radio silence which would also give away the fact that they were operating behind enemy lines.

Eventually, we reached the point of the tower where one of the adjacent buildings was attached to the tower. Ana used a window cutter to silently remove a window out of our way so we could get onto the adjacent roof. Ana took point with Apple Bloom going second and me as the rear guard. We slowly moved from cover to cover, constantly observing our direct surroundings and buildings for enemy contacts.

We continued to stalk forward until Ana suddenly held up her hand and immediately jumped into cover, something both me and Apple Bloom did as well since we didn't want to be caught by what Ana had seen. The rough sound of a jackal told both Bloom and me exactly why our human friend had jumped behind cover.

Apple Bloom silently drew her combat knife just as the jackal had passed our position but, luckily, hadn't noticed us. My friend slowly stalked closer to the alien with her non-reflective combat knife in reverse grip right up to the point she was only an arm's length away from the alien. That was the moment the stupid bird finally realized there was something behind him and swiftly turned around, not that it mattered as Bloom's knife was already descending on the previously unsuspecting alien. The sharp blade lodging itself into the neck of the alien who let out a gurgling sound and collapsed onto the ground in a growing pool of its own blood.

Apple Bloom seemed to freeze up for a moment as she looked at the fallen corpse, something we definitely didn't have time for, but came back to her senses pretty quickly. "We're on the clock now, if he's found to be missin' we'll have every single one of the local forces on our flanks."

"Better that we make some good ground then," I replied, Apple Bloom nodding and motioning for us to continue on our way. Another terrifying hour of dodging Covenant forces later we finally reached the coordinates intel had suggested our unknown objective would be located. The large open square was buzzing with life as it seemed to be an enemy rally point.

"Ana, go check it out," Apple Bloom ordered our human friend who saluted and crawled to the edge of the roof where she used a fiberoptic camera to look at the assembled forces below.

While Ana was busy setting up her camera I looked back at the tower Sweetie had set herself up. Our sniper had the most boring and simultaneously most terrifying job out of all of us, she would have to wait until we were done or got detected by the Covenant forces, all the while being unable to warn us over the radio if she saw something we didn't. Needless to say I wasn't envious of my friend's job in the slightest.

"I'm online, Sarg... Holy shit, what the hell is that?" Ana said as a feed appeared in the corner of my visor, the square was indeed filled with Covenant soldiers but that wasn't what drew my attention. What did was the massive machine that stood within the enemy ranks, a four-legged purple walker that seemed to have a massive plasma cannon mounted as its head.

"Damn thing looks a bit like one of those Egyptian scarabs," Ana stated half-mindedly as she panned around the camera to get a good look at the rest of the square.

"A what now?" Apple Bloom asked confused of what her subordinate was talking about, though I was also slightly interested.

"Oh, sorry, it's an insect that lived on Earth. I think the walker looks a bit like it," Ana clarified, giving us some understanding of what she meant.

Apple Bloom chuckled for a moment, "Congrats Ana, you just decided on that thing's designation." The sarge was right as the UNSC's naming convention made it so that the first to spot a new enemy would be the one to name it. "Now let's get the hell out of here, the spook's were quite adamant that we only did recon and wouldn't engage directly."

Ana immediately obeyed and packed up her camera, crawling back over to us where she could safely get up without being spotted. We stealthily moved back over the roof as to avoid any possible contact but stopped as we felt the building we were on shaking and a loud sound coming from the square.

"What in tarnation?" Apple Bloom said as another vibration went through the structure accompanied with the same loud sound... and another one... and another one. The sarge jerked back to look at the direction of the square as we all realized what was happening. "Damnit, they're starting another attack!"

"Bloom, if they break the front lines here, they'll have a straight shot at FOB Anvil," I stated, "There are two companies of men and women down there, they won't stand a chance if that thing catches them by surprise."

"And how do you suppose we take that thing down? Maybe you haven't noticed but there's three of us and a fucking army of them!" Ana countered my point and Apple Bloom seemed to agree with her assessment.

"She's right Scoots, we ain't got no knowledge on how to take that thing down." She told me as we heard the machine turning the corner of the street and slowly making its way into no man's land towards our front lines.

"Come on, Bloom, it's a new enemy machine. Until someone kills the damned thing no-one will know how to kill it, someone has to be the first!" I argued, if Bloom still wouldn't go after the newly named scarab I'd listen to her but that was something I really hoped wouldn't happen. The sarge thought for a moment longer but then cursed.

"Damnit. What do you propose, Scoots?" She finally asked, a smile forming under my helmet.

"We have rappelling equipment with us, we can use the overhang half a click back to drop down and board the thing. We might not have the explosives to completely destroy the damned thing, but if we place them on the inside we can blow up the control circuits from within and cripple it. When we do, It'll probably be close enough to our own lines for us to dismount and book it to safety." The plan was simple, though extremely dangerous. We would have to board the machine, which was undoubtedly very well guarded, then take out its control systems which they had no idea of how they looked and then hope we were close enough to our friendly lines to avoid getting killed by the covenant's supporting troops.

"Ana, you in?" Bloom asked, our human friend nodding.

"Oorah, Sarge. Let's go save our guys!" she responded, the three of us leaving all pretenses of stealth behind as we started sprinting towards the overhang. We weren't detected immediately but none of us really ever doubted that we would be spotted at some point. We even made it to the overhang itself but that was when our luck ran out. An elite along with a squad of grunts had taken a position on the overhang, presumably to watch the Scarab go by but that also meant that they would hinder our plan to rappel down from that position.

"Sweetie, we are no longer running recon, we're going to take the approaching machine out!" Apple Bloom shouted into her radio. Our sniper didn't waste any time and not a moment after the elite on the overhang was hit by the hypersonic projectile from Sweetie's sniper rifle, ripping it apart.

"I had already guessed that when the three of you idiots started running," She bluntly stated, "But hey, I won't have to put myself in the line of fire here. I have you covered but the moment you enter that thing I can only prevent more of the bastards from getting into there."

"Understood, we're going in," Apple Bloom responded, the Scarab was making much faster progress than we had anticipated and if we were going to board it we would have to jump that very second. both I and Ana had attached our ropes to something on the roof and were ready to descend.

"Feet first into hell!" I shouted as I jumped over the edge and rapidly went down to the rope, smashing down with a bang on the Scarab's roof. The three of us slowly advancing down the ramp onto what we presumed to be the upper deck.

A grunt peaked its head around the corner and squeaked but before he could scream a bullet tore through its skull. Not wasting any time we burst upon the upper deck and surprised the grunts and lone elite that stood there, Bloom took a single shot at the elite with her shotgun and took down its shield while Ana and I fired upon the grunts. The second shot from AB's shotgun tore the elite's chest open and downed it.

Within six seconds the firefight was over giving us the control of the upper deck.

"I'm taking point. Ana, on my back, Scoot's take the rear," Bloom ordered as we walked down the ramp, our weapons raised and at the ready. "Grenades, bounce them off the walls so we don't have any surprises when we turn the corner."

Bloom crouched down as Ana and I both primed one of our frags and tossed them over her head at the wall, the small devices bouncing off the wall and into the lower level of the Scarab.

BOOM!

The double explosion was accompanied by screams from grunts as they presumably were hit by the shrapnel. "Ana, Scoots take the right!" Bloom shouted at us as she turned around the left corner. We saw multiple elites in various states of shock at our arrival, all except their commanding officer.

Guess that's something we have to fix, won't we?

I opened fire on the lead officer first as he lit an energy sword and charged. He only made it halfway as the grenades had taken out a good portion of his shields and our combined fire was simply too much for it. The other two fell quickly after as they had been standing even closer to the blast. Ultimately, this too was a short fight, simply because they hadn't expected to be boarded.

"Scootaloo, Ana, secure the upper deck. I'm going to place demolition charges." Bloom told us as she pulled her explosives from her back. Ana and I quickly went back up and took covering positions at the top. To our surprise, even though no-one was controlling the Scarab, the machine was still moving forward.

"Hey, are you three done yet? I think the ground troops are starting to get suspicious of why their walker isn't firing on our lines." Sweetie called in, the shots from her rifle in the background as she continued to pick off enemies.

"Bloom's planting charges, we're blowing her the moment we get close enough..." A bolt of plasma struck the floor in front of us and sizzled away, "FUCK, we're made! Contacts on the roof!" A group of shielded jackals were firing down on our position with their plasma pistols. Responding in kind, we opened fire on them and with Sweetie's help, we swiftly eliminated them one by one.

"The walker just walked out of my line of sight. I'm breaking off, good luck and see you three on base. Out." Sweetie reported, she would return to our own lines the same way we had come in the first place.

Now with the walker steaming to our own lines, it was being peppered by machinegun fire and other explosive projectiles. We were almost in front of them as Apple Bloom came running back up to the upper deck. "Charges set! How close are we to our lines?!" she immediately asked.

"Pretty much on top of them!" Ana told the sarge. Bloom didn't waste any time sprinting to the front of the Scarab and pulled out a detonator.

"Brace yerself!" Bloom shouted as she held onto the craft and pushed the trigger on the detonator. A loud boom accompanied by a large plume of fire came from the rap that lead out of the walker's control room. The effects were immediate as the legs stopped moving and the Scarab slowly tumbled forward, the machine letting out a very unnatural shriek. A cheer rose from the UNSC lines as the large machine was downed but quickly died down again as they got to work eliminating the Covenant troops that were now without mechanized support.

"Ah don't know 'bout you girls but I'm quite certain we got them spooks enough intel now," Apple Bloom said after getting up from being thrown around by the fallen machine. "Come on, let's go surprise our guys down there."

We followed Bloom as she jumped over the front of the machine and slid down its armor to the street below, the automatic fire from our front lines having pushed back the aliens far enough for us to make it to their lines. "That. was. Awesome!" I laughed as I caught my breath after having reached the safety of our own lines.

"Enjoy it because I don't really want to do anything like that again for a while," Ana replied as she was gasping for air herself. Bloom on the other hand immediately started firing on the covenant stragglers who hadn't retreated. We helped clean up the final few enemies that hadn't retreated from the scene before acquiring a warthog and making our way back to HQ to report to our ONI superiors.

Author's Note

Well, this has been a while.

I got really badly stuck on this story, and really still am, but I should be able to get the next one out much sooner as I already have a lot of ideas for it. Hopefully, I won't get stuck on it like this one because a couple of months of nothing is way too long.

Well I hope you enjoyed :twilightsmile:

Remember that comments are like authors' food, we gain energy from them. Constructive criticism is welcome.

Chapter 7

When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable,
must be the truth.
-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I had been sitting in the cold metal room I had been given for weeks now, the only times I got to leave being when I got to visit the mess for food. There were only a few people 'awake' apparently as the humans seemed to have a system that froze their crews on the long voyage between stars.

Luckily, there had been a maintenance engineer that had struck up a conversation with me in the mess hall early in the journey. I had been instructed to leave her in the dark about my heritage but even then, the friendly face to make conversation with had been very much appreciated. That said, the month had still been very lonely and most of the time I had been working on putting the basics of magic theory on paper for the ONI agents.

But that would now stop as we had apparently arrived at a planet that belonged to the humans, the idea that the humans in this dimension had achieved the capability to travel between stars still baffled me. The planet we had arrived on was called Reach, the Crusaders had already told me about it as they had apparently trained here but the stories only did it a small justice. The Planet was a marble of green and blue along with snowy whites at its poles, cities on the dark side of the planet were lit up with so many lights that they were clearly visible, even from space.

"Miss Shimmer?" A voice asked from behind me, I recognized it as one belonging to one of the agents that had accompanied me on board of the spaceship. "We're leaving in thirty minutes, get your possessions ready to move."

The warning was more of a courtesy as the entirety of my possessions could be carried in one hand and would not take thirty minutes to pack. "Thank you, I'll be ready."

The agent nodded and left, leaving me to my own devices again. The next few minutes I stuffed all my belongings into the backpack I had been given and made sure my room was clean before waiting for him to return. When he did I was once again led to the hangar where a small transport ship called a pelican was waiting to pick me up.

The journey down was relatively uneventful, the re-entry had been a bit nerve-racking but I was assured by the others on board that the flames and shuddering of the craft were normal in those circumstances. While on the way down I was informed that I would be brought to a research facility called Sword Base, not that this was of any real use of me as I had no idea what to expect regardless.

"Would you three mind If I practice my control over my magic a bit?" I asked, the agents that were with me in the hold had seen me practice on previous occasions so they weren't completely oblivious to my abilities. The leader of the group, one the others had been calling lieutenant but never by name, nodded and allowed me to continue.

Practice with my hands had initially been tough as making the spell matrixes with fingers turned out to be tougher than anticipated, though after figuring out that each finger essentially worked as a separate horn the magic became much easier. Hands still had the disadvantage of being less powerful than a single horn, the two hands did open up the possibility of multicasting maybe even the ability to cast different spells with each finger. This was still far beyond my ability to do but at least I was essentially back at my former level of casting, only with a much-reduced power level.

I channeled magic into my right hand which I held out in front of me. A glowing orb of light appeared in my hand which lit up the inside of the cabin, playing around with the energy levels I manipulated the intensity and color of the light. The others in the back of the craft were eyeing me suspiciously as I worked, not that this was unexpected as these humans had no experience with magic other than myself.

After a couple of minutes of practice, I cut off the flow of magic again and killed the light, deciding that it was time to try something more complicated. My magic affinity had always been more in the area of fire than pure arcane energy, teleporting and such didn’t come as natural to me as it did to Princess Twilight, but pyromancy was something I excelled at.

A smile formed on my face as I felt the spell matrix form between my fingers, the agent next to me curiously observing whatever I was cooking up now. Just as I felt the matrix complete itself I poured more magic into it, a flame shooting up in my hand as my eyes glistened at my creation.

“Miss Shimmer I’m going to friendly ask you to stop doing that right now for safety reasons, we’re still on an aircraft,” the lieutenant told me with a calm voice but the way he and the others had tensed clearly signaled that if I didn’t stop they would make me do so.

"Sorry," I apologetically said as the magically fueled flame dissipated as I closed my hand, the flame only feeling slightly warm as the magic couldn't hurt the caster herself. For the rest of the flight, I refrained from using more magic as not to put the others on edge, not that the flight took that much longer but the idea counted.

"Arriving at Swordbase, standby," the pilot reported from up front. I felt the pelican decelerate and the noise from the engines increasing, something that persisted for a mere minute before the craft powered down.

"Please follow us, miss Shimmer," the lieutenant said as the agents formed up around me. We had landed in a hangar of sorts, the door in the roof that had allowed entrance to the pelican already closing steadily. The hangar itself was full of other pelicans and there were various maintenance crews walking around the craft and working on them.

The scenery quickly changed though as the roomy environment of the hangar was replaced by the more cramped environment of the hallways. Sure, they were still large enough for a vehicle called a 'warthog' to comfortably drive through it but the lack of windows made it feel a lot more cramped.

"Where are we going?" I asked but the agents wouldn't answer me, it sent a wave of dread through my body as we continued walking in silence.

Was that ONI captain back on Harvest lying to us? No, she was genuine... but why do I feel I'm just a prisoner or a lab experiment?

We arrived at an elevator and after the lieutenant pressed a couple of buttons and flashed a card of sorts across a panel, the elevator closed and we were sent down into the base. The elevator just kept going and going, and without a display to show what floor we were on I had no idea how much longer the trip was going to take. This meant that when the elevator suddenly started decelerating I wasn't prepared and nearly fell over.

Once again I was led through a hallway but his one was already much narrower than the one further above, two people would be able to pass each other in the hallway but no more.

"Wait here, I'll get the doctor." I was pushed into a chair and the other agents sat down on the chairs next to me. I nervously winged my hands, as I waited for the lieutenant to return with this 'doctor'.

A doctor? Are they going to dissect me to figure out how my magic works?!

I felt a bead of sweat running down my forehead as I was internally panicking. Did I really know anything about these humans? The Crusaders seemed to be distrustful of them and they hadn't exactly given her good reasons to trust them. Before my train of thought could derail too much the lieutenant returned with a lady following right behind him.

She had short black hair that reached to her shoulders and a long white lab coat over her clothes, the coat—unlike the jackets of the ONI agents—had a name tag on it:

Halsey

"You can leave, lieutenant. I'll take it from here," she said without even taking her eyes off her tablet.

"Ma'am, I'm..."

"Lieutenant, ONI is paranoid enough as it is. I do not need one of your men looking over my shoulder while working as well." The doctor cut him off, shooting him a glare that could kill a full-grown dragon before looking me in the eyes. "You, follow me."

I couldn't help but follow the authoritative command from the doctor, she had a vibe around her that she would not tolerate the wastage of time. Quickly following the doctor to her lab I suddenly found a coat similar to the one the doctor was wearing pushed into my hands. "Put that on, if you're going to be working here then you're going to at least look the part."

"Working?" I questioned, the doctor immediately froze in place and glared at me, my eyes immediately found something interesting to look at on the floor as I averted my gaze away from the death glare.

"I have to split my time between researching your 'special abilities' and fixing the failed augmentations of my children and you don't even know that you would be working with me?!" She growled with barely controlled rage, clearly thinking that I was not worth her time. But that wasn't what caught my attention, as she said something about her 'children'.

Fixing failed augmentation on her children?! What has this lady done to them?!

"What's wrong with your children?" I asked, the doctor suddenly looked like she had said something she was not supposed to. Halsey took a step closer into my comfort zone and looked me straight in the eyes.

"Some questions are better left unanswered," she coldly stated before turning around and walking into a small office, drawings of a signature double helix and other things that she couldn't immediately identify hung on the wall of the small chamber. Halsey had connected her tablet to a console in the wall and downloaded something onto it before walking out of the office again into the hallway.

Not knowing what to do, I followed the doctor as she entered another room. This one was significantly larger than the office and house all sorts of equipment. "Doctor, what am I exactly supposed to do?"

Halsey didn't respond as she was looking at the content of her tablet before glancing at me, her venomous expression having faded and one of curiosity having replaced it. "Show me."

The simple order, once again, caught me off guard. What had caused this sudden shift in attitude? "Y-you mean my magic?"

"Magic is the power of apparently influencing events by using mysterious or supernatural forces, which is not possible. I want to see it and figure out what makes it tick." The doctor was already holding up her tablet, obviously having started recording her for study.

I nervously brought my hands up and started feeding magic into them, an orb of light forming between them. One glance at the doctor revealed that she was anything but impressed at this sight.

Come on Shimmer, you can do much better than this. You might be out of practice but you personally studied under Celestia herself!

I remembered the reaction the ONI agents had given to me creating fire, if they were impressed by a flame that small than what I was about to was surely going to impress the doctor. The orb of light disappeared as I started creating the required matrix for a fire spell. Just before completion, I closed both my hands into fists. With the fingers next to each other, I could put much more magical energy into the matrix at once than if I had my hand open.

Halsey nearly jumped back in surprise as I punched my fists forward, a small sustained beam of fire flew off towards the far wall of the lab. I deliberately missed all the scientific equipment and let the smokeless fire impact on the metal surface. In a bid to make sure the doctor truly appreciated the kind of power I held I released the maximum amount of magic I could funnel through my fists into the spell.

The air shimmered of the intense heat my flames were giving off as the beam nearly quadrupled in size, a bead of sweat running down my forehead as at the rate I was expending my magic I would only have a couple of seconds of casting left. Not wanting to push myself to complete exhaustion I prematurely stopped casting, falling onto my knees and panting hard at the exertion.

The far wall was red hot as the metal was heated to a ridiculous temperature, though it hadn't molten the metal it probably wasn't that far off of turning into a liquid.

Halsey was staring at me, utterly shocked at what she had just seen. Not that I cared for the moment, I had slightly underestimated how much energy I had actually expended in those short few seconds. Lying down on the floor I closed my eyes for a moment, that wasn't too bad... right?

I could really use some sleep right about now...

The covers to my bed were nice and cozy as I pulld them...

Wait, why am I in a bed?

Shooting up I found myself in a room that looked similar to doctor Halsey's office, excluding the fact that this room was completely bare. Getting off the bed I found that I was still dressed in the same clothes as the previous day. Looking around the room I found a pile of new clothes ready for me, since my clothes kind of smelled a little burned I redressed into them. Now looking like the doctor I stepped out of the room into the hallway, directions to various locations painted on the wall.

Mess hall, sleeping quarters, laboratory, ah that's the one I need.

I followed the arrows that were marked laboratory, there were a few scientists that passed me as I made my way over to the location where doctor Halsey most likely was located. It didn't take long for me to recognize the hallway I had walked through before and entered the same lab I had used my fire spell in.

"Doctor listen to yourself, are you seriously..."

"Look at the wall, Professor Hunter. If the impossible is proven possible it becomes merely improbable, even though I don't know how this 'magic' works I can't deny it exists," Halsey cut her colleague off, the man grumbling something but not raising another point. This was the moment I thought it a good Idea to announce my presence with a cough, both Halsey and this Professor looking over at me.

"Ah, miss Shimmer, I was wondering when you were going to wake up. You were quite firmly asleep after your stunt so I had you brought to your sleeping accommodation," Halsey said as she picked up her tablet and approached me. "I already reviewed the work you did while in slipspace, though I would like some explanation on some of the concepts you described. But I still must commend you for the rigorous work you delivered, I take it you have an academic background?"

I nodded in confirmation. "I'm an expert in various aspects of Thaumic Theory and I have studied biology, chemistry, physics, and math but am not an expert in those."

"Interesting..." Halsey said while tapping a few buttons on the tablet she was holding and held it out for me to grab. "This will allow you to interface with the machines in the lab, though that's something we'll get to somewhere in the future. Right now I want you to do the tests that have been readied on there."

Looking down at the tablet I found a whole list of tests ready to be made in front of me. "Thank you, doctor, I'll get right on it."

"Please do, you have been attached to me as an assistant. I want to know if you're just going to be dead weight to me on my projects other than the thaumic research program. Now go and do those tests, I have work to do," Halsey responded before continuing to work on whatever project she had been working on before I had walked in. Not really wanting to disturb the Doctor with any more pointless questions, I made my way back to my room where I started up the tablet again and opened the first test. I sighed as with the number of tests she had given me I would be occupied for quite the while.

Come on, Shimmer, you were Celestia's personal student as well, let's show Halsey why that was the case!

Author's Note

Told ya the next chapter would come out much sooner! :raritywink:
As for how Shimmer looked when casting that fire-spell, imagine something like this:

Yes, I've watched too much Avatar.That's a lie, you can never watch too much Avatar.

Next chapter will go back to Harvest to see how the Crusaders are doing.

Remember that comments are like authors' food, we gain energy from them. Constructive criticism is welcome.

Chapter 9

It’s still magic
even if you know how it’s done.
-Terry Pratchett

Machines buzzed behind me as I worked through a task Doctor Halsey had given me. I had been working with the doctor for four months now, mainly improving my work on writing down the thaumic theory but also doing work on the occasional biological problem. Actually, the number of biological problems I was tasked with figuring out had increased exponentially ever since my thaumic research had hit a bump.

It turned out that the conditions that allowed magic crystals to form on Equis simply weren’t present on Reach, maybe even the entirety of this particular universe. This forced me to use my magic to create artificial crystals that could be used in creating thaumic field detectors to get a better reading on the magic field around the planet.

Only growing these crystals is an immensely slow process. By this point, I had only created four crystals which had all been used to create detectors. Three of them I had passed off to ONI for them to use and get me the hundreds of readings I needed and the fourth stood behind me to monitor the magic level in the next crystal I was growing. It would give a signal whenever the levels in them dropped too low for the crystal to grow further so I could manually recharge it again. Needless to say, this left me with a lot of time to help the doctor with her tasks.

Though Halsey never told me exactly whatever I was doing my tasks for, but one was carefully studying the pattern of problems that were given to me one could gain an, admittedly, rather blurry image of the ultimate purpose behind them. Enhancing muscle density, improving the growth speed of said muscles and the underlying skeleton, grafting materials to bones to improve their strength, changing nerves to allow for quicker reaction speeds, and other things along those lines.

That wasn’t the disturbing part though. For the procedures to be effective, they would have to be performed on children as adults would have already finished growing and wouldn’t be susceptible to half the things I had worked on.

Is that what Halsey meant by her children? Has she used these kids to perform experiments on? And if so, how many of them must have died in the augmentation process? If these numbers are correct, then the casualties must have been catastrophic!

Questions like that plagued my mind as I worked through my current project. This time I had gotten the scan of a ‘hypothetical’ female subject that had a complication with the augmentation procedure, it was up to me to figure out a method of reversing that damage.

I was going to do more than just that.

Before me was a list of the five major augmentations that I had been able to deduce from previous tasks. Using the genome of the ‘hypothetical’ subject along with some of the other provided data I had been presented, my professional opinion was that the subject would have passed three of these augmentations without problems, but two of them would be a major problem.

Just like the scan showed, my predictions were that the rapid growth coupled with the strengthening of the bones would result in said bones completely pulverizing themselves. The second problem that I figured would happen was that the rapid muscle growth would result in the subject’s heart growing to fatal proportions. The scan didn’t show this second problem but a closer inspection of the data revealed that this was probably due to it being removed from it to force me to focus on the single problem instead of two at once.

Though it had been tough and had forced me to skip a couple of nights of sleep along with common raids on the lab’s coffee supply, the results were nothing that could be argued against. I had devised an entire procedure on how to repair all the damage that was supposedly done to the female and would be on my way soon to go confront Halsey about my findings.

Leaning back in my chair made my spine pop a couple of times in complaint of the horrible working position I had been in for a while now. Grabbing all the papers I had written and stuffing them into a file, I got up to make my way to Halsey’s office, only to be stopped immediately as the doctor came walking into my lab.

“Ah, doctor I’ve-”

“We’ve made a discovery you need to take a look at, Miss Shimmer,” Halsey cut off my response as she turned around and most definitely expected me to follow her. The doctor took me to the main lab where a large screen was turned on, showing what seemed to be a live feed of a military installation. A large group of soldiers was standing at attention about fifty meters away from where the camera was located.

“Lieutenant, please show my specialist what you found,” Halsey instructed the person on the other side, a man wearing drab camo came into view with one of Sunset’s scanners in his hands.

”Of course, doctor. Doctor Shimmer, half an hour ago your device started giving off readings that were way higher than anything we have yet encountered. So instead of heading to the next coordinates to continue taking readings, we investigated,” the lieutenant stated as he turned on the detector. I had already noticed that in the current way the detector was configured it would scan a relatively narrow area in front of it.

The moment the device turned on it started giving off extremely high readings compared to the background noise. My heart skipped a beat as I realized that I had seen these kinds of readings once before when testing the device...

…by pointing it at myself.

And since I definitely was not there, there must be something else giving off that reading... or someone else. The implication of a magically adept human, even one who wasn’t aware of it, would be a major breakthrough in my work on the thaumic theory.

“Thank you, Lieutenant. The doctor and I need to discuss this. We’ll give you further instructions in a couple of minutes, " I said without any hesitation as I turned to face Halsey. “I need to get up there.”

Halsey looked at me skeptically and shook her head, “I’m afraid we can’t just go rush off and tell some random recruit that they have magical powers.”

“I know that the Thaumic research is classified, doctor. But this is an opportunity to get more data on an actual human with magic! I thought that wasn’t even possible in the first place so getting data on him or her is going to be invaluable!” I argued, though the doctor didn’t seem any more convinced than she was before.

“Miss Shimmer, need I remind you that you also have other responsibilities around here-”

“Like fixing the failed augmentations that were performed to make children stronger, bigger, and faster?” I asked. Halsey choked back her response as her eyes widened ever so slightly. Before the doctor could reply, I held the file I had compiled out for her to grab. “I’ve worked out how to fix the problems on your ‘hypothetical’ subject. All of the problems.”

Halsey grabbed the file and quickly went through it, her mouth slightly widening as she worked through the first few papers. “I’m going to have to verify this work miss Shimmer, but if it pans out then you’ve managed to solve a problem in a couple of months which I haven’t been able to do in a year.”

“Doctor, I want to get out of this lab. The conclusions I’ve drawn from the assignments I’ve been doing for you sicken me and I really have to stress how important it is that I get to check out this human. I was under the impression that thaumic energy wasn’t able to coalesce at all due to fundamental differences in this dimension’s thaumic field, but if the readings are true then she could be a breakthrough in my theory not to mention a candidate for training.”

Halsey looked between me and the report in her hands, for a split second looking as if she were conflicted. Without saying anything, Halsey turned the feed to the lieutenant back on. “Lieutenant, I’m having Specialist Shimmer transported over to your location. Identify who is giving off those readings and isolate them, any further action will be taken under advice of Shimmer alone. She’s the only person with expertise in this field.”

It took some self control to not smile at my superior’s decision. I hadn’t been lying when I’d told her that the walls of the lab were starting to close around me. Some respite in the form of magic research was very much welcome.

“Head to the hangar Miss Shimmer, I’ll make sure a Pelican is ready to take you to the lieutenant.”

Knowing that Halsey wouldn’t appreciate some elaborate thank you, I just gave her a nod and turned around to swiftly make my way towards the elevator out of this tomb.

“Glad you could come so quickly, doctor!” the lieutenant shouted over the roar of the Pelican that was already taking back off towards the ONI base.

“No problem lieutenant, I’ve been waiting for a breakthrough in some area of my research. This scenario is probably the best one I could have hoped for!” I replied, following the officer away from the landing platforms. My lab coat stood out like a sore thumb as we headed deeper into the marine base I’d landed at, some marines giving me suspicious glances as they passed. Must be because of the ONI logo, they’re probably as popular here as the Crusaders made them out to be. “Have you identified the individual giving off the readings yet?”

“Aye ma’am, she’s a trainee. As green as can be, only two weeks into training. We’ve made sure they’re being kept on base for the day.” The lieutenant lead me into a large building, and into an office after passing through the hallways. Inside, a couple of screens were lit up showing off a bunk room with four trainees screwing about as they had nothing to do and, as far as they knew, no-one watching over them. “The subject in question is Miska Natália, an eighteen year old Reach local. As far as recruits go she’s looking to be a promising subject, a lot stronger than most females coming through here and not too bad of an endurance either.”

“Have there been any remarkable things about her that have been noticed? Even something as little as a weird feeling when being around her?” The presence of a raised magic field might be something that other humans just happen to be able to pick up as an unnerving or alternatively calming aura around a person.

"Some of the instructors have commented on her having a scary amount of insight on situations, almost as if she's able to predict events before they happen," The lieutenant explained while I kept my eyes fixed on the monitor.

"She might actually be doing just that…" My lips curled up in a cheeky smile. "Lieutenant, could you arrange something for me?" The man skeptically nodded. "I want you to get someone to kick down that door. You know, just to see if she's really precognitive."

"Consider it done, I was overhearing something the drill sergeants were discussing and this fits right in with something they wanted to do." The man said, grinning a little as he left me alone in the room. Taking the opportunity to sit down, I watched and studied Miska's behavior. She'd taken a seat along with the three other trainees and they were probably exchanging some banter. This went on for a good hour before a simple message popped up on my tablet. On one of the other monitors I could see the hallway outside of the room, there were marines with firearms silently moving throughout it and taking positions at the doors

'60 seconds'

I leaned forward focusing intently on the lady, seeing the seconds tick by on the clock in the bottom right...

Forty-five seconds

Still nothing…

Thirty seconds

I might have seen her twitch and glance at the door now, but I couldn’t be sure if that was just me trying to see what I wanted to see or her actually looking.

Fiftee-

Miksa jumped up and said something to the others, all of them jumping up as well and taking positions around the entrance.

No way. She actually saw that coming!

The door burst open as a group of the marines charged in, the first of them getting taken down by Miksa as the trainee threw a perfectly timed punch. She tried getting a punch in on the second marine too but only managed to glance off him as he tackled her to the ground and restrained her. The others in the room were quickly subdued by the small squad of marines as well. Black hoods were pulled over their heads and zip-ties closed around their wrists, then they were dragged into the hallway and lead off to an unknown location.

She's the real deal. Now how to approach this? I need her to be cooperative to figure any of this research out, so if I have her pulled out of training she's not going to be helpful to me…

A plan formed in my mind. I knew Halsey wasn't going to be happy with it at all, but after finding out what the doctor had done I really wanted to avoid her for a good while. Pulling out my tablet, I logged in and opened up my mail, sending a request to be placed into marine training with Miksa for observation purposes. It would be horrendously though getting readings to study the magic while being drilled into the ground. Still, if I was going to make progress Miksa was my best hope to get a breakthrough.

And the marine training might be vital to getting to where we entered this dimension and going home.

Putting away my tablet again, I turned my gaze back at at the screens displaying the trainees’ empty rooms.

All I could do now was wait...

Author's Note

Looks at my previous upload date...

Shrinks down

Uhm...

Oops?

Chapter 10

Don't stop when you're tired, stop when you're done.

I grumbled in annoyance as I fiddled with my suit, making sure it was in perfect condition. It had been three days since the discovery and the wait for the request to be processed by the relevant staff and when the reply came it wasn't what I had hoped for...

Request Denied.

Apparently I'm way more valuable as a researcher than a soldier... I have to admit they probably weren't wrong. On the other hand, they didn't completely shoot me down. Instead of being inserted in the class I was assigned to the instructor's pool as an observer.

At least I'm not being shipped back off to the lab, that'd have sucked...

Deciding that there was no point in brooding any longer I stood up and looked through my closet and made sure everything I’d gotten was folded and stored to absolute perfection, no point in blowing my cover within the first day by being shoddy. After checking my camo for the thousandth time I finally decided to stop procrastinating and go do something useful. The trainees wouldn’t be waking for a good three hours yet and after waking up any attempt at going to sleep again had failed so far.

I might have read up on how to act the part but I definitely don’t look like it…

I wasn’t going to like it but I needed to start working on my physical condition. The cover story that I was in recuperation from an accident would be good enough to fool them at the start, but if I didn’t put in the effort to lose my noodle arms then people were probably going to question that story. With a sigh, I grabbed the PT-gear and overall that was neatly folded up and quickly slipped into them, picking up a set of earbuds and heading off towards the base’s running track. At this hour most of the base’s facilities were closed so hitting the gym would have to wait until another time.

I guess if they’re not going to allow me to join the training itself I might as well go ahead and just do it by myself.

Entering the running track, I went ahead and did some stretches before heading onto the track to run for a good while. After going for about two hours, running and doing a couple of strength exercises, I headed back to my dorm to get cleaned up before the day’s start. A knock on the door drew my attention as I finished changing back to my cammies, ready for the start of the day.

“Yeah, who’s there?” I called out, grabbing my backpack and heading for the door.

“Corporal Nash, the LT wanted to speak to you.” I opened to find the corporal standing there, fairly relaxed. The human man had short brown hair and was fairly well built, looming over me with his rather impressive height.

“Thanks Corporal, I was about to go see him anyway,” I replied, closing the door behind me, following the soldier to the lieutenant’s office where he left me to see the officer on my own. Knocking on the door I waited to be let in.

“Enter!” a firm voice called out from inside, making me immediately step in and stand at attention.

“Sergeant Shimmer, Lieutenant!” I announced, the old man that sat at the table didn’t even look up from his console as I stood there.

“At ease. Take a seat, Sergeant.” Taking one of the chairs I sat across from the man, the aura radiating from the officer suddenly making me feel very small. “I don’t take kindly to ONI meddling on my base. What is your mission here?”

My heart skipped a beat as he looked up and his eyes felt like they were piercing my very soul. “I’m sorry sir, but-”

“I don’t want to hear the crap cover story,” the Lieutenant said blankly as I was about to give just that to him.

“Observation mission, sir. One of the trainees is the target but I cannot give you either the target or reason for the observation,” I sighed, the man was going to see right through any lie anyway. He huffed and pulled a cigar from his drawer and lit it up, I leaned a bit further back in my chair to get away from the smoke and looked slightly distasteful at the thing.

“What? Not like I will die young anyway,” he grunted. “I don’t like you being here but there are some people very high up that seem to want to keep you here. If you start a witch-hunt among my people for insurrectionists then your stay might turn a little less… hospitable.” When I swallowed and nodded in understanding, his attitude suddenly changed to be much more upbeat. “Good that you understand, you’re dismissed. Have a pleasant stay here.”

Standing up, I saluted the man and quickly made my way out of the office, not wanting to be there any second longer than absolutely necessary. Taking a deep breath that I’d been holding I orientated myself, looking for the way to the assembly area out front. The trainees were already assembled there and the staff was also getting ready for the day as I added myself to their ranks.

“Trainees! Attention!” A sergeant major called out as all of the trainees immediately followed the order, their respective group leaders reporting the state of their groups. “At ease! As of today, we’ll have another instructor added to our pool! Sergeant Shimmer!” I stepped forward and stood at attention. “The sergeant has been out of rotation due to an injury for a while and will be added to the instructor pool for alpha group. The group leaders can report to the appropriate staff to get their instructions for the week. The timetable for today is available on the main board. Dismissed!”

The groups immediately broke apart as their leaders went to get their information.

“Looks like we’ll be seeing more of each other,” I looked over my shoulder to see corporal Nash standing behind me with a grin on his face. “Alpha group are a tough bunch, might even get a couple of ODST’s out of them.”

“Sound like they’re a hell of a group then. Anyone in particular to watch out for?” The corporal nodded and pointed at exactly my target.

“Miska Natália. She’s the quiet person of the group, usually not the person you expect to step up as the leader of a group but she’s… different. Really smart and has a gut so well attuned that it’s scary, the others trust her because she always knows when shit is about to hit the fan.” Nash explained as I looked and grinned as a devious plan formed in my mind.

“Well, I guess that we’ll just have to fool that sense somehow then.”

I loaded blanks into my MA5 as I finished preparation. I’d learned quickly over the previous weeks, teaching myself the entire content of the handbook in record time and drilling myself to make sure my cover would hold. That left me here in the field with the alpha group, along with bravo and charlie, keeping watch of a certain objective and camouflaged in the treeline.

Let’s see if their watch isn’t asleep.

I grinned deviously as I looked at my fellow instructors, all of us wearing ghillie suits. We’d have three hours to slowly sneak across the open field and scare the living crap out of our trainees. The staff of the other groups would be doing the exact same thing to their groups as well.

“See you at the treeline, Shimmer,” Nash grinned, his white teeth glistening in the moonlight while his face was obfuscated by the camo covering it in the darkness.

“Not if you get yourself caught before that,” I shot back, the corporal putting a hand on his chest as if hurt.

“Ouch, tough talk coming from you redhead. Careful that that bacon hair doesn’t give you away… or that blush.” He said with a savage grin on his face while my face went red. Nash waved his hand in a suggestive manner and winked before he disappeared into the darkness. The blush on my face only spread further as I closed the lid on the small tritium light used in our preparation.

Jerk… Stop blushing god damnit!

After wiping the blush from my face I followed the others into the field and started crawling. The journey to the other side of the field was quite the undertaking as we did everything to avoid making noise or moving too fast, not wanting to get noticed. The others were just a mass of black slightly more elevated than the tall grass we were laying in, totally silent as after little over an hour of sneaking forward we found ourselves at the edge of the other forest.

This is where I come in...

I held my hand under my gilly suit to avoid lighting our position up as a beacon or to show the others my unique ability. It lit up as magic flowed into it, the matrix formed making sure that any other magic in the area would be neutralized.

There, that should keep our surprise intact.

“Up!” Sergeant Wilson, the leader of alpha group’s staff ordered. The three of us rose from the grass and moved forward in a spread formation, weapons high on the observation post manned by our group. I brought up the left flank, Sarge Wilson in the middle and the corporal on the right. Everyone was sound asleep as we found the small pit they’d chosen as sleeping spots. The corporal had broken off at the observation post and was waiting for the signal from the other instructors who were still getting in position.

“Execute.” The order came over the net, pins from the flashbangs on my belt were pulled and tossed into the pit and looked away.

BANG!
BANG!
BANG!

All throughout the forest strip explosions went off followed by gunfire as all the instructors emptied their magazines into the unsuspecting trainees who were scrambling in panic. The excitement was double for us as our group had avoided ambushes on multiple occasions due to Miska’s ability, it was starting to give me, the sarge, and the corporal a bad rep with the other instructors. Speaking of Miska, she had jumped up from her sleeping bag relatively close to me and in a panic she’d run over towards me, taking a swing. Time slowed as I saw her hand glow in a dim green hue as it approached me.

Ah, crap…

Countering her move I raised my left arm and lighting my hand up with red magic, quickly forming a small shield around it to catch the incoming fist. Had I not been a mage of Equestria, that fist would have probably shattered a good number of ribs but in this case the fist just bounced off. The amount of magic put into the punch was pathetic compared to the ocean of arcane energy poured into the small shield which dissipated immediately after knocking the Reach local flat on her ass. Everyone froze as they looked over at me, some of them in confusion because they hadn’t seen and others because they had.

“Your watch fell asleep,” I sternly stated, acting as if nothing was wrong while every eye was focussed on me. I’d quickly gotten used to the attention over the last couple of weeks, so my cocky side was showing itself again every now and then. “Everyone here’s dead now, thank the people in the observation post later.” I turned and headed off to see how the corporal was doing.

“Wait!” I glanced over my shoulder to see Miska with an astonished expression plastered on her face, not that it stopped me from making my way over to the corporal. “How did you do that?! I’ve never met anyone who could do stuff like that as well!”

A grimace found itself onto my face, I wasn’t sure how much I could tell her. “It’s rare,” I admitted, after getting out of earshot from the others.

“How rare? Are there more like us? And how is it that I can’t sense what’s going to happen?!” Miska asked with excitement.

“Don’t know, one in a couple million? Yes, there are. I made sure you can’t sense anything,” I answered in order, stopping to face the trainee. “Do you even know what you have access to?”

She shrugged. “I just call it magic.”

“Pretty much,” I answered, Miska taking a step back in shock. “Though I must now inform you as well that from this point on you can’t talk about your ability to anyone on section three’s authority.” Pulling an ID from a pocket in my jacket below the gilly suit I showed the ONI credentials, making Miska set another step back. Not in shock this time, but fear.

“...Section three? You’re a spook?!”

I jumped around to see Nash standing behind me, an incredulous expression on his face. Sighing as it was clear the jig was up I gave him a nod, showing the ONI credentials to him as well.

“The fuck Shimmer, what the hell is a spook doing at a training facility?” the corporal asked, his tone of voice slightly offended.

I turned back to Miska who still looked very scared at me. “Observing her. She’s… interesting. I’m sure you’re going to find out about that very soon.”

“What’s going to happen now?” Miska asked, interrupting me and the corporal.

“To be honest, I don’t know. I’m going to have to report this to the higher-ups but if their position on this is anything like it has been until now I’ll get the final call on whatever it is.” This did not relieve Miska of any of her doubts in the slightest. I sighed as I approached the woman. “I’m not going to ship you off, that serves me no purpose at all, but our relationship will change significantly… because that punch was absolutely pathetic.”

“Excuse me!” she exclaimed, severely offended. I only reacted by letting a significant amount of magic flow out of my wellspring into my body, to Miska and Nash feeling as if gravity had turned towards me. My irises were glowing with magic as I looked into the fellow mage’s eyes.

“There’s so much you don’t know… But I can teach you.” Holding out a hand to her I waited for Miska to shake. She slowly stepped towards me and brought her hand forward, grasping my hand as if doing so would crush her own. A small smile forming on her face as none of that happened.

“I won’t disappoint, sarge.”

Author's Note

~~It wasn't 6 months this time~~
Next chapter we go see what the crusaders are up to!

Chapter 11

May God have mercy on my enemies,
because I won't.
-General Patton

Snow and ash fell from the sky, cold winds blowing over the little forward outpost I was standing watch over. The hot temperatures the planet had suffered in previous months was now nowhere to be found as the ash clouds from all of the burned earth blocked out the sun. The smell of death was also everywhere, were it from the dead wildlife or combatants, there wasn’t anywhere left where you could escape from it…

It was hell.

I swept my gaze back over the burned plain in front of me with my night vision, checking if there wasn’t any suspicious movement behind the wrecks of vehicles. A Covenant warship had crashed a couple of clicks away from the outpost we were in and had been a rallying point for covenant forces since the start of the invasion. Right now men were amassing positions further back so an assault could be carried out on the vessel and blow it into nuclear slag which meant I along with the rest of the Crusaders had the pleasure of acting as forward scouts to map out enemy gun emplacements that would need to be destroyed.

“Anything out there Bloom?” I twitched and looked at Scootaloo, she had bags under her eyes as she’d taken the previous watch but couldn’t get to sleep after, too many nightmares, so she’d just propped herself against the outer barrier with her battle rifle in her arms while cradling herself in her own wings for some extra warmth.

“Nothin’ of note, they haven’t even sent them grunts out here to harass us today,” I replied as I returned my gaze out over the battlefield.

“Must have gotten wind that we’re planning something big, keeping them back so that they can defend their dugouts,” Scootaloo surmised in surprise, an assessment I couldn’t help but feel she was right in.

I itched for another cigar as I reached for one of the pockets on my armor but was once again reminded that after leaving for this outpost the supply of them had swiftly dwindled to zero. Grumbling, I closed the pocket again and returned to my task of observation.

“How do you think Shimmer is doing?” Scootaloo suddenly asked, we hadn’t heard from the other pony turned human in a couple of months but she’d at least been doing well last time we’d heard from her.

“Dunno, probably workin’ weapon dev with Section Three. She did say she had a breakthrough in her magic research though so that might be somethin’ else she’s workin’ on,” I answered lazily.

“Sounds about right. She’s probably just like Twilight in that way.” Scootaloo chuckled as she made her comparison between the redhead and the studious alicorn. “That egghead is probably never going to forgive herself after she figures out what happened to us...”

“Hey, it was kinda our fault fer bein’ somewhere where we weren’t supposed to,” I countered to Scootaloo’s amusement as she snorted.

“Like that ever stopped her from blaming herself in the past.”

“Ah guess yer right in that one,” I had to admit, Twi would probably feel really guilty about it even though it was definitely our own fault for getting stuck here. “Ah wonder what mah sis and brother are going to say when they find out.”

“AJ’s going to freak, Big Mac… well, I’m not sure,” Scootaloo said as she imagined my family’s reaction.

“Yer probably right about AJ, though that might also be true fer Mac. He can be quite the talker if he’s got somethin’ worth saying.” I looked down at Scootaloo and smirked. “Now Rainbow on the other hand...”

“Oh, she’s going to be terrified at first and then stalk me around and milk me for all of the stories I can tell,” Scootaloo chuckled and grinned back up at me. “I’ll at least be able to claim I’m about twenty percent cooler than her after that.”

I laughed, shaking my head as I savored the moment. Happiness was a scarce thing out here on this planet which ate it whole.

“Think we’ll finally get to go on leave after this? We’ve been going for almost eight months straight, a couple of exceptions of course but I don’t think I can take this much longer.” Scootaloo told me as she turned to look at me with teary eyes. “All the death is getting to me, Bloom. All of the marines that get hit by something which I couldn’t save… It’s eating me from the inside out.” I felt a cold spike drive into my heart as Scootaloo looked at me with the most pained and haunted look I’d ever seen.

She’s right, we can’t continue like this… if our leave is rejected then I’ll just have to take drastic measures.

“I’ll make sure to get it done Scoots,” I told her, seeing Ana approach in the corner of my eye.

“Morning Sarge, your watch is up, I’ll take over from here,” She said, taking a position next to me, allowing me to leave the post I’d been seated for a good while.

“Thanks, see ya at sunrise Ana. We’re going to catch a couple z’s before we need to get goin’.” I told the only real human of our group before helping Scootaloo off of the ground and towards our little hideout where we were camping out so we could get at least some rest before the coming operation.

“Why us, Sir?” I asked as we had just gotten our mission briefing. In front of us laid a tactical nuke which we'd been instructed to bring into the crashed Covenant ship and arm for detonation.

“Because your squad has an amount of luck that's bordering the supernatural, sergeant… Something the strange attribute of your medic reinforces.” Scootaloo's wings twitched as the officer singled her out. The pegasus having long since stopped giving a shit about what the other soldiers thought about them and showed them liberally, the squad's reputation among the marines made them famous and feared enough to keep the nosy elements at bay.

“Understood, we'll get it done.” I saluted and picked up the weapon of mass destruction, leaving the briefing room with the rest of us.

“Sometimes I get the feeling that they're just throwing shit at us to see how much we can take, but this is flat out a suicide mission,” Ana grumbled as we made our way to our warthog where we would wait for zero hour which was fast approaching. It would be a swift attack on the encampment around the wreck, we'd hit them hard and plant the nuke and get the hell out of dodge before they'd be able to respond in force.

I was having doubts it would work too...

“And we're the only idiots stupid enough to go do it,” Sweetie agreed looking at me with a look that practically screamed at me to explain why we'd accepted this mission.

“Y’all know that that ship has to be destroyed, it’s been the staging ground for a few too many assaults on our positions. We’d be able to knock back their operation fer hundreds of miles,” I argued, knowing that they’d follow me anywhere regardless but I wasn’t about to leave their concerns. Out of the four of us, only Scootaloo really didn’t look all that worried, her mask of confidence firmly back in place.

“Yeah, we’re going to kick them right where it hurts this time! No stupid boring recon for once!” She exclaimed, Sweetie rolling her eyes in response.

“What’s wrong with a bit of recon? Can’t handle the simplest task possible, Scoots?” She smirked, jabbing back at the pegasus.

“Hey, whenever I get an elite in my sights I’m going to pull that trigger, not watch how it gets off on kicking down a bunch of grunts,” she shrugged and stuck her tongue out at Sweetie in good fun. They soon arrived at their modified warthog and started loading ammo and equipment onto it. It wasn’t too different from the regular hogs other than some extra armor plates that had been welded over the craft to shield us better and the turret was mounted on the frame above the driver and passenger seat to allow a fourth passenger in the back. It did reduce the arc our vehicle could shoot to the front and side only but we could take a lot more gear and ammo and passengers while keeping our firepower relatively intact.

“Look girls, Ah’ve put our squad in fer leave after this op. We get through this and we’re going to return to Reach for some serious rest. We’ll be back but not before a good while of RnR,” I told them as we finished checking all of our equipment and we lounged in and around the vehicle.

“You did?” Ana said surprised, “I guess we’ve been here for a long while haven’t we?”

“We’ve been two months overdue for our rotation off world, I think we’ve earned it. I’m only sorry for the poor sods that have to pick up our slack while we’re gone,” Sweetie sighed, her eyes closed as she lay on the hood and windshield of the warthog.

“They’ll get used to it, we’re only one squad.” Scootaloo laughed at my comment.

“One squad that’s done the work of an entire company of regular marines,” the former pegasus pointed out with a cocky smirk. “We’re awesome like that!”

“Careful there Scoots, an ego that big will make for a pretty large target to shoot at,” Sweetie shot at the pegasus, drawing a snort of amusement out of Ana. Scootaloo huffed in annoyance but couldn’t find a retort to shoot back. I then looked at the mission timer, finding it getting close to zero.

“Alright, cut the chatter. Let’s get out there and hook up with the marines.” The others immediately donned their helmets, their visors turning opaque as their systems activated. An aura of seriousness immediately radiated from my subordinates as they focussed, they knew their tasks and would perform to their utmost best of ability.

Scootaloo mounted the chain gun at the back while Ana took the wheel, I sat down in the passenger’s seat and Sweetie took place at the back with an LMG in her hands instead of the usual sniper rifle that now sat on her back. I’d designated her to be our heavy fire support since I’d have to run the nuke and the low fire rate of the sniper wouldn’t be useful in our current task regardless.

The warthog’s engine roared to life as Ana drove it out towards the rest of the assembled vehicles with their crews that were anxiously waiting for the go signal. Some of their eyes fell on our very distinct warthog as we parked in the center of the formation, they surely knew of the ordinance we were carrying with us on this trip as they avoided our vehicle. Though that might also be the fault of Scootaloo who was stretching her wings while checking the chain gun’s operation.

And then, after a couple more minutes, the timer reached zero followed by a single codeword through the radio network and all of the warthogs roared to life. Each and every vehicle got into formation as we made our way off the base and lined up on the wasteland in the direction of the crashed Covenant ship, splitting up into three separate forces to hit the base from different directions.

“Contacts! Three o’clock, one click, Banshees!” The shout came over the radio as one of the gunners spotted the incoming aerial bogies. The edge of the right flank of our formation opened up immediately, sending blazing hot trails towards the enemy craft and lighting them up as the armor-piercing rounds shredded their systems.

“HA! Take that, stupid jackasses!” Scootaloo laughed even though she hadn’t fired a single round at the aircraft, keeping her chain gun aimed straight to the front where the covenant had entrenched themselves. Artillery fire could be seen impacting the ground ahead as they targeted the scouted hardpoints of the Covenant battle line, mounds of dirt and dust shooting up dozens of meters into the air as the shells impacted.

“Eleven o’clock, Wraiths!” I called out as I saw the purple tanks in the distance which had managed to escape the short but vicious artillery bombardment.

“Copy that!” Scootaloo called out, swirling around the turret and opening up. The brightly lit up stream of lead flying across the open plain to chip away at one of the vehicles armor. At first it did little more than tickle the purple tank which happily lobbed plasma bolts into our formation, vaporizing warthogs each time one of the bolts hit, but eventually all the punishment got through the tough outer shells of the two tanks and ripped the internals apart. “Wraiths neutralized!”

The crashed Covenant ship was now within two clicks of our charge and we could see the panic in the encampment surrounding it, grunts rushing about and getting in the way of one another as they scrambled around but that’s where our good news ended. “Sarge, they've put up anti vehicle barricades, there’s no way the formation can reach the ship!”

I cursed as Scootaloo pointed this out to me from her elevated position, we needed to reach the base of the ship at the least to get the maximum effect from the nuclear bomb. We really needed to get close to that ship… “How far is it by foot to the hull of that crashed ship!?”

“Are you insane?!” Sweety immediately exclaimed from out back, holding on tightly as to not be flung off.

“I think about half a click!” Scootaloo replied, disregarding the exclamation that came from behind her. “Should be doable!”

“Doable?! Bloom that’s half a click filled with enemy forces!” Sweetie countered again. “Even with marine support those are horrendous odds!”

“We will only have limited warthog support for a good part of that, Sarge!” Ana chipped in as she broke the outer defensive line with the rest of the formation.

“We’re doin’ it, this place needs to be wiped out if we are to relieve some pressure on this part of the front!” I shouted, opening my line to the radio network. “Crusader 1-1 to all, form a defensive perimeter around our hog at the anti-vehicle barrier and dismount. We’re going in on foot!”

There were some calls of acknowledgement that came from the other sergeants but I could hear the hesitation in their voices.

No matter, they’ll keep us covered in there.

Ana slammed on the breaks just before reaching the barrier, coming to a stop just before the obstacles, hitting a couple of grunts who didn’t get out of the way in time.

“Andrews, take over the chain gun from Firewing! Belle, Firewing, on me!” I jumped from the ‘hog, seeing a couple of grunts who had aimed their plasma pistols towards us as we stopped. A couple of quick shells shredded the little bastards without too much issue before we sprinted onto the barricaded part of the base.

Tracers whizzed past us as gunners from the other hogs started clearing our path and the couple of gauss cannon mounted ‘hogs spread more confusion by blowing up random parts of the camp. Plasma bolts flew overhead and past us in the other direction as we ran at full sprint to the hull of the crashed ship, coming to a skidding halt behind a dirt mound against the hull of the ship.

“You two okay?!” I asked as I pulled the nuke off my back and placed it against the hull and started shutting off it’s safety.

“Got grazed, nothing serious!” Sweetie replied placing down the LMG and fired a burst, not as much fire from the hogs reached this far back, only a single stream of fire consistently reached this far out. Scootaloo picked targets with her battle rifle, mostly picking the hard targets that couldn’t be mowed down by the LMG.

Heh, usually it’s the other way around. I chuckled internally as the timer on the bomb lit up. Covering the nuke with some dirt would make it a little less obvious when the covies would become nosy about what we were doing here. “Nuke set!”

“Hell yeah!” Scootaloo laughed as she plucked a grenade from her belt and lobbed it out at the troops that had started surrounding them, taking out a bunch of shield jackals.

“Alright, we’re moving back! We’re on a timer now!” I shouted as I lobbed more grenades over our little covered position. It gave us the tiniest of windows to sprint out guns blazing, as we sprinted back the same way we came.

“Sarge there’s armor coming in! This position is untenable!” Ana called in over the radio, “We’re starting to lose too many of our own!”

We were still too far away from the hogs as we constantly had to take cover and take out groups of enemies that were trying to block our retreat. “We’re thirty seconds out, hold position!”

I heard a pained scream come from behind just in time to see Sweetie fall to the ground, her armor smoking and glowing green from the plasma that’d hit it.

“SWEETIE!” Scootaloo roared coming to a stop, more plasma flew overhead as we went back for her motionless body. The medical readings from my hud indicated that she was still alive but the way her heart rate was spiking up wasn’t good. Being out of time I simply placed my shotgun on my back and grabbed the LMG instead, wielding it in one hand while dragging Sweetie along with the other.

“Crusader 1-2 is down!” I called out as I let the LMG pump out a constant stream of lead before as I dragged my friend the final distance back to the hogs.

“WRAITH!” One of the marines called out as I could see the purple tank approach our position, the remaining gauss cannon opened up on the heavy armor but it was able to get two arcing shots off plasma headed our way.

That’s aimed right for us!

“Get off the hog!” I shouted at Ana who didn’t need to be told twice while I tried getting out of the way. Heat washed over my back as I tried shielding Sweetie, pieces of metal from our hog flung in every direction as it was utterly obliterated.

I felt something hit my left arm briefly followed by an immense amount of pain right before I too blacked out.

Chapter 12

Maybe life isn’t about avoiding the bruises.
Maybe it’s about collecting the scars to prove we showed up for it.

I sat in front of two cryo-pods, their windows slightly frosted up as they had been active for a couple of weeks now. The two naked occupants peacefully inside of them as tubes from the side of the cryo-chamber ran into the two to feed them the necessary nutrients and drugs.

Why did it have to be you two girls, why not me? I don’t even know what to do on my own!

‘Sgt Bloom’ and ‘Cpl Belle’ were featured on the cryo’s name tags, their bodies prominently displaying the abuse they’d received to be placed in the chambers. Sweetie’s torso had massive burns all over its side from the plasma that had burned through her armor while Bloom’s left arm…

I swallowed.

It was just gone. Nearly from the shoulder down the limb was just gone. If it had gotten torn off any higher I wouldn’t even have been able to stem the bleeding and she’d have been dead. I felt myself shaking as I got another adrenaline boost and increased breathing from just thinking about what had happened on Harvest…

Come on Scoots, not cool. You did all you could and got them to medical… And the covies who’re responsible aren’t able to hurt anyone else anymore anyway.

I still remembered the flash and shockwave that had come from the nuclear device we’d left behind, a feeling of satisfaction washing over me as I could imagine all of the Covenant forces being vaporized by the weapon.

Serves them well.

I couldn’t stay at the cryo-tubes any longer, the pain of seeing my two best friends in such a condition and knowing they wouldn’t be waking up until after they’d reached a hospital on Reach stabbed at my heart.

The hallways of the frigate were almost deserted, only the occasional technician or trooper that hadn’t entered the freezer for one reason or another. I wondered if this is what we’d left Shimmer to as well, all alone in a galaxy without any friends? At least I still had Ana to keep me company. Talking about the devil...

“Morning, Scoots,” my human friend greeted me as I joined her for breakfast, getting a pack of rations from the dispensers.

“Yeah, good morning too,” I said absentmindedly, taking place at the table she’d claimed. Just like most UNSC warships, the cafeteria had a couple of tables reserved away for the ODST’s of the ship. Unofficially of course but the few other humans in the ship didn’t dare take place at the few tables that were marked. It also gave me a place where I could sit that have me avoid pesky questions about what kind of mutation or experiment I’d undergone... I missed the reputation we’d gotten on Harvest that allowed me to be left alone.

“You know they’ll be alright, don’t you?” Ana said as she saw me stare into nothingness again. “The UNSC takes care of its own. Bloom will probably get an artificial replacement and Belle will have some serious scarring but even that’ll turn out well.”

“Yeah, I know. But I still feel guilty about it,” I said, getting a sigh from Ana.

“You already saved their lives by keeping them alive until they got back to medical, you have nothing to be guilty about.”

“I was the one who pushed them to explore Twi’s castle and got us trapped here though...” My voice was soft as I told her that, eyes gazing down at the food in front of me.

“And after that, you did everything you could to keep them alive. You made a mistake, yes, but you didn’t sit still and pushed hard to keep them that way, are you going to sit down and let yourself fall to pieces or are you going to stay strong for when they wake up?” Ana’s stare bore right into me.

“You’re right, I’ve been sulking a hell of a lot, haven’t I? So not cool.”

My human friend chuckled. “No, it isn’t but that’s something you can change, and staring at their cryotubes isn’t going to change anything. You’re going to have to either think of something else to do or go into the freezer, I know you’re probably bored as hell.”

The corners of my lips tugged up into a small smile as I was glad to have Ana with me out here. “Thanks for that and you’re right, we should go under. They can only be helped when we get to Reach anyway.”

“Indeed. So I’ll see you at the cryo bay by tonight? I’ll go give the AI a heads up in that case.”

“Yeah, see you there.”

My skin itched, not that wasn’t to be expected as that was what happened each time I left Cryo, right now it was just a mere annoyance that’d be gone in an hour. I’d donned my armor as it was easier to carry that way as opposed to wearing regular clothes and dragging it along. The only thing I wasn’t wearing was the helmet as I wanted to leave my hair out since it had grown out a bit far and was getting annoying in the helmet.

Need to fix that sometime soon.
A clang went through the ship as it docked with the spaceport connected to the planetary tether above New Alexandria, Ana was already ahead of me so we’d meet up at the elevator down. Bloom and Sweetie had already been taken off of the ship, having gotten priority and being shuttled down to a hospital with a pelican.

Swinging my filled duffle bag onto my back I made my way through the now more significantly filled halls of the frigate, all kind of humans making their way off and onto the vessel as it got ready to depart again. The navy would never get much rest.

As I reached the spaceport I couldn’t help but stare in wonder at the green planet below through the windows it had installed. It was so unlike Harvest that had been turned into a grey ball of ash and fire. I stared in appreciation for a couple of minutes before heading deeper into the center of the station where the elevator was waiting.

“Took you long enough!” Ana called out as she saw me approach, she had opted to just drag along her set of armor as she wore regular clothing. “You’re really going to walk around like that?”

“Hey, it’s comfortable enough,” I grinned.

“Yeah, my ass it is, I’m getting you some clothes right after we’ve checked out. For myself as well by the way.” The two of us made our way to the elevator and got two seats in the passenger compartment that were already reserved for us. “So, got anything we should go do now we’ve got leave for a good while?”

“Don’t know...” I shrugged, only to think about it some more. “...Actually, I should give Shimmer a call, she’s going to be really surprised since I didn’t give her a heads up.”

I pulled my tablet from the duffle bag and connected it to the tether’s network, looking through the contacts until I found the one we’d used to send mail to each other on Harvest. Getting comfortable I waited for the call to connect, leaning back into the chair while pointing the tablet towards myself so the camera would pick up my face.

“Sergeant Shimmer,” Sunset answered to my surprise.

“Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting to hear when I rang you, thought you were only working for the Section Three spooks,” I grinned as the video feed on the other end sprung on as well to reveal a surprised Sunset Shimmer.

“Holy… Scootaloo?! What are you doing here!” She exclaimed. “Are Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle with you?”

I bit my lower lip and shook my head as my mood fell. “They were shipped to New Alexandria Medical Center to get treatment… They both have been out ever since we left Harvest.”

“Oh no… How bad?” Sunset asked with concern.

“Bloom’s lost her left arm and Sweetie got some serious plasma burns.”

“And Ana?”

“She’s sitting across from me,” I turned the tablet to point it at the human who waved at my fellow Equestrian.

“That’s a relief. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Well, I’ve technically got leave but since I already heard that they’re going to keep AB and Sweetie under for a bit so I wanted to ask if you had time for me to drop by,” I answered as Sunset gave me a smile.

“Of course! I’ll explain things later when we’re face to face but if you want to meet I’ll be at camp Stonehold. I can arrange for a pelican pickup if you want?” Sunset explained enthusiastically. I glanced over at Ana who gave me a nod.

“I’ll keep an eye on them, you should get to see faces other than mine or theirs for once. But don’t think that’ll get you out of getting new clothes.”

“Thanks Ana,” I told her with a chuckle, looking back at Sunset on the screen. “Think you can get a pelican to pick me up from the New Alexandria spaceport?”

Sunset snorted at the question. “There are pelicans going there daily, I’ll get a spot on one of them for you right after you get out of the elevator. See you on the base Scootaloo.”

“Yeah, see you there.” With that, I closed the call and got a set of earbuds to listen to some music on the way down.

It felt strange being completely on my own for the first time in over a year as I waited for the pelican to arrive at the base. There were a couple of other humans on the craft, one of which a navy officer, but they’d yet to ask me for the obvious. Shimmer had worked fast to get me the seat though as by the time we’d reached planetside she’d given me a gate and a time to be.

I wonder what she’s doing that she isn’t able to talk about it over an open call, must be some Section Three BS.

“Hey, you look like you went through some stuff. Got back from deployment?” one of the other humans, looked like a civilian to me but that might be deceiving considering where we were going.

“Harvest,” I simply answered, his face visibly paled a bit to my satisfaction.

“You’ve fought the aliens?!” Another asked, though this one was a bit more enthusiastic.

“For eight months,” I grunted, not really feeling like answering the interested humans.

“Let her be. She doesn’t want to talk about it,” the officer rumbled as he looked up from his work at the two humans who straightened up.

“Thanks,” I told the officer who already back to work. The rest of the ride was mostly in silence as no-one asked me any further questions.

The pelican came to a roaring halt as it set down on the base and opened its hatch which allowed everyone to dismount and head their own ways. I looked around for a bit but soon spotted the redhead I hadn’t seen in person since we’d sent her off on Harvest. A smirk found itself onto my face, as I approached and saluted her.

“Corporal Firewing, sergeant Shimmer,” I announced myself, getting an amazing look of surprise from the other human.

“At ease, corporal,” Sunset said with a smile, “Good to see you here, it’s nice to have someone who I can talk about Equestria with.”

“Heh, no worry. Sorry that we couldn’t keep you on Harvest.”

“Celestia no, I’m glad to not be there I’ve read the reports. I’m happy that I got to work here in safety while you were in mortal danger every day,” Sunset said with a laugh as she lead me along away from the landing pads.

“So, what’s the story about you suddenly being a sergeant?”

“It’s a cover,” Sunset responded with a bit less volume to make sure only I heard. “There’s a very interesting human I’ve been training for about two months now.”

“You found one that can do Mhmff...” Shimmer immediately put a hand over my mouth, I had to work hard to stop my initial reflex from knocking her away from me.

“Classified,” she hissed.

“Hey, I’ve been a bit out of touch out there. I don’t really keep up with that stuff you know?” I said, holding my hands up defensively.

“Fine, but now you know so don’t talk about it. I’m surprised you’re not even making an effort to hide those wings.” Sunset glanced at me to see the smirk on my face. “Oh, for the love of… You’re a piece of work, you know that?”

“Eeyup,” I laughed as she groaned. “So where are we going? To that interesting human?”

Sunset let the previous topic slide for the moment. “Yes. She’s in the barracks with the rest of the trainees. They should be preparing for PT about now.”

“Trainees? Cool, that explains the sergeant cover. Mind if I tag along with the exercise?” I asked, to which Shimmer shrugged.

“Got to ask the LT for permission but I don’t see why not.”

“Cool, where can I find him?”

“He has his office in the same building, I’ll show you the way.” Sunset lead me through the barracks to the staff only housing where she waited outside of the LT’s office while I went in and announced myself, explaining the situation. The lieutenant for one didn’t complain and asked if I could give the troops a small presentation with tips if I was going to stay for a while. Without there really being any disagreement we parted ways again.

“Got any bedding left around here?” I asked as I entered Shimmer’s bunkroom.

“Not in the staff’s quarters, there are only men’s rooms left. Though there’s room with the trainees if you want until we can get you a bed.”

“No problem, I can sleep anywhere anyway.” Well... though it wasn’t a lie, the nightmares did their best to keep me awake.

“Alright, ladies are in room 104 and up. I’m going to re-dress as well, need PT gear?” I nodded, Sunset pushing a set of spares into my hands.

“Thanks, what’s the time I need to be ready?”

“Forty-five, main entrance,” Shimmer curtly answered.

“Thanks, see you there.” I proceeded to make my way through the hallways to room 104, the five women who were present turned their heads to look who’d entered as they were in the middle of changing.

“Hey! What… are… Corporal, ma’am?” one of them, a black-haired girl said as she swiftly sprang to attention.

“At ease, I’m bunking here for the night. There’s a lack of female quarters in the staff wing,” I told them as I walked to the last empty bunk in line and tossed my filled duffle bag onto it. I could already feel the stares from all of the girls bore into my wings as I went through it to find the wrapping I’d used previously to bind them to my body and hide them.

“Corporal are-”

“If it’s about the wings then don’t bother. Anything else, maybe you’ll get an answer.” That made the black-haired woman shut up for a moment and allowed me to loosen the armor, placing it in the locker next to the bed. I managed to wrap the wings in place about half-way before the lady spoke up again.

“Are you friends with sergeant Shimmer?” she asked, getting my attention. I gave her a nod as I finished locking up my wings with the wrap.

I forgot how much I really hated this thing, not being able to move your wings suck.

“Figured that, she has some interesting skills herself. I would know since she’s been giving me extra practice in my free time.” That really got my attention, was this that ‘interesting human’ Sunset had talked about? “Miska Natália,” She introduced herself, holding out her hand.

“Scootaloo Firewing.” I shook the outheld hand. “I’m sure we’ll get to know each other better soon,” I grinned.

Author's Note

Tbh, I'm kinda bored and not in the mood to work on my other stories. :twilightsheepish:
Remember that comments are like authors' food, we gain energy from them. Constructive criticism is welcome.

Chapter 13

Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it.
-Lao Tzu

I Grinned savagely as I dried off my soaked hair and got the water out of my wings, glad to be rid of the sweat that had built up from the PT session.

That’s one they’re never going to forget ever again. I grinned as I remembered the trainees’ faces as I just kept going and going while they were nearly dropping from exhaustion. No-one beats me on the obstacle course!

Shimmer had also been participating in the exercises and, to be honest, she didn’t do half bad herself. I’d expected her to fall behind with her just being an undercover spook but she surprised me when she managed to keep up for a good bit. Not for the entirety of the time of course, not everyone can be as awesome as the ODST’s after all.

Wrapping up my wings again, after I’d gotten out all of the moisture, I got re-dressed in some fatigues before stepping back out into the hall to get back to the bunkroom. There were some other trainees walking through the hall but they all got out of my way as I passed, they’d learned to respect me over the last couple days.

Moving back into the girl’s room where they were already studying up on one thing or the other. Not that I was interested in it for the moment as I got some loose clothes from my locker and a tablet to work on the presentation I was due to give to the trainees in the evening.

Compiling pictures from my helmet’s camera feed from missions on Harvest I had made a compilation of the various Covenant species they would face, their behavior and ranks along with personal tactics on how to deal with every one of them. Sunset would pick Miska and me up for the trainee’s first magic lesson with me present in an hour so I decided to use that time to clean up the rough edges off my work.

“Hey Corporal, ever get scared out there?” one of the trainees asked, breaking the silence of the room. I looked up at her from my work as I was nearly done anyhow.

“Plenty of times,” I answered without question, the trainee looking surprised at the answer. “Fear is just another tool your body has to keep you on edge. Let it guide you to stay sharp but never let it take over and control your actions.”

“Oh... ok,” the trainee said slightly surprised by the answer.

“You’ll understand why one would be scared after the presentation tonight. They’re beatable but don’t expect an easy fight.”

The door of the room opened and revealed Sunset in casual dress standing in its frame. “Trainee Natália, Corporal, you two ready?”

“As always, Sarge!” Miska immediately replied, grabbing a little bag and walking to the door. I quickly closed and saved everything I was working on and threw the tablet into the locker and closed it up.

“Am ready too, anything I should take?”

“You not really, we have everything split between us two,” Sunset answered as she lead them to one of the larger rooms inside of the barrack building, setting down her bag on the floor as she and Miska sat down across to each other on the floor.

“So what do you two do out here?” I asked as I leaned against the wall, my wings twitching under the wrappings.

“Meditation among other things, though we’ll do some more practical work not to bore you too much,” Sunset smirked at me before turning back to Miska. “You go meditate for a bit, we’ll work on your shield spell after that.”

Miska closed her eyes and sat completely still while Sunset observed her…

Ughh, I’m getting rid of these wraps, not like these two care.

Pulling off my clothes, leaving only my sports bra in place, I spread my wings and allowed their joints to pop as I spread them fully.

“Scoots, really?” I turned to see both Miska and Sunset staring at me, the trainee with a slightly red face.

“What? Just want them to get some air,” I said casually before smirking wildly and taking on a suggestive pose. “Unless you want to admire my perfectly trained body that is. Not an ounce of fat present here.”

“Corporal, shut up,” Sunset said blankly, shaking her head.

“Aye aye, Sarge,” I laughed, getting a chair that was stacked up to the side and taking a seat to work on some wing maintenance and not disturb the others too much until they got to the interesting stuff.

What I did not expect though that suddenly both Shimmer’s and Miska’s body started glowing, the equestrian in red and the human a light green. Miska’s light though soon started to flicker until it blinked out completely.

“Ugh, I still don’t have it,” she grumbled as Sunset too cut off her magic.

“You’ll get it. Your wellspring is already much larger than when we started,” Sunset smiled as she got off the floor and brought up her hand. “Ready?”

Half a bubble of magic shielding appeared around Miska as she grinned confidently. I for one was sitting at the edge of my chair to observe the action in front of me. “Bring it on!”

Sunset’s hand lit up brightly as she shot a lance of sorts at the shielding, making the trainee grunt but hold up her effort.

Wow, what if Sweetie could have done that… We’d have had a massive advantage in some situations...

Miska’s shield was glowing red hot, strain clearly visible on her face as she tried holding against Sunset’s assault. She managed to hold for a good twenty seconds before Sunset cut off her barrage, the shield having cracks all over it.

“What’s the equivalent energy that was just dispersed on that shield? I mean, looks impressive but can it stop plasma or needles?” I asked, now very interested in the workings of this.

“Well, localizing the shield to the front has strengthened it significantly and with the data I could scrape from ONI I estimate Miska here can take a single wraith blast and a heck of a lot of fire from any other source,” Shimmer said, making me giddy. Miska would definitely be of use on the field by being a mobile shield to allies.

“That’s awesome. We could definitely use more like you in the field,” I smiled, giving the panting human a slap on the back with a wing. Miska let out a loud ‘oof’ and stumbled forward a bit from the force.

“Thanks… Say, corporal, can you fly with those?” Miska asked, pointing at my wings. A grin formed on my face as I crossed my arms and flapped my two appendages to get myself into a low hover to Miska’s awe. “That’s awesome,”

“Sadly not too useful in most situations, flying high just makes you target practice for the covies. It does help in night operations though,” I admitted, landing again since there wasn’t too much space. “Anyway, you two got more tricks up your sleeves?”

“Not really, just wanted to check up on her level of progress. I usually plan the more extensive exercises on free weekends. Just wanted to show you some of the things I might be able to teach Sweetie as well.”

I nodded. “Looks good. Let’s hope she wakes soon so she can learn this stuff.”

“Yeah, I would like to see those two running around again as soon as possible,” Sunset told me with a gentle smile. “Those two will bounce right back, Scoots. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about your mirrors in my world it’s that you three can get back up from anything.”

“Thanks,” I replied, “I should get ready for my presentation tonight. See you two there.”

Checking if my armor was well in place for a last time, I put down my tablet with notes on the little desk I had appropriated for myself. I’d decided to put on the armor as the bulky nature of it hid my wings better, even though I really didn’t care much, ONI had made it clear that they did via a very clearly laid out message.

I guess wearing the armor isn’t too bad anyway.

That thought was by no means an understatement, parts of the paint had been burned off and the armor had plenty of places with dents and gouges. The only place that really had remained immaculate was the ONI logo gleaming at the center of the chestplate.

Of course, that thing would survive it’s time on Harvest.

The doors at the back of the room opened as the first staff came in to check if I was ready, the trainees coming in as they saw that was the case. There was some murmuring in the room as everyone took their seats, the staff taking positions around the group and at the back, Sunset being among them. After sighing I cleared my throat which immediately silenced everyone in the room to my pleasant surprise.

“Good evening everyone, did you all have good day today?” I opened getting a couple of affirmations from the crowd. “Good, good, now I’m here tonight to give you all some insight on the enemies you will face out there to hopefully prepare you the best I can. If you have questions about something I said feel free to raise your arm.”

The projection behind me changed to show a summary list of the presentation.

“I’ll start off by showing you the general infantry the Covenant uses and move up to the specialized roles and finish up with some Covenant vehicles,” I explained opening up the next projection of a grunt, the picture having come from a recon we’d performed. Some of the trainees spoke to each other in muffled voices as they looked on with wide eyes. “This is what we call Grunts in the field, they are the most numerous of the enemies you will face. They operate in large squads with an attached leader, this is also their weakness as the moment you take those leaders out they’ll lose cohesion and panic. Easy pickings.”

I continued to explain the weaknesses of the grunts, jackals, and drones before moving on to the bigger targets like elites. Informing them about the energy shielding, stealth, and energy swords before showing a video of one of our engagements with them. “Just so you know, this wasn’t our cleanest engagement we had with one of them.”

The video played as a minor elite charged forward, rounds pinging off its energy shielding. It got into mele range within seconds, swatting Anna aside with a backhand before taking a face full of buckshot from Apple Bloom who had to dive out of the way of an energy sword immediately after. Before the elite could press though an ear-deafening boom from Sweetie’s sniper blew a fist-sized hole into the alien. The video cutting off after that, and a hand was raised in the crowd.

“Yes, what’s your question?”

“Well, for one, that ODST was he fine? And how often do you encounter those?” the man asked.

“Yeah, Anna had a couple bruises but she got off pretty well there and you’ll see those pretty often. The advantage you has is that you’ll mostly operate in larger numbers, taking down shields is much easier if you have overwhelming firepower on your side,” I told him, returning to my presentation to explain further, covering everything else from the brutes to the scarabs before ending it. The trainees having watched with immense interest throughout it all asked a couple more questions before slowly leaving for their bunks for the night.

“Man, you went through some shit out there. You definitely got my respect,” A corporal said as he passed.

“Yeah, not done yet though. The moment my friends are back up I want to get back out there. No offense but I like to make myself useful out there,” I told him, closing down the projector and presentation with my tablet. He chuckled in response as Sunset joined him.

“You’ve got interesting friends, Shimmer.” He chuckled, giving a pat on the sarge’s back before walking off. A faint blush visible on Shimmer’s face betrayed her feelings to me though I decided to leave it for later.

“So, think I did well?” I asked her stashing the tablet away.

“Oh, you did just fine. I’m glad for it too because we can show them pictures but no-one here has first-hand experience with them. At most they’ll have fought insurrectionists.”

“Yeah, gonna be a whole different training circumstances when some of the wounded that can’t fight anymore start training around here.”

“Definitely,” Sunset agreed as my tablet buzzed from an incoming call. Looking at the screen I found it to be Anna who was calling.

“Hey there, everything cool over at the hospital?” I asked as I picked up the call, Anna’s face appearing on the screen.

“Definitely Scoots, I got a surprise for you,” Anna replied, changing the angle of the camera to show Sweetie awake and well laying in a hospital bed.

“Sweetie!” I shouted with a smile at seeing my friend in a decent state. Sunset slid up next to me to look at the screen as well.

“Hi Scoots, glad to see you’re in good shape. Anna filled me in on what happened back on Harvest,” Sweetie said with a slightly hoarse throat but a smile on her face.

“It was a mess,” I grumbled, remembering the absolute state Bloom and Sweetie had been in.

“The two of you got us out of there and I hear we have you to thank to keep us stable Scoots. We knew the risk and we were among the lucky, we’re still alive.”

“Thanks Sweetie.” I looked to the side at Sunset. “Think you can get me a ride back to the hospital any time soon?”

“There’s reduced traffic at night but I’ll see what I can do,” Sunset nodded, getting her own tablet and looking up a couple of things. Turning back to the video feed showed that Anna had given the tablet over to Sweetie.

“How is Apple Bloom doing by the way?” I asked, wanting to hear if she might be up as well though not expecting anything.

“She’s getting better, Anna got word from the doctors they might try to wake her if she remains stable over the next few days,” Sweetie replied, relieving me greatly. “I saw what happened to her Scoots, they think it would very well be possible that she might be able to get a mechanical arm though.” A smirk found itself onto Sweetie’s face. “AJ’s reaction is going to be legendary when we get back.”

I chuckled at the mental image of Applejack seeing AB like that for the first time, a certain white unicorn coming to mind as well. “Only Applejack? What about your sister? She’s already had a dramatic streak to her.”

“Oh, she’ll definitely faint seeing me half scarred. Rainbow will probably be hanging off of you for your ‘awesome’ stories though,” Sweetie laughed as Sunset tapped on my shoulder.

“I found a cargo flight heading in the right direction, You hitch a ride with them and get some civilian transport to the hospital itself,” Sunset said, sending over the info to my tablet. “I’ll inform the Lt you’re at the hospital.”

“Thanks Shimmer,” I told her before turning to Sweetie again. “See you at the hospital soon.”

“You too Scoots, hope to see you soon.”

Author's Note

My image site seems to have issues and I'm too tired to find a solution. I'll try in the morning to fix the header.

Chapter 14

I’m a little wounded but I’m not slain;
I will lay me down for to bleed awhile, then I’ll rise and fight with you again.
-John Dryden

Darkness enveloped my eyesight as I groggily yawned. My head swam and thoughts came slow to me, all my limbs felt numb... well... three of them did at least. I tried moving but couldn’t find the strength just yet so I decided to remain laid down, resting some more, soon falling asleep in my weakened state.

An unknown amount of time later I woke back up, finding that much more of my strength had returned in my weakened state. The numbness, barring my left arm, seemed to have receded so I decided to open up my eyes to have a look around. The light was painful at first but after a few minutes, it was bearable enough to look around the room. The sterile white of a hospital bed surrounded me, the appropriate beeping of medical equipment hitting my ears.

This ain’t not Harvest nor is this any UNSC medical vessel... Ah darn, this ain’t good.

Looking over at my left arm I found nothing, not even anything under the sheets. Slightly panicked I checked my other, relief washing over me as it was still there. “Well, as good a time as any to figure out where Ah am,” I muttered, pressing the button that hung from the side of my bed to call a nurse.

“Hello there, finally awake I see?” the nurse who entered said pleasantly, checking the equipment.

“My unit. where are they,” I asked, not really feeling like engaging in pleasantries as the thoughts of Sweetie Scoots and Anna entered my mind.

“We have one in the adjacent room and the two others frequently visit the two of you,” the nurse answered with a smile. “I am sure they will be elated to hear you are awake.”

“Thank you, I would like to see them,” I said, relaxing into my pillow. “Also, what planet is this?”

“It is Reach, dear. I will be right back with a doctor,” the nurse said, leaving the room again. Bringing my hand up I combed it through my hair, it was a little longer then I’d remembered it being on Harvest. Sighing I looked back over to my missing arm, the remains surgically closed up at the shoulder.

“Well, fuck,” I cursed, not knowing what to do with this little new issue. I’d seen prosthetics before, maybe one of those could help get me back into action? My train of thought was interrupted as the door opened once again, the nurse, doctor and another three familiar faces strolling into my room. Sweetie was supported by both Ana and Scootaloo as they entered after the hospital staff, one of Sweetie’s arm was covered in scarring along with a good portion of her neck and cheek.

“Took you long enough to get back up,” Sweetie smirked, sitting down on a chair next to the bed.

“Hey, Ah ain’t like Scoots in always having to be first,” I shot back, scootaloo holding her chest and mockingly acting as if she were hurt. “Oh don’t you dare start acting as if that ain’t true,” I accusingly pointed at her with my remaining hand.

“Glad to see your spirit is still intact,” Ana chuckled, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder.

“Ha! give mah one of them fancy prosthetics and a month ta get used ta it and I’ll be ready to get right back at it!” I grinned, looking over at the doctor who was listening with a smile on his face while getting his work done. “On that topic, Ah think yer the person to ask about that. Do ya think Ah could get one of them any time soon?”

“That depends on how you do in the coming days, if you remain stable then that may indeed become a possibility,” he answered, finishing up with his work on one of the machines. “And considering the nature of your employer, I assume this was already being considered by someone somewhere.”

“It has come up on occasion, yes,” Ana answered the doctor.

“As I guessed. I will leave you alone for a bit, the sergeant will need to rest up much but I will allow you to keep her company for a bit,” the doctor said, before leaving the four alone in the room.

“So what happened out there? Ah don’t remember a thing,” I bluntly said, looking at the other three.

“Wraiths happened. Sweetie was standing a bit further away than you and you can see how that went,” Scootaloo pointed out, Sweetie carefully pulling off the loose cloth from her body to show me the full extent of the damage done to her as nearly half of it was affected.

“That’s... ouch. Ruined a couple good tattoos there.”

Sweetie choked out a laugh as she pulled the piece of clothing back over her head. “I’ll survive it. Just have to get new ones in other places I guess. The flowers and gems are still in place though so I’m not that angry.”

“Good, wouldn’t want ya mad at the covenant now. We’d win way too easily,” I laughed, turning to Scootaloo next. “And you, not bothering the spooks with them wings too much ain’t ya?”

“Only needed a couple of warnings before I got the message,” Scootaloo smirked, pounding her fist against her armor. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep out of trouble Bloom.”

“Celestia knows ya get into it too much.” Now turning to Ana I reached for the hand on my shoulder and squeezing it. “Ya look like crap Ana, how long have ya been awake?”

“A day or two?” she guessed, yawning slightly, “I’ve been looking after Sweetie and making sure that rascal doesn’t get herself tossed in the brig.”

“Well, treat yerself to a night’s good sleep and Ah don’t want ta see ya here again until ya do,” I told her sternly as she held her hands up defensively.

“Alright, alright, I remember that I was going to force Scootaloo to buy her some real clothes as opposed to that.” Ana punched Scootaloo’s armored shoulder as the former pegasus shrugged.

“Y’all go do that then, Ah could use the rest. This all is more tirin’ than Ah thought.”

“Heh, don’t worry Bloom, we’ll let your old butt get some sleep,” Scootaloo smirked teasingly.

“Jus’ be glad Ah can’t get outta this bed or I’d smack that grin right off yer face.”

“Of course sarge, sleep well.”

I rubbed my hand over the metal attachment point that now sat fused to the bones in my shoulder, it was slightly warm as my body had heated it up. The arm that was supposed to fit inside of the socket lay on a table in front of me as the people who’d brought it in had left me alone to put it in myself, the moment it was in it would be there, no getting it out again.

Eleven days of being sick because Ah didn’t have an arm and now Ah’m getting cold feet...

Running my hand over the new limb it felt cold. It wasn’t one of the nice replica’s that looked like a real arm or anything, this was one of the rough industrial-looking prosthetics. What it lacked in its looks it definitely made up in power though. It was well balanced to be about the same weight as my other one but it would definitely lift twice the weight if need be there.

Sighing deeply I picked up the new arm and looked at the connection point, lining it up with my shoulder and simply pressing it in before any doubts could enter my mind. A cold shock going through my body as the endings fused, the arm buzzing for a bit before it fell silent again. In a quick test I tried lifting the new arm, slowly raising it in front of me.

Whoa, this is strange... Ah can’t even feel the thing, that’s gonna have to take some getting used to.

Lowering the arm again I got up from my chair and walked to the door leading to the main room where the engineer and doctors were waiting to do the checkup to see if everything integrated well. “Ah think it works pretty good.”

“That’s good to hear, shall I check if it’s got any malfunctions?” the engineer asked as I sat down at the table.

“Yeah, go ahead.”

The engineer used a tablet to get some readings from the arm, putting it away again after about a minute. “Readings look fine, it should become better over the next couple of days as the software learns the patterns of your nervous system. Also, remember that the only part of that arm with pressure sensors are the fingers so careful with hugs.”

“Ah’ll keep that in mind,” I chuckled, “Am Ah cleared to go, doc?”

The doctor who had already used his own gear to check up on my vitals and gave me a nod. “Give it a few days before doing something strenuous and even then don’t go too far. If there are any issues don’t hesitate to come back immediately, the first couple of weeks should be where any issues come up.”

“Sounds sensible, I’ll make sure mah friends don’t get any ideas then,” I laughed, “Thank y’all kindly, ah owe you all a great deal.”

“We’re just doing our job, we should be thankful for your service,” the head doctor said, holding out his hand which I shook. “Hopefully we won’t see you for anything other than the first checkup.”

“Same for me.”

Leaving the room, I made my way to the hospital’s exit. Sweetie had gotten out a couple of days prior so I was the last to get out of there. Signing a final few documents I went out to look for the others in the lobby.

“Hey Bloom, over here!” I heard Scootaloo call out from further in the lobby as she spotted me first. She, of course, was wearing her armor again as she lounged in one of the couches set up in the lounge.

“Ah thought ya were gonna go out and get something fancy to wear?” I smirked as I approached and got a view of the others. Sweetie was wearing an immensely short black tank top, which didn’t even have anything covering her shoulders, along with a set of light blue shorts. Ana had a little more moderate dress on in comparison with full length jeans and a white t-shirt.

“Hey, you don't have anything on your back to conceal. It's not like I can pull a Sweetie here.” Scootaloo pointed over to our more scantily clad friend.

“That's quite the daring outfit there, Sweetie,” I chuckled.

“Hey I earned these scars, not going to be ashamed of them now I have them,” Sweetie smirked back.

“Not to break this up but I've seen quite enough of this hospital to last me a lifetime,” Ana cut in, “If we catch a cab we can go to a bar I used to hit.”

“Sounds good to me, lead the way,” Sweetie said, getting up and following the human outside where they got a set of cabs. Thirty minutes later we found ourselves at the bar and walked in. The interior was nicely decorated with wooden boards as a smell of smoke permitted the room slightly. A decently large group of people were in there as well celebrating something, so we took a seat at a table a little out of sight so we could sit in a little peace.

“What could I get you girls?” one of the barmaids asked as she noticed the new guests, the way she looked at us giving away that she was definitely intimidated.

“A cider please,”
“Beer for me,”
“Some water,”
“Wine would be nice,” We answered after each other, the other girls slightly surprised that I ordered water instead of cider like Scoots.

“I will be right back with your order,” the barmaid said, going to the back to get the drinks.

“So when are we planning to get back into action?” Scootaloo asked eagerly.

“Whoa, hold your horses there, maybe give those two some time to recover first,” Ana pointed out.

“Ah'll give it a week before getting back on track with mah exercises,” I told her, looking over at Sweetie. “You?”

“I'm already working on it, going back to the gym and such. I need to plan in some time with Sunset for special ability classes but other than that I don't really have anything else to do.”

“May I just point out you three are raging workaholics?” Ana smiled and shook her head. “I'm sure there's some animal shelter around here that can use some help or some other thing you can do when not at work.”

Scoots, Sweetie, and I all fell silent for a bit, not like we could deny being slightly obsessed with what we were doing. I for one wouldn't mind something to do beside training while we remained on Reach.

In the meantime the barmaid brought us our drinks and left us back to it, though we gained some new attention from a few members of the larger crowd in the bar. “Well, I'll be damned. That you Ana?”

The girl tensed up as she looked over her shoulder at the voice. “Hello Robert.”

“So it really is you. Dad's gonna freak when he hears about this.” Robert crossed his arms in front of him. “So who are these girls? Fellow larpers trying to play soldier? Nice make-up job on the burns by the way.”

I had my metal hand firmly grasped around the hand grip of the back of Scootaloo's armor to prevent her from going ballistic, looking at Sweetie out in the corner of my eye and hoping she'd let her calmer head prevail.

“Girls, this is Robert. My brother,” Ana groaned. “You all remember what I told you about my family, right?”

“Oh come on, we're not that bad. Why don't you come back with me, we could use another hand on the farm and I'm sure dad can forget about your little stunt.”

I had a brief moment where I considered just letting Scootaloo do her thing and watch the fireworks go off, the only thing stopping me was Ana who clearly looked like she wanted to resolve this without wrecking the place.

“I'll stay with my larp group, thank you very much. Also, what are you even doing here?”

“Hey, remember who introduced you to this place? Oh right, that was me.” He turned back to look at his own group who had taken an interest in what was going on over here. “This is our home turf, isn't that right boys?!” A loud cheer came from the group as they raised their glasses, Robert leaning forward and taking a sip from Ana's beer. “So, since you don't want to come back home, I suggest buzzing off and take your new friends with you.”

“No thanks, I'm not done with my drink yet,” Sweetie casually said with a sweet little smile while sipping her wine. I groaned quietly at the taunt towards Ana's brother. He immediately took the bait, scowling down at my scarred friend.

“Listen, little girl, you-”

“Let me be clear, the only reason you're not on the floor with a broken everything is because my good friend over there is being held back. So if you don't mind we'd like to be left alone,” Sweetie bluntly cut him off, her smile gone and replaced by a dead serious scowl. Robert though now had a group of others behind him, bolstering his confidence.

“I'm going to give you for one last chance to go peacefully as a courtesy to my sister,” he growled, Sweetie simply taking a sip from her glass in defiance.

Yer a gem Sweetie, couldn't have played that one out any smoother...

I grumbled as I let go of Scootaloo. The man who was about to grab Ana to throw her out didn't even get a chance to look at Scootaloo as she crashed into him and sent him flying. Without hesitation Scootaloo just darted to the next person in line and gave him a similar treatment, fists impacting his stomach and face I'm rapid succession before he fell too. The third one actually managed to get a swing in, though Scootaloo just ducked under it to deliver a deviating blow into his liver. Robert and a fourth man backed off from the table, dumbstruck at what had just happened.

“I'd say you fight like a bunch of small girls but that'd be an insult to small girls,” Scootaloo smirked with a predatory grin. The rest of Robert's group got up to join in the brawl but before things could escalate further NAPD officers came rushing into the bar.

“New Alexandria police! Stand down!”

Well, horseapples.

Author's Note

Next up Sunset will get some love again while the crusaders recover. :twilightsmile:

Remember that comments are like authors' food, we gain energy from them. Constructive criticism is welcome.

Chapter 15

Aut viam inveniam aut faciam
I shall either find a way or make one.

I rolled my eyes as I read over the report on my tablet as I walked over the base. Scootaloo was sitting somewhere in the brig for getting into a fight with some civilians, I could’ve stuck my neck out for her but, to be honest, I didn’t really feel like it. She probably wasn’t even that concerned with her situation anyway.

Plus I had other concerns at the moment.

Doctor Halsey had sent an encrypted message to me with instructions to return to castle base. Not much on why exactly but considering what I’d worked on before it was most likely classified into high hell.

Pelicans were being loaded all around as I got to the landing areas, all except one belonging to the marine corps but one was a dark grey one without markings.

“Doctor Shimmer?”

“Around here it’s sergeant, not am I a doctor in the first place,” Sunset replied as she approached a man waiting outside of the pelican.

“Of course. Please take a seat, we’ll be going soon.”

I strapped myself into one of the seats and waited, three others joining me in the transport before we took off. I’d have made small talk with the others if they weren’t most likely ONI spooks, she didn’t particularly want to rub any one of them in the wrong way.

I wonder what Halsey has me coming in for... Might it have something to do with that horrid experiment she made me work out?

I shivered at the thought and banished it to the back of my mind as the pelican soared towards the underground base. The pelican eventually set back down inside the facility, the door opening up and letting us go out own ways. A man in a lab coat was waiting for me at the bottom of the ramp.

“Miss Shimmer, please follow me,” he said, leading me past various checkpoints to get deeper into the base.

“Sooo, we haven’t met. What’s your name?”

“We’ll be at Doctor Halsey soon,” the guy answered, shooting down any form of conversation we could have had right then and there.

“Riighhht, ok...” I sighed, going along with him down an elevator to one of the lower levels. A couple of the guards in the hallways reminded us not the be too curious about some of the things we’d pass in there. Not that it stopped me from glancing in on some rooms and spotting things like disassembled Covenant weapons. Somewhere near the end we entered a medical laboratory where Halsey was waiting in front of a holoscreen with a large privacy screen behind it.

“Your ‘trainee’, Doctor.”

Halsey turned to glance at me before refocussing on her work. “Thank you. You can go.” The man moved off, closing the door to the room behind him.

“What’s going on Doctor? I am in the middle of my project, which I’m sure you are keeping a close eye on as well,” I asked stepping up to look over the hologram with information, frowning as I recognised the data on there.

That’s my work... is she working on that child from the data she gave me?

“I am quite aware Shimmer. I just thought you’d be interested in what we found here,” Halsey answered, turning the privacy screen in front of us transparant and revealing an operating table with a cry-pod that was de-thawing. My eyes widened at the large female that lay inside of the pod, surgical scars clearly visible all over her body. “Your thaumic detector was giving off readings when we pointed it at her.”

I shook my head to stop myself from staring at the female. “Pardon me?”

“My subject has your ‘magic’” Halsey re-itterated again, the pod opened up as the surgical machines kicking to life and starting to operate to my discomfort. “It also changes the scope of your little project, I’ve arranged for proper housing on another base where you can focus more on your particular training.”

“Wait, what? Miska’s training isn’t done yet and I can’t take that over?!” I exclaimed.

“That will be taken care of. Your job will be purely training and research from this point on,” Halsey said as she sent instructions to the surgical machines, liquids flowing through tubes into the girl on the table. I wanted to protest against Halsey’s interference with my work but thinking about it for two more seconds was all I needed to relize it wouldn’t matter anyway, the doctor had way more clout than I could ever muster within ONI.

The girl on the table then suddenly shot up from the table and jumped off of it. She gasped for air as she looked around, her movements seemed erradic as if she had never learned how to use her body.

I guess that might well be right...

“Maria, you need to calm down,” Halsey spoke, the girl snapping towards where the sound came from. “You’ve been under for a while, please get back on the table.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Maria answered, calming down immediately and laying back down on the table obediently while the machines continued their work. I observed the little interaction in awe, the girl hadn’t even questioned Halsey’s order for the fraction of a second. “Doctor Halsey, where am I? Where are the others?”

“You’re inside Castle Base, your body did not take the initial augmentation well so you’ve been in ice while we searched for a way to resussitate you... an opportunity granted to me by miss Shimmer here.” Halsey dropped the privacy screen completely, allowing Maria to see them as well. The girl shot me a genuine and warm smile but for some reason it still sent a shiver up my spine.

“Thank you,” she simply said before looking back over to Halsey. “How long?”

“A little over two years,” Halsey answered. “The procedure is done, but there’s another additional piece of information miss Shimmer here will inform you of. I need to turn my attention to other projects for a moment, I will send some people in half an hour and visit later.”

Maria sat up right on the operating table as Halsey left us alone, letting the privacy screen open up as she left. I awkwardly just stood there as Maria looked at me expectedly.

“You had something to brief me on, sergeant?” Maria asked, taking the initiative as I didn’t.

“Oh, right, uhm... There’s something I need to do check Doctor Halsey’s readings. May I?” Maria nodded, allowing me to get close and try to get a reading. Pushing magic into my hands a faint glow started to light up around them just as my eyes started to glow as well...

I was face down on the floor with an arm twisted behind my back before I realized what happened.

“What was that?” Maria had a knee planted firmly on my upper back to pin me onto the floor, her tone of voice was completely neutral without any trace of emotion.

“Thaumic scanning field,” I choked out, air pressed from my lungs. “There’s something real special about you, something I’ve only found in one other human.”

“One other human?”

“Yes, she-”

“You don’t count yourself as human?” Maria cut me off, now there was a hint of confusion in her voice. I knew I was supposed to keep my origin a secret but that wasn’t really my first priority at that moment.

“No, I’m not.”

Maria remained on my back incomplete silence but I could feel her eyes piercing the back of my head. Slowly but surely the pressure on me released, allowing me to get a good breath of air. “Explain.”

“I’m an interdimentional traveler, I’m here by accident and am helping out with the war effort until I find a way back,” I told her, Maria only gave me a sceptical look.

“Let’s just say I believe you, what was that glow from your hands and eyes?”

“Magic.”

“Bullshit.”

“You can do it too.”

Maria wanted to say something else but paused, a slight glimmer in her eyes. “Prove it.”

I carefully raised my hands again, pushing in my magic to get a feel for Maria’s magic. The tall woman didn’t floor me this time and allow me to thoroughly scan her for a wellspring.

Wow... I can even feel the heat from her affinity...

“Maria, hold out your arms and don’t panic.” Pulling on Maria’s magic I routed it to her hands, flames coming to life between her fingers. It spoke volumes of the disipline the girl had that she didn’t recoil at the sight of the flames as I let go of her magic to do its own thing. The fire lasted for a bit longer before dying down without any magic actively feeding it due to Maria not being able to control her own magic. “My job is to teach you how to do that and much more.”

“Alright, just one more thing... What war effort?”

Snow crunched below my boots as I carried along my duffle bag filled with my gear over the base we’d arrived at. Other than the urgent orders to report to New Alexandria’s spaceport for transport we’d heard virtually nothing. Bloom was further up ahead and talking to a superior, Scootaloo lugging around her duffle bag as extra baggage.

“Think I pissed them off a bit too much this time?” Scootaloo asked as we waited for Apple Bloom to come tell us what was going on.

“Nah, you did way worse on Harvest,” I shrugged, shivering slightly as the cold was seeping through my clothes.

“This is Reach though, they care a heck of a lot more about security here,” Ana countered. “This would be the perfect place to ditch disobedient soldiers until they can be shipped off planet.”

“Or it’s the perfect place to hide a classified program.” We turned to see Sunset approach us with winter clothes on. Apple Bloom joined as well as she got done getting the information she needed. “I’ll tell you more when you get settled in, follow me.”

“So ya still struttin’ around as a sarge, Shimmer?” Apple bloom asked as we entered one of the compounds, hot air washing over us as we entered.

“They were all the clothes I had on short notice, I’ll get new stuff soon and you’ll have to call me agent Shimmer from then on,” she smirked, showing us a bunk room with six beds, one noticably larger than the other five.

“So what is the deal with pulling us off leave?” I asked, picking one of the beds and tossing my stuff onto it.

“Well, to start this off, anything discussed and experienced on this base are highly classified. Talk of anything you saw here and you’ll be tried under treason, looking at you specifically Scootaloo.”

Scootaloo backed off a bit, holding up her hands defensively "Whoa there, I'm not that stupid. Won't hear anything of me."

"Good, now to what you're doing here. As you know, I've been working with a human who's been magically sensitive for a while now. Recently we found another one who was as well and... let's just say it's a, uhm, sensitive matter. Higher ups decided to move anyone who is found with magical abilities to this place and train them up to become part of a specialized unit."

"I take that I'm the exeption here then?" Ana asked.

"You and Apple Bloom actually, they don't see super strength as a massive tactical advantage in comparison to being able to summon a flamethrower from your hands," Sunset pointed out.

"Fair enough, though the fact we're here means we won't be sitting still I take?" Ana continued as she unpacked her stuff and started to store things away into the locker next to the bed.

"Probably, I don't know what though. My focus will be on training Sweetie, Miska, and Maria."

"Maria huh? We gonna meet her soon then?" Apple Bloom asked, someone cleared her throat in the door opening in response. A lady that stood at least a head above all of us stepped in, a patch I didn't recognize of an eagle clutching three arrows and a lightning bolt on her shoulders. The Chief petty officer stripes I did recognized though, every one of us except Sunset jumped to attention as the lady passed.

"At ease," she told us as she claimed the large bed.

"This is Maria, girls," Sunset said while we were just looking at the tall ball of muscles in awe.

"Damn, you're tall," Scootaloo just blurted out, "What unit are you from?"

"Classified."

"They're authorized," Sunset informed Maria who gave her a nod in understanding.

"Special Proficiency Assault Recon and Tactics Augmented Nonconventional force, SPARTAN force in short," she said, turning and starting to put her stuff into her locker like we'd been doing only way faster.

"I've got things to do and prepare for later, I expect you and Maria to be ready in an hour for lessons though," Sunset said, looking at me.

"Understood, agent Shimmer."

Sunset left us alone to get settled in but every one of us couldn't help but be drawn to Maria as she finished storing her gear and took a seat at the table near the window at the back of the room to look outside.

"So, did you get pulled away from a deployment, Maria?" I asked while changing up clothes that were more suitable to attend Sunset's lesson in.

"No, we just finished training," she curtly answered, not even moving her sight from the window.

"Never seen any real action then? They just picked rookies for some highly classified unit?" Scootaloo questioned, undoing the straps of her armor, presumably to get her wings out.

"We were trained with live ammo," Maria answered with as few words possible again.

"Ya ain't much of a talker, aren't ya?" Apple Bloom chuckled, Maria turned to respond but stopped at Scootaloo as she spread her wings to their full length.

"What? Did you think you're the only special person here?" Scootaloo smirked, starting to preen out some of the broken feathers.

"You come from the place agent Shimmer came from?" Maria asked, her interest piqued.

"Ya know 'bout that? Or did she just give ya the short of it?" Apple Bloom asked as she took a seat across from Maria.

"She informed me, though I wasn't briefed on the four of you," the Spartan admitted. "I take only the corporal over there is able to do 'magic' since she and I are the only ones going to see Shimmer?"

"Only ones to use active magic. There's another person who can but she isn't here," I nodded.

"That doesn't mean the rest of us ain't got somethin' special 'bout us," Bloom grinned, propping her remaining arm on the table as a challange to Maria.

The Spartan looked but hesitated, "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Come on! You're not a chicken, right?" Scootaloo cheekilly poked at Maria who took the challenge but still didn't look too sure. The two of them started applying strength to each others arm to try and push it towards the table, at first Bloom lost some ground but soon the earthpony strength in her started to show as she struggled back to a neutral position.

"I'll be damned. Come on Maria, don't let Bloom win that easilly!" Scootaloo cheered as she relized this was a way more even contest than she'd thought it would be, Bloom had beaten her with ease on many occasions.

"Good... ta hear... which side yer on..." Apple Bloom grunted as she pushed Maria's arm further towards the table. The Spartan though had yet to commit fully, bracing herself she faught herself to neutral and reversed the situation. Bloom's arm slowly got pushed down to the table, she did everything to delay the inevitable but eventually her arm hit the desk to Scootaloo's delight.

"Darn, yer strong girl," Apple Bloom panted as she massaged her arm with her prostetic one.

"Not bad yourself, sergeant," Maria said, slightly impressed that she didn't just crush Bloom immediately. "I was afraid I'd break the bones in your arm."

Bloom laughed for a moment, "Ah've got strong bones, if Ah didn't this arm probably wouldn't have been the only thing blown off."

"Glad that didn't happen, I can't fix bits and pieces," Scootaloo smirked, slapping Apple Bloom on the back with her wing.

Maria actually had the glimmer of a smile on her lips, "Say, if we get the time, want me to show you four some shooting tips?"

I lauged in response, "Pretty confident there, want to bet I out shoot you on the range with my long gun?"

"I'll take that bet," Maria said, holding out her hand for me to shake.

"Deal."

Author's Note

I'm not dead! :twilightsheepish:

Remember that comments are like authors' food, we gain energy from them. Constructive criticism is welcome.

Chapter 16

There's no reason to thank us because we don't exist.
You never saw us.
This never happened.

"They back yet?" I asked Bloom as we looked over the edge of the massive pine forest that lay next to the base we were stationed on. Sweetie and Maria had left into the wild with only their rifles, which had been set up with non-lethal rounds, and a day of food to see who was the better sniper from the two. Maria had initially offered Sweetie the full use of her ODST battle armor so some of the advantages Maria would have would be equalized but Sweetie wouldn't hear of it.

"Eenope," Apple Bloom answered. "No-one has even heard a single shot either."

"Damn, how long can they keep at it. They didn't have a lot of supplies with them when they left."

"Dunno, they might just be working on nothin'. After three days they can't have much left of that pack of rations," Bloom shrugged, "We'll see when they-"

A distant shot echoed through the woods, some birds flying up from the trees in the distance.

"Guess their game of cat and mouse is over then. I wonder who won," I chuckled.

"Dunno, must have been a mighty complicated match of cat 'n mouse if they were out there fer three days," Apple Bloom shrugged as she turned to walk back into the base. "We'll know more when they get back which could take a couple hours. Ah need ta get back to the doctors so Ah'll see y'all later."

I stopped Bloom before she could get away from me by placing a hand on her shoulder. "Look, Bloom, you've been seeing those docs for days now, what is going on?"

"Ya know Ah can't say everything Scoots," Apple Bloom sighed, pushing away my arm and getting on her way but I wasn't going to leave it at that and followed.

"Come on Bloom, we're gonna be working together anyway. Can you really not let anything slip?"

She sighed and stopped to address me. "Look, Ah don't know what they need all this stuff fer either. All Ah know is that someone let it leak that Ah got darn close beatin' Maria in a strength contest, from what Ah understand Ah'm not that far off from her on the strength and durability department." From the look on Bloom's face it wasn't hard to figure out she was holding back information, it wasn't as bad as it used to be but not being able to lie seemed to run in the family.

"And?"

"They upgraded mah neural link," Apple Bloom grumbled. "Ah honestly don't know why but Ah've had ta deal with that Doctor Halsey on multiple occasions and Ah'm pretty sure this is all her doin'."

"Oh," I simply said, understanding now why Apple Bloom would be reluctant to say anything. "I'll leave you to it then, I've got a package to open myself."

"Ah'll take that you'll fill us in on what is in that package tonight?" Apple Bloom smirked.

"You know me, wouldn't be able to hide it anyway," I chuckled back.

"That's why we leave you out of the loop on some things. Later Scoots!" Apple Bloom ran off to make up for some of the time she lost, leaving me out in the snow.

Wait, they leave me out of some briefings? And how is Bloom able to keep that a secret from me... Oh darnit, I'm so going to get Sweetie to spill the beans on me.

Leaving the issue for now I headed over to the storage hangar I had been told the stuff had arrived in, clearing myself with the guards in front of the building and waiting for them to get the stuff that had come in for me. To the credit of the staff there none even batted an eye at the wings sticking out of my back, on Harvest when someone spotted them they'd at least give me surprised or suspicious glances.

They must be used to seeing things they aren't supposed to talk about.

The staff handed over two boxes to me and asked me to sign some papers before I was off to the armoury where I soon arrived. Heading for our personal locker room there I got out my old set of ODST armour that had been modified for my wings and laid it out on the table. The next step was to open up the cases and pull out their contents, the first thing out of the boxes was a new undersuit for the armour, properly made to vacuum seal around the base of my wings. The second thing I pulled out was an appropriate back armour plate better matched than the previous one as a replacement.

"Much lighter as well..." I muttered as I got all the replacement parts out of the box, tossing the now redundant parts to the side. The main chest plate drew my attention though as in the middle of the main plate where previously the ONI logo had been a new insignia sat. The black eagle logo that we'd come to know as the Spartan insignia, only instead of holding a lightning bolt and three arrows in its claws it held a red ODST skull and staff of sorts with a large red dagger in the background. There was no additional information in the box about it so I'd have to ask about it later but I thought it safe to assume it would likely be the insignia for our newly created unit.

Getting all the parts I started to don the suit, quickly pulling on all the parts and adjusting them to fit perfectly before testing out how well I could move around in the new plates. The weight was much less than the old stuff which would work in my favour when in flight. The final piece of the suit was my helmet, it wasn't visually any different to my other helmet but the HUD was completely something else... There were altimeters, an artificial horizon, and all sorts of doodahs that would make navigating in the air much easier.

"Hell yeah! This is so cool!" I squealed, quickly packing all the old stuff into the empty boxes and shoving them into my locker.

Only one way to test this out.

Running outside I spread my wings and took oof into the air, gusts of wind beating against my insulated suit as I soared between buildings. In all of the two years of us being here I'd never been as free to fly as I was now, no-one to really worry about right here as I landed on the roof of one of the buildings on the compound and looked over the forest where Maria and Sweetie were still located somewhere.

I should check out if the IFF system works on this thing, wouldn't be too hard to find those two...

Tapping some buttons on the pad built into one of my gauntlets I managed to get a signal coming from the forest nearly twenty clicks out. After marking the spot I opened my wings and hopped the large fence the lay around the base and flew into the forest, they wouldn't mind that too much, would they? Trees passed at speed below as my wings burned from exertion, I tried keeping them in shape but prolonged flight would be the only way to really get them into the shape I'd need them to be.

And that's exactly what I'm planning on doing when we really start getting into our training. We'd also have to rethink all sorts of tactics we could use now we'll have access to both magic and flight...

The IFF system now picked up two district signatures in the trees below as I circled the trees to see if I could find a clearing, finding none in the nearby area.

Ah whatever, what are a bunch of trees going to do to me...

Apparently a lot.

Branches broke as I smashed through the canopy onto the ground below, the snow cushioning my fall a bit but not by much.

"Nice of you to drop in," I could hear Sweetie say cheekily as I lay face down in the snow.

"You should work on your landings, corporal," Maria added with a hint of mirth, showing significantly more emotion than when we first met her already but still sounding serious.

"Will do," I groaned getting off the ground and taking off my helmet. Getting a good look at Sweetie and Maria showed something remarkable in the form of a paint splatter against the side of the Spartan's head. "Wait, you actually lost Maria?"

"Sweetie is better then I anticipated," Maria admitted.

"Not like you were bad though, there were some moments I was sure I'd made a fatal mistake. I'm pretty sure if we did this again the results may be reversed," Sweetie humbly accepted the praise. The two snipers started walking again with me tagging along. "By the way, those look like new parts. did you get an upgrade again?"

"Yeah, most of this stuff is way lighter than ODST BDU is. It also has integrated flight systems in the HUD." I passed the helmet over to Sweetie who took a look before passing it to Maria to look as well.

"This will be useful, we'll have to figure out how we can effectively use your ability of course but being able to hop buildings will make you a valuable scout," Maria said as she finished checking out the helmet.

"As long as the warzone isn't too active for sure, and I'm sure as hell quieter than a bunch of ODST's with jetpacks so it'll be fairly stealthy too," Scootaloo grinned. "Sooo, do you two have any custom stuff in the works?"

I couldn't help but sigh as I jogged away from Scootaloo as my pegasus friend couldn't help but pry into everyone's business. I loved her for it but the fact I had trouble lying did not always make conversation easier. Of course they weren't direct lies but that didn't mean I'd been omitting some facts. Yes, I'd been visiting with doctor Halsey but we hadn't just been doing simple tests. At first they may have been but very quickly it had gone from tests to treatment, cocktails of body altering drugs being introduced into my body, and then at last the upgrading of the neural link.

It was all culminating into something and I'd yet to figure out what that was.

That said though, I hadn't a single doubt Sunset had been involved. She'd been present each time the doctor introduced new drugs, her expression usually neutral except for one time. Something hadn't gone completely right that one time, they had injected me with some stuff for my muscles and it burned.

It burned so badly...

Not that I was told that anything had gone critically wrong, they had said the possibility of this side effect was there but they'd had it under control. Sunset's guilty expression afterwards though told me there had been something more going on.

I put the thought of the two days I'd been out of commission out of my mind for now, picking up the pace to make it to the lab for whatever Halsey cooked up this time. As I entered the lab I found Sunset in a heated conversation with Dr Halsey.

“We've been taking risks all this time but this is just crazy!” Shimmer exclaimed, though Halsey didn't seem phased the least.

“Without risks there are no rewards. You have helped me adjust the procedure and you know we are currently not able to make the procedure safer in the timeframe we have been given,” Halsey argued back, her eyes falling on me. “The point is moot. If you are not going to help you are dismissed, Sunset.”

The former unicorn gritted her teeth. “You'll get my help, doctor.”

“Y'all good?” I asked, not sure what I'd just witnessed.

“We are, sergeant, just a professional disagreement. Have you followed our instructions?” Halsey asked as she motioned for both of us to follow.

“Aye. No food fee a full day, just water,” I replied, “Something 'bout surgery.”

“Yes. Miss Shimmer and I have been introducing weakened enhancement drugs to increase your body's already quite impressive durability. I'm sure you've noticed the enhanced strength and improved eyesight,” Halsey went on to explain as we arrived in a room meant for surgical procedures, machines softly humming next to the centrally located bed. The surgery to upgrade the neural link had also been done in this place.

She's right, Ah have... Though why do I get the feeling what they've cooked up now is much worse than that previous surgery...

“Though we are from a different reality, the majority of our being is still human due to the way the mirror does conversions between dimensions,” Sunset spoke up as I laid face down on the bed. “This is why human medical treatment is effective on us too. It's simply that we really are mostly human.”

“So whatcha tryin' to say?”

“We are going to put you under and allow the surgical machine to carry out an operation that will coat your bones with a ceramic structure and adjust your neural fibres to increase performance.”

That got me to stop laying down. “Hold up right there, how extensive is this procedure yer intending to do?”

“It is a similar process to what Maria went through, though the augmentation cocktails we have administered up until now have only been weak variants. This procedure though cannot be administered over various surgeries, it has to be done in one go,” Halsey explained, rather annoyed that I hadn't laid down yet.

“The chances of survival without consequences aren't great,” Sunset grimaced, she received a glare for letting that slip.

“How bad?”

“Odds have increased as we've adjusted the procedure from last time,” Halsey replied, but that wasn't an answer to my question.

“How bad?”

“Fourty percent chance of death or maiming,” Sunset answered where Halsey did not. I let out a breath as the number hit home.

“Shimmer please leav-”

“And Maria went through it too when it was more dangerous?” I cut off the doctor.

“Yes.”

Steeling my nerves, I laid down on the bed, sparing a last glance at Sunset who was looking at me with a terrified expression that I was actually going through with it.

“Get started before Ah change my mind.”

Halsey didn't hesitate a second, putting a mask over my face that'd administer a gas that'd put me into an artificial coma. My sight already began to get blurry as I felt both her and Shimmer strapping my arms to the bed. Before I went out like a light I could hear Sunset whisper into my ear.

“I'm sorry.”

Everything burned.

My bones felt like they'd been crushed into dust.

The pain, even sedated, was so vivid it was beyond anything I could properly describe. I was sure I was going to die on that operating table. The scars where my skin had been opened up were still plainly visible, the red streaks covering my body in the same pattern as the one I'd seen on Maria's body. The fact she'd also endured the suffering that I'd been through gave me new respect for the lady, something I think she had for me as well.

Controlling my body after the procedure was extremely hard, I had to pretty much re-learn how to move all from nothing. At first sluggishly but quickly getting better up to the point where my reflexes were rivalling Scootaloo's. A funny side effect that Maria had told me she experienced as well was that the world seemed to be going by in slow motion when I got really focussed. A side effect Halsey told us every SPARTAN had from that particular augmentation.

“Doctor, are there any other surgeries slated?” I asked as Maria and I stood at rest in the laboratory, the two of us having been summoned by Halsey.

“No, every augmentation we could do on your body has been made. You are here because of the second half of the SPARTAN program,” Halsey said, browsing on a tablet as she motioned to walk with her deeper into the lab with her.

“Ah'm sorry but what? Ah ain't a SPARTAN as you know,” I questioned.

“Yes I am quite aware, sergeant, but your 'natural' durability in combination with the augmentions we have been doing over the last two weeks qualify you for phase two of that project.” Halsey walked into a room I had not entered yet and turned on the lights. I think I actually saw Maria miss a step as she too saw the two green suits of armour standing there. One tall one and another short, clearly differing from the ODST bdu. “This is Mjolnir. The original production facility has been turned into rubble but these suits were what were reserved for Spartans that successfully finished the augmentation process.”

“So why is there a version in the sergeant's size then?” Maria questioned, something I also wanted to ask. They may have been injecting me with a whole lot of stuff but I sure as hell hadn't grown to the same height as Maria who still stood a good head above me.

“Initial testing of the suits was done with regular humans. The results were... Unsatisfactory.” Halsey brought up a video of a previous test. A human was inside the smaller suit and carefully moving around an arm, only for it to suddenly snap. The man thrashed about for a few seconds before falling limp after a series of sickening cracks. “The regular human body can't handle the stress the strength enhancing properties of the undersuit.”

“And we can?” I asked with wide eyes, pulling my eyes away from the paused video feed.

“Provably so,” Halsey nodded, bringing up another video of a group of thirty or so Spartans trying on the suits and actually being able to move around in them.

“Is that everyone who survived?”

“No, only those who were not adversely affected.”

If my ability to perceive the world hadn't changed I likely wouldn't have been able to pick up on the subtle change in Maria's body language. Her muscles tightening ever so slightly. She too pulled her gaze moving off of the screen too towards the suits, stepping forward to inspect her own. “You said it enhances strength?”

“Among other things. A full list of features will be provided and you will train to get accustomed to all of them.” a small team of assistants came in from behind us, ready to assist in putting on the suit.

“Well let's get to it. Ah didn't go through what I did the last two weeks ta chicken out now,” I said, walking up to the suit and checking it out from up close. The part of the team off assistants immediately came to help me out, first with the undersuit and then by attaching all the armour plates. Maria was similarly being helped into her version of the suit. My ears popped as the helmet was put in placed and the suit closed itself off to create an internal atmosphere.

“Now the moment this gets turned on we cannot just turn it back off again.”

“And if mah body ain't strong enough Ah'm gonna snap every bone in my body. Got it.” I said with a sigh, seeing the man thrashing about before dying in my mind. “But Ah think it's a bit late to back out now anyhow.”

“It is,” Halsey confirmed, signalling to activate the suit. There was no sound as it activated, only that the HUD in the helmet sprung alive. “Now be very careful, just move slowly to get used to the assisted movement.”

Swallowing nervously I slowly moved my head to the right to look at Maria, feeling the undersuit applying pressure to help with the movement. The Spartan was carefully lifting her arm and moving her fingers experimentally. Taking my ques from her, I too went ahead and tried out moving my limbs, finding it remarkably easy for all the weight attached to me in the form of heavy titanium plates.

“This feels mighty strange,” I stated as I took a tentative step, not taking Long before walking around more normally, my movements increasing in speed as I gained more confidence in the tech.

“If you wish the training obstacles at the training field outside have been constructed with fully armoured Spartans in mind. You may head over there to test the performance of the suits. My people will check and make tweaks to improve the suits reaction time as you do.”

“Sounds like a plan.” I turned to Maria with a smirk on my face, taking a page from Scootaloo's book. “Race ya there.”

Author's Note

Still not dead! Just really busy.

I want to start finishing a whole bunch of stories so I'll probably be picking up daily writing again for every story I've got going. This one will get more love too du to that. :raritywink:

Chapter 17

It's not over when you lose,
it's over when you quit.

“So how do you take a dump in that stuff?”

I facepalmed as Scootaloo’s asked the question, Apple Bloom also rubbed her head as she was pretty much done answering all the benign questions our pegasus friend had been asking.

“Trust me, ya don’t wanna know,” Bloom replied, placing her armoured hands on her new helmet. She’d explained the suit wouldn’t be coming off idly, she’d essentially be in it until technicians helped her get out of the stuff again. Maria too was in a set of the stuff, Mjolnir they’d called it.

“Any chance we get that stuff too?”

That drew a laugh from Apple Bloom. “Ah was an exception, mah body was already stronger than normal humans. The augmentations doctor Halsey had to do weren’t the full deal Maria got. Only the spinal surgery and the bone-strengthening stuff are the same.”

“Wait, seriously, you had spinal surgery? Jeez, no wonder that you were so clumsy all of a sudden that while back,” Scootaloo exclaimed. We’d seen Apple Bloom stumble about a week back after a particularly long session with the doctor but she hadn’t talked for days and when asked she refused to tell what had happened. Must have been a fairly horrid experience for that to be the case.

“Do the three of you really share this much?” Maria suddenly spoke up, asking one of her rare questions as usually she just stayed quiet.

“Well yeah, most stuff at least, they might not be family by blood but the three of us are as close as can be,” Apple Bloom replied. “Ah know you know what that’s like, sometimes what you go through together will forge the strongest bonds.”

“I guess so...” Maria returned to looking out of the window.

“Ya miss them?” Bloom pushed, having probably seen and heard more while she was at her appointments with Halsey. I watched with interest as Maria turned back to look at Bloom.

“It was an inevitability. We were always going to split up.”

“Don’t mean ya can’t miss them,” Apple Bloom argued back.

“What are you trying to achieve here, sergeant?” Maria replied, actually sounding... annoyed?”

“Ta get ya to show some feelings.” Apple Bloom bluntly stated. “Ya may be an absolute badass, but at some point yer gonna run into them. So let me ask again, ya miss yer family?”

Maria hesitated. I couldn’t help but look between the two power armoured individuals in the room as the Spartan wasn’t acting as she usually did.

“I... Wouldn’t be opposed to cooperate with some of them on a mission,” Maria eventually said, I was sure Bloom would push again as that wasn’t really what I thought she was going for but she didn’t.

“Ah’m sure if we prove we can get the job done we’ll get that opportunity.”

“Talking about proving ourselves, I’ve been wondering when we’re picking up joined exercises. We’ve been getting individual upgrades but those count for squat if we can’t work together like an oiled machine.

“Expect exercises to start within the week. A company of ODST’s is being detached to act as opponents for us, Chimaera squad,” Maria informed us.

“That what they callin’ us now?” Apple Bloom asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It is a reference to old mythology, Chimaera’s are creatures that-”

“Mix match of animals, triplet of heads, that kind of stuff?” Apple Bloom cut off the Spartan. “We have ‘em back at home. Rather nasty things.”

Maria at least had the decency to look surprised, eyes widening. “That’s... very interesting.”

“There’s a remarkable amount of similarities between your mythology and our world. For which I’m sure there’s reasons that scientists will be very interested in figuring out when they get access to our world,” I added, getting up and opening my locker. I took out the spell book we were creating with Sunset as we’d have another lesson soon. “We should be going, don’t want to be late for the magic lesson.”

“Mind if I come and watch? I heard you girls have been having some intense lessons lately,” Scootaloo asked. “I’ve got my flight pretty well down anyhow, it’s mostly just figuring out the most effective tactics now.”

I shrugged. “No objection here.”

“I’m not against studying squadmates’ abilities,” Maria stated with a shrug.

I snorted in amusement. “I think she just wants to be there to catch the fireworks, Maria.”

“Hey, I was going to study your abilities very closely!” Scootaloo protested, though the grin on her face gave away very clearly that I was right.

“Anyhow, Sweetie is right about us needing to leave. We shall see each other in two hours.” she stood up, got her own spellbook, and donned her helmet. With large strides she walked out of the room, rolling my eyes I jogged after her and could hear Scootaloo lazily trailing behind us.

“So, will that other girl that had magic be joining too? I haven’t seen her in a while.” Scootaloo asked as she lazily flew alongside me.

“I’m afraid not, she’s good but not ODST levels of good physically. She’s working on getting a much more theoretical understanding of magic from what I gather from Sunset.” I replied as Scootaloo brought up Miska. “ONI having a natural-born human as a magic expert is probably something they wanted.”

“Huh, I sort of liked her. Oh well.” Scootaloo came to a halt as we had to enter the large gym that had been converted into an arena for us to train in. Sunset was sitting in the middle of the room, legs crossed and eyes closed.

“Halt.”

We stopped when we were at about the halfway point when Sunset raised a hand gesturing for us to do so. Her voice reverberated strangely, distorted somewhat and tinged with magic. Scootaloo had flown far up to the stands overlooking the entire field, getting out of our training space altogether.

“We’ve been practising spells and improving your mana pools over the last few weeks, but we’ve yet to test those under duress.” She opened her eyes, they were flowing with stored magical power, the spellbook in both my, and Maria’s hands disappearing in a flash of teleportation. “Your task is simple. Touch me.”

A wave of fore launched out from Sunset, knocking me into the air and even toppled Maria, though the Spartan was back on her feet within a fraction of a second. The green mass of Mjolnir flying across the area at incredible speed in an attempt to touch Sunset. I myself wasn’t as aggressive in my approach, not having the advantage of power armour I’d have to rely more on my magic abilities. Which, of course, was exactly what Sunset wanted to achieve.

Right before Maria could press her hand up against Sunset, a wall of flame sprung up in front of our teacher. The Spartan rushed through it but didn’t find anything other than empty air as the flames dissipated.

“I fear your superior physical abilities will not help you here, Spartan,” Sunset mocked as I spun around to find her standing only a short distance behind me. I would have made an attempt to touch her, as that was the objective, were it not for the spell she was building on the tips of her fingers.

Pushing magic into my own limb, I balled my fingers and uppercutted the air in front of me, Raising a directional shield just in time for it to be bathed in flames. The air shimmered from the heat, becoming uncomfortably hot.

Sweet Celestia, she’s not holding back at all, is she?

The flames stopped as Maria came charging in again, forcing Sunset to teleport away. A drop of sweat rolled over my face from putting up the shield and the intensity of the fire blast.

“Maria, we’re not going to get her purely by physical means,” I said as the Spartan took pause. Sunset was slowly pacing on the other end of the arena, watching the two of us expectantly.

“So I’ve noticed,” The Spartan replied, her hands aglow with her own magic.

“I think she overcharged herself, she was meditating when we entered,” I commented, the glowing eyes indicating that she was wielding an incredible amount of magic. Not without danger of course, having charged up like that could have disastrous consequences if she lost control, though it gave Sunset a massive advantage over the two of us now.

“So we have to stop her from teleporting. You have a better grasp on suppression fields than I do.”

I shook my head. “She’s powered up right now, if I did that the backlash-”

A fireball forced the two to dive out of the way in opposite directions. The explosion sending a wave of heat over them.

“Whittle her down, death by a thousand cuts!” I called out to Maria, she was smart enough to understand my intention. The buzzing and cracking of electricity starting immediately as arcs of lightning were flung towards our teacher, Maria’s affinity for it allowing her to cast it with much more ease. Sunset though caught it with two fingers, guiding it through her core, before releasing it back towards the two of us.

Taking a more proactive stance now, I grabbed a hold of the ground with my magic, raising two walls of rock in front of both me and the Spartan. The lightning blew a hole into the front face of the stone, draining much less of my mana than direct shielding. I’d have to remember that move as it would probably work with plasma weaponry too.

Having only run defence until now I decided it was time to do some offence instead. Breaking off the two slabs of concrete that I’d used to shield us, I threw it at Sunset who blew them apart with two massive fireballs. Not being deterred I grabbed a hold of the entirety of the ground around me, straining myself severely as I pulled massive, jagged, spikes from the ground. Each time one appeared Sunset blew it apart with a blast of fire, slowly advancing on me, only to be forced to teleport as Maria came charging in from the side.

The entire arena’s floor was messed up, jagged spikes of rock all over the place and deep gashes in the ground. I was panting heavily as my arms burned from the amount of magic I’d channelled through them, it was way past what the regular pony back in Equestria was capable of and really only Sunset’s pointers and exercises had raised my wellspring this significantly.

“Just... how much... magic did she... store up?” I panted as Sunset didn’t even seem winded, the other human showing just why she’d been Princess Celestia’s student.

“Too much,” Maria replied, “Those teleports should be taking more out of her. She must have set up prior anchors.”

“Makes sense, she would have had time to prepare.” A fireball nearly interrupted our quick deliberation but was stopped by a hastily thrown up barrier of rock.

“I’ll get her to teleport around. Look for patterns.” Maria charged off again, closing the gap with Sunset again, making her teleport before the Spartan could get close enough. This time though I was watching as Sunset appeared across the arena, noting the location as Maria forced another teleport with her charge.

Two anchor points...

Another flash to a third location.

Three...

Sunset seemed to be getting annoyed by our tactic of just charging her, white-hot flames springing up around the place to prevent even the power armoured Spartan from crossing certain areas. Maria didn’t let up though and tossed lightning around to distract Sunset from what I was doing. Having sprinted over to the closest place Sunset had teleported to before I went and tried sensing for magical anomalies, very quickly finding one of Sunset’s artificial magic crystals embedded in the concrete.

Gotcha!

Pocketing the crystal I found Sunset had teleported to one of the other two locations again, having to deflect lightning from Maria again right away. Sprinting over to the other place I suspected an anchor, I came to a skidding halt and scanned the area as I’d done with the previous one. This time I didn’t pull out the crystal though, just placed the first with the second essentially making one anchor out of the two crystals as they led to the same place.

“Get in close!” I called out to Maria who was holding off a barrage of fireballs so intense even the Spartan needed to take cover.

She didn’t complain for a second as she deflected a strike and got in close.

I, meanwhile, created a teleportation-suppression field around me, making sure when Sunset blinked in she couldn’t blink back again, even though that would put her close to Maria again. Ultimately I didn’t need it as Sunset appeared in a fiery flash of light beside me, confused for the briefest of seconds about ending up in the incorrect location. She never got a chance as I grabbed her, tossing her over my body, and pinned her to the ground.

“We win.” I was panting, at the end of my strength as I hovered over Sunset.

“So you have,” Sunset calmly replied. Every fire around the arena was snuffed out instantly, the overwhelming amount of magic still within Sunset flowing out into the ground as she dissipated it from her system. She looked frail as she finished doing so, the inevitable side effect of holding that much magic, and needed my help to get up.

“I take today’s lesson is over then?” Maria asked as she approached, even she seemed to be wavering under her armour.

“Y-yeah...” Sunset went into a coughing fit, spitting out a glob of blood. “It’s also the last of our regular lessons. I will update you of any practical findings of course, but I have given you all the basic tools to create your own stuff out there.”

Staff slowly started to enter the arena, some of them gawking at the immense damage the building’s foundations had sustained. Scootaloo also landed beside us, eyes wide and a grin on her face.

“That was awesome! Granted, I had to duck a time or two and the helmet really helped, but damn was that insane!” She made a small loop in the air.

“Also tiring. Very tiring,” Sunset grunted, barely able to stand even with my help. Maria stepped in and picked her up.

“I shall get her to the infirmary, go rest up. There’s a briefing planned later in the evening.”

“Indeed. There are certain things that need discussing...” Sunset grunted. “I’m going to need coffee... a lot of coffee...”

I nodded. "We'll see you there then."

Author's Note

Alright, so as there's no doubt every single one of you has heard about the Afghanistan situation. I usually stay away from real-life events and politics since I believe there should be spaces where you can escape and just have fun and all that stuff is irrelevant. I am going to make an exception on this topic as it hits too close to home for me, if you are not interested that's totally fine and I will happily see you next chapter.

To give some background: No, I am not an active duty service member, not yet anyhow, but the last three years I have been going through military school and running in these circles. Of course this means you get to hear a lot of stories and see plenty of photos from deployments. The good and bad ones.

This last week has not been good. At All.

Everything my instructors, and some close friends, had fought for over there just collapsed in days. Initially, my reaction was a sigh and the thought that this was probably inevitable, but over the last few days leaks, analysis, and just talking to those people that were on the ground close to me, I've come to the conclusion that if leadership had acted even a little competent the situation may have been holdable...

And then that leadership. That SHITSTAIN of a general that has his head screwed backwards with his warped fucking priorities, couldn't even get the order of evacuation right. Also, the evacuation date which was negotiated to be the 1st of May, being broken for what? A RHETORICAL WIN?! DID THEY JUST WANT TO SAY THEY GOT OUT ON 9/11 FOR POLITICAL POINTS?! You gave the Taliban THREE MONTHS EXTRA TO PLAN FOR AN OFFENSIVE AFTER YOU BROKE THE AGREEMENT! And what did you do in that time? Sit on your fucking hands?! And that's not even taking into account that apparently the plans for evacuation that were in place were halted back in JULY.

And then that speech after trying to stay silent... God, my blood is already boiling. Now don't get me wrong, things were said that had to be said like that there's never really a good time to pull out. But to then deflect and say there were no indications anything was going awry? People in intelligence have been reaching out that that's just a bold-faced fucking lie and reports of ANA personnel surrendering in droves.

I should stop here before I blow a gasket. I've seen people close to me suffering because of this, people that lost their brothers in arms for what?

So it all could come crumbling down?

Remember that comments are like authors' food, we gain energy from them. Constructive criticism is welcome.

Chapter 18

War is the remedy our enemies have chosen, and I say let us give them all they want.
-William Tecumseh Sherman

“Ya got ta have something, Twilight! It's been days!” Applejack exclaimed, doing nothing to reduce the headache I'd had for days. I was barely functional as it was, not having slept for... Two days? Maybe three?

“And I've been working tirelessly, Applejack, you know that,” I sighed, rubbing a hoof against my temples as I walked down the hallways of my castle. “You also know I've had to help the guard keeping up the wards on their armour, the storm may be calming down but the timberwolves around the Everfree are still acting erratically.”

I could see Applejack hold back her immediate reply, her posture tense as she wanted to argue further. “Ah know... It's jus' that she's been in there for a week Twilight! What if she an' her friends are in trouble!?”

“They may be troublemakers but I'm sure they managed, Applejack, for all we know they're sleeping over at Sunset's place and waiting for the connection to stabilise,” I argued back, coming to a halt in front of my bedchamber. “And if they aren't, Discord has been getting back some of his powers and I've gotten him to try and detect where exactly they were sent.”

“Never thought Ah'd be relying on that mismatch of bits 'n pieces,” Applejack said with a deep sigh. Gathering the last bit of energy I had left I placed a hoof on my earthpony friend's shoulder.

“We are going to get the three of them back, I already promised that... But I am going to need some sleep. My estimation say we can make an attempt at crossing dimensions in about two days, when I'm ready you and the girls will be the first to know.”

Applejack grabbed a hold of my hoof, pulling me in. “Ah'm holdin' you to that. Now go get some rest, we need yer head clear when ya gonna save our sisters.”

“I will.” Leaving Applejack at the door I walked straight into bed, taking only seconds to fall asleep. My dreams weren't kind to me, images of Apple Bloom being sucked into the portal haunting me. Of course, like I'd told Applejack, there was a possibility that they were at Sunset's place but the combination of the storm and the manner the portal had been acting... I feared the worst.

“Oh, Twiiiliiight!~”

I groaned.

How late is it?

My window blinds were pulled open, light streaming in and blinding me. “Discooooord!”

“Yesss?” the draconequus innocently asked, taking a bite from his teacup. I grunted again as I sat up, the inevitable pounding headache from staying up drilling into my skull.

“What do you want?”

“Pshh, what do I want? What do you want? You wanted me to look into finding those three balls of chaos. Or do you want me to-”

Wait...

“Did you find them?!” I exclaimed, ignoring the pounding in my head for the possibility the draconequus had actually pulled off finding the three fillies.

“Well, no...yes? Maybe? I haven't exactly found them directly, I was sort of busy juggling guinea pigs when-”

“Discord!”

“Right, right, always business with you ponies,” He huffed, “There's an entirely new dimensional cluster attached to ours, timestreams still seem a little wacky right now but I'd make a good bet they're in one of them.”

I let out a relieved breath only for a new wave of anxiety to hit me. That means they are not with Sunset... And different timestreams?!

"Wait, just how wacky?! and is it stabilizing?!" I jumped forward and shook the draconequus in the hope he'd answer faster.

Disappearing in a flash, Discord reappeared above me floating in the air. With nothing holding me back I faceplanted off of the bed. "Hey, I'm not at my maximum power yet! I'm still well below nine thousand! It was just off, don't know how much!"

I rolled my eyes as I rubbed my nose. "Fine, fine," I grumbled, pushing out of my bed chamber and into the hall to find some coffee down in the kitchen. "I'll try to probe out and calculate the difference if you can't do it."

"I left some notes in your lab downstairs," Discord shrugged and snapped his fingers, leaving me alone to suffer my headache alone. Fine by me. I've got enough to do.

"So you found them?!" Rarity asked excitedly, leaning forward onto the map table. Applejack was also leaning forwards as I informed them of my potential lead. It had taken no more than a few hours to find an anomaly in the new cluster of dimensions after I had decyphered Discords childish drawings.

"With a very high likelihood," I answered. "There's a problem though, the timestream of the new cluster of dimensions is off and I cannot figure out by how much."

"What does that mean?" Rainbow asked, listening with rapt attention to me for once.

"It means time either is going slower for them or faster," I explained, "Faster, in this case, so more time has passed for them than for us. Not by much now from what I can gather by probing but I don't know how much it has normalised by interacting with our dimensional cluster."

"Get to the point Twi, can we get our sisters?" Applejack said a little rudely.

"I need to figure out what the difference really is first..." I bit my lower lip. "Since I don't know what the state of magic is in that world... I can't use magic items and measuring it naturally would take a month... but a live pony to go through to figure it out..."

"Can't you do that with the Crusaders?" Fluttershy asked quietly.

I shook my head. "No, the equipment I need to track the timestreams needs to be calibrated incredibly finely. I don't have the precise signature of the girls, so I can't trace them."

"Well, what are we waitin' fer?" Applejack exclaimed. "Do your thingamajig with yer machines and Ah'll be off!"

"Hold there, darling, you don't know what you'll find on the other end so maybe we should send somepony with more diplomatic skills?"

Rainbow snorted in turn. "No offence to you two but none of you have gotten search and rescue training, this is something a Wonderbolt should do. And if that time thingy is a thing then you might be there for a while."

"Ooh! Ooh! Pick me! Pick me!" Pinky suddenly exclaimed having remained remarkably silent. I rubbed my temples again as everypony but Fluttershy was practically begging to be sent off to another strange world.

"No. I'm not just sending one of you!"

"Darling, if you don't we are marching down to that basement of yours and will figure out how to operate the equipment ourselves," Rarity cut me off, pointing out what I already knew. Of course, they would never be able to figure out what machine was the one they needed, much less operate it.

That didn't mean they wouldn't try...

And with the portal still acting up so every now and then...

"Rainbow Dash."

"Pardon me?" Rarity questioned as I said the brash pegasus' name.

"I'm choosing Rainbow Dash," I repeated. "She's right about needing somepony with search and rescue experience." Turning to the pegasus I locked eyes with her. "Rainbow, I need you to gather the equipment you need, buy it in the crown's name if needed. I shall get everything ready for a transport."

Dash saluted with a wing and shot out of the room.

"Now hold on a jiffy-"

"No. My decision is final," I said without hesitation to Applejack's protest. "It's either Rainbow Dash or nopony at all."

Applejack scowled but I had to put my hoof down. I wasn't going to let more of them go either. Risking a single one of my friends was bad enough already.

“You should get down to your work, Twilight, Rainbow will probably be back in 'ten seconds flat',” Rarity said, standing up from her chair. I nodded in agreement, getting up myself.

“I'll be ready in about an hour as long as I don't get disturbed.”

“Well let ya work. As long as it gets mah sister back.”

"By my calculations, the time stream will be synced up in about a year and a half at the rate it is going now. So until then, we are not able to create a stable portal," Sunset explained to us, showing the calculations on the holoprojector. We weren't the only people in the room, various ONI officers were also present in the room and there were surely more people watching over a video feed. "Until such time I will be present on Harvest to set up the necessary equipment to go the moment a viable opportunity to open the portal arises."

"What is our role in that operation?" Maria asked.

"None," an ONI officer said, stepping to the forth. "Your team will be deployed to the frontier systems past Harvest until agent Shimmer is ready to open the portal. Despite the fact that they've been routing our forces we know almost nothing of them. We want you to sally out, gather intel, and raid any possible Covenant facilities and colonies if and when you find them."

My eyes widened, the proposal was incredibly daring and no less dangerous but also to get the chance to hit them where it hurt...

"What kind of assets will be allocated for this mission?" I asked, wanting to know what we'd get to work with.

"A prowler is being made ready and two additional special operators are being pulled back to Reach to be attached to you and the rest of your Chimera team," The ONI officer expanded.

"Define special operators, sir," Maria continued to push.

"Spartan Oh-Five-Eight and Spartan Oh-Nine-Three. The additional sniper support and explosives expertise was deemed necessary for mission effectiveness." Maria's pupils grew ever so slightly along with a small hitch of her breath.

Guess we'll have a small family reunion soon then.

"Understood, sir."

"In preparation, the five of you will be running exercises against A company from Reach's 49th ODST brigade until every member of your new team has arrived in the next month," the ONI officer informed us as he showed a roster of the company that would be opposing us followed by a mission briefing. "As of the start of this briefing, the two hundred troopers have been assembling for an assault of this base, all personnel has been moved to safe locations so any remodelling of the base is authorized. Your gear has been moved to the armoury in the next room and the objective is to stop them from reaching this place. Good luck. Move out."

There wasn't a moment of hesitation in any of us as we jumped up and sprinted into the adjacent armoury to pick up our gear and armour for those who weren't wearing it.

Fuck me, two hundred of them bastards... well, let's see how we hold up.

We quickly raided the well-stocked armoury within the complex in which the briefing had taken place, our personal rifles and gear being stored there as well most likely a courtesy from ONI. Sweetie left her usual Stanchion sniper rifle in the box and pulled a custom DMR with larger than usual scope, arguing that she needed the increased fire rate and ammo rather than a ridiculous range and few shots. The logic was sound.

Scootaloo quickly got her new flight armour on, simply grabbing an assault rifle and a few light 'explosives', They were the kind of training ordinances that would only incapacitate.

Maria too took a standard assault rifle, though she would probably be doing some magic shenanigans to make up for the generic weaponry.

Though what was I to say about generic, personally I still preferred my shotgun and a standard magnum. Both strong and reliable.

Ana though was the most interesting of the bunch, she had an entirely new set of armour unlike the regular ODST BDU it was much more organic, less sharp edges and such. Her weapon of choice wasn't her regular assault rifle but a suppressed SMG.

"What's that stuff, Anna?" Sweetie asked as we finished loading.

"Experimental tech, it's a stealth suit," Anna summarised quickly as she grabbed a whole bunch of explosives and other tools. the

"Andrews has been trialling it for a while, seeing how closely she's able to observe people before she's noticed," Maria clarified.

"And ya didn't tell us?" I questioned my friend, to which she held up her hands defensively.

"Orders from above. Not like you weren't keeping things on the down-low, miss power armour," she shot back.

"So why does the petty officer know?" Scootaloo asked as we ran outside.

"She tried spying on me," Maria simply answered, turning to face Sweetie. "Belle, I need a pulse."

"Yes, ma'am," Sweetie saluted and knelt down, placing a hand on the ground and pushing magic into it. There was a slight tremble in her posture as she did so, not all that unsurprising considering the amount of magic exertion she'd had in her match against earlier in the day. I could sense the faint magic presence in the ground for the briefest of moments before it disappeared again. "Major force coming in from the north, smaller detachments east and south. No more than two squads for each of the smaller forces and they're both still in the forest," she reported, pointing in their general directions.

"Understood. Firewing, into the sky. Hit the eastern flanking force from above. Belle, find a vantage point and start picking off targets on the north side, make them fear the open spaces there. Andrews, north too, harass them from the shadows, make them mad. Bloom, take the southern force."

We saluted and ran, or flew, in our designated directions. Ana, though not perfectly hidden blended in fairly well with the environment. If one wasn't looking for her you could maybe be forgiven for not spotting her...

unless you're specially augmented... Why do I get the feeling I totally missed her at some point?

My adrenaline was way up, enhancing my already augmented senses immensely. The clarity it brought was... Breathtaking. Nothing escaped me, every detail, every anomaly, registered as I came to a stop close to the southern perimeter but not yet in view. Jumping forward I went into a full sprint, the last few building that stood between me and the other fence going by in a flash. The outer fence wasn't much of an obstacle either as the Mjolnir gave me power in combination with thrusters to jump the fence.

My systems started picking up movement, having me slow down and find a good spot behind a set of rocks to just hide and listen. Noticing short-range radio frequencies lighting up so every now and then I quickly set up my systems to listen in on them.

"...movement from the base," one of the assaulting ODST's spoke, my system tagging him appropriately as 'one'.

"No IFF and nothing on scanners," a second responded, the signal giving me a rough direction of where he was located. "May just have been a deer or bird."

"Intel was vague, keep your eyes peeled. We don't know exactly what's waiting for us in there and I don't like surprises..." It only took a fraction of a second for the armour's systems to track back the signal from the last person to call out as every time someone spoke or signalled the armour got a closer bead on them...

A healthy bit of luck and knowledge of the terrain around the base helped too.

Pulling my magnum off its mag clamp I aimed it at the brush and pulled the trigger. The squad leader was halfway through another set of orders as he got hit in the neck by the training round loaded into the sidearm, knocking him out cold.

“Sergeant's down!”

“Where the fu-”

My second shot cut off the man mid-sentence, hitting him in the same location as I'd hit his commanding officer. Targets lit up as their sudden movements gave Mjolnir's tactical sensors lots more information to work with. They dropped like flies after that point. Of course, the troopers resisted as much as they could, but it really was only a matter of time before I felled all of them. They had never even seen me.

“Southern area cleared, twenty contacts down,” I reported with a steady voice as the last contact was felled and I'd checked if all of them were out properly. While I had been busy with the southern group gunfire had started throughout the base and to the east where Scootaloo was confronting the other flanking unit.

"Understood. Firewing, status." Maria responded.

"Heavy fire, got a decent amount of them in the initial strike but they got smart quick. Leading them to the base now to give me some better cover," Scootaloo replied.

"Bloom, go assist her." the Spartan then ordered as she got the report.

"Copy that, on my way," Going back into a full sprint I barrelled back towards the base, running straight through the outer fence. The speed I was now capable of running at was astonishing, Scootaloo's land-based speed was impressive, yes, but the Mjolnir in combination with the augmentations... it wouldn't be a fair match.

The gunfire got louder as Scootaloo's tactical feed fed into mine, showing me the position of the two half-strength squads she was facing. She came in for a landing on top of a building within my view as I stopped, the two of us glancing at each other for the fraction of a second. "Make sure they're focussed on you and draw their attention north, Imma get in close."

"Copy," Scootaloo simply reported, taking back off again. After a few seconds, I could see the troopers turn to face the direction Scootaloo had flown in.

Perfect.

Sprinting forward I came up on the rear of the group...

"What the-"

Thunk.

Bang!

The trooper that had been making sure the rear was being kept secure was bowled over and sent flying, a shotgun blast hitting the second person in line with a full blast with my shotgun. The third had his assault rifle wrenched from his grasp and got himself thrown into the fourth. The fifth actually got a shot off only be downed from the other end by Scootaloo who joined in. A very short firefight ensued but once again the ODST's simply couldn't keep up with me.

Hopefully Ah didn't hurt 'em too bad...

I scowled slightly as I'd had to pull my punches to avoid simply shattering their bones. Of course, this didn't go unnoticed by Scootaloo.

"Damn Bloom, give me two seconds to check if they're still alive." Plugging into each and every single one of the ODST's systems to check their vitals, applying Medi-Gel to two of them.

"Damage?"

"Couple of broken ribs, could have been more serious."

"Bloom, Firewing, move up north and support. Waypoints on location," Maria ordered as she probably saw there were no more ODST's left in either flanking force.

"Yes ma'am, coming up now," I replied, not even needing to instruct Scootaloo as she shot up into the sky, shooting in the direction of the waypoint. I followed her, though nothing on the ground would be able to keep up with Scootaloo while in the air. Explosions and gunfire was the one constant as I approached. The ODST's were steadily pushing forward through the base simply due to their sheer weight of numbers meaning they couldn't be opposed everywhere. My systems tagged Ana as she approached me, uncloaking as she slid into cover.

"There's a group making a rush for the central building. I'm out," Ana panted, showing her magnum which had the slide in the empty position. Her left arm hanging and covered in red paint blobs so she probably wasn't even able to move it a little. Taking my own magnum I offered it to my human friend who took it after holstering her own. "Thanks."

"I'll take care of them," I stated, pulling up the tactical map of the base that had red dots all over it, putting a waypoint over the group that was making a rush for the centre. Just like the two earlier groups they were no match for me. It was actually starting to scare me a little how easy it all was, it shouldn't be this easy to just walk over squads of ODST's. Even back in training it hadn't been such a one-sided affair...

"They're pulling back," Sweetie reported in from wherever she was perched, "Not a lot of them left now."

"Firewing, get onto their flank and delay them as best as you can, we're not letting them get away. Andrews, set up a sniping position. Bloom, form up on me."

"Aye ma'am," I said as I moved over to the Spartan who was carrying a rotary barrel heavy machinegun turret around, firing controlled bursts at groups of ODST's.

"The base armoury has two more, make sure to check the ammo," She recommended as she tagged the closeby building on my HUD. A quick raid of the armoury's stocks had me running back with a second one of the usually stationary turrets and some extra ammunition.

"No offence to you girls but can you please hurry up?!" Scootaloo called out, "They're going to simply walk over me very soon!"

"Hold out, we're coming." Neither I nor Maria stuck to cover after that, steadily advancing on the remaining ODST's while laying down an alternating but withering hail of fire. Resistance slowly became fractured until it was just small groups of troopers trying to fight a retreat. They were cut down in short order.

I felt another magic ping going through the ground. "I've got nothing. All down."

"Nothing on scanners either," I reported as I went through what my armour was telling. "You, Scoots?"

Silence.

"Firewing, report," Maria demanded, dropping the turret and turning in the direction she had been when fighting. A quick check of her vital signs showed them to be lower than they had any right to be. "Damnit!" It was actually the first time I'd heard the Spartan swear, right before she sprinted off in the direction of our unresponsive friend.

The first thing the two of us saw was her wing poking out from behind a rock formation. Scootaloo was on her back, her helmet laying some distance away. A fairly deep cut ran across her right cheek and a knife was sticking out of the same side's shoulder while her armour was covered in red dots from where training ammo had hit it. In her arms was an ODST which she'd choked out, still firmly being held in place. "I'm... good..." she said hoarsely, pushing off the other ODST before collapsing into unconsciousness.

"Get her to medical. I'm going to report to the officers," Maria stated as I picked up Scootaloo, her voice was her regular steady business voice but there was a dangerous edge to it.

"Understood, ma'am."

Author's Note

Remember that comments are like authors' food, we gain energy from them. Constructive criticism is welcome.

Chapter 19

"I don't need luck, I have Ammo"
-Urdnot Grunt

“Got everything you need?”

“Eeyup, all cool,” I replied as I sat against the set of boxes that had all sorts of gear stashed for us. The prowler had been completely stocked with anything and everything we could ever need. There were even small tactical nuclear warheads we had with us.

“Good, Ah'm stocked too,” Bloom said, kneeling down in front of me onto a single knee and resting her hands on the other, wearing her Mjolnir, minus the helmet, as ever.

“Can't wait to get back into action,” I stated with a smile. Downtime had been good but I wanted to make a difference and sitting on my butt lightyears from the fight was making me giddy.

“Only you could really be happy by being sent into the line of fire again,” Apple Bloom chuckled and shook her head. “Them two Spartans finally arrived,” she added on a more serious note. The two Spartans that were supposed to join us over the last month had been delayed in their arrival, more details we weren't given but it meant our departure was delayed too.

“Really?!” I perked up, knowing that would mean we would certainly be on our way soon if that were the case.

“Aye, gonna get introduced to them in a bit. Gonna be interesting to see more of Maria's family,” She said, standing back up and reaching down with a hand. I grasped it and she pulled me onto my feet.

“Definitely,” I agreed. “Sweetie there already?”

“Eeyup, she was reading some things. Ana too. And ya know Maria's always on time.”

“Well, let's not be later ourselves then.” stretching my back I let it pop a few times before falling in line behind Apple Bloom, the heavy thuds of my friends footfalls echoing through the metal hallways. The space station we were on was one of ONI's, them being the operators of most prowlers the UNSC had available. The space particular space station wasn't too busy, and every one of the people walking around the place was employed by ONI. Still, we were getting into the habit of wearing our helmets any time we were around anyone we didn't know.

“So, two more Spartans added to our band of rogues. That'd make us fairly unstoppable, won't it?” I stated with a smirk as we walked.

“Don't get too cocky there Scoots, ya know very well what happens when numbers start overrunnin' yer position,” Bloom immediately shot back, wiping the smirk of my face and replacing it with a frown while I rubbed my shoulder. The wound could have been worse but it did put me out of action for over a week which sucked... But ultimately it was a good reminder that no matter how good I was, I wasn't invincible.

Never forget, confidence is good, cockyness very much not.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, just saying we're definitely going to be a very tough team to crack for the Covies,” I said as we verified our clearances to enter one of the station's briefing rooms.

“That's fer sure,” Bloom agreed as she walked into a corner of the room and leaned against the wall, her armoured bulk making it inadvisable to sit down onto the chairs the room contained.

“Looking forward to meeting the new squadmates, Scootaloo?” Ana asked as she and Sweetie were already sitting at the table, both their helmets placed in front of them. Taking off my own I sat down across from the pair.

“Well yeah, two more supersoldiers is great in my book,” I shrugged, quickly checking the time.

Seven minutes until they're here... They must be on approach by now.

“Not afraid they're going to out-cool you?” Ana asked teasingly.

“Can they fly on their own power?” I asked in return, getting no reply other than a shake of Ana's head and a smile in return. “Exactly.”

The door slid open again Maria walking in, the four of us standing up at attention. "At ease," she said, allowing us to sit back down.

“So how ya holdin' up, chief?” Apple Bloom asked, she having spent the most time with Maria and Halsey meant there were some things she must have picked up the rest of us hadn't.

“I am fine sergeant, thank you.” She actually had the faintest outline of a smile on her lips, a magnitude of difference to what had been the case when we'd first met her two and a half months ago. “Linda and Grace should be here any moment now.”

“Anything specific we should know about the two of them?” Sweetie asked, “Other than what the report already told us?”

Maria shook her head and took place at the head of the table. Standing of course as she was wearing her Mjolnir just like Apple Bloom. “The two of them probably are the most level headed Spartans of us all. And despite what the report stated I have to impress their proficiency in their respective areas of expertise. Linda is the Spartan's lone wolf and without a doubt the most proficient sniper the UNSC has, and Grace can use explosives either in such ways that they're almost silent or rig things up to create a firestorm from hell.”

I whistled, only really having skimmed the report. Not that I didn't remember what I did read but the amount of black ink made it a slightly boring read.

Of course all the cool bits would be covered in black ink... Is the file they have on me like that too? That would be kind of cool.

The door slid open again, the heavy footfalls of two more individuals in Mjolnir approaching. Both of them wore the same armour as both Bloom and Maria, only their helmets differed from the ones those two had. The Spartan with 058 marking her armour, Linda, had a helmet dotted with sensors and instead of a single large visor two lenses. The other was more similar to the one Bloom and Maria had, though a little bulkier.

The two of them paused as, I presume, their eyes fell on Maria. After a pause that for the Spartans was a fairly significant length, the two newcomers placed two fingers onto their helmets and drew a smile. The motion had come up when we were discussing signals, most of the things we were taught by Maria apparently being the more custom signals used by the Spartans. Maria had determined it necessary to learn those if we were to cooperate with more of her kind.

"It is good to see you, Maria," Linda stated, her helmet hissed as she unsealed it and took it off. Her hair was a vibrant red, not too dissimilar to Apple Bloom's only it was much shorter.

"The feeling is mutual," Maria replied with a small nod. Grace also took off her helmet, holding it under her arm.

"So this is your team of oddities?" Grace asked as she quickly studied each of us, a small shiver going down my spine at the Spartan's piercing gaze.

"They are each effective in their own right," our commanding officer stated, a small smile tugging at her lips as she placed her helmet on the table. "I take you have seen their records?"

"And video recordings of your practice rounds against the ODST's. Your powers are remarkable to observe," Linda stated, placing her own helmet on the central table too.

"Can't say we got as much information on the two of ya, only really some general information and specializations. Specifics were covered in black ink," Bloom stated, being the first of us to speak up. She stepped forward and held out a hand. "Though from Maria here Ah can guess how good the two of ya are." Grace shook it first, quickly followed by Linda.

"Most of that will become clear if we get to operate together," Grace stated. "I must say it is strange to see a non-Spartan in that armour."

Bloom forced a chuckle in return. "Ah can guess why, we saw what happened to the un-augmented tester."

Wait, what does she mean by un-augmented tester?

I rolled my eyes and set the thought aside for later. "So the two of you are the hotshots that we'll be working with." Leaning back in the chair, I stretched my wings and folded my arms. "Scootaloo Firewing and I'll take all the help, this thing's gonna promise to be a wild ride for sure."

Sweetie stepped forward to Linda before I could get an answer in return. "I've heard about your sniping skills, if we get the time I would be honoured to receive pointers."

“I would indeed like to evaluate your proficiency in person,” Linda replied, she and Grace taking position at the central table. “But right now we should focus on the mission briefing. Maria?”

“Agreed.” The Spartan that was our commanding officer typed a set of commands into a console which lit up a large hologram at the centre of the table. The Milky Way appeared in front of us, millions of tiny dots representing stars of the galaxy, and soon zoomed in onto the arm where Earth and its colonies were located. UNSC world's were tagged and its general area of control was marked as well before to the south of the blue systems various red dots were placed too. “As we all know, the Covenant has been making serious advances into UNSC space over the last few years. We, until now, have only been on the defensive, responding to moves as they are made by the aliens. High command decided that it is necessary for a force to strike out and hurt the Covenant on their home turf.” The hologram zoomed in on a set of red dots, the stars not having gotten proper names yet but merely represented by a number designation. “ONI has been hard at work trying to figure out possible locations of Covenant facilities or even colonies. It is up to us to sneak into these systems, find out if there's indeed a presence there, and cause damage to critical infrastructure before moving on so we are not detected.”

“Yeah... unless the nukes they're going to give us are seriously big we're not going to be doing much more than minor disruptions to them,” I pointed out.

“We're being allocated ten portable warheads and the prowler is equipped with five more heavier class ones for ship to ship engagements,” Maria answered, I let out a bit of a whistle as that was no insignificant amount of weaponry to send with our small team. “There is the possibility that we have to ditch them prematurely though, the fissionable materials give off detectable radiation when exiting slipspace. Our main objective here is still reconnaissance anyhow so the loss of the warheads would be regrettable but not critical.”

“You mentioned ONI picking out our targets, what can we expect in the systems we're visiting?” Sweetie asked, focussing on a string of systems that were marked out on the holographic map.

“Most are possible locations for storage depots and mining outposts but one is very likely the location of a Covenant colony.” Maria marked the system in question, it wasn't the furthest out but it still would take a half dozen stops before we got there.

“Well, Ah say we give them a taste of their own medicine if it really is a colony,” Bloom growled, leaning forward on the table.

“Detailed planning will be done after we arrive in the system, before that we will be sharpening each others' skills on board the prowler.”

“Not exactly a lot of moving space on a vessel like that,” Ana mentioned.

“We'll make due,” Maria replied curtly.

“So when are we leaving?” I asked as there probably wasn't much more intel available for this op anyhow.

“Departure is in eight hours, if there's any requisition you wish to make then now is the time,” Maria answered for me.

“Well then, we should probably make final checks before it's too late,” Bloom commented.

“Indeed. Everyone's dismissed, report to the prowler.”

Me, Sweetie, Bloom, and Ana all threw a salute at the commanding officer before leaving, the two other Spartans remaining behind.

“Ah'm gonna shoot a message over ta Sunset. Wish her well the coming six months, maybe even year,” Bloom stated and made her way in a different direction. “See the three of ya at the prowler.”

“I'm going to put a few rounds in in the simulator while I can,” Sweetie stated, also breaking off to do her thing.

“I'm going to check out the medical facilities on the prowler. You can join if you want, Ana?”

“Nah, I'm taking a little bit of alone time, maybe get some affairs in order. I'll see you and the girls later.”

“Any activity yet?” Sweetie asked as we were staring at the hologram floating above the projector. A new star system lay before us and we'd been traveling in system for a good week now, making darned sure that we weren't detected.

“Nothing conclusive we can detect passively but there seems some activity in the inner asteroid belt,” Maria replied, pointing out the echoes of a signal near a cluster of rocks.

“Possibly a mining operation?” Bloom guessed as she studied the incomplete scans.

“we're not that far from UNSC space in space travel terms, it could also be a minor forward depot,” Linda commented.

“With only passive scans we might be missing more activity, I'll have the captain focus her scanners more tightly on the anomaly and have us brought in close for some EVA,” Maria stated, marking out a trajectory we could take. “If it's something than it'll be at least worth the look.”

“So we take the pelican in to some distance and then float a little closer with just thrusters. Sign me up.” I smirked, liking the EVA plan for its daring.

“Ain't like it's a volunteer job anyhow,” Bloom Shot my way with a smirk before turning back to Maria. “What's our window to RV back with the prowler?”

“From the moment of departure to final rendervouz is at best two hours. We can't slow this vessel down sufficiently without attracting all the wrong types of attention,” she replied. A scowl formed on my face as that wasn't an awfully large window in the grand scheme. “If we miss it we'll have to survive on our own for at least a week before another pickup can be arranged.”

“Don't miss. Got it,” Sweetie replied curtly, glancing over to our Spartan attachés.

“I assume we'll be fielding a nuke?” Grace asked as she analysed the data on the hologram. “This place could be much bigger on the inside of that asteroid.”

“Two. You and sergeant Bloom will be carrying the ordinance.”

“Would be a waste not ta use what we were sent out with,” Bloom commented, looking over to Linda. “Got anything to add?

“Not at this moment,” she replied, her helmet still in place. “We should prep the thrusters, our window of opportunity is going to be creeping up on us soon.”

“Agreed,” Maria stated, showing us the thruster pack we needed to apply to our armour set. “Intel update in an hour, have the EVA thrusters set and tested by then.”

We all saluted, even the other Spartans, and left. Bloom joined Grace and Linda as her Mjolnir suit required different prep than the custom suit the un-augmented rest of us owned. Neither Sweetie nor Ana spoke much besides some instructions on how to attach the modules, a quick test showing they all worked as intended. Still having some time left I went and checked all my peripheral equipment, making sure all the regular medical equipment was there and adding a can of sealant that would be able to close a suit breach for long enough to allow a quick spacewalk.

I should thank Linda for knowing this stuff exists and making a last-minute requisition, could seriously be life-saving.

The door to the small prep room we were in slid open and Bloom stepped through the portal. “Y'all done?”

“Almost ready to rock,” I replied with a smirk, closing my bag and strapping it to my back. “Need a hand with the vacuum bags for my wings.”

“Pass 'em along,” Bloom said, taking the two bags and wrapping them around my wings.

“So, any updates yet?” Sweetie asked, having been ready for a while and having simply been meditating.

“The scanners have been picking up more activity, Maria will give details in a bit,” Bloom replied as she tightened the straps of the vacuum bags.

“You have that nuke yet?” Ana asked from the side, setting up communication equipment jutting from her backpack. Bloom turned a bit to show a cylinder hanging magnetically on her lower back, Ana whistling as she saw the remarkably small weapon for its power.

“Good enough ta flatten a small city. Should do the job quite nicely,” she stated, patting the fission bomb.

“I can imagine,” I chuckled, shifting my wings to get them in a little more comfortable position before checking the time. "We should get back to Maria, check on the situation."

"Aye. Ana, Sweetie, you two ready?"

Ana snorted. "Of course we're ready, sarge," she stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, which, in fact, was indeed the case. We hadn't become ODST's by being sloppy.

We filed back into the briefing room, the Spartans already being present. The hologram had updated significantly, showing a few smaller vessels along with a cruiser holding position closer to the small section of the asteroid field. An energy signature was also being detected within the rock by the prowler's passive detection equipment. The main asteroid having a large energy field covering an entrance into the interior that seemed to be holding an atmosphere but let through smaller craft. "That looks like a much more interesting target now," I immediately commented as the Covenant clearly were doing something in there they did not want anyone from the outside to see.

"That it has indeed," Maria agreed, pulling up our own trajectory and how we were going to pass. "The captain and I worked out the most optimal time for launch," two points appeared on the trajectory and split off towards the asteroid cluster. "We will be launched here, two hours away from our current position, and infiltrate the asteroid. Our objective is to gather intel, possibly retrieve whatever they are after, or if that's not possible deny the Covenant access by means of a thermonuclear explosion."

"The second line is the pelican for extraction I take?" Anna inquired as she studied the trajectories.

"Correct. After planting the nukes we will retreat to minimum safe distance and detonate them," Maria stated, showing the asteroid being blown apart. “We will be operating in three teams; Bloom and I for the first team, Grace, Firewing, and Andrews are the second, and Belle and Linda form the third team.”

"I and Linda are on disruption duty?" Sweetie inquired.

"High-value targets being the preferred target but taking out any command personnel will be your task," Maria nodded before addressing all of us again. "Remember, this is a raid, we should under no circumstance get bogged down."

"This plan has a very high probability of going hot. We're planning on going right through their front door after all," Ana pointed out the obvious.

Maria smiled briefly. "Not getting bogged down does not mean we are going in quiet," she replied. "Take a double load of ammunition and expect heavy resistance once they realise what's going on."

"Wouldn't expect anything less," I smirked.

"Indeed. I expect you all in the hangar packed and ready to go within the hour. Dismissed."

Author's Note

So damned tired, doing army stuff is cool but damn...

Remember that comments are like authors' food, we gain energy from them. Constructive criticism is welcome.

Chapter 20

"There are very few problems that cannot be solved by a suitable application of high explosives"
-Scot Adams

It was silent.

After being launched from the prowler into the vacuum of space no more sounds other than my own breathing, and beating of my heart accompanied me. The occasional blast of the thrusters would break the silence momentarily but other than that there was nothing. The radio silence did nothing to lighten the disconcerting atmosphere such a void of sound provided either. The worst part was that only really the electronic systems told me the others were still around me somewhere as we travelled through the blackness of space towards an asteroid we couldn't even see yet.

five more minutes...

I put a hand on my rifle that was mag-locked to my chest so it wouldn't fly off when we decelerated into the asteroid base, tapping it rhythmically. The Pelican that would be our extraction was already somewhere ahead and would be waiting in the void for our extraction.

Two minutes...

The asteroid was becoming a lot bigger than the small dot it had been before and started growing at an increasingly rapid pace. The pre-programming for the thrusters made sure I decelerated at the proper speed, the counterparts the rest of our team had also did the same thing, giving me an idea where the others were. The energy barrier approached at terrifying speed but if the g-force on my body indicated anything it was that I wasn't going to smash into a red pool of gore the moment we got through the shielding.

Three... Two... One...

Sound returned to me instantly as we breached the shield, in the brief seconds of our approach I spotted the cruiser that was guarding the entrance, the one thing that could give us some serious grief when we were leaving. The hangar was lined with covenant structures, the signature purple metal being everywhere but also some much more ancient-looking building was encapsulated in the rock. We came to a sliding halt on a large platform that had a row of banshees parked on it, a small group of grunts froze in surprise at our sudden entrance. They lasted seconds as the power armoured members of our team tore into them with their combat knives.

"Breach successful. Team two, find a suitable weak point to place your bomb. Team three, good hunting," Maria stated over the short-ranged comms, if the Covenant hadn't detected us entering through the shield then it probably wouldn't take long for them to realize they were going to be losing people. We all clicked our comms in acknowledgement and ran off to do our allotted tasks. ONI had provided us with what was their best guess of Covenant standard layouts for ships and bases so we could identify and eliminate command positions more easily, information that now was going to be invaluable.

Linda only communicated through hand signals as we moved through the corridors, the tight spaces not being great for our sniper rifles. The lighting in the hallways suddenly started blinking red, an announcement in the Sangheili language being blasted through invisible speakers indicating that we'd been made for sure. It wasn't very long after that that we encountered a group of disorganised grunts scrambling to repel us.

"Contact," Linda stated as we saw the creatures, two shots ringing out and five grunts falling as the tight corridors in combination with armour piercing rounds had devastating effects. The grunts that were left didn't take much more time to kill and we were soon back to running through the hallways. "Breaching door."

The spartan placed an explosion on a door that was in our way while I took cover. The loud bang was muffled by my helmet and the pressure from the shockwave was much less impactful with the pressure suit I was wearing. Peeking past my cover with the sniper rifle I glanced through the hole with the thermals of my scope, an elite was visible right on the other end of the portal who was looking positively dased...

Bang!

My rifle, which was significantly more powerful than the standard rifle Linda was carrying, punched straight through the elite's shielding and went right through the shell of armour it was wearing too, splattering the ground with its purple blood. Linda, with her immensely superior physical abilities, was the first through the gap in the doors, her rifle giving a series of loud reports as she targeted the various other opponents.

"Clear," she reported as I followed her in, a massive internal room, probably spanning most of the asteroid's interior, was revealed to us. A large central structure of the same older-looking architecture that was definitely not Covenant was being excavated. "Lead one, this is lead three, sending video feed now," Linda stated as we observed Covenant craft flying around the structure, there was activity everywhere around here, Sangheili shouting orders to legions of grunts that were all carrying either equipment or weapons of sorts.

A shot impacted the wall next to Linda's head, the Spartan having had just enough time to roll out of the way. My immediate reaction was to fall to a knee and fire at the location the shot had originated from. The unfortunate sniper Jackal that had fired was ripped to shreds as I hadn't bothered to lower my rifle's power level, not that I had any sympathy in the first place for the alien.

"Lead three, shift objectives and find access to that structure to take a look inside," Maria replied over the radio after that brief engagement, a small moment of calm that couldn't last as we had the attention of the entire chamber. Banshees were screaming down towards us, their cannons glowing bright green from the plasma inside them.

"Understood," Linda replied to my astonishment. "Belle, provide shielding."

Knowing that I wouldn't be changing the mind of the Spartan, I sprinted after her as she headed for the centre structure, calling on my magic to create a shield around the two of us. Hell started breaking loose not very soon after as the amount of fire being shot in our direction was beyond withering, my shield making sure we made it from cover to cover without being burned to a crisp. Plasma from the Banshees manoeuvring through the relatively crowded airspace rained down on our position, the splash damage from the large cannons scorching my shield further and putting an immense amount of strain on my magic.

"We're not going to make it at this rate, those Banshees are draining my reserves too fast and I'd like a way back out too!" I called out over the roar of plasma weapons. Linda swirled around and fired two shots at a pair of passing Banshees, the craft flying out of control and crashing into the old structure.

"I'll keep the sky clear, make sure that shield remains intact," Linda stated as she started focussing down the aerial threats, nailing every single one of them with a single shot.

Sweet Celestia, she's so fucking good...

The strain got a little lighter without the constant heavy fire, allowing us to reach an alcove into the central structure, but as we got into the bit of cover the back wall slid open. The two of us rushed in, turning as we expected elites to pass through the doors very soon... we waited... and waited longer... the doors didn't open again.

"...the fuck?" I said as I slowly lowered my rifle slightly, there was no way a group of elites or grunts hadn't reached the door either.

"Something to ponder later. We should look around this place," Linda stated as she turned and scanned the hallway ahead. I didn't like the luck we were having, it was too easy, like someone wanted us inside... and that someone sure as hell wasn't the covenant. We could hear the shouts from elites and grunts echo through the structure as we sprinted around the corridors of the complex.

"They don't sound very, happy," I commented as Linda tried every terminal we found, all of them just being controls for doors.

"Probably some religious things," Linda answered shortly tapping another control panel and having more success than on all our other attempts. A hologram sprung to life showing a string of symbols before turning into a three-dimensional representation of the structure.

"Well, then they probably don't want us getting to that central area there," I pointed out a place deeper into the structure where all hallways seemed to converge, quickly recording the hologram so we had a copy to navigate on.

"Probably not. Let's go take a look," Linda said after finding that she really couldn't do anything else with the console. The Spartan took point once again and we altered our route so we'd end up. It didn't take long before we ran into the inevitable resistance, though the severity of that resistance was something else entirely. A small team of elites clad in blood-red armour, armed with energy swords, got uncomfortably close to the two of us. The last one of that particular group managed to get into hand to hand combat with Linda before I painted the wall purple with its brains.

"Those hingeheads definitely weren't normal, if this is the quality of troops here we simply don't have the firepower to deal with them between the two of us," I stated as I got in front of Linda who's armour had a shallow gash from an energy blade going across the titanium chestplate.

"Not conventionally, no," Linda was forced to agree as she picked up the hilt of the energy blade and managed to activate it, pressing it down into one of the dead elites as a test. Its energy shielding, which had recharged again, popped the moment it came into contact with the blade. "My guess is these things use very hot plasma to instantly cut through anything in its path."

"Go on?" I stated, not exactly seeing her point.

"Agent Shimmer was able to create a firestorm of sorts with her magic, could you recreate that?" Linda asked, mag-locking the energy blade to her armour for later use.

"With the amount of energy that requires you'd be carrying me for the rest of this mission," I pointed out blatantly, knowing that displays like that put even Sunset out of commission for a while.

"Maybe scale it down?" Linda proposed.

"Well..." I sighed as I focussed on my magic and started creating the spell matrix, focussing on making it a short but powerful pulse. It didn't help that fire magic wasn't really my affinity but I was proficient enough to put some substantial power behind the spell now. A green coloured ball of plasma was flung away from my outstretched fist at a significant speed, smashing into the strange stone and tearing out a chuck on impact. "I don't think I have all too many of those in me but if we dose it out..."

"You'll make it work. We're close to the centre and we should at least take a look." Linda turned back to the hallway and slammed a fresh magazine into her rifle. I, on the other hand, put my rifle onto my back and was going to go ahead purely on my pistol and magic alone. I opted to have a directional shield matrix ready over the plasma spell as we got to the entrance to the central chamber, preferring the extra bit of defence as we entered.

A massive chamber with a circular centre platform made up the main chamber, various drones of unknown origin floating around the middle structure and performing whatever task they were assigned to do. There were already a few terminals we could try to access I could see in the few seconds we had to observe the room before a barrage of plasma and needles impacted onto my forward shield.

"Elites, two o'clock high," Linda sated as another group of three red-clad elites looked down on us. I didn't hesitate to holster my pistol and calling on my magic to toss a bolt of plasma in their direction. The glowing bolt of green flew across the space between me and the lead elite combatant and smacked into its shield.

To both my and the elite's surprise the bolt instantly collapsed his energy shield before exploding and sending him flying. He didn't get to experience the shock for long for long as Linda did not let this opening go to waste and blew his brains out. The other two remaining elites roaring in anger and charging forward, dropping down from high and bolting from cover to cover while firing potshots.

“I don't have a clear shot!” I called out as I had to strain to keep my shield up while also keeping the plasma spell ready with my other hand, the elites did not give me any opening to use my magic on them again.

“Hold and draw them in,” Linda ordered as she took shots back at them from cover.

Oh yeah, that sounds like a great plan. Let the sword wielding aliens get into close combat range...

With a roar I flung another, more powerful bolt at a cover the elite was using before switching back to my pistol. The bolt exploded against the cover it was using and staggered him right as he wanted to bolt for the next usable cover, a bullet from Linda ricocheted off of his energy shield.

Fuck, they're getting close... Oh to hell with this.

The two elites split up, one going for Linda and the other for me. I emptied my entire pistol magazine into the elite before I had to duck out of the way of a strike with the energy sword, not willing to test if my magic shield was up to the task of blocking it.

“You missed, split-lip!” I called out as I tried to load a new magazine, only to get backhanded and flung into the air. My pistol flew from my grasp as I landed hard, I barely had the chance to put up my shield again before the energy blade slammed into it.

“You will pay for this incursion into this holy sanctum, human,” the elite spat to my surprise, the first time I'd heard an elite speak in a language I understood. I didn't reply as my entire focus was on stopping the energy sword from piercing the shield, my magic reserve quickly draining under the strain.

Go to Tartarus, bastard.

Forming a quick telekinesis spell I pushed myself away from the elite, allowing me to get up and draw my combat blade. The alien charged after me without hesitation only this time I didn't dodge out of its way but closed in and prayed my next attack would work as I cooked up a new spell. My blade, coated in green fire and shimmering, slammed into his neck as I jumped into his embrace, piercing right through his shielding and leaving the knife there. He gurgled up purple blood as he staggered back, eyes wide as I used the final bit of my magic reserves to conjure the plasma spell, hitting the elite full blast. Half his midsection just exploded as the spell got through the weakened shielding and exploded inside the elite.

I wanted to collapse as the amount of energy I'd expended there was vast but managed to keep myself together. Turning to face Linda and her opponent I saw the spartan was struggling to keep her elite at bay with her captured energy blade, the alien clearly being the better swordsman. Pulling my stanchion rifle off my back, I set its power levels way past maximum, something that would certainly burn out its coils in a single shot but deliver an incredibly powerful shot down range.

“Hey, ugly, chew on this one!”

A plume of sparks and smoke shot from my rifle's barrel as each one of its internal parts burned out, the effect of the shot though could not be argued with. The elite was bodily thrown to the side and the entire right side of his torso had ceased to exist, his arm laying some way away from his bleeding body.

“Thanks for that,” Linda panted as my knees gave out. I pulled off my helmet, coughing up a glob of blood and spitting it out.

“Let's see whatever the fuck those bastards were protecting and get out of here,” I grunted as I clamped my ruined rifle to my back and tried getting back onto my feet, only succeeding when Linda pulled me off the ground. Supported by the spartan, I made it to the center of the chamber where various holographic consoles were lit up, clearly a location of interest to the elites. Linda propped me up against a bit of cover where I'd have a good view of the chamber and could keep watch while Linda tried to get as much intel as possible. I just checked my ammo reserves for my pistol as a hologram jumped alive all around us. "Whoa, what the hell is this?"

"It's... a star chart," Linda stated as she took in the sight and undoubtedly recorded the entire thing, I was doing the same thing after all.

"Lead three, I don't know what you found but get clear right now. Covenant forces are retreating from the facility en masse, we're extracting ASAP," Maria informed us. I cursed under my breath, pulling up the image I'd taken of the layout of this structure.

"Alright, time's up, let's get out of here," I stated as Linda pulled me back off the ground, only for me to cough up some more blood into my helmet. "It might be faster to just pick me up and run, we can't lose time having me stumbling along."

"Agreed." The spartan immediately hefted me onto her back and set off, sprinting down the corridors at full speed. As we navigated I provided her with directions to go in, making the process a whole lot faster and navigating us to an alternative exit to the one we came in through. The areas we passed were eerily quiet, clear evidence of a hasty retreat visible as stuff was littered around.

"We activated our IFF tags, our time's up. We just got informed the cruiser is powering up, this rock is not going to be very hospitable for too long," Maria informed us as their beacons lit up fairly close to us, I immediately activated my own to show we were closeby. We found the four of them defending Grace who was rigging up some explosives.

"Shit, Sweetie-"

"I'm good," I cut off Scootaloo as she checked me over for any injuries. "Just used a tad too much magic."

Scootaloo huffed as she had her scanner check me out fully. "Yeah, a tad too much magic my ass. You have four cracked ribs and one that's poking your lungs in a way I don't like at all."

"I'd say that's better than being impaled on an energy sword," I shrugged, the motion more painful than I liked to admit.

"Tell me about that later. We should get to cover, Grace is going to blow a hole in this rock soon." The spartan in question gave a thumbs up to Maria who ordered the rest of us to advance deeper into the structure to avoid getting caught in the blast. As we got to a safe distance Grace detonated the explosives she'd rigged up, at the same time I could hear a bunch more explosives go off in different sections of the facility.

"Activate your thrusters and set them to form up on me," Maria ordered as I was carried back to the hole that had been blasted in the rock. Air was rushing out through the hole at a rapid pace into the void of space. We pushed off through the hole one by one, leaving the effects of Covenant arteficial gravity and returning to the minor gravitational effects of the asteroid itself. Above us the cruiser was moving, it's massive plasma bombardment cannon bussing with energy.

That bloody thing is going to turn this rock into a molten pile of slag, they really don't want us to have this info.

The thrusters on our armour flared as Maria took off, staying in close formation to the spartan. My attention though was closely centerred on the cruiser as it took in fleeing craft from the base.

How long is it going to take before it notices us...

Not long it turned out as we could see the vessel turn to bring its large plasma weaponry to bear. "No offence but I hope wee have a way to deal with that cruiser in short order or my shielding is going to be laughably insufficient." I stated, breaking the mostly radio silence we'd been working under.

"We do. Grace, detonate."

Grace tapped the console on her armour a couple of times and not more than a few seconds later a bright flash came from the cruiser, a section of its belly cracking open and the purple flames bursting out sending it off course.

"We rigged a bunch of the dropships to blow and attached a nuke to one of the remaining ones. We might not be able to damage that shield but once inside a nuke is fairly devastating," Anna laughed as my suit gave a radiation alarm, the nuke having sent a fairly high dosage out, something that would require some treatment back at the prowler.

"Yet that ain't even the main attraction," Apple Bloom chuckled, tapping her own arm mounted console. "Permission to detonate?"

"Granted."

Another spike of radiation was picked up by my suit, though this one not as bad as the other one. Below me I could see the asteroid being ripped apart, sending chunks of rock in every direction.

"Oohrah!" Scootaloo laughed at the utter destruction.

"The debris should make it much harder to track us, we maintain radio silence until we reach the pelican." We all clicked our radio's in acknowledgement before shutting down any signals that could give us away, quietly soaring back to the pelican that was our ticket out of this system.

Author's Note

yes, yes, I know, I'm slow. My time has become incredibly limited but I'm getting rather close to the end of a few of my stories so I want to get this done.

Chapter 21

Blood makes you related,
loyalty makes you family.

“Are you ready, Rainbow?”

I rolled my eyes as the egghead had asked that same question like a million times. “Yeah, I am. Now get to activating that portal so you can start calculating and I can start searching.”

I was packing a large amount of equipment, my saddlebags filled to the brim with survival equipment while I myself was wearing enchanted leather armour that would protect me from the elements and any potential blunt trauma I could be exposed to on the other end. We stood in front of the mirror which was surrounded by all sorts of equipment, humming away as it was probably monitoring the mirror.

“Just remember that I will not be able to pull you out for a good while so you'll be there for some good time before you can return.”

Placing a hoof on the alicorn's shoulder, I looked her straight in the eyes. “Twi, we're not going to get more ready than we already are. Send me through and let me do what I'm good at.”

Twilight's ears drooped and she swallowed nervously. “Alright, I trust you Rainbow. Be safe and get our girls back.”

I smirked as the alicorn took her distance and started activating some of the surrounding machines. “I'll have them in ten seconds flat!”

The mirror came to life, becoming a portal once again as the machines around started humming loudly. Twilight called out that the portal was ready and I didn't waste a second to step through. The ride was incredibly bumpy, it was almost like flying through turbulence only in this space I couldn't compensate in the slightest. It made me sick to my stomach. The journey wasn't all that long but the moment I got spit out was a moment of great relief. Looking myself over after getting my bearings turned out to be quite a shock.

Sweet Celestia, I really did change into a different species.

Of course twilight had warned it was very likely this would happen but that only really softened the blow. A comforting factor though was that I'd been able to keep my wings, feeling the feathers catch wind.

These look like those hand things Twilight told me about.

My fascination with the new body parts was interrupted as I heard someone shout from some way away. My wings flared while I went into a low crouch as eight green-armour clad creatures approached, aiming some kind of tool in their hands at me.

“Get onto the ground! NOW!” one of them called out, followed by similar orders from the others while they kept advancing on me. I looked around the immediate area, seeing all sorts of buildings around and various similarly clothed creatures standing further out which were either getting to cover or aiming their own tools at me. “Get onto your belly or we will open fire!” the lead creature shouted again.

Shit, are those things ranged weapons?

I quickly went over my options as the possibility of a ranged weapon of unknown power was in play.

Getting caught here is not going to help me search for the girls... Those things don't have wings, do they?

I smirked and crouched down, preparing a mighty flap but before I could launch myself I got hit by something really heavy from the side. “Oof! Hey, get off of me!” A black armoured individual was pinning me to the ground on my stomach, soon joined by the green armoured ones. One of the creatures sat on each of my wings, keeping them pinned, while two others were keeping my torso and legs in check. “Let me GO!” I growled to no avail.

“If you stop struggling this'll be a lot easier!” the one on my back growled, pressing his knee onto the back of my head. I soon felt my hands being tied together and wings strapped to my body while my bags were cut loose and taken away separately, and as a finishing touch a blindfold was applied. Now in complete darkness, I was hoisted up into a kneeling position and held there.

Buck, buck, buck... These guys are really serious.

“Hey, we can tal-”

“Keep your mouth shut. You will only speak when spoken to,” a gruff voice cut me off.

“Hey! What gives you-”

“What part of shut the fuck up do you not understand?” another voice said as I got smacked to the back of the head. I growled but kept my teeth clamped together as I was getting nowhere.

“Marines, stand down!” a female sounding voice called out from some distance away and I could hear someone running closer. “Return to your posts, she's ONI's concern now.”

“I don't take orders from spooks, lady,” the one who'd smacked me across the back of my head stated.

“Then I'll just go to your superior and make him order you to give him over to me,” the female said sharply, “A waste of both our energy so let's not make this an issue shall we?”

“Fine. She's yours.” I got roughly pulled off the ground and pushed forward, getting caught by someone as I clumsily stumbled on my two legs.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” the female stated sarcastically, grabbing me by the arm and guiding me along. “I take you're the Rainbow from Princess Twilight's side of the portal?”

“Wait, what? Who are you?” I asked as my eyes widened below the blindfold.

“Sunset Shimmer, it's good to meet pony you. Though why you're here is a good question on its own,” she stated, I'm sure that's when we entered a building as the temperature went way up.

“Hey, no offense, but can you get this blindfold off of me?”

“Oh yeah, sorry about that,” I had to squeeze my eyes a little as the room was lit rather brightly. “I just wanted to get you into my lab so you're not in plain sight of everyone. I sort of have to make a few calls to some people now you're here.”

“Uhh, okay? Look can you tell us what in Tartarus is going on here?” I exclaimed as I looked around Sunset's lab, the machines and gadgets reminding me of Twilight's basement. “Like, who the hell were those people outside?!”

“Those were Marines, they were just doing their job,” Sunset waved off as she screwed with a glowing tablet of sorts.

I rolled my eyes. “And that job is?”

“Killing,” Sunset simply answered, sending a shiver down my spine. Had they been close to ending me right then and there? Sunset must have noticed me being uncomfortable as she put the thing she was working on down for a moment. “Look, Rainbow, this place... It's bad. What did Twilight think she could achieve in sending you here because I don't believe you got the portal working on your own.”

“She wanted to measure the time stream thingy, needed the signature of a pony to do so or something.” Sunset sighed and rubbed her strange, furless, forehead.

“Of course she did, honestly I don't even fault her.” Sunset shook her head. “How much time has passed in your world since the Crusaders went through?”

“A week? Twilight said that in this place more time could have passed though...”

“Correct...” The deep frown on Sunset's face told me I was not going to like the next part. “Dash, for the Crusaders it's been over three years.”

My legs suddenly felt exceptionally weak, collapsing from the shock of that revelation. For me it'd been seven, admittedly rather long, days but for the crusaders it had been so much longer. “Where are they?”

“They're out there somewhere.” Sunset pointed at the roof as she said that. “Honestly I have no clue where exactly, they're operating deep behind enemy lines. If they've made it then they'll get back into contact in about two to three months.”

I felt my blood drain from my face completely, my stomach twisting into further knots. “And how long have you been here?”

“Two years,” Sunset answered. “I actually owe my life to those three. I'd have been killed right after arrival if it wasn't for their intervention.”

“I can say the same about owing you,” I stated starting to feel like I was way out of my league here.

“Nah, that ODST wasn't about to snap your neck. And even if I hadn't intervened you'd have ended up with me.” Sunset sighed and picked up her tablet again. “Look, I need to finish this message and after that I'll fill you in on everything, okay?”

“Yeah... Alright...”

I stared into the mirror that hung in Sunset's tiny washing room, taking in the wrongness of my new body. Not only had my entire species been changed, but also the colour of my hair, the thing that was my Celestia damned namesake. The messy hair went from red, to orange to blonde and then white, the green, blue, and purple having completely disappeared, the only place where blue was still visible was the pair of wings that sprouted through a set of adjusted clothes from Sunset.

Ugh, your hair is the least of your problems right now, Rainbow.

Stepping back into the main room that also served as Sunset's lab I went over and got myself a glass of water. The scale of the revelations that had been dumped on my head for the last hour had been almost too much to handle for even someone as awesome as me. I could hardly believe the Crusaders, messy as they were had become hardened warriors in the three years they'd been here but from the little Sunset had shown they really were something. I'd gathered they'd gotten fairly badly hurt somewhere along the way, but Sunset neatly skirted around the subject and left out as many details as possible.

And then there was the fact I was pretty stuck on a planet sized warzone.

This place is such a mess...

Poking at some of the machines only entertained me for less than ten minutes, boredom setting in pretty soon after that. It wasn't like I could go outside either as it was literally a warzone and, to be fair, it wouldn't be the brightest of ideas anyhow to go wander.

Though if I stay close to the building Sunset won't be too mad, will she?

Deciding it wouldn't be all that much of a crime, I stepped out and found a fairly covered spot near to the door, laying down on a box of sorts and looking up at the sky. It was filled with grey clouds and dust, not a ray of sunshine managing to pierce the grim view.

“Why does this new world need to be so depressing!” I called out in frustration, exploring new dimensions was supposed to be fun!

“Yeah, this place isn't exactly the best but there are good people around.”

I sprung up to see Sunset standing a small distance away with her arms crossed.

“I uhh...”

“Got bored of sitting inside?” she finished for me, I nodded sheepishly. “Yeah, guessed so. Mind if I join you?”

I shook my head and made place for Sunset who grabbed a package of cigarettes from a breast pocket and lit one up. “You know those are real bad for you, right?”

“At the rate things have been going around here I'll die of a plasma blast long before the lung cancer, which incidentally is something they have an easy medical fix for around here,” Sunset stated matter of factly as she took another long drag from the cigarette. Honestly, I couldn't fault her, the pressure Sunset must have been under was probably crushing.

“So what am I supposed to do around here? I don't want to sit around and do nothing,” I stated, switching subjects.

“Honestly, I have not a clue what you can do. Getting you off world would be kind of counterproductive as I'm working on creating a portal back to Equestria but around here you simply aren't trained enough to be of help.”

That irked me more than I'd care to admit, the Rainbow Dash not being of help? That couldn't be. “Oh come on, you could teach me stuff, right?!”

“I could teach you stuff, yes, but that's something completely different than actually going through the entire training process. Marines get trained to exhaustion and then a little further, ODST's even harsher,” Sunset said as she shook her head. “The facilities simply don't exist here on Harvest.”

“Scoots and the girls, they're marines, right?” I asked as I recalled Sunset's quick explanation she'd given me before, I hadn't been told of these ODST's yet though.

“No... well, yes. They are, or were, ODST's, orbital drop shock troopers. They're recruited from the best marines, they're among the elite of the elite. Only really two units are better than them,” Sunset said as she leaned against the wall and blew out a lungful of smoke. “Can't say much about those except that the girls are part of one of them now.”

“I just... can't wrap my head around all this, it just sounds so unreal,” I groaned as I did my best to avoid the smoke. The girls having become high end trained killers... They were just kids!

“For sure, it'll take a while to get used to this place but you'll find a spot to fill.” Sunset stood back up and flung away the butt of the cigarette, stamping on it to make sure it really was out. “Come on, there are some things we need to set up. The next few days will be rather busy for you.”

“At least it'll be something to do.”

“Heh, sure, let's go with that,” Sunset chuckled in a way that I could hear I wasn't going to like.

“It's going to be paperwork, isn't it?”

“Lots, and lots of it.”

“Ughhh”

The cryo-tube hissed open, my body still somewhat stiff and very itchy from being suspended through the slipspace voyage. Beside me the others had a much better time as they hadn't been in any clothes when they entered, my Mjolnir making that impossible. Knowing it would go away with time, I set off towards the bridge to get a quick update from the captain since the crew should have been out for a while.

The small population of our prowler had become fairly tight-knit as we'd had to rely on each other for survival for the last few months. Except for a small incident where Scootaloo had become a little too friendly with a male crew member, they had shown the utmost professionalism.

“What's our status, captain?” I asked as I found the man I was looking for. He turned for a moment to acknowledge me before returning to monitor various screens for anomalies.

“There should be a UNSC space station around here with updated information but I'm keeping silent until we can confirm it's still operational,” he answered, tapping a few buttons to bring up a two-dimensional view of the star system to show our current position. “ETA is two hours, I can probably confirm the station is active in one. Can you inform your CO that I want you guys on standby just in case?”

I nodded. “Of course, sir, anything else?”

“No, sergeant, you're dismissed.”

After saluting him I turned to leave, my strides somewhat larger than when I made my way back to the cryo bay.

“So, think Sunset has stuff figured out?” Scootaloo asked Sweetie, pulling up her pants while her upper body was still completely unclothed. Ana was a little further along, tying her shoes already.

“She's like Twilight when it comes to magic. I haven't a doubt,” Sweetie replied, eying me. “So what's the word?”

“Cap wants us combat ready just in case. Where are the Spartans?” the three of them cursed as they quickly started undressing to get into their BDU's instead.

“They're in the armoury,” Sweetie informed me, pointing at the door that lead to the mentioned section of the ship. Needing to go there anyway, I stepped in to find the three Spartans working on their weapons.

“Cap wants us on standby, Maria, we should have contact with the station in about an hour,” I informed the spartan in question after joining them.

She nodded, “Captain's prudent as ever. Linda, Grace, warm up the pelican for hot deployment. I take the others are being dressed.”

"Yeah, they should be done in ten," I replied, knowing the three of them would step on it to get ready. "So, do ya think ya will be joinin' us on Harvest?"

"Perhaps. I would not be surprised if Command wanted to send more than just you to gain your people's help," Maria admitted as she opened the weapons lockers, pulling out a battle rifle and loading up on ammo. I pulled out my shotgun and also made sure my shell supply was topped up to maximum. Ana, Scoots, and Sweetie came in eight minutes later to get their own gear and equipment, Maria giving them a quick set of orders before we all made our way to the pelican and waited in the craft for news. Linda and Grace took the piloting positions while the rest of us waited in the hold.

"So, how long do we have to stay in this bird before we can actually get a snack? I'm starving," Scootaloo complained while sharpening her already razor-sharp knife even further.

"'till we get an all-clear from the cap, if yer that hungry ya know there's a small provisions kit on the pelican here," I stated as Scootaloo being bored out of her mind was nothing new.

"Yay, protein bars and dry cookies..." she replied in the least enthusiastic voice she could manage but went to look for the things anyway. Ana on the other hand was leaning back in her chair, looking completely at peace as she sat there. Sweetie, though, was way too quiet for her standards.

"So what's on yer mind, Sweetie?"

She looked up, looking me in the eyes before letting out a sigh. “Harvest.”

“Scared that Sunset ain't able to get us home after all?”

She shook her head. “No. I am afraid she is able to. Bloom, what the hell are we going to do when we get back? Get Celestia to help the humans and return to school? We've aged three years and then there's the little detail of us being trained killers now, how many of those do we have in Equestria? Even the royal guard would probably be reluctant to take us in.”

“That's a bridge we will cross when we get to it, and when we do we'll all be there to figure it out together,” I stated, though the concern was one that had undoubtedly crossed all our minds at some point. Putting it off was really all we could do as honestly we hadn't a clue how everypony back home really would react.

"What is it like?" I looked over to Maria who'd asked the question. "Your world I mean."

That question kind of took me by surprise, in all the time we'd been together Maria had never really asked about any details about us. Of course she knew we weren't fully human, but before she'd only been interested in what abilities that provided us with.

"Peaceful," Sweetie stated. "Technology isn't nearly as advanced as around here, closer to industrial era Earth, but magic makes up for it in many ways. Ponies do not have the same drive as humans, a need to know more, expand. Content with what they have and maintaining balance."

Taking off her helmet and placing it next to her, Maria took a seat and leaned forward. "Sounds like a wonderful place to live."

"It really is," I confirmed, sighing as I remembered the rolling plains around Ponyville, even the Everfree had a beauty of sorts to it. "Canterlot, Cloudsdale, the Crystal Empire, Rainbow Falls... Each of them really is a sight to behold, perhaps you'll get the opportunity to see them all."

"Perhaps I will," Maria agreed, turning away her head as she received a message. "We're up. Captain just pinged the station and didn't receive a response. We're going in to investigate."

Author's Note

yup, I just happened among some more free time to write, moving to get this finished.

Chapter 22

Honour and self-saccrifice. Death does not diminish these qualities in a soldier.

We shall remember.

-Eric S. Nylund

The pelican slowly circled the seemingly dormant space station, only a minimal power signature visible on the scanners. The moon it orbited sitting in the backdrop as our dropship's powerful floodlights illuminated the black structure, the ONI listening post did not seem to be damaged in any way though.

I don't like this, there should at least be damage if they were attacked...

I checked the vacuum seal on my armour just to see if there was any leakage as I suspected I would need it soon.

"Linda, Grace, keep circling the station and coordinate area scans with the prowler. We're going in to confirm the status of the nav computer," Maria stated, turning to the rest of us. "Confirm vacuum seal, we're going out."

All of us gave a thumbs up and made sure our weapons were properly mag locked, the spartan pressing the button that cycled the air out of the hold and opened the back ramp. One of the station's docking bays lay before us, Bloom being the first one to jump, having her shotgun in hand as she got in and opened the door for the rest of us. Not a whole lot later the other four of us joined her into the station, flashlights on to bring light to the dark corridors. There was no air in the hallways, just the same vacuum as the space outside which dampened the clangs our mag-boots made. Occasionally the floodlights from the pelican shone in through windows, brightly illuminating the hallway for a brief moment before bathing it into darkness again.

"Where the hell is the crew? Was this place just abandoned?" I muttered over the radio, carefully eyeing my limited oxygen reserves as we advanced.

"There aren't even-" Bloom stopped talking as she reached an intersection, throwing up a fist which made the rest of us freeze in place, ready to react to whatever she had seen. "Found them."

Bloom had already lowered her shotgun as we came around the corner too. Bodies floated around the hallway, motionless, blood pooled around them as holes from spikes that were still embedded in the walls pierced their bodies. There were over a dozen of them.

"Looks like they were herded into here and then executed..." Ana stated as she moved in close to examine the bodies. "They've been dead for a while, I don't think we're going to find the responsible party around here."

"We found a hole in the station's superstructure, looks like life support was taken out." Linda came in over the radio.

"The data stores are down this corridor," Sweetie pointed out softly as she too was clearly horrified at the sight. Bloom nodded and took the lead again, carefully moving the deceased humans aside with as much dignity as she could.

"Firewing, Belle, go clear the rest of the station," Maria ordered, she too looked a little disturbed at the sight. "We'll take care of verifying the computer has been dealt with."

"Yes ma'am," I replied, motioning for Sweetie to follow me down another one of the hallways, the one that lead to the living quarters in specific. Even though we suspected we were completely alone we still cleared every room as if there were combatants still present. In this section there were clearly signs of a struggle, though no damage from live fire was present, suggesting that they were caught completely off guard.

The commander of the force that attacked must have been very good if they were this unprepared...

"Scoots, look." Sweetie caught my attention, pointing at another hallway. "Cryo section."

"On a space station?" I asked in confusion as it wasn't exactly a necessity on a non-slipspace capable craft.

"It's ONI, they probably had their reasons," Sweetie replied, taking position at one side of the door and brought up her magical shield. I counted down with my fingers, hitting the open command as I got to zero, the two of us stepping in and scanning the room. There were about twenty pods in the cramped room, ten on either side of the lengthy room. All open except one. "Holy... checking vitals."

I immediately opened our longer-ranged coms to reach Maria. "Lead one, come in."

"What is it, lead two?"

Sweetie gave me a thumbs-up as she confirmed the pod's integrity. "We've got a survivor a cryo pod."

"He's in a pressure suit, if it has enough oxygen we can take him out," Sweetie observed. "Power is low so we only get one shot at this."

"Any alternatives?" I asked as rushing someone out of cryo could potentially be fatal.

"Tethering the prowler to the station and pulling the pod out completely. So no, it's this or leave him to die after the power reserves are drained," Sweetie stated as she started the procedure for emergency release.

"What is the date on pod activation, lead two?"

"October fifteenth," Sweetie told me, which I, in turn, relayed over the radio.

"Systems were wiped correctly on the thirteenth, the enemy got nothing. Get the survivor out if you can, we need to know what happened here." Maria ordered, Sweetie took that as her queue and initiated the revival sequence.

"Lead one, this is lead three," Linda came in over the radio. "We've got an incoming signature, corvette, heading straight for the station."

"Shit, did we trigger something?" I asked as Sweetie was cursing and looking around the cryotube to see if it was compromised, yanking off a purple device and showing it to me. "Damn it. Lead one, we found what's probably a beacon rigged to the cryo pod."

"Life signs are dropping... we lost the occupant. FUCK!" Sweetie cursed as she slammed her fist into the cryo pod's steel exterior. "It was all just a trap!"

"Lead two, RV at the docking bay," Maria ordered, the two of us sprinting away from the cryo bay in defeat, running back to our entrance point. Linda had the pelican hovering outside the bay doors, ready to blast off at a moments notice. The others were already strapped in as we jumped the distance and joined them.

"Gun it!" I called out as my boots loved to the pelican's floor, dropship rumbled as it immediately shot off.

"How close are they?!" Sweetie asked as she had to struggle to get into a harness under the g-forces we were experiencing.

"Too close! They were waiting on the dark side of the moon for someone to show up," Grace called out from the cockpit.

"Is there a possibility they actually managed to get into the data? Was our arrival expected?" Bloom asked, looking over at Ana as she'd been the one to check the system.

"All signatures of proper deletion are there..." Ana grunted as Linda made a particularly high-G course correction. "Shit, the nav data seems to have been deleted hours earlier than the rest of mission data. It's highly likely they knew we'd be passing through soon."

"And now they have us right where they want us," I growled.

"The question is why they have not opened fire on us yet," Grace stated, "We've passed into know weapon's range and we've not been turned into slag yet."

"Take the dropship and try getting to the dark side of the moon again!" Maria called out front. "We need to give the captain the opportunity to close in unseen or exit without notice!"

I felt a stone in my gut as I really did not feel like being left in a system where the only FTL capable ship was filled with elites. The pelican made another high-G correction as Linda steered it to the appropriate flight path. "They've launched fighters."

"Evade!" We got tossed around further as we could see plasma pass by the pelican through the cockpit window. Linda put up a valiant effort but there was no way to keep dodging forever as the pelican shuddered.

"Lost my engines... we're drifting."

"Hey, Sweetie, you don't happen to have mastered teleportation in the last five minutes?" I asked of our magically attuned squad member, it was in a joking way but I did know she had tried to get the hang of it a while ago.

"Sorry, that's a negative."

"Right, what could they be after that they want us alive?" Apple Bloom asked as we were now drifting. "Could it be that map we found in that asteroid?"

"Hell if I know, it could also be them wanting to get personal revenge on us for blowing up those mining facilities," I growled as I hated the helpless situation we found ourselves in.

"Well, we will get to ask them personally very soon. They're closing in fast," Linda stated, leaving the cockpit to Grace alone.

"They were launching fighters, right? that means there's a hole in their shielding we may be able to pass through," I stated as I was not just going to sit idly by to helplessly be picked off. "We have our thruster packs on right now, let's go out and take the initiative before it's too late."

Everyone looked over at Maria to see what her reply to my proposal would be. "We wait until it's so close the fighters can't respond anymore."

"That's right about now," Grace informed her, joining us in the hold as well. "It's slowing down to match our velocity."

"Then get ready," Maria ordered, facing the pelican's ramp, getting ready to blast off. "Opening in three... two... one..."

The ramp slammed open as Maria overwrote the safeties that should prevent that. The explosive decompression gave us a little boost out as all our thrusters fired at maximum power to cross the vacuum as fast as possible. We could see point defence weaponry power up on the corvette's hull but the distance was closing so fast I wasn't sure if it was going to matter, they had closed in too much and now they were going to pay for that.

A waypoint was placed on our hud by Grace, tagging the landing pad for fighters on top of the corvette, marking where we should land. Before we arrived though, purple lasers started streaking through our formation, forcing us to take evasive action in the last few seconds of our approach but failing to hit any of us.

"Ah have no clue how that worked," Bloom laughed as four elites immediately rushed out onto the upper deck and opened fire, Sweetie being the saving grace as she barely managed to put up a shield in the coverless environment. The four elites didn't exactly stand a chance after that as we took them out one by one with overwhelming firepower.

"We need to find the ship's reactor or command centre and make sure either, at a minimum, stops working so we can escape," Maria stated as she ran up to what seemed to be an entrance at the centre of the platform we stood on, an energy field leading down into the vessel itself.

"This isn't my first time on a Covenant vessel. I can set the reactor to overload," Linda stated as we jumped down into the interior, another firefight starting as the elites there weren't going to let us get away with walking around their ship unopposed. "It should be located near the rear on these smaller vessels."

"Then that's our target," Maria stated as she peaked over a barricade and unloaded half a magazine into an elite, popping his shield. Bloom then jumped over her own cover and blasted it away with a close-range shotgun blast. "Grace, get the doorways! Blow them if you must!"

The spartan in question immediately went to work on the rear door while the rest of us gave her cover fire from the increasing waves of forces sent in our direction. Grunts led by elite minors were starting to pour into the chamber we occupied, individually they wouldn't be a big threat but the volume of them would quickly become a very dangerous threat.

"Stand clear!" Grace called back to us as she jumped to cover, the door she'd been working on being engulfed in flames for a second before revealing the door was completely annihilated. "Path's open!"

"Ana, Sweetie, Scootaloo, rear action! Bloom, Linda, Grace, on me and advance!" Maria didn't wait for acknowledgement as she sprinted into the blown hole. Meanwhile, I along with Sweetie and Ana held down the doorway, Ana and I lowering shields and mowing down grunts while Sweetie went for kill shots on harder targets.

"Sweetie, go! We've got you covered!" I called out, firing a full clip of my battle rifle towards a group of grunts. Sweetie sprinted past me into the hallway where the others had gone. Ana was next but instead of running fully through she gave me cover fire from the doorway until all of us were out of the direct line of fire for now. "How are you two doing for ammo?" I asked as we sprinted after the power armoured members of our team who'd already ran quite some distance to the rear of the vessel.

"Low, we can't keep up fighting at this intensity for long," Ana stated, slamming a new mag in her assault rifle.

"How long is that reactor going to take?" I called out as the first grunts were already running into the hallway on the far end.

"Not long," Linda replied, "There's another problem though... Last time I did this we left someone behind to make sure the sabotage wasn't undone."

The shock made it that I forgot to stop firing at the grunts entering the hallway for a second. "WHAT?!"

"Whoa, whoa, we're not just going to leave one of our own behind!" Sweetie agreed in horror, using her magic to shield me and Ana as we kept the hallway clear. My battle rifle chose that moment to click, I scowled as I knew that had been my last magazine.

"I'm out," I stated as I tossed the rifle aside, it just being dead weight without ammo, and drew my pistol. Grace took my position as she did have munitions left.

"I've armed the core, you girls need to go," Linda stated as she stood in front of the reactor's control panel. "I'll hold them off for you to get clear."

"No," Ana stated, walking over to the spartan. "No, you will not... because I will."

"Whoa, Ana! That's certain death!" I shouted in shock, hating what was going on here.

"Do you think I don't know that?!" She spat at me. "But when it comes down to it I'm the most expendable here! You three need to get back to your world in one piece so we have a better chance of getting your people's help, then there's you spartans, I still don't fully understand what kind of fucked up shit ONI did to make you but you are armies on yourselves... And then there's me."

She pulled off her helmet and looked us all over with a determined scowl. "I do not have magical powers, don't have augmentations, nor am I an interdimensional alien. I'm just a regular human. A soldier that, in the end, can be produced in the thousands."

"Ana..." I felt a lump form in my throat as this was really happening, tears rolling over my cheeks under my helmet.

"It's okay Scoots, it'll be for a good cause." Ana smiled at me as she grasped my hand, pulling me in. "I'd have gone with you girls to the end, to a completely different universe if I had to, but if I have to give my life to give you girls that chance... I will. Now go, you're burning time. Make this one count for me."

I nodded, not being able to say a word as I swallowed the lump in my throat, turning away to avoid breaking down into tears right there. Neither Sweetie nor Bloom said anything either as they both gave a quick hug to our teammate and returned to the hallway where grunts were being led into another attack. A final glance back showed the three Spartans giving Ana a quick salute before they joined us too.

Sweetie lit up both her hands with her magic, using her usual strategy of creating a shield with her left and tossing plasma with the right... the amount of plasma though was a little different as she absolutely decimated the grunts in front of her, the few critically injured survivors receiving no mercy as she simply walked past them. The small size of the vessel meant we quickly found our way back at our entry point, the vessel already shuddering as the reactor was going critical.

"We scatter after takeoff to avoid giving them a way to take us all out at once, understood?" We all acknowledged the order, jumping up and then off the corvette. I could see the power fluctuating throughout the ship by various systems blinking on and off as we sped away from the vessel, seconds later the only thing stopping me from being blinded was the self-polarising glass of my helmet as the covenant vessel detonated, sending bits of it scattering all around. I should have been happy to be alive that moment but I only felt numb.

"Everyone still alive?" Maria asked over the radio, I only clicked my radio in acknowledgement, unable to take my eyes off the expanding debris field.

"I'm sending our coordinates to the prowler, expect a pickup soon. Turn off all beacons until she gets here. Lead one out."

Author's Note

Yes, I'm on a roll. Expect another chapter tomorrow as well.

Alternative quotes for this chapter:

When you decide to die, remember to give your enemy the same honour.
-imperial though of the day

When I die and go to heaven to St. Peter I will tell,
"One more soldier reporting for duty, sir, I've served my time in hell."
-Hal Popplewill

Chapter 23

There's nothing you should take for granted;
not a single day,
not a single minute.

The bolt on the M247H heavy machine gun clicked back in place as I finished the maintenance I had been doing on the thing, a quick check confirming that it worked properly. I wiped the sweat off my brow, careful not to get weapons oil smeared all over my face, before hoisting the massive gun onto my shoulder and carrying it over to the correct rack, closing the locker, and marking it as ready for use.

"Yo, colours, mind giving me a hand here?" my colleague in the shop, corporal Davis, called out from under the warthog he was working on. Sunset had helped create a dye for my hair to return the green, blue, and purple streaks that I'd lost, which in turn led to the nickname. I did, however, have it tied back into a ponytail to avoid having it get in the way of my work, which messed up the streaks somewhat. Over the last five months, I'd been learning mechanics and helping out with maintenance on pretty much anything mechanical that didn't require an egghead to fix. Of course I'd wanted to do more but nobody seemed interested in getting me ready for any combat, and rash action was a little too dangerous even in my estimations.

“Yeah, what do ya need?” I asked, crouching down next to the other mechanic who stuck out his hand from under the vehicle.

“The self-adjusting torque wrench, I left it on the workshop table.” I turned and saw the mentioned tool, jumping over there with a flap of my wings to get it and then another to get back to the hog. “Yo, thanks.”

People around weren't exactly surprised to see my wings anymore, some even quietly whispering about another winged human they'd encountered on the planet previously. The rumours of my presence had spread around the entire frontline sector, something that seemed to lessen the shock once they ran into me off rotation. Sunset had been rather surprised this ONI organisation had allowed me to walk around this openly at all, though I just shrugged it off.

Not like they could have stopped me from taking flights.

Pulling another weapon off the rack, an MA5 this time, I checked the logs to see what was broken. Something with the bolt I'd need to check out. Right as I was about to start, red alarm lights jumped on along with a loud siren. Davis cursed as he pushed himself from under the hog and jumped up. I just looked around in shock as this hadn't happened in the last five months I'd been around this place.

“COLOURS, GET YOUR FUCKING ACT TOGETHER!” the corporal shouted, pulling me out of my moment of shock. He was already halfway into a set of armour in that little span of time I'd been out of it. He typed in a code on another locker and opened it, revealing a second set of armour. “Get into that stuff, I'm not having you die on my watch!”

That kicked me into gear as the ground shook, an explosion hitting the ground that sounded very close by. I don't think I ever managed to get into a dress as fast as I did then, even managing to put on the undersuit that went with the armour in one go.

Wait... why does this stuff have wing holes?

"Hey, corporal, where did you get this stuff?" I asked as I slid my wings through the backplate of the armour and strapped it in place with the front one.

"Something the spooks gave me in case we'd get into a situation just like this," He stated, pulling an MA5 from a rack and getting ammo for it. "Just hunker down here until this passes over, I'll come check on you later!" He ran off, leaving me all alone in the shop, explosions still going off all around the base.

Like hell am I going to sit around and do nothing...

Looking back at the weapon's lockers I found all of them were sealed shut, the only weapons I had access to requiring repair... Not that was much of an issue, the shop had plasma cutters for a reason. It only took a minute for me to get the equipment set up and another to cut the mesh away from the locker, giving me access to an M392 DMR and a decent stock of ammo for it. After having secured all the gear I shot a last glance into the weapons and armour locker, noticing there was an ODST helmet in the latter of those that I'd missed.

Huh, that thing looks real beat up, must be a second hand.

I didn't give it more thought and just put on the helmet, its internal systems turning on immediately. I actually hadn't handled one of these helmets before as unlike the regular marine helmet there really wasn't anything I could fix on them. That also meant I'd never seen one active from the inside as I saw information start to pop up on my display.

Whoa, I can even see my total ammo count on this thing!

Another explosion pulled me from my moment of wonder, reminding me why I'd gotten this stuff in the first place. I needed to figure out exactly what was happening and then find out where I'd be the most useful. I'd only shot a few guns on a couple of occasions when Sunset allowed it, so I wasn't the best with most rifles. The DMR would help but I didn't think I should be right up at the front, wherever that was, as I'd probably just get in the way.

Let's get some altitude first to find out what the hell's going on.

Leaving the reinforced garage, I made sure my exit was clear, opening my wings and jumping onto the roof. My helmet, tagging a load of flying craft strafing the base and releasing huge globs of green plasma all over it. "Banshees," I growled, the briefings on covenant forces being the few I hadn't tuned out in. Flak was shooting up at them but the flyers were wreaking absolute havoc on our guys. "Well let's see how you handle me!"

The banshees were of course fast but I still had a reputation to uphold and it wasn't like I'd just stopped exercising my wings after changing species. I matched speed to the first banshee to come close to me, latching on to it in its side, noticing a hole through which I could see an elite piloting the craft. Pushing in the DMR I just pulled the trigger a bunch of times, the covenant strike craft popping open and the elite, clearly in a panic, sliding out to fall all the way down to the ground. The banshee immediately lost thrust too, just dropping to the ground, leaving me to hover and stare in horror at what I'd just done.

"Sweet Celestia, I just killed somecreature."

I wanted to puke... so I did. Semi-crash landing on a roof of one of the prefabricated base structures, I pulled off my helmet and puked my breakfast out while also starting to hyperventilate. How can these humans do this every day?!

A plasma bomb went off on the ground next to a nearby building, engulfing a marine and showering me with dirt. I reactively averted my eyes even though I was wearing a helmet, when I looked back I could see the marine missed half his body and was most definitely not alive anymore. My eyes were glued to the sight for a few incredibly long seconds before my features hardened. Walking over to my helmet I put it back on and placed a new magazine into the DMR, picking a new banshee to attack.

I was going to show them what real flying looks like.

My tactic of latching on to the banshee had worked the first time so I decided I'd just stick to it. Coming up to a second banshee I grabbed hold of it a little better at the hole on the side through which I could see the pilot. I felt a button depressing, opening the canopy that was covering the elite inside the pilot's bay. The both of us clearly were surprised but I reacted the fastest, giving it a devastating kick in the face and sending it down to the same fate as the first pilot.

This time though I didn't wait around in the air and immediately moved on to the next banshee, armed with the new knowledge on how to open the strike craft. The third flyer though must have noticed me coming as it dodged out of the way right before I could latch on, the two of us going into a dance of manoeuvres as we tried taking each other out, either of us really just needing one lucky shot to achieve our goal. In the end, my ability to turn, clumsy as it was in my human form compared to my pegasi one, was greater than the banshee. A full magazine of bullets took care of the elite, sending his bleeding form to crash to the ground.

This is going to take too long. There's just too many of them...

I'd taken the three banshees out in relatively short order but there were dozens more and the amount of anti-air fire wasn't exactly increasing.

Well, there's one thing I can do that may catch a whole bunch of them at once...

Flying straight up I had to fight to gain altitude, the gear hanging on me weighing me down somewhat but not deterring me from what I was about to attempt. I breached through the clouds at speed, seeing the blue sky and sun for what was the first time in all the time I'd been on Harvest.

At least if I screw this up I won't be around long to see the consequences.

Having reached a high enough altitude, I turned around and headed straight back down. My speed was increasing at incredible speed as I pushed my wings to the maximum, seeing a mach cone start to form and flicker with rainbow light as I breached the cloud deck again, finding myself coursing right at a group of banshees.

"Boom."

Personally, I didn't hear the explosion as I was now outflying the shockwave, the banshees weren't that lucky as the pressure wave hit them. A quick glance back showed that at least seven banshees were out of control and the rainboom was somehow taking out more of them as it touched them. The magic explosion of the rainboom also gave me a wave of energy, allowing me to absolutely fly circles around the remaining banshees to their detriment. By the time I landed back on the ground the few remaining banshees were retreating away again, my breath ragged as I'd given it my absolute all.

"Rainbow Dash!" I turned to see Sunset running towards me, fully armoured up herself though only carrying a pistol. Pulling off my helmet I sank down, leaning up against a wall as I only now started feeling how tired I actually was. Sunset immediately started looking me over, checking for wounds but finding nothing as I hadn't been hit. "That was the most reckless think you could have possibly done!" She growled, shaking me around by the shoulder. "But you also saved our asses out here so we'll talk about this later. We have another problem right now."

The ground shook as I could hear another blast go off some distance away though I couldn't hear any banshees in the air anymore. "Where's that coming from?!"

"Wraiths. We have an infantry wave coming in and we lost a few seriously important hardpoints," Sunset explained as she pulled me off the ground with a little help from her magic and helped me stumble along. "I'm not sure if we can hold this position if they make a serious push so we should be ready to bail."

That got some energy to return to my body, pushing away sunset and stumbling back a bit. "Whoa, whoa, you're saying we just leave all these humans?! Heck no! I can still fight! You can fight!"

"Look, I can't guarantee that you'll be safe if we stay here!" Sunset called out, my blood starting to boil as she said that.

"SAFE?! Look around you, Sunset! Where on this Tartarus damned shithole of a planet can you truly guarantee that I am safe, huh?" I growled, stepping back further and picking my helmet and rifle back up. "Well, you can't! And I'm not going to sit by while I could be helping!"

A mighty flap of my wings propelled me away from the other Equestrian, I put my helmet back on midair as I coursed for the side of the base where the fighting was happening. Before I landed in cover I could see a wave of grunts charging forward, supported by the wraiths Sunset had spoken about. The stationary machine gun I could see from my position was glowing red as it shot a continuous stream of lead towards the incoming wave.

Alright Dash, no turning back, now go make a difference.

Turning the corner, I had to dive for cover immediately, green plasma flying by from the sheer weight of fire the grunts were putting down on us. Another marine was hunkered down behind the same cover I'd slid into.

"Yo, mind giving me some cover, I need to get over to the rest of my guys up front there," He stated with remarkable calmness.

"Yeah, got it!" I called back peaking over the cover and firing a series of shots into the crowd of grunts, the marine jumping from cover and sprinting over to a squad that was hunkered somewhat further up. The moment he arrived a massive glob of plasma hit the cover, completely incinerating him and two more marines. I ducked back behind cover for a moment to get my breathing back under control, only for an ODST to slide into cover beside me.

"For the record, this plan is insane," Sunset stated as she removed the polarisation on her helmet so I could identify her. "Stay behind me, I'll provide shielding."

She jumped out from cover and threw up a large, bright blue, shield, stopping plasma from getting to her while still being able to fire her pistol through the barrier. I immediately jumped after her and fired my own rifle as well though I don't think I hit anything while on the move.

"The base commander called in air support so we just have to hold out until that arrives," Sunset called out over all the noise as we took cover. Sunset immediately created a very bright fireball in her hand and tossed it out, the heat from the following explosion washing over us. "I don't have a whole lot of those in me," she panted, clearly under strain.

I peaked over the cover for a moment to see a wraith completely engulfed in flames. "Well, I'm not complaining! We should... wait, what are those?"

I guided Sunset's gaze to a group of bright objects flying down, the radio in my helmet crackling alive as a general message was sent out. "Archer missiles inbound! Everyone, hunker down!"

We could see marines jump down from firing positions and making themselves as small as possible, taking that as a queue Sunset and I did the exact same... and not a moment too soon as what happened next felt like the world coming to an end. Massive ground-shaking explosions that put the blast Sunset had thrown out to absolute shame rocked the ground for a good twenty seconds.

"Holy Celestia..." I stated after the explosions stopped and I looked out at where we were just attacked from. Somehow there were still survivors out there, not enough to pose a true threat but alive nonetheless... not that they stayed that way for long as four orbital insertion pods slammed down within the blast zone. Four individuals jumped out of them, quickly and effectively taking down every single alien that was still standing.

That wasn't what made my heart skip a beat though.

Two of them were definitely a bit larger than the humans I'd been interacting with, one more than the other but clearly noticeable. The third was using magic, a small shield wrapped around her forearm. And then the fourth... the fourth had wings.

It's them...

I stood completely frozen as they formed back up and started walking in our direction. The moment Scootaloo noticed me she too froze, though our helmets obscured our faces I knew she was looking straight at me. It wasn't long before the others noticed me too, a small moment where nobody moved ensuing. It was broken as Sunset stepped forward and motioned for them to get closer. Scootaloo halted in front of me, actually being a little taller than me, and took off her helmet, something which I did as well.

"H-hey."

"H-Hi squirt."

Scoots' lip trembled as a tear rolled down her cheek before she grabbed me and pulled me into a crushing hug, starting to sob. "Whoa, I'm here, Scoots, I'm here." What I found to be Bloom and Sweetie also took off their helmet, looking rather shocked too.

"We should get to a more secure area," the green armoured human that had kept its helmet on and towered over all of us stated, interrupting our moment. Scootaloo separated from me and wiped away some of her tears smiling at me before nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, I guess so. Got a place we could occupy?" Scoots asked, looking at both me and Sunset.

"The lab may be a bit small," Sunset shrugged.

"We could use the workshop, plenty of space there," I stated as marines started emerging from their cover to start picking up the pieces after the attack and look for casualties while we went to seclude ourselves. Sunset and the massive human excused themselves as they were going to report to the base commander so he was aware of our presence, which left me alone with the Crusaders.

"How long have you been here?"
"How's AJ doin'?"
"And Rarity?"

The three of them bombarded me with questions about home, I held up my hands for them to slow down a little, "I've been here for about five months, and though Rares and AJ are concerned for them only two weeks have passed at maximum, probably less."

That got the three of them to quiet down a bit for long enough for me to decide it was my turn to ask a question. "So you girls have been here for almost four years, right?"

Bloom nodded. "Spent a fairly decent portion of that time in cryo so we didn't experience all of it but yeah, pretty much," she answered waving around her arm which made me notice something which I'd completely missed.

"Wait, what happened to your arm?!" I stated shocked my eyes widening at the sight of the robotic appendage.

"Got blown off," Bloom replied with a shrug, "This one's solid though, the best I could get in a shitty situation. Pretty sure we've all had something like that."

I looked at Sweetie who sighed and started unstrapping her armour, Scoots giving her a hand speeding up the process. A massive burn scar covering a large portion of her side became visible as she removed the undersuit. "Got this at the same time as Bloom lost her arm. That op was a pretty bad mess."

"And I had to keep them stable while we got back to base," Scoots sighed. "The worst I got really was just being stabbed."

"I saw the after-action reports though, blew up that crashed ship good though," Bloom chuckled as Sweetie got back into her armour, not before I noticed the images of flowers covering her unharmed arm in its entirety.

"What are those? Humans don't get cutie marks, right?" I asked, intrigued by what it was.

"Tattoos, humans have this thing where they inject ink below the skin to create images," Sweetie stated, showing them off before pulling her undersuit back over the arm and obscuring them from view again.

"Isn't that my old armour?" Scootaloo suddenly asked, studying the ODST gear I was wearing.

"I haven't a clue, maybe, I only got this right at the start of the attack," I said, looking it over again, it would actually make sense if it belonged to Scootaloo before as Humans didn't exactly require wing holes.

"Huh, so what have you been doing around here then?" Apple Bloom asked, I waved my arms around at all the gear strewn around.

"Maintenance mainly, Sunset gave me some basic lessons with a rifle but nobody really wanted to teach me more than those basics," I said with a grumble.

"A necessary job too, and frontline duty ain't something you can jus' learn quickly, Rainbow Dash," Apple bloom stated with a sigh.

"Hey, I'm not helpless! I took out a bunch of banshees before you girls arrived!" I protested, slightly offended.

"We don't mean that personally, Dash, but professionally. We've been doing this for a while, remember? You must have gotten rather lucky against those banshees because they are no joke," Scootaloo stated calmly.

"I did pretty well at the wall too, before you guys blew up that entire area!" I countered, I could see Sweetie roll her eyes.

"Fine, let's test that theory. Rainbow, try pinning Scootaloo to the ground," she challenged me, Scootaloo didn't even move a muscle as Sweetie set her up for a fight, only raising an eyebrow as she saw me hesitate for a moment.

Oh well, sorry about this Scoots.

Opening my wings, I launched myself forward over the tiny distance at Scoots. At the last possible second, though, she moved right out of my path and tripped me up, sending me rolling over the ground.

"Opening your wings before a charge is pretty much the definition of telegraphing your moves," Scootaloo stated while she slowly circled me, tossing my helmet over to me after I'd gotten off the ground. "Put that on."

I did so, seeing Scootaloo hadn't put on her own. "You not gonna put on your own helmet?"

Scootaloo didn't answer as she raised her arms in a fighting stance, Sweetie and Apple Bloom clearing the area to give some space. I tried moving forward again, being a little more careful as I threw punches at lightning-fast speed... all of which were deflected by Scootaloo with ease, the last punch being batted aside followed by a flat-handed smack to the side of my helmet sending me stumbling.

"I don't doubt you could be good Dash, but it takes time and dedication and a controlled environment where you can train properly and safely. That doesn't exist here on Harvest," Scootaloo said but I wasn't done just yet and charged back in. Scootaloo wasn't phased by the charge at all and simply dodged, slammed her knee into my gut and followed up by crashing her fist against my head, sending me to the ground hard. Pulling off my helmet, I threw up whatever was still left in my stomach before gasping for air.

"Look, Dash, we can go on but I think my point is made, regardless of potential you're no soldier," Scootaloo held out a hand, helping me back up onto my feet, the pain in my stomach nothing compared to the bruising my ego had taken. "Losing one sister in a week is bad enough."

The atmosphere in the room changed immediately as the three girls looked down at their feet, clearly in pain. "What happened?"

Scootaloo clearly had to fight to hold back her tears. "A-A friend we made, sister in arms, she... sacrificed herself making sure the reactor of a Covenant vessel detonated, destroying the ship and allowing us to get out."

"Scoots, I-"

"Don't... Please, don't. It's still too fresh," Scoots stated, the only thing I could really do was give her a tight hug.

"Sunset told me she was ready to open the portal a month ago," I stated, getting back the undivided attention of the girls.

“So that means...”

“We can go home.”

Author's Note

One more chapter to end it after this one, will probably be released by next week as coming week I'll be incredibly busy.

Chapter 24

The thrill of coming home has never changed.
-Guy Pearce

"Everything's set up, though I could use some help from both you and Sweetie," Sunset addressed Maria as she went over the magic required to breach the dimensional barriers. "Time streams are not completely matched up yet so the moment we open the portal it'll essentially act as a sudden break."

"So what would we do?" Sweetie asked, "This stuff is the kind of thing that's way beyond us."

"You wouldn't have to do much, I'm, essentially asking you to act as capacitors which I can draw on to dampen shocks. I'd be the one moulding the magic into the required matrix," Sunset explained, the three of them going over the specifics which I didn't understand a thing of. Looking over at Scootaloo and Rainbow made it clear they didn't either as they were just whispering to each other.

“So what do you think the suit's doing here?” Scootaloo asked in a whisper as she noticed my attention.

“Orders probably,” I simply replied. “We may be going home but we still swore an oath, they ain't just gonna let us go without leaving us instructions and probably a message fer the princess.”

“That... makes sense,” Scootaloo admitted as Sunset and the others looked ready to start. The official sprung up and picked up a suitcase he had with him. Scoots and I stood up to stand at attention as he approached and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

“There are a few things that need to be covered before you proceed.” He placed his suitcase on an empty table and opened it up. Sweetie joined me and Scoots across to him, Maria keeping her distance as she probably wasn't going to come along, Spartans were a valuable resource after all. “As Sergeant Bloom just correctly assumed we the UNSC isn't just leaving you to go without further instructions, but first I have some things to give.”

He pulled three sealed packages out and passed them to the three of us. “Those are dress suits, I've been informed by agent Shimmer that they will most likely be adapted to fit cross dimensions.”

“If not my sister can adjust them,” Sweetie stated as she looked over the suit before putting it away in her backpack.

“Good, good, then there's something else that's overdue.” he pulled out four little boxes. Presenting the first to me. Sergeant Bloom, for your exceptional bravery and wounding in the line of duty, the UNSC grants you both the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. Regardless of your origin, you have served humanity exceptionally.

I took the box and looked at the two medals, straightening my back a little further. “Thank you, sir!”

He repeated the same riddle for both Sweetie and Scootaloo, though my winged friend did not receive the Purple Heart. “Now, higher it has been decided the three of you will be allowed to take across your armour and weaponry though to resist surrendering them to the authorities of your world, such things can be transferred as agreements are reached with your government.”

We all nodded in agreement, though I think we all would be hesitant to use force on ponies if it came down to it.

“Then there's a diplomatic package included, both digitally and physically which will need to be delivered to your princesses, Spartan zero-six-two will lead initial diplomatic efforts though so you will not be expected to treat with your own kind.”

“Yer coming too?” I asked rather surprised, having assumed it'd just be us, Rainbow, and Sunset.

“Until a diplomatic mission arrives on Harvest, yes,” Maria answered.

“And how are they gonna go through if we're all on the other end?” Scootaloo questioned, Sunset letting out a sigh.

“Because I'm staying here until a stable connection can be formed. I've already started the process but I'll need Twilight's help,” she explained, surprising me again.

“Well, good luck then and stay safe,” I told her, patting her on the shoulder.

“Luckily I don't have to take care of pegasi charging into the line of fire so I'll make due,” Sunset chuckled, looking over at Rainbow who blushed and found something interesting to look at on the floor. “Anyway, Is that everything they needed to know, sir?”

The man shook his head and closed his suitcase. “That was my part, though, I will remain here to observe and record the portal.”

Sunset nodded, turning to Maria and Sweetie, directing them to stand in two particular spots before directing us to stand ready as well. "Now, when I tell all of you to jump in, you move as fast as you can. I can keep it open for a while but I'd rather do it as short as possible, the headache after will be bad enough."

We gave a round of ok's and got ready to jump into the portal. My heart was racing as Sunset began, channeling the magic of Sweetie and Maria alongside her own to start tearing a rift into the fabric of reality. The air in front of her began to shimmer and crackle with energy, a blue hole not all that dissimilar to a slipspace rift though there seemed to be more shifting colours within it.

"Hold... hold... GO!" The five of us that were going sprinted forward, jumping into the rift from all different directions.

The world shifted, the tunnel between dimensions tossing me about and disorienting me slightly. I could still feel my body shifting form, hands and feet magically disappearing and hooves reforming. What in reality had been no more than a few seconds felt like an eternity but in the end I could see the light on the other end rapidly approaching.

Here we go!

Thunk!

My armoured form was spat out onto the crystal floor, I could hear someone let out a shrill cry from right next to me though I couldn't care all that much as I saw the others come through that mirror with which the entire mess had started oh so long ago. Not as humans, but as ponies.

Wait, hold up, Maria was able to do magic in her world, why is she a Gryphon?

The transformed human looked at her new, gloved, claws with extreme fascination, inspecting them from every angle. Sweetie was already back on her hooves, jumping around and laughing maniacally. Scootaloo was checking out her quite large wings, giving them a few experimental flaps. Rainbow though was looking at something to my left and did not look amused at all.

"Starlight Glimmer!" She called out, sounding rather enraged and dragging the attention of all of us towards a pony that stood closest to me. The way Dash had said her name made it absolutely clear she was not very welcome around here, something that was only reinforced as she cursed and lit up her horn.

Her loss.

Maria and I slammed into her, the spartan turned gryphon grabbing her by the glowing horn and using it as leverage to smash her head into the ground. The unicorn went out cold immediately from the blunt force impact, I was slightly concerned we'd been a bit too rough until I saw that she was still breathing. There was a mighty serious-looking cut on her forehead but that could be fixed with some stitching.

"Whoa... That's, uhh, one way to deal with it," Dash said shocked as she stared at the unconscious form of the unicorn we'd just taken down. "We should get her to the guard, she's trouble."

"Who even is she?" I asked as I hadn't a clue who the pony was.

"Friendship mission thing, we found her keeping a village under her control," Dash stated as she poked the unconscious unicorn.

"Wait, is she that unicorn that stole cutie marks?" Sweetie remarked, I vaguely remembered Applejack telling me something about that.

"The one and only. What she's doing here though, I haven't a clue," Dash said as she was sure the unicorn wasn't playing fake. "Should get her to the guard before she wakes up though."

"They still stationed in town hall?" I asked as I hoisted 'Starlight' onto my back, Dash nodded while raising an eyebrow.

"Wait, are you going to bring her in?" She asked surprised, I shrugged as I made sure my helmet was properly in place.

"Ah mean, who else? Ain't too much trouble and I'll be right back here. If y'all go find Twilight and the others in the meanwhile that'd be great," I stated as I made for the door, careful not to hit any of the equipment that was scattered around, the others close behind me.

"Ok, I guess," Dash shrugged as she jumped up into a hover. "I'm actually surprised the egghead wasn't glued to the portal in the first place, she was pretty obsessed with it when I left."

"I'm sure she had a good reason," Sweetie stated as we entered the empty hallways of the castle. My heart rate was still accelerated as I still couldn't completely believe we were back, no more threat of imminent death, no more firefights...

It's going to be so hard to adjust...

Ignoring the feeling of dread of what would be a monumental task on its own I made my way to the large front doors of the castle, Dash taking the others to the 'map room' of the castle so she could go look around for Twilight. As the doors opened I got my first sight of Ponyville in nearly four years, tears forming in my eyes as the sun brightly lit up the rustic village. Ponies hadn't noticed me standing at the entrance of the crystal castle as I observed them go about their day.

Huh, I guess I'm as big as the adults now.

Breathing in deep, I stepped forward and down the stairs leading up the castle and into Ponyville proper. The closer I got to the town square, and the market my extension, the more ponies started noticing me, they were mostly whispering to each other but not panicking which was a good sign for Ponyville.

"Who in tarnation are you, and where in the world are ya carrying... wait, Starlight Glimmer?" I froze as I heard the southern drawl, a voice I was intimately familiar with. Slowly turning around I came face to face with Applejack who looked terribly confused, my eyes being at the same level as hers made it even stranger. "No matter, what in the world are ya doin' with her?"

"Bringing her to the guard," I slowly stated as my enhanced mind tried catching up to the fact I was standing across to my big sister.

"Ya are? What even happened to her anyhow?" Applejack asked as she scowled at the large cut on Starlight's head. "That ain't looking too pretty."

Two armoured stallions approached from town hall, their golden armour making it clear they were part of Ponyville's small guard contingent. "What is going on here?"

I completely ignored them as I placed Starlight on the ground, keeping my focus on Applejack who started to become a little uncomfortable under the attention. "Uhh, is somethin' wrong?" Reaching up to my helmet with my hooves, I mentally undid the seal and removed it. Applejack's eyes went wide as saucers, her mouth falling open as she looked into my tearing eyes. "A-Apple Bloom?"

I couldn't hold it in anymore and shot forward, pulling my big sister into a crushing hug all the while combining crying and laughter. "H-Hi big sis, been a while," I finally sniffed, loosening my grip. Applejack was still looking at me with wide, amazed, eyes.

"H-How are ya so big?" Applejack finally blurted out. "And what are ya even wearin'? And... why is one of yer legs metal?" She scowled as she noticed my prosthetic, personally, I hadn't really inspected it yet either but it was there.

"I've... had an interesting time," I replied, Applejack scowled as she wasn't happy with that answer.

"How long."

"Well over three and a half years." Applejack lost all colour in her face. "I'll tell you everythin' with the girls, we have a few things that need discussing anyhow."

"That's great and all but you're coming with us, we want to know what happened to this pony," the guard who wasn't looking over Starlight's cut stated.

“Nah, Ah ain't. If ya need me fer a statement ya can find me at Twilight's castle,” I stated gruffly, placing my helmet back on and locking it in place. “C'mon, Rainbow was lookin' fer Twilight when Ah left so I'm guessing they'll come lookin' fer you, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity soon.”

Applejack shook her head, glancing at the incredulous and stuttering stallion. “Flutters 'n Twi ain't in town. They got called on a quest by the map.”

“Huh, that explains why she wasn't at the portal when we came through,” I pondered out loud as I started to walk away.

“HEY! You can't just leave!” He sprinted in front of me to block my path, only he hadn't taken into account that with my power armour he might as well have have been trying to stop a moving train.

“Bloom, Ah think ya should-”

“Look,” I cut my sister off, addressing both her and the stallion. “Ah've had the most horrible time anypony could experience so it'll be a cold day in Tartarus if ya think ya can stop me from spending the day with mah family... But if ya really want ta know what happened to that pony; she broke into Twilight's castle and tried castin' a spell on me and mah friends, Ah and another friend tackled her an' cracked her skull on the floor. Happy?”

Not waiting for a reply I stamped off, it'd bring a heap of trouble down the line but after telling our story I was going to spend at least today with Applejack, Big Mac, and Granny. Applejack was soon walking next to me again, though looking quite conflicted.

“We could pass by Sugarcube corner and pick up Pinkie?” I proposed, trying to switch her attention away from what had just happened.

“Nah, that pony is probably bouncin' around Ponyville from all the doozies,” Applejack chuckled. “Ah say we go get Rares if Sweetie ain't doin' so.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I nodded, smirking a little. “Race ya there?”

That brought a smile to Applejack's face, “Ah knew sendin' Rainbow was a mistake. Don't think Ah'll go easy on you jus' because ya wearing that heavy looking stuff, yer a big girl now apparently.”

“Ah wouldn't be too comfortable,” I grinned as I dug my hooves into the sand. Applejack of course hadn't a clue what Mjolnir was capable of. “Three...”

“Two...”

“One...”

I trotted over the dirt roads of Ponyville, my armour deposited at the castle where Scootaloo and Maria remained, instead wearing the dress suit with the two medals I'd received less than an hour earlier. We'd found Spike who, after nearly having a heart attack, informed us that Twilight and Fluttershy weren't in town and on some sort of friendship quest. They'd been gone for three day already so they were expected to return any second. We'd decided then that we'd gather the ponies who were present in town, having plenty to tell regardless, and we could fill in the missing two later.

That now left me with the task of gathering Rarity, Rainbow having gone out to find Pinkie and Applejack, if the latter wasn't found by Bloom that was. That still left me walking to Carousel Boutique, which I could already see at the end of the street. Before entering I checked my dress suit to see if it was completely straight without wrinkles, it had survived the transformation really well and actually turned into something I could wear for which I was very thankful now. With one side of my body lacking hair due to burn scarring it was rather cold.

The bell above the door rung as I opened it, the sign on the door having signalled Rarity had opened the shop. The insides were exactly as I remembered, ponykins standing around with extravagant dresses on them, soft classical music playing from a record player, the custom lighting creating a warm atmosphere...

“Excuse me but I'll be right down!” Rarity's voice had cracked horribly halfway through that sentence, making me cringe as she'd clearly been crying. The sound of hooves striking the wood of the stairs signalled Rarity coming down, making me tense up as I anticipated the reunion. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique what can I...”

“Hi sis.”

“Sweetie!” Rarity shouted in a very unladylike manner, hurling herself forward at me into a hug. “You're so big!”

“Yeah, I had some time to grow,” I smiled as I got checked out by her, her eyes inevitably falling on the clothes I was wearing.

“Your suit looks very well made, though it's not very ladylike,” Rarity stated as she inspected the dress suit, her eyes falling on both my medals and the scar poking up around the base of my neck. “So what are these medals for?”

“The one is called the Bronze Star, it's given for heroic service in a combat zone...” Rarity's smile became strained. “...and the other is the purple heart, given to those who've been injured or killed in action in in combat situations.”

“Is that what the scar is from?” Rarity asked quietly, I nodded in confirmation and pulled up the sleeve of my dress suit with my magic to show the extent of how far they ran.

“It doesn't hurt and I honestly don't really feel it's there most of the time, it's just a little cold without fur,” I said as Rarity looked about ready to faint. “Bloom really got the worst of it.”

“What can be worse than... That?!” Rarity exclaimed, my head turning as I heard somepony come sliding to a halt outside. My ears picking up a slight mechanical whirr along with the heavy steps.

Wait what's Apple Bloom doing here?

I tensed as if Bloom was running there might be an emergency, she didn't enter the boutique though. Thirty seconds later another pony arrived, heavily out of breath. “Landsakes, how in Celestia's name are ya that fast?”

Wait, did she race Applejack?

The door opened again, the pair of them entering the store. Bloom was a little careful as she stepped onto the wood, probably just making sure she didn't fall through.

“I assume you were holding back, Bloom?” I said, enjoying the look on Applejack's face as she snapped around to look at her little sister.

Apple Bloom took off her helmet and sheepishly smiled back at her big sister. “Well, Ah may have been able to push a little harder...”

“Don't feel too bad, Applejack, that armour she's wearing isn't exactly standard. She may very well be the fastest walking thing in the world while wearing it,” I stated, throwing some more gasoline on the fire.

“It looks dreadful!” Rarity exclaimed, poking the titanium plates of the Mjolnir. “The drab green, ugly angles, where are the decorations of proper armour!?”

Both me and Apple bloom had to hold in our laughter as Rarity missed the point of muted colours completely. “It's meant to be this way, function over aesthetics,” Bloom stated.

Rarity huffed, and muttered something about disregarding a sense of style completely but didn't push it. “I assume we are meeting up at the castle?” I nodded. “Is Twilight even back yet?”

“No, but Spike already sent her the update,” I informed them.

“In that case we should gather some things for a sleepover, the Everfree is still acting up somewhat so we shouldn't be walking around too much at night,” Rarity stated before making her way back up the stairs to pack. Bloom and I though glanced at each other, probably thinking the exact same thing.

“Hey, sis, define actin' up fer me.”

“We had a lone timberwolf entering town after dark twice, we got lucky till now but most ponies decided it'd be smart ta stay off the street at night until that's dealt with,” Applejack sighed before realising what Bloom and I were thinking about. “Oh no, don't ya two worry about a thing, the guard sent in some extra ponies to take care of the problem.”

“AJ, we can handle a night without sleep. Besides, we're equipped to deal with worse anyhow,” I stated. We weren't going to sit at the sidelines if we could help out, and definitely not when it came down to fighting large monsters.

“A guess ya could join them at town hall after sundown...” Applejack shook her head, “It feels strange but Ah guess Ah trust y'all know what yer doin'.”

“Thanks sis, and don't worry, we'll be fine and Ponyville will be a timberwolf lighter,” Bloom chuckled, “But in that case we should drop by the farm as well, seein' Big Mac and Granny will be good.”

“Yer right about that. Ah guess we'll see ya at Twilight's, Sweetie?”

“Yup, we have plenty of sunlight left anyhow,” I replied with a smile, the two earthponies leaving the boutique again. After a few minutes Rarity emerged back from upstairs with a large set of saddlebags filled to the brim, clearly having trouble with their weight.

“Just the essentials I take?” I humorously poked fun at her as she struggled. “Here, let me help.” Using my magic I undid the strap holding it in place and floated the thing onto my back. The saddlebags were heavy, yes, but manageable for me. “Anything else or can we go?”

“Yes, of course,” Rarity blushed at how seemingly little effort I was carrying her bag. “Go I mean.”

“Of course, after you,” I chuckled as Rarity closed down the boutique. “So are mom and dad in town or...?”

“They are, they came back from Manehattan the moment I informed them what had happened. We should pick them up as well,” Rarity stated as she locked her door.

I nodded. “Yes. Yes we should.”

Author's Note

Cutting the end up into three chapters, should have them out fairly shortly after one another. :raritywink:

Chapter 25

Don't underestimate me.
I know more than I say, think more than I speak, and notice more than you realize.

The castle's dining room was filled with beds, pillows and saddlebags by the time everypony had arrived. Pinkie had even given Maria the scare of her life by appearing from nowhere to announce a party, the spartan having waited out the day on the castle's main balcony and just observing the coming and goings around town from afar. Twilight had sent a message back to spike telling us she'd be here in the morning so we held off on telling most of our story and just allowed Pinkie to organise her 'welcome Maria and Crusader return sleepover party'... Though we were going to miss the evening portion of that party.

“The high balcony gives you a good view over the field up to this 'Everfree Forest',” Maria stated as she loaded a magazine into her assault rifle, Scootaloo did the same with her respective rifle and Bloom with her shotgun. “Belle will take an overwatch position there while we meet up with the guard at town hall. If we can catch it leaving the trees you'll have an immediate shot.”

“Sounds good to me,” I stated, levitating my stanchion next to me, my HUD telling me it was fully loaded and in peak condition.

“Y'all be safe, right?” Applejack nervously asked as she'd seen us gear up and get ready to confront the timberwolf, Rarity was in a similar position and only Rainbow Dash didn't look bothered at all by us getting ready for combat. She, of course, had been aware of our occupation for longer.

“The plan is to stay at a distance anyhow, and even if we'd get in close we're well equipped to deal with a timberwolf,” I assured them. “And if you want to talk to check up on the girls you can come up to see me on the balcony.”

Applejack frowned in confusion. “What do ya mean by that?”

“They have radio and other stuff in those suits,” Rainbow helpfully provided. “They can probably even see what the others are looking at.”

“We can indeed tap into each others helmet feeds as long as we have a sufficient connection,” Maria stated as she held out her claw and called on her magic.

“Ya know, Ah'm still amazed ya can do that. Ah was sure ya would turn into a unicorn on this end,” Bloom stated as she shook her head.

“Being transformed, even though I knew it was almost certain to happen, is still rather disturbing to me. I'm glad to have retained something akin to hands,” Maria said, waving her claws.

“Ah know what ya mean, can't say fingers weren't handy but Ah am still an earthpony at heart,” Bloom smirked, the pun drawing a snort from everyone who'd been on the other end of the mirror... even Maria. Bloom, Scoots, and I shared a quick glance at the outburst of emotion from the spartan, not being used to anything other than her usual stony facade.

“Radio discipline is light, there's no opponent capable of intercepting signals anyhow,” Maria stated in her usual tone of voice again, clamping her rifle to the mag-clamp under her left wing.

“Yes ma'am,” the three of us replied, tuning into the right frequency.

“Good, we're a go. Belle, take position. Bloom, Firewing, on me.” I saluted and turned to make my way up to the tip of the castle, Applejack and Rarity following me up and a short trip later I had positioned myself comfortably in my overwatch position.

“So ya can actually talk ta my sis?” Applejack asked while I calibrated my rifle and made sure my night vision worked properly.

“Yes,” I simply replied, propping up my rifle on the balcony in anticipation of what could become a very long night.

“So what they doin' now?”

“Walking to town hall,” I sighed. “Look, not that I'm against your company, Applejack, but I'm not going to give an update on every step the girls take. If the two of you come up here periodically I'll be happy to talk, after setting up we'll probably be talking with each other anyhow.”

“Ah guess that ain't unfair,” Applejack said reluctantly as she shook her head. “Ah'll bring some things ta eat and drink up too then.”

“That'd be nice,” I said with a nod, Applejack leaving for Pinkie's sleepover party which left me with Rarity.

“You sure you'll be okay up here?” Rarity asked as I slowly checked out the edge of the woods for movement.

“Yeah, most of the night will be boring anyhow,” I stated.

“Alright, I'll come check on you later too then,” She said before following Applejack back down the castle.

Being alone I connected to Apple Bloom's helmet feed, putting it in the bottom left of my visor. Their group had just gotten into view of town hall and were on their way over to it and the group of eight guardponies assembled in front of it.

“Hey! What are you doing here?!” one of the guardsponies called out as he noticed Apple Bloom.

Must be that pony that tried to stop Bloom when she was bringing Starlight in.

Moving my rifle over, I zoomed in on the group of guards, getting a secondary view of the situation.

“We're here to support you in hunting this 'timberwolf',” Maria told him, Bloom keeping her mouth shut. “Who's the officer in charge here?”

“I am, lieutenant Swift Wing.” an older looking pegasus stated, “And who are you three?”

“I'm Chief Petty Officer sierra zero-six-two, United Nations Space Command, and these two are sergeant Bloom and corporal Firewing,” Maria stated, looking down at the lieutenant.

“Right, and I'm Celestia's butler. Go home you three before you get hurt, I have no need for civilians interfering with my operation,” Swift Wing stated gruffly, turning back to the rest of his guards. I could practically feel Scootaloo ready to explode on the older pony, the only reason she probably didn't was Maria turning to address the two of them.

“Find a position at the edge of town and go for observation,” Maria told them, the lieutenant turning to face her again.

“If you interfere with my operation I will have you arrested for obstruction, am I clear?” he growled.

“Corporal Firewing, give the lieutenant your helmet. Corporal Belle, tag your own location,” Maria ordered, I meanwhile switched over to Scootaloo's feed and got Scootaloo to give me momentary control. The lieutenant hesitantly took the helmet and put it on, looking around in wonder as he got to experience its systems for the first time.

“There's a blue marker on the castle, please turn that way,” I instructed him over the radio.

“Who's this?!” he immediately demanded.

“Turn towards the castle and you'll find out,” I stated again, the moment he'd found the marker I'd placed on myself I made the helmet zoom in on my position, seeing myself aiming straight at him. “Congratulations, you've found me.”

“Corporal Belle is my long-range marksman, she's the one who will take out the wolf after one of us spots it,” Maria explained. “We are no amateurs, lieutenant. I am sure you will hear more after Princess Twilight returns tomorrow and I have time for proper introductions.”

The pegasus returned Scootaloo's helmet and frowned. “Alright, I'll bite, but if the princess doesn't vouch for you there will be consequences.”

“Of course,” Maria nodded. “If you attach your ponies to mine we'll rotate watches, use our equipment to communicate.”

“And you're sure your marksman can take care of the timberwolf?”

“More like obliterate it,” I muttered.

“Positive,” Maria replied, ignoring me.

“We'll see about that. If your methods fail then my ponies take over, clear?”

“Naturally.”

Swift Wing nodded and ordered his ponies divided between Scootaloo, Bloom, and Maria. The three teams split up to take positions that gave us a view covering the majority of the Everfree's border. Over the next hour there was the occasional chatting over the radio but mostly I was on my own. That changed as I heard somepony approach from inside.

"Chimera-three to sierra-zero-six-two, I'm off the scope for a bit, ping me if there's movement. Over."

"Copy that Chimera-three, stay within five seconds the balcony in case of movement and remain in comm network. Over."

"Roger that, Chimera-three out," I stated as I put down my rifle next to me and pulled off my helmet, making sure I still had a bead in my ear so I could hear comms. I turned to see Rarity observing me from the doorway, two steaming hot cups and cupcakes in her magic aura.

"I... thought you'd appreciate something to drink," she said awkwardly as she levitated a cupcake and the drink, a cup of hot cocoa with marshmallows and cream, over towards me. I snatched them from the air and levitated them over to myself, blowing on the hot drink to cool it off a little.

"Thanks, Rarity," I said with a smile as my big sister took position next to me on the balcony, looking out over Ponyville.

"So, did that wolf show its wooden nose yet?" Rarity asked in a clear attempt to start a conversation of sorts.

"Nothing yet, though if it shows up we'll make sure it won't get into town," I replied, looking out over the village without my night vision. An awkward silence fell between the two of us again as neither of us really knew where to start. I took a small sip from the chocolate milk, closing my eyes for a moment as it had been literally forever since I drank something so sweet.

"Is it that good?"

"It's been a long while since I last got something sweet," I softly stated, taking another sip of the drink.

"That's what scares us... Applejack and I that is," Rarity croaked, tears in her eyes. "You three were gone for only a short while to us but with how you came out... You went from silly fillies to hardened warriors in what to us was no more than the blink of an eye, and you three have only been giving vague hints how!"

"You know we are going to-"

"Tell us later," Rarity exclaimed with a wail. "But we're just so confused, and terrified!"

Applejack too appeared in the doorway to the balcony, looking almost as distressed as Rarity. I sighed as I opened my radio connection to the others. "Chimera-one, I'm up here with my sister and AJ I'm going to tell them what happened. They deserve to know."

"You sure you're up for that now, Chimera-three?" Apple Bloom asked, sounding concerned.

"I'll be able to make the shot when needed, don't you worry," I said, rolling my eyes and turning back to the two older ponies, Applejack having joined Rarity in her seated position. "Let's start at... well, the beginning..."

"So who the hell are you guys?" one of the three guards with me asked as I yawned, my helmet sitting next to me as I stared out at the edge of the Everfree. The four of us had sat here for a good three hours, I had mostly been ignored by the three royal guards until now.

"We're locals actually, well, mostly. We've been gone for..." I sighed as the difference in passed time was gonna make explaining things suck. "For you guys, it was two weeks, for me... almost four years."

One of them snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yeah sure."

"Playing around magic castles and getting sucked into magic portals sucks. But hey, you get a front-row seat to how we learned to deal with our problems," I stated with an eye roll of my own. "So how long have you guys been in the guard?"

"Me, five years, that asshole four, and then he just joined." The guard pointed at the one who'd rolled his eyes and the other who hadn't spoken yet.

"No shit. So, you two ever see action?" I asked, taking a sip from a bottle of water.

"Nah, just patrol duty up in Canterlot. Sometimes some critters pop up but last time we needed to take care of a timberwolf another team got the kill," The oldest of the three stated.

"Eh, nothing wrong with a safe job," I shrugged, my eyes moving across the treeline as I thought I saw some movement.

"Hey we want to-"

"Shh!" I immediately went for my helmet, slipping it on and activating night vision. "Chimera-two here, I've got movement in trees. Painting them now"

The three guards had jumped up too as they peered out as well while I used the IR laser on my rifle to mark the location where I'd seen motion. "Chimera-two on station, scanning."

"Chimera one here, spotted more motion, painting too." Another laser sight lit up the treeline further back as more things were moving in the treeline.

"God damnit, that's not one wolf, that's a pack!" I growled as I tried counting the shapes.

"A-A pack?" The rookie stuttered.

"Yeah, piss yourself later, we got work to do," I shot at him as I stood onto my hind legs, aiming my rifle. "What's the word Six-Two?"

"Hold your fire, let them step into the open." We all acknowledged the order, keeping our positions and letting the wolves step out of the forest.

"What in Celestia's name are we doing?!" The elder guard hissed, gripping his spear tightly.

"Waiting," I said calmly, knowing the timberwolves weren't going to shoot us from range was strangely calming. "We need to make sure we get them all."

"Weapons free."

The first thing that happened was that the biggest of the pack, what was probably the alpha, got hit by a streak of light from the castle. Sweetie's shot tore almost the entirety of its torso to shreds. The rest of us opened fire immediately after, a burst of my shots hitting another part of the lead element, our bullets not doing as much damage as Sweetie's sniper rifle but not doing nothing either. The three guards around me had jumped away from me, their ears flat as they could not have expected the loud sounds from my rifle. The pack of wolves was in complete disarray, their leader disintegrated and several of the larger packmates were in splinters.

"We have ta burn the remains, timberwolves reform if ya don't!" Bloom called out as the majority of the wolves were either down or so badly damaged they couldn't get away anymore.

"Copy that, move in and keep them down." Maria ordered, I could see her already sprinting forward along with Bloom. I followed soon after, leaving my guard escort behind as I took to the air and hovered over the few struggling wolves and put them down. Maria lit her talons up, somehow still being able to cast magic and sending a jet of flame out over the downed wolves. Not a very long time later we were standing in what were no more than the smouldering remains of what had been the pack, checking if everything was properly scorched.

"Sweet Celestia..." The lieutenant whispered as he and his ponies walked up with wide eyes as we were confirming our kills.

"We did say we were professionals," Bloom stated as she kicked on a still rather intact bit of wood and splintered it further.

"Yes, you did," he stated, a lot more respectful towards us now. "My ponies will keep watch for the rest of the night, if there's even any left then we can handle it."

"Of course Lieutenant, my people need to rest anyhow, we have a meeting with the Princess tomorrow," Maria stated.

"Rest well, we are in your debt. We would not have been able to take on a full pack. We owe you our lives," He thanked, lowering his head down. We parted ways as ponies poked their noses through windows, probably all of the village's inhabitants had been awoken by the loud gunfire. Well, better that than a pack of timberwolves roaming the town.

"Chimera-two, I've gotten down from the balcony, I'll see you all inside. Out," Sweetie called in as we got close to the castle. Everypony inside was awake as well as we entered, looking at us with wide eyes as Sweetie was already among them.

"I gave them the quick rundown," Sweetie stated as she was laying on a mattress, armour still on. "Tired now, can use the sleep before tomorrow."

"Ah agree-" Apple Bloom was cut off as Applejack slammed into her, making the armoured pony stumble as she was pulled into a crushing hug.

"Ah can't even start ta imagine what ya went through but know Ah'm here for you." Bloom had to process for a moment before returning the hug and responding.

"Thanks sis, Ah... think I'll need a listenin' ear sometime soon..." Bloom sighed as she released her sister again. "But Sweetie's right, we gotta sleep a little before Twilight gets back tomorrow cause we're gonna have a few long days."

"Well, we had that covered until the four of you started making all them noises," Applejack chuckled, nudging Apple Bloom's chest piece. The two of them finding a sleeping spot together. Sweetie did the same with Rarity as everypony went back to sleep. Maria went off on her own, finding a dark corner to lay down in her armour. Not really having anyone to lay down with I joined her as she tried finding a comfortable sleeping position.

"No family here?" she asked as she gave up and just lay down on her stomach.

"None other than the girls and Rainbow," I shrugged laying down on some pillows. "I'll survive another night on my own." Maria gave a tiny nod in acknowledgement, having another attempt to get comfortable. "Having trouble there?"

"Changing into a different species was... more unsettling than I care to admit," Maria stated as she tried a position on her back. "I may not be picky in where I sleep but I can't for the life of me find a position where I'm sure I can get rest in, have some advice?"

I thought for a moment, I knew some pegasi were really picky about where they slept for some reason and that was clearly something Maria was suffering from too at the moment. Hmm what if I tried...

"Hold on for a moment, I need to try something out that could maybe help you out..." Jumping up I flew out of the castle at speed, finding a fluffy cloud in the sky and taking a deep breath. Here goes nothing...

Having seen Dash do it thousands of times I pressed my hooves against the cloud and started pushing, the smile on my face as it moved where I wanted it too was immense. A few minutes later I flew it right back through the doorway which I'd left through and let the cloud sit on the ground. Maria, though wearing her helmet, was clearly shocked seeing a cloud being handled like that. "I'm not sure how well this stuff is going to be able to carry the weight of your armour, but I was always told it made for great bedding."

Maria carefully poked the cloud, finding that it actually felt solid before she tried stepping onto the cloud. She sank in a little as her armour did weigh a ton but the cloud was apparently strong enough to hold. "I... wow." she simply stated as she laid down and immediately found a good position. "I'll have to try this out without armour..." she muttered, making me chuckle as the spartan was completely entranced by the clouds, running her claws through the white mass.

"You should, but I'm gonna nap too now. Good night."

"Yeah, you too."

Author's Note

Just one more, getting very close now.

Chapter 26

True friendship isn't about being there when it's convenient, it's about being there when it's not.

Rainbow was rolling on the ground of laughter after she found Scootaloo and Maria laying in a pool of water in the morning, I myself couldn't help but laugh a little too at the sight. Apparently, Scoots had brought in a cloud for her and Maria to sleep on later in the evening not knowing a natural cloud without tampering would completely dissolve by morning.

“I, uhhh... Can clean this up?” Scootaloo said sheepishly, standing in the middle of the large puddle.

“No, no, I have it. You three should do whatever you need to do before Twilight arrives,” Rarity chuckled as she and Spike had already gotten a mop and bucket.

“She is right, I want you three in dress suit to greet the Princess and sergeant Bloom and I still need to get out of the Mjolnir,” Maria stated, stepping out of the puddle of water. “Mister Spike, could you point us to a room we could use to work in private?"

The little dragon looked up at Rarity who gave him a nod as she was making quick progress cleaning up the mass of water. The small dragon led us to a private room where we could undress from our Mjolnir. Maria had received some field equipment that would allow us to strip the power armour and after an hour we were completely out of the armour and getting into the dress suit. I took a few glances in Maria's direction as she slipped into the suit, I may not have had all that much experience with griffons but I was pretty sure they usually weren't as muscled as her... That and being what was probably getting close to Celestia's size.

“So, what should I expect of your Princess?” Maria asked as she straightened her sleeves. She had expressed some amazement that the entire suit had transformed so perfectly.

“Shouldn't worry too much about Twilight, she's honestly just a huge nerd. She'll probably get Princess Celestia involved soon though and Ah remember that she really runs things, never met her proper, but I'd be surprised if she ain't a smart one after livin' over a thousand years,” I explained.

“That is probably a wise assumption,” Maria admitted as we ordered our Mjolnir in the corner of the room. Our weapons, though, were still slung around our bodies as we didn't want anypony to accidentally get hurt from them. After hooking up with the others and the getting Spike, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow, and Pinkie, we made our way over to the train station for the morning train.

“Sweetie Belle?!” we heard someone call from behind our group, making the unicorn pause and look back.

“Button?” Sweetie replied as she noticed a group of foals with their schoolbags on were gawking at us... Our old classmates. Our sisters and Maria kept a little distance as we broke off from them, the train wouldn't be arriving in a bit anyhow. My eyes fell in another of the fillies though: Twist was looking at my with eyes wide as saucers.

“Hi Twist,” I simply stated, the other fillies shying back a bit as I was absolutely massive compared to the filly I had been a mere two weeks prior to them.

“How are you so big?” Button asked, staring at me too before looking Scoots and Sweetie too. “How are all of you so big?”

“We messed around with something in Twilight's castle. We... spent some time away from home,” Sweetie stated. “We're going to be meeting Twilight at the train station to figure out some things.”

“So you'll be returned to being filly blank flanks soon? Good to know.”

I immediately held out a hoof so Scootaloo couldn't step forward and looked her in the eyes. “Stand down. You have nothing to prove anyway.”

The tension in Scootaloo's body immediately vanished. “Yes sarge, sorry about that.”

“We spent three years in another world. There's no de-aging from that, and besides...” Sweetie lit her horn and unbuttoned her dress suit a little to show her burn while pulling up my sleeve to show the metal leg below. “...we took some irreversible damage along the way.”

The group of fillies reared back a little as they saw what would be absolutely debilitating injuries to them. Diamond Tiara's mouth slammed shut as her eyes shrunk to pinpricks. “Sweetie...” I growled at her for scaring our old friends and bully but she'd already moved her attention back to Button Mash.

“I remember that I promised to play video games with you, didn't I?” Sweetie asked Button Mash who shyly nodded. “I can come by this weekend?”

“S-Sure, you know where I live... Right?”

“Yeah, I do. Say hi to miss's Cheerily from us, we're probably going to not be in school for a while,” Sweetie smiled as she stepped back and started returning to the others. “See you guys around!”

Scootaloo said her own goodbye and I gave our classmates a nod before moving back to the group. “Ya know yer two years older then him now, right?” I asked as we returned on our route to the train station.

“Sure, I'll have to wait a bit, but two years isn't the craziest age difference and he's growing quick.” Sweetie shrugged. “And I remember him absolutely having a crush on me but being too nervous to tell when I prodded him for it.”

“Wait, you knew about him trying?” Scootaloo asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Knew about what?” Spike asked as he caught up with the girls.

“Nothing,” Sweetie, Scoots, and I replied in sync.

“Don't worry Spike, just girl talk,” Sweetie chuckled.

“Of course, mushy things,” Spike said, faking a gag as we arrived at the platform.

“How long is it untill the train arrives?” Scootaloo asked as there were some passengers waiting for the morning train.

“Not long,” Spike replied as he pointed at the approaching plume of smoke in the distance. It indeed wasn't long for the engine to appear in sight... And the moment it did a bright purple flash lit up the station.

“You know, Twilight, you could just have waited for the train to come into the station,” Spike deadpanned as he walked up to his big sister.

Twilight jumped as she saw the ponies and griffon waiting for her. “Girls!”

“Hello Princess,” I sheepishly said, knowing to her we'd just broken into her castle and been sucked into the mirror. Twilight's smile faded a bit as she scanned the group. “Where's Sunset?... And who is the griffoness?”

“Chief Petty Officer Maria,” the Spartan simply stated with a sharp salute. “Your 'Crusaders' have been under my command for a bit.”

“You're a soldier...” Twilight said in awe as her eyes drifted back over to us, sucking in every detail she could. “...You all are?”

“Yeah, we found ourselves in a bit of a twist in the place yer portal sent us to,” I admitted. “Beside returnin' here the UNSC wants us ta negotiate an alliance between them and Equestria.”

“I... wha-... Who?” Twilight stammered as she tried processing what she'd just been told. “Assuming I understand what you're talking about... You'd need to talk to Princess Celestia for that.”

“Well, darling, this is the train to board for that,” Rarity pointed out as the machine came to a stop in the station. Twilight seemed to be having trouble wrapping her head around the situation, standing silently in her place as she processed what was happening.

“Alright. But I want to know everything.” Twilight demanded as she turned back at the train right as Fluttershy stepped out. The pegasus getting encased in Twilight's aura and turned around one-eighty degrees. “Our trip is going to be a bit longer Fluttershy.”

We held nothing back as we rode up to Canterlot, telling everything that had happened to us from the moment we'd landed on Harvest to the training we'd received, to the combat deployments we'd been on. Even the ponies that had already listened were totally engrossed as the three of us built on eachother stories, providing more details that the others didn't know. Applejack and Rarity cringed when Scootaloo described what had happened when I'd lost an arm and Sweetie had been severely burned, our sisters pulling us into hugs to confort us.

“And you really feel nothing?” Rarity asked as she held Sweetie's fur-free forehoof.

“Not at all,” Sweetie replied. “They had a load of really good doctors back on Reach.”

“An' Bloom?” Applejack asked as she glanced over at me.

“Don't feel the leg at all. It still seems to function just fine, even with magic an stuff, I've been able to pick up things as normal with it,” Apple Bloom shrugged.

“Seems like Scootaloo got off best there,” Rarity commented but quickly held her tongue as she saw the dead look Scootaloo was shooting her.

“I saw my two best friends nearly het killed in front of me, dragged them out of the line of fire, and jabbed them full of drugs in a desperate attempt to keep them alive,” Scootaloo stated as the temperature in the room noticeably dropped. “Some scars aren't of the visible kind.”

“She's right about that,” Dash spoke up, staring off into infinity for a moment. “I wasn't there awfully long and I saw plenty of humans completely broken by what they saw.”

“War's hell,” I agreed. The carriage remained quiet for a bit as they gave us time to get our minds back together.

“We lost a lot of good people... Friends,” Sweetie stated sadly.

“As long as we remember her a piece of her will stay alive,” I stated as I saw who she meant and tried swallowing the growing lump in my throat.

“Oohrah,” Scootaloo softly stated, tapping her chest twice with her hoof.

“She died a good death,” Maria stated, breaking silence as she'd just remained quiet while we told our story. “Most soldiers' deaths in war are sudden, their life is snuffed out in an instant, but when Ana saw hers coming she faced it. She chose to make her stand right there and died on her own terms, not on the enemy's terms. Linda and Grace will make sure she is remembered by the other Spartans too.”

“She deserves it,” Scootaloo stated. Our sisters and the others said nothing as they let us have our moment, the pain was so tangible it could be felt by everyone.

“Next stop, Canterlot!” the conductor called out as he passed through the carriages, the train having slowed down as it was being pulled up the mountain.

“I almost forgot! Princess Celestia doesn't even know we're here!” Twilight suddenly stated as she summoned a piece of parchment and quickly scribbled a message onto it. Spike then sent the message over and received a reply back in no time.

“She says she's sending a Royal Guard escort to the station,” Spike stated as he finished reading the message. “She's very interested in hearing about the Crusader's adventure.”

“I'm pretty sure she won't be as excited when she realises what were here to ask,” Sweetie stated.

“And what exactly is that?” Twilight asked as she was getting curious, looking at Maria as she was the one and only 'human' representative to come meet Celestia. “If your people want to pull my, and the other Princess', ponies into this conflict we will disappoint you,” Twilight warned her.

“A few specialist would be appreciated but our main need is magical devices that can detect magic sensitive humans among our own population. From what I've seen, you ponies simply don't have the population to field a serious force. We need expertise and materials, not soldiers,” Maria told her as they came to a halt in Canterlot station.

“I... Think an arrangement like that could be considered,” Twilight stated, clearly avoiding making any commitments yet. The train was quickly emptied as it was going to turn around back to Manhattan from which it came. Though the station was busy, everypony took a wide berth around the group led by a princess and containing a massive griffon. It didn't take long for the squad of Royal Guards that had been sent for them to find the group. The six of them gave a quick bow to the princess before studying her company. The squad leader lowered his head a little as he noticed the four of us in dress suit, something we reciprocated to the fellow soldier.

The escort to the palace was quick but we still attracted plenty of attention, ponies looking and pointing at our group. Some were focused totally on Twilight, others were way more focussed on Maria and the rest of us. In the end whatever gossip that would spread about us wouldn't be all that important. As we entered the castle Twilight wanted to make a beeline to the throne room but was stopped by the royal guard.

“Morning court will be going on for at least another three hours, Princess Celestia will be tied up there until then,” He informed her.

“I am quite aware, sir, but there are certain things for which court may be adjourned... Among which is military necessity,” Twilight told him. “I can lead my friends further, I need you to wake Luna and get her to the Throne room too.”

The guard looked a little afraid for a moment before bowing. “Yes, Princess.”

“I need you all to stay outside the throne room while I introduce you. The nobles take interruption of the court very seriously,” Twilight warned them. “Maria, Scootaloo, Sweetie, Apple Bloom, can you be ready to step into the room when I call you in?”

“Shouldn't be an issue,” I shrugged, the others also making sure they were ready to step in. We held back as Twilight pushed the two large doors to the throne room open with her magic and walked in. The noble who'd been making a plea to Celestia turned to glare at whoever had interrupted him.

“Twilight?” Celestia stated in confusion as she saw her student. “I got your message and will have time in the afternoon lunch break.”

“I know you will but what I have to tell has to be discussed at the soonest time possible,” Twilight stated as Luna teleported into the stands, looking very tired. “Girls, could you step in?”

A wave of commotion went through the crowd of nobles as Maria and the rest of us stepped forward into the chamber. Celestia remained quiet as she let Twilight have the chamber, the way she was looking at her reminded me of how our instructors looked at us when we were getting the hang of something.

“By the authority given to me as a Princess of Equestria, I adjourn this court to discuss imminent military matters among my fellow Princesses,” Twilight stated, the entire crowd of nobles falling dead silent as they looked between Twilight and Princess Celestia.

“You heard her,” Luna stated from the side, “She is as much a princess as either myself or my sister. Clear the room.”

The nobles started filing out of the room, some curious and others clearly offended but they filed out none the less. Our sisters and the others came in after the last of them had left and the doors were closed behind them.

“I hope you have good case for this, Twilight, because the nobles will not take this laying down if there isn't,” Luna warned her as she got down from the stands.

“I have... Hopefully,” Twilight said, losing a bit of the confidence she'd shown just prior before turning back to Princess Celestia. “Remember the message I sent you two weeks ago?”

“About the fillies?” Celestia asked, knowing the answer. “Did the books from Starswirl I sent help?”

“They did... Sweetie, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, could you step forward?” We immediately obliged Twilight and walked up next to her, seeing Princess Luna's and Celestia's eyes widen. “The timestream in the dimension they ended up in wasn't matched with ours. They were there for years while it was just two weeks here.”

“Maria can you step forward and introduce yourself?”

The massive griffon responded equally as swiftly, stepping up to Twilight's other side and saluting the Princesses. “Your hignesses, Maria zero-six-two, United Nations Space Command. I was sent here with the three of your people to initiate contact and hopefully start positive relations.”

Luna and Celestia glanced at each other briefly to silently communicate with one another. “I must say, this is rather unprecedented. I hope you will not object to us wanting to ask some things about your people first?”

“Of course not, ma'am, I wouldn't expect anything less,” Maria responded as Luna stepped forward.

“Alternatively, I can glance into your mind and get the information that way. It would save a large amount of time and I could share it with my sister,” She proposed as I could see Maria already starting to object.

“Ya can look into mine,” I proposed. “Maria knows too many of her people's secrets, Ah don't think they'd like if ya potentially had the chance ta poke around in them.”

“I would never,” Luna immediately defended herself.

“Even if you wouldn't, my people could never confirm that. It's nothing personal, ma'am,” Maria stated as apologetically as she was able to.

“I... Alright. Please come closer Apple Bloom.”

Stepping up in front of the Princess, she closed her eyes and lit her horn. As she opened her eyes they were white with light, a tendril of magic climbing out of her horn and moving towards my forehead. As it touched I vaguely felt memories being pulled to the front, emotions get shaken loose, and old wounds starting to itch.That said, I was gazing into Luna's glowing eyes stoically.

Luna, on the other hoof, tensed up completely. Her wings were a little spread as if she was about to bolt, the muscles in her neck tout. The tears forming in her eyes quickly turned red as blood started flowing over her cheeks, followed by a small stream from her nose.

“Enough.” Celestia pulled her sister away from me and severed the connection, Luna shaking as she got herself together.

“How are you still sane?” was the first thing Luna asked, breathing heavily. “How are any of you so calm?”

“We have our ways of coping,” I stated, hearing Scoots and Sweetie shuffle behind me.

“Luna, what did you see?” Celestia asked, immensely concerned at the reaction her sister had shown.

“War... they are outnumbered and outmatched against a foe who's stated goal is the complete annihilation of their people,” Luna whispered, coughing up a wad of blood and spitting it out. “They have my full support.”

Celestia seemed to be taken aback, “Are you sure?”

“If our ponies ever find themselves in a similar situation I would want them to be helped too. So yes,” Luna looked over at Maria. “Tell me what your people need and I will try to provide any assistance you require.”

“I think it's best if we took this meeting to one of the diplomatic rooms,” Celestia said as she saw the determination in Luna's eyes. “To determine what would be expected of one another.”

Maria nodded. “That'd be agreeable.”

Maria

Luna came down in a glide onto one of the viewing platforms that gave me a good vantage over Canterlot and the hilly plains that stretched below and beyond the city. I had trouble with the stability of it all as I gazed out over the picturesque landscape, my entire life I'd only known the military. My brothers and sisters were the best of the best at what we did, but seeing this... Peace. I envied the fillies that were playing in the streets below. Was I older than them? Or were they older than me? If they were allowed to be playing like that, why couldn't I?

“Enjoying the sight again?” Princess Luna asked.

“It helps with thinking,” I responded curtly as always. You can't because humanity needs you, now more than ever.

“I see,” Luna replied as she tried prying information out of me as always. “Anyhow, I wanted to inform you our preparations are essentially done. Your people have indicated an opening between our worlds is possible at this moment and we will attempt an opening soon.

“You are here to fetch me,” I simply stated as I turned, having a brief moment of confusion as the Princess was wearing a black outfit, and a modern armoured vest that almost looked like it was made of kevlar. “You are going yourself?”

“I am. Out of anyone in this world I am still one of the most well versed ponies in the use of magic. For the initial setup of the new portal my help will be invaluable,” she stated as the two of us walked back towards the palace. “Plus, I've seen the other end through Apple Bloom. If I am to send ponies to your people I will see their destination first.”

“I do not think your ponies would hold it against you if you stayed. Your safety is very important to this world too,” I argued as the Princesses here were definitely lynch pins in the working of the nation.

“I would hold it against myself,” Luna stated as they entered the palace and headed towards the roon where all the preparations were being made. A new mirror had been constructed with a much larger surface area to make shipping larger quantities of materials easier. A few unicorns were around checking the magical equipment around to assure it's function. I stopped as I saw Firewing, Belle, and Apple fully geared up and waiting. Their Armour having gotten a paint to a dark Blue, most of the logos on it intact but their shoulder pad had a moon added to it. They smiled as they saw me enter. They had been staying with their families in Ponyville over the last month while I'd remained behind with with the Princesses.

“I didn't expect to see you here,” I stated as I approached them.

“Well, we heard the princess here was going ta Harvest and we couldn't in good conscience let her go without proper security,” Apple Bloom said with a chuckle. “So we'll probably have ta wave goodbye on the other end.”

My lip curled up a bit and I gave her a nod. “Appreciate it.”

“My guard was not happy with it but they are undoubtedly the best prepared for the job,” Luna stated. “And with their time spent in your world they are old enough for guard duty in our world.”

“AJ, Rarity, and Dash weren't all that happy but knowing we probably aren't going to be on the direct front lines they agreed we could go.”

“Being legal adults helps too,” Sweetie pointed out.

A unicorn cleared his throat as he butted in, “We received the counter signal, they are ready to receive us.”

Luna nodded. “Open the gate.”

Magical equipment started to hum and the portal shimmered various colours, rippling as it came to life. Various ponies were monitoring values and tweaking dials to sync the portal perfectly. “Connection stable!”

“Is the anchor prepped?”

“Ah have it in mah backpack,” Apple Bloom stated as she got ready for the transfer back to human space.

“Then we will be off. Once we set up the portal on the other end we will start pinging this end until you open the portal,” Luna stated as Scootaloo was the first to walk up to it.

“Alright, if it starts sparking don't come after me,” She grinned, putting on her helmet and jumping through.

“Transfer successful, it's safe Princess,” one of the monitoring unicorns reported.

“Apple Bloom, Maria, would you?” Luna stated, letting is go first, neither of us hesitating to step through. The journey back was much smoother than the journey to Equestria, the two of us simply stepping out on the other end into the room from which we had departed. Scootaloo and Sunset were waiting for us on the other end with a group of officers who were standing further back.

The air started shimmering behind us, the room heating up a bit from the energy. Bloom and I taking some extra distance as Sunset lit her hands to see if there wasn't any instability in the portal. “Who the hell are you sending through?!”

Sunset's question was answered as Luna, supported by Sweetie passed through the breach, her hair retaining its ethereal quality as her magical potential hadn't diminished a bit. She stood a tine bit higher than me in my Mjolnir, positively towering above the rest of the room with ease. Her clothes had morphed into a hybridisation of armour and gown, the black fabric flowing down her legs. In my education we'd covered plenty of ancient gods and she would definitely fit among those.

Sunset had immediately dropped onto a knee and lowered her head as she saw who'd come through. The officers had also straightened up further and the ONI representative looked like as if he was calculating if they had made a mistake.

“Thank you Sweetie, Luna stated as she found her balance, her wings adjusting to help her out a little. “My apologies, I am not used to walking on two legs instead of four,” Luna stated as Sweetie kept a supportive arm out for her to lean on. Luna bent her knees a little and lowered her head a moment. “Princess Luna Morningstar of the realm of Equestria, guardian of the night.”

One of the officers got out of their stupor and stepped forward, saluting the Princess. “Welcome to Harvest, Princess, I'm Commander Aryan Thomson, we were not expecting someone of your stature to come and greet us.”

“It is only fitting that if alliances will be discussed someone with the authority to make them is present,” Luna replied, trying to stand on her own.

“Of course. We will arrange transport to get you off world and to a safer planet as soon as we can.”

“With my security detail of course,” Luna stated as Bloom and Firewing stepped in closer to the princess. “I assume that won't be a problem?”

“Space can be made for them too,” the commander promised. I had walked up to the ONI representative in the meanwhile and saluted him.

“Sir, if ONI doesn't have any missions planned then I would like to request to be allowed to accompany the Equestrian delegation,” I told him. He glanced over at Luna who'd picked up on the request and was looking over expectantly.

“For now your roster is clear but that may change once you arrive at Reach,” he told her after deliberating. Turning to the Princess afterwards. “The Office of Naval Intelligence has a prowler in orbit to safely bring you to Reach, we are glad to have you Princess. I hope our cooperation will flower into something greater.”

“As do I” Luna smiled and nodded. “Now, there is plenty of work to be done. Shall we begin?”

Author's Note

I know, I know, I'm a slow cunt. I really despise leaving things unfinished though so I hope this does it a bit of justice. I've been rather busy lately with life.

Chapter 8

"The soldier above all others prays for peace,
for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war."
-Douglas MacArthur

The device that was repeatedly pushing a needle into my skin buzzed away while I was looking through a hole in the wall that served as a window to the makeshift workshop. I had visited the particular marine that also acted as a tattoo artist on the base a few times before, as he'd also tattooed a branch of blooming cherry blossom on my right upper arm. That wasn't what he was working on right now as now he was working on my right wrist, coloring in the final part of the new tattoo. The three little gems were perfectly replicated from my memory of their real counterpart.

I'll see you again one day, big sis.

A tear rolled from my eye as I remembered what I had left behind at home, if we had just stayed out of the castle none of this had happened... but then again, would Sunset have made it out alive? If we hadn't been there she would have been all alone against the Covenant. I debated this internally as the marine finished up the tattoo, my answer to the question being no. If we hadn't been there Sunset would have died, and our work here on Harvest had saved a lot of people as well.

"You're good to go, Sweetie," the marine said as he put away his tools, "Since it's just a small one I'll round it down to one-fifty credits."

I chuckled and transferred the cash to his account, "You know if you said that to any other lady here they'd punch you in the face."

"Hey, I can't help it that your parents decided to call you Sweetie," he laughed back, "Anyway you know where to find me"

"Yeah, I do. I'll see you after working out a new tattoo concept," I told him as I got my stuff and left his makeshift workshop. The base had gotten a whole lot safer a couple of weeks back as our forces were pushing the covenant to the edges of the city. It was still a far stretch from claiming the planet itself but it would give us a staging area from where we could attack Covenant strongpoints in other cities around the planet.

Making my way back to our little compound didn't take too long, the makeshift commercial area on the base was relatively close to our barrack. ONI had given us a bit more space then the regulars which meant we had been able to fence off a nice little area for ourselves which obscured our lounging area from the rest of the base. This was mostly something we had done for Scootaloo as otherwise she only could expose her wings inside her room, a place where she couldn't fully stretch them.

After making my way into our 'backyard' I found Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, Ana was probably doing some reading inside her room since we had managed to acquire an air cooler for our barrack and it was still quite hot outside even though we were headed for the end of the summer.

Scootaloo was stretching her wings, something she had to do increasingly more often as for some reason her wings had been drastically growing since getting back to Harvest. At first, the former pegasus had been happy about this fact, but as they had kept growing they were starting to get cramped beneath her armor and threatened to become too large for it at all. This was something all of us were concerned at as this was something that might force her out of the fight entirely.

Moving on to Apple Bloom, she was sitting on a lounging chair while smoking a cigar. On her head rested a Stetson hat, not unlike the one Applejack owned which she had gotten a couple of weeks prior before the last mission. If you didn't count the fact that Scootaloo had wings any marine would have just described the scene as a couple of soldiers taking a well-deserved rest after a two-week long recon mission.

I knew better.

Being trained as a sniper also meant that I was much more adept at spotting the small little details, but those details matter. Scootaloo, for example, had gotten the bad habit of constantly plucking at her wings when given the chance. They still had a full coat of feathers but if one looked closely you would see it was much less dense than it was supposed to be.

Apple Bloom was a bit less subtle, she always had a weapon within hands reach—preferably her shotgun—and I knew that her armor wasn't that far away either. But that wasn't the only sign as if you looked a bit closer you could see the hand which she was holding her cigar in was trembling slightly, something that had started after the mission where she'd decided to take on the newly dubbed scarab.

And even though she wasn't there, Ana had her own issues as well. The fact that she wasn't out her probably meant that she was probably working somewhere inside. When the human was stressed she seemed to just throw herself into a heap of work. Not that I didn't have any problems, if I'm honest with myself the tattoos are just my way of dealing with things. Always making new designs, scrapping old ones but rarely actually going as far to place them.

"Hey, Belle! are you just going to stand there or are you going to give me a hand?" Scootaloo shouted, pulling me out of my daze. She was holding her armor which meant she was planning on going out but couldn't since she was unable to put it on herself anymore.

"Yeah, sure," I answered as I helped Scootaloo stuff her wings below the armored parts, the place where her wings were hidden showing a considerable bulge. "We really need to figure out a solution to that problem. Did you talk to ONI about this yet?"

Scootaloo just waved me off, "Yeah, yeah, I should have a fix by tonight."

So that's probably a no on the talking to ONI.

I sighed as my brash friend pulled the straps on the armor tight and strode out of the backyard onto the base, probably going to get her 'solution' to the wings problem. Picking up my chair I placed it somewhere in the shade and flopped down onto it.

"So, did ya finally get another one of them fake cutie marks?" Apple Bloom asked with a smirk, knowing I didn't like it when she called them fake cutie marks.

"Tattoos, Bloom, and yes I got one this time." Holding up my arm revealed the three little gems that were present on the inside of my wrists. Blooms mood immediately changed as she saw the three little gems on there.

"Ah shucks Sweetie, ya know that ya ain't need one of those things to remember your kin by, do ya?" She said sympathetically, I nodded as I lowered my arm again.

"I just..." no further words came out of my mouth as I didn't know what to say. Losing our families had been hard for both Bloom and I but for some reason AB seemed to take losing her family much better nowadays than I did. Something that surprised me as I was always fighting with Rarity about things while Bloom and Applejack got along just fine most of the times, one might say that our reactions should have been the complete opposite of what they had been up to this point.

SLAP

A hand hit my cheek, making me flinch as a sharp sting of pain went through the place where I had just been hit. "Hey, snap out of it!" Shaking my head I refocussed on Apple Bloom as she was now standing in front of me, her cigar clamped between her teeth. "Ah know yer focussed when yer out on mission but right now ya are about as distracted as can be."

"I'm sorry, it's just-"

"We're all takin' it harder than we're letting on Sweetie, but mopin' around ain't gonna fix anythin'. If ya really need to talk about it we're always here to listen and if ya don't want to talk about it with us that's fine 's well, but find someone ya can vent to," Apple Bloom lectured as she had a firm hand on my shoulder. She stayed like that for a moment before turning to the table outside where a file rested. "Now Ah got this thing here from a Spook and by judgin' from the magic symbols printed on the paper it's from Shimmer."

I shot up from my position as I heard what Bloom described, Sunset had promised to send through any spells that might be useful to us but I hadn't expected to her to send one already. Glancing over the matrix it turned out to be a rather simple one, a couple of adjustments to take fingers into account but nothing fancy other than that. I might not be the best mage by a long shot but Rarity had taught me how to read one of these, even if I couldn't perform the described spell.

"Guess I should try this out, shouldn't I?" I asked with a grin as I realized what this spell did.

"Can't hurt if ya know what yer doing with this new spell thing," Bloom shrugged and took a small step back from me.

My magic flowed from my wellspring to my hands as I started creating the new spell matrix, all my concentration focused on the brand new spell forming between my fingers. The more magic allowed to pass through the matrix the hotter the air around my hand was becoming, only that heat didn't seem to be harming my hand in any way shape or form. Apple Bloom, on the other hand, took a step back as she felt the heat blast against her skin. Pushing myself just that bit further I allowed even more magic to flow into the matrix, the result was... about what I had expected.

A green magical flame sprang alive, the same color as my magic, and wrapped itself around my hand. I let out a giggle from excitement—and probably the magic high I was on from learning a new spell.

"Uhm, Sweetie? Why is your hand on fire." Turning around at the voice revealed Ana standing in the doorway looking slightly horrified at the scene in front of her.

"Magic," I giggled while cutting off the flow of energy, stopping the strain of keeping the little flame alive from completely draining me.

Ana just stared blankly as she tried placing what she had just seen somewhere in her mind, giving up as she found that she simply couldn't. "Whatever, Scootaloo just came rushing back in with an armor case. I think it might be a good idea for us to go see what she's cooked up this time."

Apple Bloom grimaced as she pushed past both me and Ana to see what the former pegasus was up to. We found her in our small bedroom where she appeared to be putting on a new suit of armor. "What in tarnation are ya doin' Scoots?" the earthpony asked as she saw something she didn't want to. Two wings were sticking out of slots at the back of the custom armor and had armored segments strapped to them.

"Getting a new set of armor," Scoots replied as she flexed around her wings to see what kind of mobility they had within the new armor.

"And what do you think ONI's going to say when they figure out you got this armor? and how in the world did you even get it in the first place?!" I asked, Scootaloo only letting out an annoyed huff.

"Who do you think made this for me? It's not like I can just get a custom built piece of armor around here," she said while shooting a glare in my direction. "What? did you think I didn't contact ONI in the slightest when I planned to get this thing?"

"Uhm, yes?" I sheepishly answered, being rewarded with an opened letter being thrown at my face. A large ONI logo along with a 'Classified' stamp on the front of it. There was a set of orders in it that very thoroughly outlined when Scootaloo could and could not wear the custom armor.

"They made it so that I can stay combat effective but don't want me walking around base like this since they're not sure what the reactions of the regulars would be to me."

Apple Bloom sighed as she looked over the orders as well, "Ya know ya could just tell us 'bout stuff like this, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's just that I wasn't aware they had built and finished this thing before the message I got from them this morning," Scootaloo explained, a small grin forming on her face as she did a couple of experimental flaps. "I can't wait to put these to use in a combat situation."

"Hold your horses a bit, Scoots, Ah want ya to practice with those things first before doin' fancy stuff with them when things start to matter," Apple Bloom laughed, Causing me to chuckle as well. This was also when I noticed Ana was no longer standing behind me. Looking out the door I saw her sitting at a table in our main room with a glass of water in front of her, a disheartened expression on her face.

"Hey Ana, what's up with the moody look there?" I asked, simultaneously getting the attention of the others as we sat down with her.

"It's just... look at the three of you. Scoots has wings and I'd bet a decent amount of money that it won't be long until she figures out how to fly, Apple Bloom is so strong that she can easily beat out every single one of the marines on this planet in a contest of strength, and then there's you Sweetie. You might not be more impressive than a regular ODST but you can summon a fucking Fireball in your hand." Ana said, with tears forming in her eyes. "And then there's me, just a regular human who can't do any of that shit. I just feel severely outclassed among the three of you."

"Hey come on now, you're just as awesome as we are! You were able to keep up with me in basic when everyone else was eating my dust!" Scootaloo said as she wrapped Ana in a wing and gave her a friendly pat on the back.

"Yeah, I might be able to create a bit of a flame but that doesn't mean I'm better than you, just different!" I said, sitting down next to Ana on the opposite side to Scootaloo.

"And anyone who can get Scoots to be actin' sappy is pretty amazin' in mah book," Apple Bloom added with a smirk, Scootaloo immediately released her hug and had her face turn a deep crimson red. Something that amused the rest of us thoroughly.

"I hate all of you," Scootaloo grumbled, only making us laugh harder.

"Thanks girls, I needed that," Ana said while wiping the tears from her eyes.

"No problem, that's what family's for ain't it?" Bloom said sympathetically, getting up from her seat at the table. "Now we've been a mite bit lazy the last couple' days, Ah think it's time that we went out and did some cardio."

"You got it, sarge," Scootaloo said as she went to change her outfit again. Before long we were making our way over to one of the gyms that had been set up for the marines and ODST's that were out of rotation, but by the time we arrived my mind was wandering to the thing Apple Bloom had said.

She didn't say friends... she said family! does she really think we're that important to her?

My mind continued to mull over the proposition but without any further explanation from Bloom herself, better to file it away to ask her later whenever the opportunity would arrive.

Author's Note

No combat this chapter and I think I'm going to return back to Sunset before getting into a major engagement again. There's a lot of plans I have going on for Shimmer that I want to work out.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter :twilightsmile: See ya in the next one!

Remember that comments are like authors' food, we gain energy from them. Constructive criticism is welcome.