Riley slowly awoke, gently opening his dim and tired eyes. The room was still dark, and his movements were sluggish. He slowly sat upright, cradling his left knee to keep himself upright. Sunlight shone dimly beneath the crack of the basement door, telling him it was morning.

"Jessica, what time is it?" Riley rubbed the sore spot on his neck, still hurting pretty good from his fall. He slowly pulled his other leg close, pushing himself to his feet.

"It's 07:24.” Jessica replied, quietly. "Sleep well?"

"Something like that. Best sleep in a long while, actually." He stretched his arms, then his legs. He turned his torso to and fro slowly, trying to pull out the cramps in his muscles. He bent down to retrieve his weapons leaning against the wall, attaching his magnum to his right thigh, and his MA5 to his back. Riley slowly stepped up the thick oak planks that made up the stairway. He ducked as he went to push open the door to the main room.

"I should warn you." Jessica began. Riley paused, listening. "There's been a ton of movement and shuffling in there, there's a lot of something beyond that door."

"Can you light up Friend-Or-Foe tags?"

"Negative, they don't have UNSC or Civvie tags, they don't have tags at all, they'd be marked as enemy by default." Jessica's voice carried through his head as she spoke. He felt drowsy, groggy even. He held his right palm to his temple as he sighed.

"Jessica... About yesterday..."

"No, I get it. You're a Spartan with nothing to do. I don't blame you."

"Well I do blame me." He stated firmly. "It wasn't an excuse to go off like that. We're stuck here together, I'm sorry."

Jessica didn't reply. After a few seconds of silence, Riley decided that she must be ignoring him. He sighed and turned the doorknob, walking into the library.

It was dark. He was about to turn on his lights when the curtains were ripped open and the lights came on, he instinctively drew his magnum in the same instant a small crowd shouted "SURPRISE!"

He looked around for a moment, lowering the Magnum, letting it fall to his side. There were thirteen ponies in total, sitting in the room. Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack made up three of them. The two princesses sat off to the side with a detachment of four guards, a third alicorn accompanying them. One guard was clearly an officer, purple accents decorated his golden armor. Six other ponies sat with Twilight, under a large banner. It read 'WELCOME SPARTAN' in flowery text.

"What is this?" Riley asked, bringing the handgun back to his thigh. Luna looked to her sister, almost smugly as the pistol stuck to his hip.

"Good morning~!" Rarity cooed.

"The girls who didn't get to meet you yesterday wanted to get up early to prepare a surprise party!" Twilight smiled up at the spartan. He shook his head gently.

"Thank you very much." Riley held his hands out to his sides, out of words. "I-I don't know what to say."

"This is Pinkie Pie..!" Twilight gestured to a neon-pink pony, bouncing cautiously towards Riley. "Rainbow Dash!"

A pegasus sporting every color of the rainbow in its mane did a small loop in the air before speaking what sounded like a "Yo."

"And Fluttershy!" Twilight held out a hoof to a small butter-colored pegasus. She looked rather emo, hiding behind her mane. She made a noise similar to that of a small dog toy as she attempted to make herself look smaller.

"A pleasure to meet you all... I appreciate this get together... But I get the feeling the princesses didn't bring their guests for the party." Riley slowly turned his face to look at the three alicorns.

"Quite." Luna stated. "Would you girls possibly step outside for a few minutes?"

"Oh... Of course! C'mon girls!" Twilight slowly backpedaled, opening the front door for her friends to head outside. Pinkie never ceased her bouncing. The heavy oak door shut with a solid 'thunk'. The room stayed silent for a short moment, Riley was the one to speak up.

"I presume you must be another princess?"

"Princess Cadence." Cadence gave a curt nod, affirming his suspicion.

"Is this about my ability to return home?"

"In a way." Luna appeared to stare a hole in his chest, not bothering to look in his visor "Riley... Would you remove your helmet, I'd like to look you in the eye when we talk."

Riley paused, his gut dropped like a child being scolded by their parent. He slowly reached up and removed the helmet, Jessica was yelling in protest within the metal dome.

“No don’t trust them, RILEY-“

"I have a special ability as princess of the night." Luna slowly swirled a hoof around the rim of a china teacup, looking into it before gazing back into his eyes. “I can influence a pony's sleep, visit their dreams to give them aid on deep rooted psychological issues they may never find the answer to, to help them understand and fight their nightmares."

He knew where this was going.

"And you decided to spy on me... And witnessed the battle for Fumirole. Didn't you." Riley's question was formed as a statement. His jaw tightened as he took a shaky breath.

"The atrocities I saw you committing..."

"They're monsters." Riley stated. His eyes narrowed at the audacity of the deity. "They won't talk peace, they won't surrender. They slaughter civilians without remorse, they're determined to play the part of monsters. So I must play mine, the part of the Spartans."

He slowly stepped across the hardwood, pacing parallel to their group. His boots resounding on the oak with a soft shudder as he moved away.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

"What might that be?" Celestia asked, now curious.

"The men who stop the monsters."

Riley was about to pull his helmet back on with one hand, it had barely cleared his crown when Luna's words stopped him in his tracks..

"You gave the creature no mercy when he was clearly beaten. How can you justify this?" Luna asked, with renewed distrust.

Riley lifted his helmet back off, dropping it on the floor. He walked back to them, his step quicker than before.

"You were there. There were civilians to the east. Three families all in that burnt out shack on the hill. They were beaten. They were given no quarter. Every human is put to the sword when it comes to the Covenant. Maybe a handful of humans have been spared in this war, that a lone Elite or two took pity on. If we don't do the same, we will die. It's been almost 30 years we've been at war with them. 20 BILLION Human lives lost."

He was gesturing angrily, a hand outstretched with an accusatory finger pointed at them. He stopped only when the tip of his finger was in Luna's face. "Don't you DARE try to INSULT ME as to say to have mercy or pity on them. IF they showed some other form of sentience, beyond consciously choosing murder, maybe things would be different. Somehow, I doubt that many of your species have died at ALL, much less in war. We are on our last legs as a species."

The princesses looked at him. Mixed emotions were clearly present in the room. None of them looked directly at him, save for the officer.

"I don't fight them because I think I'm better than them." This had their attention, all eyes were now on him. Luna's gaze warily met his, it was clear that the fight had left her, that all of them were uncomfortable at the pure hurt that outclassed their right to be angry.

"I don't do it, because I just want to win, because I inherently want them to disappear. I do what I have to do because it's RIGHT. Because they've proven that they want us all dead, but in rare occurrences, of the handful they HAVE had mercy. They have individual minds, and they CHOOSE to be this way. I do it because those little people, those civvies on that hill? I couldn't protect them. They died afraid, scared, alone. One ‘acceptable casualty’ is somebody else's everything. If I can save one life, if I can save ten, it makes it worth it. Maybe they won't live long, maybe they won't survive at all, but I have to try. We all die at some point, you're gonna die too."

The princesses continued to stare at him. Their eyes drilled into his skull, seeing nothing but a sadness, indescribable rage, and an unwillingness to fix it. His face was livid, his eyes burned with a passion they'd not believed the Spartan capable of, his energetic hand gestures and pure frustration filled the room with a heavy air.

"So what would you die for." Riley asked. "When your whole existence is threatened. When everything you love has been turned to ash... When your friends fall around you and you’re expected to pull through, hoping they hit the ground face down, so it's a little easier to leave em'... When the very sand around you is turned into glass... The pained cries of families cut off as the heat evaporates the flesh off their bones...” He appeared to be staring clean through the princesses as he spoke. Riley only appeared to animate again as he looked away to add to his point. “What I'd die for is who I am. Who I am is why I will make my stand."

The door behind the spartan cracked open. The heavy slab of oak swung open a few inches, but not all the way. The princesses eyes darted to the door, then back to Riley.

"Where I stand..." His voice faltered. "Is where I fall."

The princesses were completely silent, watching him put his helmet back on.

“If you have nothing to say, other than trying to contest the morality of my fight, then I’d say your business trip is done. If you have something meaningful about my travel, about my return to the fight, then make your point.”

The princesses were all silent, Cadence slowly spoke up, to challenge the Spartan.

“I get it...” All eyes were on her, watching this pink princess intently. “You’re hurt... You’re angry.. You’ve probably been fighting this war for most of your life... But there is a kindness in you... A respect that wants to surface, but is buried behind the mess of emotions from being stranded.”

“So I take it that means the trip is over. Thanks for stopping by.” Riley turned his back and stepped over to a table of what looked like snacks as the door opened. Scooping his helmet from the floor, he examined the assortment of goodies as the group of ponies made their way back in. Riley pulled his helmet back on, waiting for another round of yelling by Jessica.

“Actually..” Cadence piped up, the six ponies slowed to a stop, looking nervously between the Spartan and the princess. “Would you take a walk with me?”

The officer stepped forward, as if to protest.

“Would you come with us?” She asked the guard. He nodded silently.

“Got nothing better to do.” Riley shrugged, looking into a cup. He swirled the contents for a minute before he sat it back on the table. The Spartan turned to follow the princess out the door, Luna quietly deliberated with her sister, looking ashamed.

Riley walked out into the bright sunshine of the day, ducking under the low doorway. The princess and her guard talked quietly for a moment. The guard nodded, and as Riley stepped up beside the two, they went silent. The gravel crunched under their hooves, small rocks exploded into dust under Riley’s boots.

“This is Captain Armor, of the Royal Guard.” She introduced him.

“Great, someone else who gets paid more than me.” Riley shook his head. Armor smiled and gave a light huff.

“What’s your rank, soldier?” Armor asked, continuing the leisurely pace.

“E-6. UNSC Marines.”

“30 years and only an E-6?” The captain rose his eyebrow.

“Long story in a few words? Cryostasis, clerical errors, and the fact I owe my life to a janitorial robot.” Riley sighed. He shook his head once more, kicking a few pebbles down the empty dirt street. “You give so much and the only thing they give you is a “Fuck you, you’re obsolete.” Course, then you save them again and they keep you around until the new Spartans show up, and repeat the process.”

The trio continued walking quietly for a moment before Armor piped up.

“I’ve only been in for 12 Years.. Entered as an officer... Served in the battle of Raven Peak and Deadhorse, almost nothing but skirmishes and guard duty since...” Armor countered.

“What’s the score on those battles?”

“3000 KIA, 185 KIA.” The guard kept his gaze ahead, almost feeling inadequate next to the veteran Spartan.

“185?”

“Holding back 5000.”

“God-damn, son. You’ve seen some things, haven’t you?” Riley looked down to the pony, a camaraderie and respect for the creature welled inside him. The guard’s gaze met his visor before looking down.

“Yeah, you could say that...” Armor nodded. The three ponies continued down the street, to nowhere in particular. Headed for a nearby ridge, Riley looked at the sun, high in the sky before glancing back down to earth. He wanted to watch the sunset on that ridge.

“Why’d you join up, and what’s this story of a 'Janitorial robot?”

Riley scoffed a laugh, then patted his helmet twice. “Jessica, what’s the chances of us really getting home, realistically?”

Jessica appeared in front of the three, making the ponies pause momentarily.

“Realistically..? I think you should have hope..”

“So basically it's entirely impossible. Well then... My dad was ODST.” Riley continued walking as she was quiet again, her form looking at the ground, unable to answer his question. “When I was 7, an ONI infiltration team kidnapped me from me home in Missouri, Earth. At 15 I underwent augmentation. As far as the official ONI records go, I died in that augmentation. And I did.”

Armor stopped walking, looking up wearily.

“You looked pretty alive to me...”

“While I lay dead on the table, a janitorial robot was dispatched to mop up the cascade of blood from my sinus cavity. Somehow it managed to fry itself, electrocuting me with it. ...Which started my heart, then the good doctor just set me aside and went with it... They appointed me to the Marine Corps, and sent me off to run all the Marine’s errands without the paperwork of Marine-ONI joint ops.” Riley sighed heavily, his gaze falling to the pony beside him. “Not that it mattered much anymore when the Covenant arrived. Then, everything was a joint op.”

“Sounds like...” It was Armor’s turn to shake his head. “When did you first encounter these enemies you were talking about?”

Riley looked ahead, the events came to him vividly. “When I got my armor... They attacked the UNSC Commonwealth... Gave each of us a nuke to blow the enemy ship to kingdom come, I think only Sam, Kelly, and John made it in, I ended up a grease stain on the hull when plasma fire killed my jetpack, but it served to prove the immense impact-dampening power of the suit, later leading to the development of the energy shields helping to harden the suits.. Sam never made it out, and it pushed John to be the best of the best, I think they promoted him recently, but last I heard he was in cryo.”

“Did you destroy the ship?” Cadence piped up, her face filled with concern and awe.

“No.” Riley replied, looking to the princess. “But Sam did.”

————————————

“Princess Celestia... What was that about..?” Twilight slowly looked up to her mentor, her gaze tracking the grain in the wood, the Princess’s fetlocks, up to her eyes.

“I fear we misjudged him... And we may have jeopardized our relationship with him through it...” Celestia shook her head, resting a hoof around her student.

Luna’s eyes were still wide, she turned to her sister. “Tia, surely there can’t be more than 20 billion of them! That’s absurd!”

“Sister, I fear that’s the entire point... His anger, the way it entirely fuels him...” Celestia felt like shrinking inside herself, she didn’t want to deal with this problem anymore. They’d made an awkward misjudgment and now she had to live with it, tainting his impression of them. "I don’t think there are that many humans...."

“Not anymore...”

Author's Note

I’m terribly sorry for this rushed, rough chapter! Work has been super busy, I just graduated, and more havoc has ensued. Thanks for tuning in once again, I hope you enjoy! When this story has come to a close and has been completely polished, what do you think of a reading? Yea, nay? Bleep bloop a comment down there below to let me know!