“My A.I.”

The words rung in Jessica’s head. She smirked gently as he talked to the creatures. She liked the idea of being a spartan’s A.I.

Of being his A.I. Something about it was exhilarating to her. To have Spartan ring-side seats instead of being stuck aboard a ship... Now that was badass.

“Artificial.” Riley crossed his arms, slightly annoyed. He knew where this was going.

“Ohhh.” Applejack replied. “What’s the I... Stand-“

“Intelligence.” Riley cut her off. “Who is this?” He shot a thumb at Applejack, looking to Twilight.

“This is one of my best friends, her name is-“ Twilight began. The orange pony bowled over her magenta counterpart, Holding out a hoof.

“Ah’m Applejack! A pleasure to meet you.” The mare introduced herself.

Riley paused. He knelt down to one knee, slowly reaching for the hoof. Twilight got to her feet, rubbing her head gently. He held a balled fist, then motioned to grab her hoof, then paused. “Is this a shake..? What is this?”

“A hoofshake!” Applejack laughed.

Riley sighed under his breath, shaking the mare’s leg. She had a strong grip for such a small creature with no fingers.

“Darn fella, did you come from a labor background? You’ve got a firm grip!” She called, with a hint of respect.

Images of shoving rocks and trees away to clear an LZ filled his mind. He could see troopers on stretchers, a wounded spartan on the ground. He pulled a smoke grenade from his thigh belt, striking it in a swift movement. He tossed the red smoke out in front of him as the noise of rotors filled the air.

“Something like that.” Riley commented after a swift pause.

“What do these markings mean?” Applejack tapped the three golden chevrons over one rocker painted on his chest piece collar. Two small crossed golden M1 Garands were in the center field of the insignia. He stood, putting distance between himself and the pony before answering.

“Staff Sergeant, UNSC Marines.”

Twilight’s eyes grew in understanding. The massive scary creature wasn’t just a scary creature. He was military. He was disciplined. Respectable. Or so she hoped.

“S-Staff Sergeant, Spartan?”

“Spartan isn’t my name.”. He stated, almost dismissively.

“Is that your race?” Twilight asked, curiously. Her momentary fear was replaced by interest.

“I’m from the human race.” Riley then added, “Spartan is mostly just my type of soldier.

“Mostly?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah.” Riley turned away from them, effectively leaving the conversation as his patience wore thin. “Jessica, what’s our plan?”

“Plan? I don’t... Have a plan, we’re just... Stuck, Riley. We’re stuck here.”

“You’re supposed to be a Smart AI, there has to be options..” He gritted his teeth as he slowly circled the room. “The covenant are working their way, colony by colony to Earth. We’re LOSING dammit, we NEED to get back, stuck isn’t an option.”

“What do you want me to do?! We have nothing to work with, no equipment, no contact. NOTHING.”

“What would we have to do to launch an orbital distress beacon?” Riley paced a small circle, the creatures watched him intently.

“The one from the Avalon deployed successfully, sending out coordinates and a distress call for about 46 minutes before it went silent on re-entry.” Jessica offered, she held her hands together nervously. “It’ll travel through space just fine, but when anyone will get it is anybody’s guess.”

“There has to be more options!” Riley’s voice almost cracked, wavering. “There’s always another way out of it! We just. We need to find how to get in contact with that planet.”

“Riley!” Jessica snapped at him, appearing in front of him. Her figure stared almost angrily, hands out to her side in exasperation. “We’re stuck. It’s out of our control. We can only hope for the princesses to be able to do something. You can’t just shoot your way out of this one...”

Riley sighed and hung his head. He slowly stepped around the library, clenching a fist.

“So what, I’m unable to do anything?” He asked the A.I.

“Riley, we have to wait.”

“What am I supposed to do in the meantime?! What CAN I do? I have one purpose and you know it.”

“Mr.. Spartan..” Twilight nervously took a step to the heated creature, he sighed, slowly turning face them.

“Yeah?”

“I’m sure we could find someone needing help.” Twilight insisted firmly. She stood tall as she posed her venture. “Ponies are always in need of help, maybe you could lend a hoof to them to bide your time and prove your purpose here! In the meantime, I could show you around town! Maybe you could meet some of my friends?”

Riley sighed. He looked at the ponies. They were kinda cute, in a ‘watch them with your kids cuz you have to’ sort of way. “I’ve been incredibly rude by raising my voice in your home. I apologize. I’d love to meet them.”

“You’re far from home and understandably stressed, don’t worry Staff Sergeant. I’m positive the princesses are doing their all to help you. If you’ll give me a few minutes, I’ll write them to tell them our findings, and meet you out front when I’m finished.” Twilight smiled kindly up at him. She gently pawed at the floorboards as he spoke.

“Alright Ms. Sparkle, I’ll be waiting.” He slowly walked to the front door, ducking under the oak doorframe. He gently closed the door behind him as he stepped out of the library. “Jessica...” He began. She knew what was coming next.

“I understand, its fine.” She insisted. “I just hope the Princesses can help you more than I could..”

Riley sighed. He felt like an asshole, he knew by all means not to let his emotions get the better of him, especially in that situation. He could only hope she was right.

-------------------------------------Canterlot, 18:30 Hours, May 26th, 2552-------------------------------------

In the Canterlot palace, the two princesses sat in silence. The two sat on opposite ends of a fairly modest dinner table, they were both internally stirring on the Spartan. They were unsure if they could send him back, much less if they should even try.

“Sister...” Luna slowly looked to the floor. She took several breaths, searching for words as she shifted uncomfortably at the table side. “I believe the creature.. I think his intent may not be good, he has a very negative energy surrounding him. A darkness I’ve only felt around the most hardened of my own night guard. I do not trust him...”

“If his kind has had to advance merely their armor as much as his...” Celestia began. “Think of the horrors he must have seen. Perhaps you could pay him a visit in his dreams, to try to see if we should truly help him...”

“A fine plan. I shall let you know when I have any new findings.” Luna gently lifted a china teacup on its plate.. The two sipped from their teacups at the same time, the aristocratic stereotype fit almost too clearly. "When the sun sets, I'll see if I cannot influence a dream from his past."

"Be careful what you see, sister. I'd hate for you to become scarred from such an endeavor."

----------------------------Ponyville, 19:00 Hours, May 26th, 2552----------------------------

Riley was about to voice his concern, to apologize to Jessica when the door behind him opened. He turned his face, looking to Twilight and Applejack as they walked through the door. The heavy oak door was shut behind the two with a 'click', the ponies started down the gravel path.

"C'mon, it's getting late, let's go meet up with Rarity, she'd love to meet you." Twilight gestured down the street with a tilt of her head. She paused for Riley, he matched the pony's stride.

"Aw shucks." Applejack looked to the nearby town square, a clock tower loomed in the distance. "It's nearly 7 O'clock. I ought to help Big Mac pack up, Granny's gonna be sore I missed supper."

"It was nice meeting you!" Jessica called.

"Aw, it was good meetin' you too!" Applejack gave a small wave as she trotted away, towards the market.

"C'mon, it's the round building down this laneway." Twilight lead the way. At the end of a long gravel path stood a tall, ornate building. Somewhat resembling a carnival ride or circus tent, the building didn't match the tudor style of nearly all buildings in Ponyville. "Carousel boutique!"

She knocked on the front door gently, a conversation could be heard loudly through the door.

"Puh-LEASE! We HAVE TO CHECK ON HER!" A voice yelled. "They're HERE!"

"Calm down dear, I'm sure it's-" The door opened to reveal a pure white unicorn with purple curled locks. She entirely ignored Twilight, her gaze slowly working up Riley's form.

"B-b-b-b" She stuttered for a moment. Riley slowly looked to Twilight, then back.

"Are... You alright, ma'am?" Riley asked.

"Twilight..?" Rarity's gaze did not fall from the Spartan. Her tone was a steady uneasy curiosity. "How dare you bring a Diamond Dog to my home?"

"Rarity, this is Riley. He's not a Diamond Dog." Twilight rolled her eyes. "He's a Human, he's going to be staying with me for a while and I wanted him to meet my friends."

"A pleasure." Riley added, giving a curt nod.

Rarity had a nervous smile, looking from Twilight to Riley. "Why don't you come inside, Pinkie Pie was just telling me about our friend."

"Oh Really?" Twilight's ears fell. Her expression was not amused. "That's funny, she hasn't said as much as a word to him yet, I wonder what she'd have to say about a scary newcomer."

Rarity looked confused at first, then her eyes grew. She slowly formed the word "Zecora?"

"Mmm-hm." Twilight affirmed.

"Come in." Rarity stepped aside.

"Ladies first." Riley held out a hand, letting Twilight enter ahead of him. He ducked under the doorway, walking into the building. It seemed fairly small at first, though he could see into a kitchen, bathroom, and workroom from where he stood. "You have a lovely home."

"Aw, why thank you!" She called, walking towards the kitchen. "Would you like some tea?"

"Actually.." Riley thought for a moment. "That sounds wonderful, thank you."

"I won't be just a moment~!" She called, strutting into the kitchen.

"You mentioned Pinkie is here?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, but she left through the back when she realized it was you two... I'd leave her be for a while. She's not exactly in the soundest of mindsets right now." The sound of dishes and a sink wafted from the kitchen.

"Oh well, Pinkie will be Pinkie." Twilight smiled and shook her head. "What'd she say?"

"She claims her Pinkie Sense is saying there's going to be a doozy." The unicorn laughed as she re-entered the hallway. He could hear the kettle rumbling in the other room. "She said he's a scary pony eating monster."

"You don't.. Eat ponies do you?" Twilight slowly looked up to Riley. Rarity paused, conflicted that Twilight didn't already know this.

"Do I look French to you?" Riley quipped. "Wait, don't answer that. No, I don't."

"So what's with your.. Outfit..?" Rarity circled a hoof in the air, gesturing generally at him.

"It's my armor." Riley summarized. Surely, those gold-plated nitwits at the castle meant that people understood what armor is. She nodded.

"Where's the flair, where's the pizzazz?" She asked, almost disappointed. "I thought military uniforms were supposed to be flashy!"

"Dress uniforms, maybe. Not combat uniforms. They need to be practical." Riley replied. "My dress uniform is nice, I just never get a chance to wear it.

"What's the color scheme supposed to represent?" She asked, indicating his black and gold armor.

"Camouflaging a Spartan is kinda hard sometimes. Black's good for night ops. Gold is just because that's how I wanted it. The visor is gold plated to better resist the radiation of the sun while in space." Riley pointed to his arms and helmet as he talked.

"Don't you think it would be better to have colors that maybe.. Complimented each other better..?" Rarity suggested offhandedly.

"Black goes with everything. I like my colors, I'm keeping them."

"Okay, fair enough." Rarity slowly circled the Spartan, looking his armor up and down once again. The kettle in the other room was now whistling, steam billowed from the spout to the ceiling. She walked into the kitchen, to pour them all some tea. "You said it was a 'combat' uniform... Have you seen much combat?"

Riley stared blankly ahead. He didn't like the thoughts swimming in his head. "Yeah."

The sounds of a needle rifle's high-pitched whirring filled his head. The noise of plasma weapons and MA5s slowly faded in before he forced himself back into the current moment. "You might say that."

"That's simply dreadful! Why?" Rarity took a seat at her kitchen table, pouring tea into three cups, delicately placed on small saucers.

"Some outer colonies were upset at heavy taxing, they're just farmers mainly... They rebelled. They wanted to strike out on their own, a little like the United States did back in the day... Started a huge damn war against the Unified Earth Government. The United Nations Space Command took swift action, but they were losing. It came to a brutal stalemate, and the tide began to turn with the creation of the Spartan program. We began winning, turning the tide but..." Riley looked out the window to his left, watching a few small ponies, probably children, playing in the nearby field. "We both banded together when the Covenant showed up."

"The Covenant?" Twilight asked, infatuated.

Riley slowly reached for a teacup, then realized he was wearing a helmet. "Ah the hell with it. You two seem decent."

He reached up, removing his helmet. He sat on the floor by the table, crossing his legs. He held a teacup gently, taking a sip.

The two were both somewhat surprised at his face. Strangely masculine, yet delicate in appearance. He took a long sip from the tea, feeling the warm liquid wash through him, a wave of relief coursed over him as the herbal tea calmed his nerves. "The Covenant. Some, murderous band of alien bastards looking to advance their 'great journey'. Their aim is to completely destroy humanity in pursuit of some... Spiritual reward. They're tough. Really tough."

"Is that how you acquired that scar..?" Rarity took a sip from her tea as she watched him intently. "Fighting this Covenant?"

"Yeah. An Elite's energy sword... I'd rather not talk about it." Riley held the cup in his hands, like one would hold a coffee cup on a cold day. 'Improper' maybe, but he didn't really care at this point.

"I understand." Rarity nodded gently.

Twilight watched intently, her ears were perked and her eyes wide. "Are they more than one race of alien?"

"Twilight, he said-" Rarity looked at her friend, making a 'tut-tut-tutting' noise at her, holding a hoof to her mouth.

"It's alright." Riley said. "Yeah. Their main upper echelon are the Elites.. Then there's the Brutes, big bastards they send in to break the lines... Grunts make up their cannon fodder, while Jackals usually act as these godforsaken snipers. Then there's the Drones. Awful buggers, creepy as hell. Make your skin crawl just looking at em..."

"There's that many?" Twilight cocked her head, clearly memorizing everything he said.

"Yeah... There's different classes of warrior, but those are the base nicknames for the species. I only remember a few of the regular ones but.. We can talk about that later..."

"Of course." Twilight looked away, quickly sipping from her tea, nearly spilling it. She was trying to avoid looking as interested as she was.

"Oh my, it's nearly 8 o'clock." Rarity looked at the wall clock, ticking softly in the quiet. "I must go find Sweetie Belle, it's getting late."

"Thank you very much for the tea." Riley said, finishing his cup and putting his helmet back on. He slowly stood, following the two to the front door.

"I'm sorry Twilight, could we maybe meet your other friends tomorrow? It's getting late, I'm rather tired." Riley rubbed his neck, the soreness of his fall earlier that day had caught up to him.

"Of course. Let's head home." Twilight trotted out the front door, heading back down the road. Rarity rested a hoof on Riley's shinguard, Riley turned to face her.

"Mares find scars exotic, you know." She winked at him.

"I'll... Keep that in mind." Riley nodded gently, following Twilight at a light jog. He just wanted to sleep.

----------------------------------Golden Oaks Library, Basement, 01:30 Hours, May 27th, 2552----------------------------------

The Lunar Princess slowly paced through the Etherial Plane. In a mist, she walked through what would normally be the ground, entering the basement through a wall. She slowly walked up to the resting Spartan, he twitched in his sleep. His breathing was fast. It was fairly clear he was having a nightmare. Usually ponies would have a small dream bubble surrounding them as they slept, allowing the princess to see into them, to transport herself into their psyche. His was exceptionally small for his size, his mind was more shut than even her guards. The night guard were some of the most well disciplined troops in Equestria, and his mind was more controlled than theirs. Even in nightmares. Her horn glowed, she shut her eyes, and a wind blowed through her mane.

The smell of death perfumed the air, the sulphur-y scent of gun smoke wafted gently in the breeze. In the distance, booming explosions shook the ground. Smaller pops surrounded the immediate area. She opened her eyes as Riley ran right through the pony, not even noticing her. She rippled, not physically present to his dream world, a mere spectator at the moment. He traveled with three other Spartans, one was a deep blue color, the other was a light grey. Those two were shorter than Riley by a large margin. The third towered three inches above Riley, a massive mountain of a man in a brownish-burnt orange armor. He carried a massive weapon, like a larger version of the small rifles the rest of the squad carried. The bore of his machine gun was like that of a golf ball, utterly destructive.

The Spartans ran and slid down a hill side to the east. Luna slowly walked to the edge of the hill, looking down below. A battle raged on in what was left of a city, an urban environment like Manehattan. She could see purple flashes of light, as well as yellow fire sprouting from each of the Spartan's weapons. The four took cover behind portions of broken buildings. The blue one held a cylindrical object with a trefoil symbol on it. The Spartan cradled it, as if protecting it. A loud mechanical shifting was heard, luna looked above. A massive purple ship hovered over the remnants of the city, a portion of the ship was shifting, transforming, spinning slowly.

"Is it bad time to say hello?" The blue, female spartan asked Riley in a thick accent.

"NOW OR NEVER!" Riley yelled. The big man moved up further, moving right of their position. The blue one leapt the wall and sprinted into the fray, heading for a point directly under the spinning portion of the ship. Soldiers in camouflage, smaller but similar armor surrounded the Spartans. Riley waved a knife-edged hand, indicating for them to move up.

"PROTECT THAT SPARTAN AT ALL COSTS!" He screamed, leaping the wall to follow the blue one. Blue was far ahead of him at this point. An explosion sent the spartan spiraling into the air, landing on their back. The device was beside them. Riley sprinted for the fallen soldier, the Grey spartan outpaced him, picking up the object. His metal backpack shifted, he jumped as flames leapt from the pack, propelling him up to the ship. Riley grabbed the hands of the fallen Spartan, trying to drag her to cover. Her right arm ripped off midway up the bicep. Luna was horrified at the sight. Riley stopped, picking the spartan straight up and throwing her over his shoulder, still holding the arm.

"Hang in there!" He called. The big man's machine gun suppressed the enemies trying to chase the Spartan down. A resounding explosion sounded, the ship above them began breaking apart, cascading for the ground. An elite stepped out from behind a building and kicked Riley in the chest. He tumbled to the ground, dropping his comrade and their severed arm. The Elite raised his glowing blade and reached to stab the Spartan's face. The big man immediately raked his fire over the Elite. The elite fell backwards, dead, dropping the sword. It fell across the Spartan's helmet. He tried to turn his face, too late. The blade melted into his helmet's chinguard and brim, cutting large holes in the metal. The visor exploded with the heat piercing the glass. He screamed and forced it off with his right hand. It had only touched him helmet for a second, but the damage was done. He saw blood drip from the melted hole in his glove, then saw it dripping from his helmet's chin guard. His vision was cloudy. He shook it off and threw Kat over his shoulder once more. He forgot the arm in his haste. He rushed back to the position of the large man as the ground shuddered, large portions of the ship crushing much of the nearby city.

"My radio's dead, call for Med-evac." Riley stated, gently laying her behind the wall. He grabbed a rifle that lay on the ground. He leapt over the rubble and landed feet-first on a Jackal. The creature's disgusting birdlike maw was immediately crushed to a pulp with one punch of the angry Spartan's right hand. He was trying to work his way to the wreckage of the ship. Luna could see him firing at unseen targets, noticing he could generally see them before she could. Luna slowly walked down the punchbowl shaped hill, into the battlefield. As she got closer, the smell of burning filled her head. Rubber, wood, steel, gunpowder, all of it burning. She could taste the smell.

The smell of rotting, burning flesh came next. She gagged, but forced forward. UNSC Marines and Covenant forces fell around her, she stayed focused on Riley. He was behind enemy lines, pushing forward. He disappeared into part of the flaming wreckage of the massive ship. Luna looked around, completely engrossed in the battle around her. A handful of Marines were escorting what looked like civilians the same way Luna had come, towards the Spartans.

A large, ape-like creature rushed past her with a massive hammer. He spun wildly, sending Marines into walls, blood splattered through the air like she'd never seen. He was quickly gunned down by the big man's mighty gun. Riley walked through her again, and she suddenly remembered she was supposed to be evaluating him. He was holding something in his left hand, walking through the battlefield slowly. He was firing on enemies with his assault rifle, shooting one-handed into the fray. The battlefield was quickly falling silent. He walked up behind a small Grunt, picking up the creature by its neck, he threw it as hard as he could into the ground, never losing the two small tags on a ball chain in his left hand. He stomped on its head, blood splattered everywhere.

"You god-DAMN COVVIES." He screamed. An Elite rushed up to him from the side. Riley saw this attack coming, ducked, and tackled the alien. He began mercilessly beating the creature's head in. The gunfire had stopped.

"You think that's it?" A marine shouted his question. Two green ships flew in low over the battlefield, circling and landing behind the Spartan with the machine gun. The back doors lowered, revealing four more Spartans, six field medics, and eight Marines. The Marines ran down the ramp, heading for covered positions, the Spartans sprinted to their injured friend. The noise of Riley beating the alien still filled the air, even over the whirring of the turbojet engines. Luna could see a blue Spartan ask the big man something. The big man pointed in the direction of Riley. The blue Spartan jogged across the battlefield. He splashed through a large puddle, past bodies, and found the crater Riley was in. He continued to beat the pulp of an alien, its head now completely gone, nothing but brain matter and blood was left, spare the occasional bone fragment.

"SPARTAN." The Spartan yelled. "That's ENOUGH. Where's Thom?"

Riley slowly got to his feet and turned, the blue spartan took a step back at the sight of his helmet. He then looked down and saw the tags.

"Are you alright?" The Spartan asked. Blood and tears covered the Spartan's sweaty face. "They're calling for you at the orbital ship breaking yard. An escort mission."

"I'm fine." Riley roughly held the dogtags to the spartan's chest. The spartan put his hand over them, taking them. Riley paused. "When Kat comes around... Tell her I said hello."

"See you next time, Riley." The spartan said after a short pause.

"Next time..." Riley replied, slowly stepping away. He walked over to the big man, and the injured spartan. They were loading her on a stretcher. "Next time..." He placed his hand on hers, gently, as they carried her away.

"Riley." Came a voice, a large hand was placed on his right shoulder.

"They want me to go. ONI wants another escort."

"I see... That's a shame... If you see mum first, tell her I say hi." The big man said.

"Same goes for you." Riley turned, gripping the man's hand in front of their chests, bringing him closer for a hug with the other hand. "Take care of them for me. These Spartan IIIs would get themselves killed without you."

The big man gave a short chuckle as Riley stepped into the bay of the ship, holding a steel handhold on the side of the doorframe. The ship slowly lifted off, Riley gave a small wave to the big man.

Luna had seen enough. She exited his dream. The force of the exit sent ripples through his dream state, destabilizing it and causing it to collapse. He let out a quiet cry as he bolted upright, looking around. He breathed heavily, switching on his Helmet lights. He swept the room with his gaze, to convince himself he was still there. The princess, still in the Etherial Plane, watched him curiously. He slowly laid himself back down on the floor to rest. At least there was always hope for the morning, that maybe tomorrow would be better.

Maybe the next time around would be a little kinder.

Maybe the next time he saw that band of merry misfits, she'd still have her arm.

Maybe... Next time.

Riley slowly faded back into unconsciousness. The princess's horn glowed, she gently helped the Spartan into his sleep, a peaceful, calm sleep that would last through the night. She needed to talk to her sister.

And to speak to the demon.

Author's Note

Sorry for this long-awaited chapter! I've had writers block for a while, it may not be as high of quality as I wanted, sorry about that... I hope you enjoy!