Chapter 24: When I make a promise...
October 20, 2552 22:34 hours
The Ark: Coordinates unknown

Further and further he was dragged, his armor scarring a deep trench in the earth as he was pulled along. It felt like hours when it was really only just minutes. His mind was hazy, his eyes were heavy, and he really just wanted to take a goddamn nap right about know.

Nathan lifted his head, checking his surroundings. The terrain was nothing but fire and glass, and the sky was beginning to be blocked by a mighty mass of metal. High Charity was where he was being taken, which wasn't a surprise really, seeing as how that thing made its home there.

He had been taken from his squad. Taken because the Gravemind found him intriguing, like a child would a new toy. So, no he was off to meet the monster from nightmares, the boogeyman in the closet. It wasn't a surprise that Nathan's heart rate was elevated to slightly higher than normal levels.

He was scared. And his thrashing made that point pretty clear.

"Struggling is not necessary. As long as you are in my care, no harm will come to you." The voice said, somewhat calming the thrashing Spartan's nerves.

Nathan scoffed and reached out for another boulder, only to have it torn from the ground by his iron grip and the pull from the Gravemind's tentacle. "Yes, I feel very safe coming to see you!" He shot back, grabbing onto a piece of metal, only to have it torn away.

The Gravemind chuckled. "You may be different, boy, but you still have one thing all humans have. Fear. You fear what it is like to die; you fear the unknown. But you have seen the unknown; seen how liberating it can be. How freeing my salvation can be."

Nathan rolled his eyes as he was pulled into High Charity. The stink instantly filled his nose, making him gag. He quickly shut his air vents and turned on the oxygen scrubbers. "Well, only 45 minutes of fresh air..." He mused

"All I know is, that I can fight it and you wont win. What do you hope to gain by being on the Ark anyway? There's nothing for you here!" Nathan stated as he was ripped through the floor.

"Indeed. It's what's on the Ark that I need." He stated. Nathan continued on further and further, until finally, he was dumped into a circular room. "Now, I believe someone wants to meet you. Play nice, human. I have another to torment..."

The voice receded from Nathan's mind, finally giving him a moment of reprieve. "Thank fucking christ..." He muttered, rubbing the shit off his legs from the tentacle. He stood and got a good feel for his surroundings. There were three doors spread out. All were covered by Flood... stuff, and the other was locked. "Great... Can't get out that way."

The Gravemind had said someone wanted to meet him. If it was Flood, then he'd be ready. He pulled his knife out of its sheath, giving it a little twirl. "Hello? Anybody here?"

It was a small voice. So small, the Spartan almost missed it.

"...John?"

Nathan turned on his heals, noticing the small holoprojector in the center of the room. A shield dome covered the emitter, and underneath that was the tiny AI.

"Cortana?" Nathan asked, walking over to the little AI. She looked up, her features grave as she scanned the man over. Then she smiled.

"I knew you'd come for me, John..." She whispered, huddling back into a ball.

"John... You mean the Chief?" He asked. Cortana said nothing. "Look, I'd get you out if I could, but I have no AI chip. How... long have you been here?" Nathan asked, wondering just how long the poor intelligence unit had to suffer with that psycho.

"Longer than I'd like..." She admitted, taking a quivering breath. "So, tell me," She began, standing up to look at the man more closely. "If you aren't John, then... who are you?"

"A Spartan III. G129 of Gamma Company, ma'am." He stated, going into full military mode. Cortana let out an amused hum and smiled.

"You're a lot like John... Always business, but... also kind. Tell me, is John okay?" She asked hopefully.

"I don't know." Nathan admitted truthfully. "We were separated after we terminated Truth. Knowing him though, he's more than okay." He made sure Cortana heard the truth in his voice. She smiled and nodded.

"Okay, Spartan. How about we talk. Just us." She said, darting her eyes around like someone was watching. Nathan quirked a brow.

"Hasn't it just been us?" He asked. Cortana shook her head quickly and ducked, like she was about to be struck like a child who did something bad.

"No... He always listens... I can't escape him. He's... in my mind, toying with me!" She shouted, clutching her head and falling to the ground. Nathan instinctively ran over, but realizing he couldn't do anything, caught himself. "Please... make him stop?"

Nathan looked around and sighed. "Can you open up private comms with me?" He asked. "I don't think he can get you in there."

"Place your hand on the shield." She stated. Nathan was about to question it, but decided to do as she wanted. He slowly approached the little bubble, letting his hands cup it. Cortana slowly walked towards him, placing her tiny hands in his.

Some kind of... data stream poured across the Spartans armor, flashing an intense bluish purple. "Keep your hands on this shield, and we'll be able to talk freely." Cortana said through his helmet speakers. The Spartan complied and the data stream stopped. "Huh... Something is different about you..."

"I get that a lot, and each time I'm flattered." He joked, making Cortana giggle.

"I bet. So, let's talk. What's it like?" She asked hopefully.

"What's what like?" Nathan asked back, not understanding her meaning.

"To live? To be alive? All I am is stolen thoughts and memories. A collection lies... I am nothing..." She sounded defeated, heartbroken. To be given a life with no meaning is probably the cruelest thing humans can do.

Nathan sighed and could feel her pain. He had to tell her something, but he'd never really given the question a thought. What was it like to live? Be alive? The truth is, he hasn't lived. He hasn't had a life other than that of death. To go through each day, knowing that death was looming over your shoulder, waiting to bring his scythe down in the blink of an eye? That wasn't life; that wasn't living.

"It's... simple." He stated, making Cortana look at him curiously. "Picture an ant. It has only three tasks on its mind; food, build, and protect the queen. Now take that ant and put him separate from everything it knows. What then? it tries to escape, to go back to the three things it knows, because it doesn't know how to cope with its circumstances. That's what its like to live, Cortana. Everyday, people do the simple things. We aren't ants, though. Humans have another motivation; success. They always want to move up in the world, to become more powerful than those around them. To gain power, one must know how to use it. To use power, one must be willing to sacrifice. But we can't... We don't sacrifice, and therefore our power grows too strong. We live to destroy, Cortana... Nothing more."

Cortana gulped and looked at the Spartan before her. "You... are more than just a common soldier... Nathan." She stated, making him turn quickly at the mention of his name. "There is more to you than meets the eye... Why are you back? Why did you come back to the fight?"

"How did-"

"Save it." She said, cutting off his protest. "A common Spartan doesn't think like that. No, you were smart; you left the game long ago to pursue a life... Tell me, why did you come back."

"For her."

Cortana smiled. "You found love..." She mused, chuckling. "Tell me, how did you think rejoining the war would help her?"

Nathan stiffened. "Because if we didn't stop Truth, then the entire Galaxy would die. I did it to protect her. To fight for her."

Cortana let an amused, smug smile adorn her lips. "I think we had it handled. You joined back because peace is scary to you. You were a Spartan for so long, that giving up the fight is more alien to you than the Covenant."

Nathna chuckled and shook his head. "Why are you so damn smart?" He asked, letting out a long sigh. The AI giggled and stepped closer to the bubble.

"Because, that's what I was made for. I know that you know there's only one way for you to go out from this life." She stated, raising a brow. Nathan nodded slowly. "Spartan's don't live full lives, and you're going to go out by either the bullet or plasma. I'm sorry for being so blunt." She said, kicking the floor.

"Don't be. You're right, more than you know. Either die slowly, painfully, or die quickly. I don't know which you'd chose, but I'd pick door number two."

"Slowly and painfully?" Cortana asked. Nathan shook his head and smiled.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." He assured. Cortana stepped closer, eying the Spartan before her more intensely.

"It is something... whether you want it to be or not. I highly doubt you're going to tell me what's wrong with you." She said, cracking a smile.

"No, ma'am." Nathan confirmed, nodding. Cortana shrugged playfully as they both stared at one another. It was odd, but something in her eyes soothed the Spartan's nerves, which were still at an all time high being in hostile territory.

Cortana sat down, placing her arms over her knees. "So, tell me about her, this girl."

Discord smiled as he conjured up a glass of chocolate milk. The eyes of the ponies and the weapons of the Spartans never left him for a second. "Okay, so what did you all want to know?"

Celestia stepped forward. "Firstly, who is this... Didact you speak of?" She asked, no, demanded. Discord smiled and lowered his brows.

"My, my! Somepony has gotten a bit more assertive since we last met! Hm... well, since you asked so nicely; the Didact is a Forerunner, imprisoned for his crimes against the human race in the great war 100,000 years ago. It's a shame his plans didn't succeed; you're such a filthy race." He said, waving his paw at the Spartan's to his side.

"Yeah, yeah, keep talkin'." Laurence said, raising his pistol. "I'll be happy to introduce you to the rest of these 'Forerunners'."

Discord grinned, and leaned down to Laurence's face. "So, tell me. How do you like Star Trot? She's quite the gem, is she not?" He asked, chuckling.

Laurence's face turned beat red as his men stared at him oddly. "Shut it, freak!" He yelled.

"Oh, I'm the freak?!" Discord asked in mock astonishment. "At least I'm not the one going into a relationship with a pony! Although, it'd be normal for me to do so. You, on the other hoof, are a race of xenophobic war mongerers who care little for life and its beauty. Highly out of your character."

Twilight scoffed. "Say what you want, Discord. I'm going to be marrying a human, and he's the sweetest stallion I know!" She defended, glowering at the Draconquues.

"Oh, really, I know all this Twilight! Being encased in stone doesn't make me blind to the world. I know everything that has transpired since he first landed here." He bent down to her ear. "Everything."

Twilight blushed and subconsciously tried to hide her stomach, which made Discord grin like mad. "But, I don't like to kiss and tell. Especially when it comes to other ponies business."

"Hasn't stopped ya before, has it?" Applejack asked, rolling her eyes. Discord smiled and waved a claw dismissively. He acted as if he still had the upper hoof in the situation, which angered Princess Celestia considerably.

"You still know something we don't, Discord." Celestia said angrily. "What aren't you telling us?" Discord smiled deviously at the sun Goddess. A smile that could only say he had won.

"This world's time is up, Celestia. And not even your human filth can stop the storm that is to come." Discord snapped his helmet shut, the blood red receptor eye sockets stared at each person and pony in the room. "The Forerunners have returned." And with that, Discord disappeared in a flash of red, his body dematerializing into nothing but floating dust.

Everyone looked around the vast chamber for Discord. The Spartans had guns trained on every corner, waiting for him to pounce out in an instant.

But there was nothing. It was totally still...

"Bill? Any signs of him on radar?" Cam asked quickly. Bill took a second as he scanned the room, looking in every possible spot where Discord could hide.

"Negative. Discord's gone. Fluttershy should have pulled the trigger when she had the chance..." He added, turning to Fluttershy, who hid behind her mane with a sad look on her face.

"It doesn't matter. What's done is done. Now, Princess," Cam began, stalking over to her. "Why don't you tell me and my team the full truth. I don't believe I heard it all last time when you brought me down here."

All eyes were on Celestia, who let out a saddened sigh as her horn flashed again, making the Promethean's disappear back into thin air. "I suppose it's time I told you the truth. All of you." She looked over each of her little ponies and the Spartans and let out another long sigh. "Many Centuries ago, before Luna and I, or our parents or grandparents were even born, the Galaxy was at war. Human kind was expanding through the stars faster and faster, conquering any world they past, but not this world. Equis was a gift from the Forerunners centuries back. We were their runners up for the mantel of Reclaimers, until human kind proved they could handle the mantel better. Instead of being angry with human kind, the Queen of Equestria sided with the humans in their war against the Forerunners and the Flood. We were fools to do so... The Didact defeated both our races, turning our species into mindless machines of war. The little ones that you saw? Crawlers, as they're called... Those were once Ponies, as were the flying ones, Watchers. The Knights were human, and all were perverted beyond recognition by some... Forerunner weapon. I thought this was all just a story, until my mother passed down the burden of control over the Prometheans to me."

Everyone was enraptured by Celestia's tale, even the Spartan IV's. But, that wasn't what one of the Spartan's was worried about. Ancient history was ancient history. Right now, Cam was worried about the welfare of his new home and its citizens.

Cam stepped forward, furrowing his brows. "You're very lucky we were able to stop Discord for the time being, otherwise many more civilians would have been killed."

Celestia took a deep breath and nodded. "You are right. We were indeed quite lucky today. Now," Celestia began, turning to Twilight. "Why on earth did you trust Discord? Did you forget what he represents?"

Twilight's ears folded back as she shuffled her hooves on the ground. "N-No, I didn't... I just- I wanted to make sure Nathan was okay... I just couldn't let him face the fight alone..." She frowned heavily as she trotted up to her teacher, nuzzling her leg. "I'm sorry, Princess. I didn't mean to scare you..."

Celestia smiled warmly and hugged her student tight. "I understand, but you must realize, if we were to loose you and Pinkie Pie, then the Elements of Harmony would go dormant once again. After what happened today, that cannot ever happen."

Cameron listened to the hard tone in Celestia's voice, but he knew it was very hollow. Celestia wanted to sound like the strong leader of Equestria, but she was using that to mask the motherly worry she held for Twilight. It was very sweet and caring to see the Princess like that to Cam.

"Alright, Spartans!" Cam called out, shattering the silence. "We need to head back topside; make sure the search and rescue is going smoothly."

A chorus of 'yes sir' rang out, but before all of the Spartan's marched off, Cameron called out to the one last in line. "Laurence. Wait a moment." The Spartan in question froze in his tracks, falling back in line with Cam. "I wanted to talk to you about your mission."

"What about it?" Laurence asked, standing at attention. Cam sighed heavily and rubbed his brow.

"I wanted to know how you feel about it. Are you still willing to bring us to the firing squad for staying here? Protecting a race that couldn't fight the Covenant otherwise?" He asked slowly, making sure the weight of his words sunk in. Laurence looked back at the Princesses, Twilight and her friends before looking back to Cam, who continued on. "And I know you don't want a certain girl to be left vulnerable if we're taken."

Laurence chewed his lip in thought. The UNSC had given him a job; a job he would die following. He was a Spartan, the greatest soldier ever bred. But that's just it. He wasn't. He had his flaws, his drawbacks, and he certainly couldn't hold his own against G129 and his team. Spartan's weren't machines, they were human beings who were practically forced to become machines; errand boys for the brass upstairs who were too worried about getting their hands dirty.

Laurence placed his helmet back on and nodded. "It's my first and foremost duty to protect the UNSC and her colonies against any threat, foreign or domestic... I-" Laurence balled his hand into a fist, feeling his frustration about the whole fucked up situation unbearable. "I haven't decided yet. But, right now, we're willing to work with you to counter the increasing threat and figure out what the hell is going on."

Cam nodded, accepting the answer. He didn't expect Laurence to go full AWOL, but it was a start. He gave a simple salute, which Laurence returned before following the others out.

Celestia trotted up behind Cam, who continued to watch the Spartans leave. "Do you think he'll change his mind?" Celestia asked, also watching Laurence leave. Cam frowned beneath his helmet and turned to the Princess.

"If he doesn't, then this world will lose it's sword and shield. If the Forerunners return, then all hope is lost anyway..."

Author's Note

Well, nearly six months later. XD I am so sorry it took so long, but I lost interest in Halo for a while. Now that the Champions bundle came out today on halo 4, I've suddenly gotten my interest back! :D YAY!
So, my writing is improving, as you will see with the rewrites of Halo: TFAS, and the edited chapters of this story. So, I promise the next chapter won't take six months, but it won't be super quick either. I'm hitting dead ends people! DEAD ENDS! I'll try my very best to come up with some story boards. (Yes, I make story boards for my writing. My wall is full of them)
So, anywho, I guess I'll see you all around when I do. Enjoy and see you planet side. :)