Chapter 9
Touring the Town
Canterlot, Equestria
April 5, 2556
1143 hours
Matt’s P.O.V.

“So… How’s your day going?” I asked in a half-assed attempt to break the awkward silence that had descended upon Brayden, Fluttershy, and me as we strolled down the brick path towards where Mike had said the marketplace was. Judging by the loud groan from where Brayden was, my attempts were less than successful.

“Err… good… I suppose.” Fluttershy muttered as she continued to shrink herself into as small a target of attention as possible. We’d been constantly bombarded by stares of awe, fear, and curiosity as we continued our walk towards the market place. It turns out being around a pair of aliens decked out in half a ton of armor gains a person a lot of attention.

Though there was the one horse with the hourglass on his flank, who regarded us like normal fellows.’ I mused mirthfully as I continued down the path, not really paying attention to where I was walking. I was shaken out of my reverie when Brayden called over the intercom.

“Hey, Earth to Matt. How long till we reach the market; I need something to do. My trigger finger is itchy.” Said Brayden as he strolled down the street, hand lingering on his M6D every few seconds. I could see a few of the guards were giving Brayden a less than approving look… then again, that look could be aimed at either of us.

“Chill Brayden, we don’t want another Firaxia incident; I’m still paying that incident off, and that was ten years ago,” I complained quietly as I pulled out the map of the city Mike copied for us from Twilight. That little horse was full of information and letters.

“Pfft, that incident wasn’t so bad… not like what you did on Gamma Epsilon VI.” Countered Brayden, I could hear the wolf grin in his voice. I flushed red still at the memory of that god-forsaken world and the temptress that almost got me arrest and executed even fifteen years later.

This meant war.

“Oh, for one, she had a fake I.D., and two, you were feeling her up first.” I countered while trying my best not to show my embarrassment. I smirked as I thought of a final way to counter him.

“Well, that time was nowhere near as bad as our little shore leave in Vegas on Earth back in 2540,” I replied with a victorious smirk as we continued to walk down the street. Seriously how long is this road?

“…Bro, you don’t even have to say that kind of stuff, man.” Mumbled Brayden over the private Comm, “Remember man, what happens in Vegas...”

“Stays on the Waypoint… Yeah, I get the point.” I replied as we rounded a corner and came into a large pavilion. Rows upon rows of stalls filled with food and trinkets lined the pavilion and formed a large circle around a fountain in the pavilion center.

“This is the market place; you will be able to find all the food you guys need here,” Fluttershy explained as she walked forward in front of Brayden, gesturing at the stalls and me. “Do you need any help?”

I looked around the pavilion and frowned; the thing had hundreds of stalls, all selling a wide variety of things. The pavilion itself looked to be about the size of a griffball arena, a good half-mile square. “Oh yeah, we’ll use all the help we can get. Brayden any idea where we should… Brayden?” I asked as I turned around to find Brayden staring at a large wooden sign, painter bright reds, and greens.

After inspecting the sign, I found it was an advertisement for a local Cider bar. In the ad, a pale yellow horse in a waistcoat and a monocle, of all things, was sitting at a table with what looked to be a pocket watch in one hoof and a jar of cider in the other. ‘Pale horse cider; the drink of a scholar, gentleman, and a sir.’ Beneath the slogan was a name and directions.

“Bucking Jack’s Cider bar, Matt, it’s only a block away.” Brayden said quickly and eagerly, “Food collection can wait. Rule 43 must be sated.” Brayden finished as he looked at me with an expectant look.

I scrunched my eyebrows under my helmet for a moment, “Rule 43 is no reprogramming the smart AIs into sexbots.” I said in confusion. Brayden simply faces palmed his helmet and sighed.

“Fine Rule 44, if a planet has a signature alcoholic drink, it must be tried.” Explained Brayden in a curt tone as Fluttershy stood by and watched us bicker.

I pursed my lips in thought, ‘Mike would probably have my ass scrubbing toilets for the rest of the month if I let Brayden get hammered on assignment… but considering Brayden’s recent mood, he may very well kill me for not letting him drink, hmm the choices.’ I mirthfully thought to myself as I stood and stared at the sign one more time.

Interestingly enough, it was Fluttershy who broke the silence, “Well, I’ve heard of the place, they serve good apple juice as well, and I am sort of thirsty.” Fluttershy quietly mumbled as she tried to make the last part of her sentence as quiet as humanly possible.

“Whelp, that’s settled then,” Brayden said jubilantly as he dashed ahead of our group, “To the bar we go!!!” Before either Fluttershy or I could speak, Brayden was off and halfway to the bar. Sighing to myself, I motioned for us to follow.
Finally catching up, I gave the bar a once overglance. The building was tall and mostly made from cut lumber with a few stones and concrete pieces to add stability and flavor to the building. Hanging above the door was a sign with the same picture as before on it, and more importantly, in front of the door was Brayden tapping his foot and waiting for us to catch up.
Walking in through the front door, we entered into a large room with dozens of tables and a bar in the back. Off on the right, a band played what looked to be drums and few other instruments. Almost all the tables were full of ponies who I assume were enjoying their mid-day meals. The room was roaring with the noise of glasses moving, music playing, the voices of at least three dozen ponies talking… course, it all stopped as soon as we walked a few feet past the threshold.
“Well, I see they’re rolling out the welcome mat,” I muttered quietly, Fluttershy either didn’t hear it or didn’t care, and Brayden simply shrugged and marched forward down the slight ramps that lead to the door. About halfway to the bar, the band started up again, and everything went back to normal noise-wise, excluding the fact that the ponies were now a little more on edge.

Walking up to the bar, Brayden sat on one of the stools and waited as, amazingly enough, the horse from the advertisement walked up to Brayden from behind the bar with confidence and a menu. “So, what can I do you for?” the pale horse asked. There was a slight tinge to his voice that suggested that he’d rather we be gone, but the bag full of bits hanging from Brayden’s chest plate seemed to be enough to keep the bartender from ordering us to leave. I quietly snorted to myself as I lightly leaned against the bar. As it turns out, businessmen are the same no matter what species.
Taking off his helmet and smiling a broad grin, Brayden opened the menu and glanced through it before looking over to Fluttershy and me; “Either of you wants something?” Brayden asked sincerely.

Fluttershy peeked her head over Brayden’s arm and looked at the menu in detail. “I’ll just have an apple juice, please.” She asked politely. The Bartender, who I assumed was named Jack, Smiled back and leaned under the counter to grab a bottle of simple apple juice.

Brayden glanced over to me, and I simply shrugged, “Eh, one of us needs to be sober for this mission, so I’ll have the same.” I replied nonchalantly as I continued scanning the crowd behind us; the crowd was a veritable sea of yellows, grays, browns, even some blues, and pinks, and I could swear there was an aqua green horse in one of the corner booths a ways back from the main bar.

Brayden grinned wolfishly and looked over to the bartender. “Right, the lady over there will take the same.” I could visibly see the bartender do a double-take as he looked me over, confused, obviously taking Brayden’s comment seriously, before ducking under the counter and grabbing another glass.
Sighing irritably, I glared at Brayden from behind my EOD helmet’s visor. “I see the Vegas comment stung as little more than anticipated,” I muttered quietly to Brayden.

Brayden simply snorted as he continued to look through the menu. “What can I say? Payback is like that one ex who when she sees you she shoots first then yells at you later.” I sighed audibly and facepalmed my helmet as I remembered that particular ex of his… well, mostly I remember the bullets she put in my upper thigh but still. Glancing in his direction, I noticed his eyebrows were peaked in interest at an item on the menu.

“Ah, did you find something of interest, my bi-pedal friend?” The bartender asked as he passed a pair of apple juices towards Fluttershy and me and proceeded to shine a glass. Grinning wolfishly, Brayden confidently placed the menu down and smiled ear to ear.

“Yes, sir, I’ll take the Vintage Mother Bucker.” Replied Brayden in a confident voice, then several things happened at once; the band immediately quit playing, every head in the bar looked to Brayden with a look of awe and fear, several of the gents at the bar dropped their food and looked to Brayden with an expression akin to untold horror. Most spectacularly, the Bartender’s jaw dropped along with the glass in his hooves. All of this happened in the span of a few seconds, all over a single drink… I quietly shuddered as I thought of the implications. ‘Toilet duty here I come.’ I thought sardonically as I removed my helmet and took a long swig of apple juice.

After a few seconds, the bartender recovered and looked to Brayden, who was still grinning like the cat that ate the canary and cleared his throat. “Now, sir… you do realize this is the most powerful drink on all of Equestria… as in only a few brave souls have ever managed more than three or four sips; Nightmaremoon, even the princess Celestia only managed to drink half a glass before yielding…. Now, are you sure you want a shot of this drink?”

I raised an eyebrow and quietly looked to Brayden for assurance. I’ve known this crazy awesome bastard for nearly two decades as everything from a superior to a friend and a brother, and the lord above knows I’ve seen him knock back enough drinks to kill a man but this? This was a little much even for Brayden.

Placing a hand on his face and stroking the small tan stubble on his chin before standing up with a somber look on his face. However, his emerald eyes betrayed a mischievousness that warned me of what was to happen a moment before it actually did. “Alright, in that case, I’ll take the glass.”

Gasping out loud, the crowd grew deathly silent, and the Bartender stood stone still as he likely considered his options. Seizing the opportunity, I facepalmed, “You know Brayden, if you listen real quietly, I think you hear your liver crying for mercy... or trying to commit suicide, one of the two.” I ruefully remarked as I took another swig of apple juice, savoring the bittersweetness.

Eventually, the Bartender smiled and laughed loudly, breaking the silence. “I’ll tell you what, you’re one crazy creature, and I like that, so I’ll tell you what, manage to drink a quarter of a glass, you’re bill is free and drink half a glass, it’ll be a free round of drinks for everyone on the house, deal?” replied the bartender, a confident grin adorning his face. I could hear some loud whispers and excited chatting in the background and already knew exactly what Brayden would say.
“Deal.”

With a roar, the bar cheered, and the Bartender left to fetch the poison of the hour. Fluttershy quietly nudged Brayden, “You know… even I’ve heard of this drink, I think it’s a bad idea.” She said with a scared looked on her face.
Smiling sincerely, Brayden shrugged. “Eh, don’t worry, I’ve beaten my liver with torrents of alcohol over the years. I doubt there’s a single drink in the galaxy that could topple me with half a glass.” Explained Brayden in a soothing voice as he patted Fluttershy on the shoulder. I raised my eyebrow in interest as the two continued to chat. It had been a long time since anyone outside our group had heard Brayden speak with such softness and sincerity. I’d say it was creepy, but when I remembered our foxhole in the Battle of Cygnus VIII, it actually seemed right to see Brayden in a comforting role.

Suddenly the entire bar lowered to a hush, conversations dropped, and the small number the band had tried to resurrect had immediately silenced. Looking to the right, the bartender rounded a corner carrying a small barrel about the size of a human head. On the side of the barrel was a mug with what looked to be a pocket watch in the middle of the mug, the family emblem, I assume. Placing the barrel of the counter, he opened the valve, and the most noxious smell of alcohol I’d ever smelled assaulted my nose as the nearly clear liquid flowed into the glass.

“This, my friend, is from the batch that was brewed the day I was born; thirty-three years, eight months, and five days ago.” Quietly and reverently whispered the bartender as he placed the glass in front of Brayden. “Now do remember,” Started the bartender as Brayden grabbed the glass and, wasting no time, took a small sip of the drink; his eyes crinkling slightly in a tell I knew meant the drink probably burned like acid. “It’s perfectly alright if you call it after only a few sips. It is the family secret recipe that has been handed down for gen-“

“You’re done.” Remarked Brayden, a victorious grin upon his face.

“Wh-What?!?!?!” Said the Bartender, a look of pure horror as Brayden gripped the glass tightly and raised it high in the air.

Gasping in a mix of horror and awe, the crowd and Bartender watch in horror as Brayden brought the glass to his mouth and slowly tipped the drink back, chugging the entire glass in about forty seconds before placing the glass back down on the counter.

I watched as Brayden’s muscles tensed and relaxed and then tensed again as he Fought to keep the pain from the drink under control; just when I thought he was about to scream in agony, Brayden opened his eyes and smiled, letting loose a loud laugh that soon ignited cheers from the crowd that had amassed behind us filling the bar.

Breathing heavily, Brayden smiled, “I do believe… you owe the crowd a drink.” Remarked Brayden, his voice raspy and croaking as he slowly stood and walked away into the crowd and eventually outside.

Smiling and grabbing my helmet, I looked over to the bartender, who was still in a slightly catatonic state and still gaping as I fish. “Well, I’ll give you credit,” I said as I put five bits on the counter. “The drink burned, but I have yet to meet a drink that would knock Brayden on his ass in a single glass… good try, though.” Turning on my heel, I grabbed my helmet and led Fluttershy and me through the sea of patrons coming up to the bar for a free drink.

Walking out into the open market again, I briefly indulged in the cool breeze and sunshine on my pale skin before placing my helmet on my head again. “Where did Brayden go?” Questioned Fluttershy as she looked around the immediate area and didn’t find him. Scrunching my eyebrows as I failed to find him either, I brought up the IFF function on my HUD and noticed that his IFF was over in the middle of the Market area.

“Follow me,” I said to Fluttershy as we walked into the throng of market stalls. “He’s over this way,” I yelled over the roar of the marketplace as I weaved my way through the crowds, Fluttershy right behind me. Eventually, we entered an area where the stalls thinned, and a fountain and several benches stood in the center. They're on a bench was Brayden sitting on a bench looking into his helmet’s visor.

Walking up, Brayden smirked, “Hey Matt?”

“Yeah?” I replied as I stood above, not trusting the bench to support my armored bulk.

“That drink… I lied, I think my liver has finally had enough and is trying to commit suicide.” Said Brayden as he continued to stare at his helmet.

“Perking my eyebrows, I kneeled and got eye level with him, “What makes you say that, man?” I asked as I visually inspected him; nearly all his muscles in his arms and legs were slack, his breathing was heavy and slow, and the small movements from his fingers were sluggish and erratic. I’d only seen Brayden like this once before, and that was in Vegas.
Slowly looking up, Brayden smiled, his emerald eyes slightly glazed and his unruly tannish brown hair standing at odd ends. “Well, simply put… I can’t move my legs… or my arms… or anything else other than my head, come to think of it.” Brayden replied as he groaned and squinted his eyes in the sunlight. “God, that drink was a bad idea, but it was fun to show that smug bastard up.” Brayden Chuckled as his head rolled back.

Standing to the full height, I began to laugh. After a few moments, I settled down to see Fluttershy glaring at me. “What’s wrong with you? Your friend is violently drunk and sick, and you’re standing there laughing?” Fluttershy Spit out in a vehement tone as she continued to glare at my now chuckling form.

“Nah, I’m worried, alright…” I began as I struggled to keep my laughter back. “It’s just. This is the only drink that’s even put Brayden down with a single glass.” I continued as another fit of laughter overcame me.

I continued to laugh until suddenly, a strong force hit me in the gut and knocked the wind from my lungs. Kneeling and gasping for breath, I looked up, my hand instinctively reaching back for my shotgun to see pair of hooves flying towards my face. Employing my Spartan reflexes, I rolled away and stood up to see Fluttershy furious.

“Enough!” Yelled Fluttershy in an unpredicted moment of ferocity, “Now either help me care for Brayden or go do your stupid collection mission but DO NOT laugh at him!!!!” I raised my eyebrows in a silent moment of praise as I observed her posture. Low to the ground, eyes fiery and focused, and a glare that could make most Drill Instructors cry in pride… I immediately knew what my only option was. I raised my hands in defeat.

“Okay, I’m sorry. Brayden will be fine in a few hours, but he always keeps some feel-good pills on his armor for the days when the hangovers are horrid.” I said as I walked up to the now unconscious Brayden and rummaged through his pockets before pulling out a pair of green pills and Brayden’s canteen. Raising his head back, I put the pills in his mouth and slowly poured some water into his mouth. After making sure that Brayden swallowed the pills and was breathing easily enough, I pulled out a tac-pad and wrote a message on it saying that we’d be out getting food, and I told him not to go anywhere.

Standing, I look over to Fluttershy, who was still giving me a rather frosty glare. “Alright, he’ll be good now. I left a note telling him where we’ll be. But I still need your help to find what I need here. After that, we’ll come back, pick Brayden up and head back to the Albatross, deal?” I asked, holding out my hand to make peace.

Still glaring at me slightly, Fluttershy sighed in defeat and offered her hoof, “Deal.” I reached out and grabbed her hoof, smiling as I did so.

“I swear this happens every time we go on shore leave; we meet a nice lady, go get drunk, and then I leave him somewhere while I go and handle clean up. It’s totally routine.” I said nonchalantly as we began to walk off into the market.

“Yeah, well, I just hope he’ll be okay….” Muttered Fluttershy with a longing look as she looked over her shoulder with a glance full of worry, as we walked off and disappeared into the crowds.

Brayden’s P.O.V.

The first thing my mind recognized was the rhythmic pounding in my head. A steady and familiar thump-thump, thump-thump that indicated my heart was still beating; always a good sign. Opening my eyes and letting out a pained groan, I sat up and looked around the immediate area. I was still on the pavilion bench, and nobody was around.

‘Great, the brat left me behind… again.’ I thought with a grimace as I rolled my shoulders and stretched out my aching limbs. “At least I can move my limbs again,” I growled in relief, moving and popping the joints in my arms and legs before trying to stand.

Slowly standing, I was forced to reach out for the bench to steady myself as my vision swam in and out as the pounding in my head amplified tenfold. Taking a few deep breaths, I groaned and soldiered through the pain, and steadied myself. ‘God, that was some hard liquor.’ I thought to myself in a chastising manner.

Looking around once more, I noticed a small tac-pad where I had been resting. Leaning over, I picked the pad up and began to read it.

So, on the bright side, we finally found the almighty ass-kicking alcoholic drink that’ll put you down with a single glass. The bad news is that you’re out like a light, so Fluttershy and I are gonna head into the market and buy the food we need and then head back to your position. From there, we’ll make stuff up as we go. So PLEASE just sit tight and wait for us. The last thing I want to do today is hunting you down through a crowded place.

-Matt

1213 hours

Grimacing at Matt’s teasing, I tossed the tac pad on the bench before looking down at the small digital watch on my wrist. “Alright, it’s almost been an hour since they left, so they shouldn’t be too long,” I mumbled to myself. Suddenly I grunted in pain as I felt a wave of nausea and lightheadedness before I sat down, taking more deep breaths.

Opening my eyes after a few seconds, I saw that my vision had cleared… but not wanting to try that little experience again, I decided to just sit things out for a bit. Leaning back, I stretched my arms out and closed my eyes, letting the sunlight warm my face and the sound of running water from the fountain soothe me into a semi-conscious state.

While I may have only been semi-conscious, years of living on the battlefield had honed my senses to a razor-sharp point even with the alcohol. So when I picked up the light clopping of some hooves coming closer, my mind awoke to soothe my body’s instinct to grab a gun and shoot whatever it was in the face.

Discretely cracking my eye open, I saw a smaller gray pony inching towards me, a basket of flowers in its jaws. On the small sign hanging from the basket, it said, ‘flowers 1 bit.’ “What are you doing out here, kiddo?” I asked, startling the small pony, who recoiled back a little but held strong.

“My momma is at work, and I wanted to help her, so I went and picked some flowers to sell… would you like some?” The small horse explained in a small squeaky voice as I leaned forward and looked at the small horse. The horse was way too small to be full-grown, so it must have been a child.

“Sure, kiddo,” I replied in a relaxed manner as I grabbed a one-bit coin and put it in the basket as I grabbed a small yellow flower and twirled it in my hand. “Mind me asking why you need the extra bits?” I asked as the kid should probably be out playing somewhere.

“Well, momma works long hours as a waitress in an uptown restaurant, and dad… well, I never knew dad.” The kid explained as he sat on his haunches and looked down at the pavement. I nodded my head quietly at the last bit. I guess every species has its sob stories. The kid looked up again, a certain fire in his eyes this time, “That’s why I need to help my momma in any way I can, and if that means I need to be out here all day, then so be it.” Said the kid, smiling with a kind of vigor that would take him far in life if he kept it up.

I smiled to myself and could almost feel little specks of moisture near my eyes. Bah must be the fountain splash. Smiling, I picked up the bag of bits and tossed it into his basket. “Here, kiddo, you’re the man of the house now, so you need to help your mother in any way possible, alright?” I said with the voice of a veteran. “It’s not going to be easy,” I said as I placed a hand on his shoulder and looked into his awed eyes. “But it wouldn’t be worth it if it wasn’t. Now run on home, kiddo and remember my words; you’re gonna have to be strong now.” I said to him, my confidence seeping into him, making the shocking expression disappear.

“Y-yes, sir, thank you very kindly.” The kid said as he smiled widely and turned to run off towards home. “I’ll never forget you!” He yelled back as he ran off into the distance. For some reason, I found myself feeling proud, and I took the small flower and stuck it into one of the seams on my chest plate.

‘Bah, forget me, kiddo, just don’t forget what I said.” I muttered to myself as I placed my helmet on my head and leaned back, falling into a deep sleep.

During my deep sleep, I jumped between several dreams; dreams of past battles, dreams of Selene-VII, and more often than usual, dreams of Natalie. Her crimson hair, Viridian green eyes, and earthy and loving voice haunted me more than I cared to admit, especially recently. Probably because of that nightmare I’d had the other night. I continued to dream of a home before being awoken by the one thing that does that the most often; Matt’s voice.

“Brayden… What the hell is that on your chest?” Matt’s signature slightly gravelly voice rang out in question. Opening my eyes, I sat up and looked at him and Fluttershy. Matt was carrying a small messenger’s bag, and Fluttershy had what looked to be a bag of oats hanging from her side.

Looking down, I remembered the flower sticking out of my chest plate. Deciding to play it off, I shrugged and plucked it from its seam. “Hell if I know, I said as I placed it on the bench. “And what the Sam hell is that you two are carrying.”
This time Matt shrugged and opened his bag to show small pastries and sweets. “Well, as you know, the synthesizer at the base doesn’t have a real grasp on sweets, and Pinkie’s sweets are for everyone, so I went and secured some extra rations for myself.” Matt quickly explained in as non-committal a tone as humanly possible. “Fluttershy here got herself a quick bag of spiced oats.” Fluttershy looked up from her bag and nodded, smiling to see me all right before dipping back in.
I stared at Matt for a moment, “Private sweets rations, huh?” I asked with a healthy dose of suspicion in my voice, causing Matt to shift from foot to foot and rub the back of his neck. “Pfft, whatever, just help me up, fatty.” I jabbed sarcastically as I stuck out a hand.

Feigning shock, Matt stepped back a moment, hands on his mud-brown EOD helmet. “Shut up. It’s glandular.” Matt replied, sarcasm dripping from his words before he grabbed my hand and pulled me up. “Come on, old man, the rendezvous point is back at the albatross, so let get-go-“

Before Matt could finish his sentence, a Pegasus in full battle armor landed in front of us. Spear brandished at us and body low to the ground in attack position. My hand flew to my M6, but a hard impact hit my hand before I could reach it. Looking around, I noticed that four more pegasi had surrounded Matt, Fluttershy, and me.

“Halt, Princess Celestia requests an audience with you. Resistance is futile.” Shouted the first Pegasus, who had a white stripe on his helmet, denoting him as the leader. Matt and I stood back to back with Fluttershy between us as the pegasi formed a semi-circle around us.

“You know, I have a feeling requests reads as demands.” Snarked Matt as he looked the group over, staring at the spears that probably couldn’t hurt us. I could hear Fluttershy breathing heavily between us and knew Matt wouldn’t try anything because we wouldn’t be able to take her with us.

“Yeah, Matt, you thinking what I’m thinking?” I asked as I mentally considered our options. I might not have the Spartan augments that let me run through eighty plans at once, but I’ve been doing this a lot longer than any others.

“Well, if it’s anything like Omega station, then we’re gonna need more guns.” Remarked Matt as he braced himself for a fight.

Running my left hand over my M6D, I knew I could draw a bead and fire at least three stunning shots before any were in melee range. Sighing out loud, I brought my ends up in a defensive posture. “Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of our little tour of Arcadia back in ’43,” I growled as I knew Matt would get the message immediately.

Matt turned his head around and lowered his fists, “Seriously? He asked, incredulousness in his voice. “I mean, that’s probably our best plan, but I really wasn’t expecting that from you,” Matt said as he resumed his posture.

“Yeah, well, you gotta know when to hold them and when to fold them,” I said as I mentally and physically prepared for what I was sure was to follow our maneuver. “On three. One.” I said as I lowered my body into a defensive posture.

“Two,” Two replied Matt as he braced.

“Three.” Simultaneously we both raised our hands in defeat, and the guards moved forwards and surrounded us and began to escort us towards the castle.

“Damn.” Muttered Matt to my right as one guard prodded him in the shoulder with a spear.

“What?” I asked as we continued to march.

“I just thought of our stint in New London back in ’51.” Muttered Matt as he rolled his shoulders. “That would have been a better plan than being jabbed with a spear over and over again.” Hissed Matt as the guard behind him smirked some and jabbed again.

Canterlot, Equestria
April 5, 2556
1152 hours
Blake’s P.O.V.

“OOH, and there was that one time that Fluttershy stared down a basilisk. It was all like BUCARGHH, and she was all like HMMMMM, and she stared it down and made it turn all our friends back to normal even if we were all scared.” Yelled Pinkie Pie as she bounced around. We were walking down an empty cobblestone street towards what Twilight had said was the guard’s academy at the foot of the castle.

“Oh yeah,” I replied as I grinned under my cherry red Soldier helmet. The more I heard about these ponies, the more I found they were a bit like our little awesome band. “That reminds me of this one time we were in an alien installation. We’re creeping around right, expecting monsters to jump out at us when Matt goes around a corner out of sight, and all of a sudden, we hear this buzz and a high-pitched scream and then nothing.” I explain as we began to approach a large building.

Pinkie Pie is at full attention now, nodding as we walk. “Well then, all of a sudden, Matt comes running full tilt around the corner and hides behind Lane, shaking like a leaf.” I begin to chuckle at the memory of it all lightly. “Well, we’re all freak out now, and no one wants to look around the corner before Lane finally does, and then he screams too, but he RUNS around the corner. So we all peak around the corner to see Lane looking at this giant lizard-like creature that’s frozen in a roaring stance.” I finish, laughing at the look of Matt huddled in a corner in fear of the giant T-rex with Matt mumbling something about Jurassic Park.

Pinkie smiles and laughs at the story with me as we finally come to a stop in front of the Guard’s academy. The building was a large three-story brick building, with lots of windows and murals on the walls depicting everything from festivals to battles and more. Looking past the gate in the wall, I could see a group of soldiers training in the yard, a greyish-white older unicorn pacing in front of the group, yelling into the crowd and awaiting them to yell back.
“Wow,” I muttered under my breath. My smile stretching from ear to ear. These guys were just like the troops back home. I began to march towards the gate to get inside and check it out.

“Err Blake, are you sure you want to go in there?” Asked Pinkie Pie with a questioning glance as she watched the group. “I mean, these guard types are always no fun.” Continued Pinkie as she continued to walk by my side, slightly less jubilant than before.

“Hey, don’t worry,” I said reassuringly as I walked up to the gate and pushed it open. Slowly strutting into the yard. “Don’t worry; I’ll pop in, look around, and then we’ll pop out and explore the town, deal?” I said as I turned to Pinkie Pie and offered a brofist. Staring at the leader yelling at the group, Pinkie hesitated for a moment before finally sighing and bumping her hoof against my fist.

Smiling beneath my helmet, I turned around to see the leader marching towards Pinkie Pie and me with a furious look on his face. ‘Uh-oh, this is gonna be fun.’ I thought to myself as I waited for the Sergeant to reach me.

“What in the unholy name of Chrysalis are you?” The sergeant yelled at me with a curt, clipped, and most of all, angry voice. Breathing in to answer, I was interrupted when the sergeant held up a hoof. “Wait, never mind, I don’t care. All I know is that you’re unauthorized to be here, so do me a favor and GET OUT!” The sergeant yelled as he pointed his hoof.

Nodding reluctantly, I turned and began to leave with Pinkie Pie, marching past the front of the amassed group of soldiers. I kept walking until a snickering and yell from one of the troops stopped me in my tracks. “Pfft, that hunk of metal probably can’t even fight.” Laughed a blue trooper.

I stopped dead in my tracks, my blood boiling in my veins; I don’t mind being mouthed off to by a sergeant or being told to leave, but when some greenhorns insult my combat capabilities, shit gonna get real.

“Err, Blake. You probably shouldn’t tick these guys off. There’s like a bajillion of them and one of you.” Remarked Pinkie Pie as she watched me march up to the recruit who insulted me.

“Come on, let’s fight,” I said as I stood in front of the blue recruit. He had to look up, and I had to look down so that he could make eye contact. Judging by his wide-eyed look, he wasn’t too talkative anymore.

“W-what?” Stuttered the recruit as he stared up at me. Two of his friends moving up to flank me.

“I’m sorry, did I stutter? You and me, let’s spar, and I’ll show you my twenty years of fighting skills.” I said in a flat tone. Inside I knew that I shouldn’t have been causing a ruckus like this, but these little shits had woken the wrong bear… besides, Brayden would have just shot them in the face, so at least I’m giving them a chance.

“You have no right!” Yelled the yellow recruit to the right of the blue recruit in front of me.

“Yeah, you have no position of honor in this academy to even consider demanding a sparring session with any of us.” Complimented the brown recruit on the left.

“No, but I can.” Looking off to my far left, I saw the sergeant walk up, and all three recruits visibly paled. “After all, you three hotshots have been riding to open up the sparring ring, now might be an excellent time to show you what combat is like.” Drawled the sergeant, looking me top to bottom; the sergeant nodded and looked to the group. “Considering this outsider’s skill, I think three on one might be sufficient.” Almost immediately, the three recruits lit up again, smiling at the chance to prove themselves. I just smirked. There’s a reason I’m the CQC expert of a Spartan strike team.

All three recruits sat at attention and nodded to the sergeant, aggressive grins adorning their faces. “We won’t fail you, sir.” Yelled the blue recruit. As the three recruits marched off towards the armor bench, I could hear the rest of the recruits murmuring with an energy that was pretty familiar considering my days back in the ODST corps. It was an energy of superiority, of pride, of vicious aggression.

Feeling a hoof on my side, I looked to the sergeant, who had a mask of impassiveness. “Don’t break them, please, just wound their egos.” Said the sergeant quietly out of earshot of the troops. Nodding my head discreetly, I turned to Pinkie Pie, who looked excited.

“Oh boy! Are you guys going to fight? Cool!” Squealed Pinkie Pie as she jumped around laughing as I stood silently chuckling at her display. Suddenly she stopped in mid-air and looked to me, a questioning look on her face, “Wait, what are you gonna use to fight?” She asked as she looked over to the recruits who were armed with spears with glowing tips.
I reached down to my hips and pulled my two blades from their sheaths; in my hands were a pair of 8 inch curved steel knives reinforced with a titanium-A core from the first ship I served on the UNSC Alaska. There were showy but strong and my favorite weapons to use. “Well, I got these two little beauties,” I said as I brandished them in the sunlight, the light gleaming off them.

“Ooooh, Pretty.” Remarked Pinkie as she stared at my blades before I sheathed them. Hearing the gong from the training arena. Walking over, I got to my side of the twenty-foot diameter ring of sand. Looking over at my opponents, I could see that they all were greenhorns, still getting used to the feel of the armor and brandishing their weapons in overextended manners.

I quietly smirk viscously, ‘These guys are done.’ I thought to myself as I stared at the recruits as they tried to organize an offense against me. I noticed the sergeant get into position to begin the fight and noticed the three recruits were still debating how to fight. ‘Oh man, these guys need to get their stuff together, or they have screwed something fierce.’ I thought mirthfully as I slowly withdrew my right blade only, deciding the lads could use the handicap.

After a few moments, the recruits' group got close together to form a tight defense as their fellow recruits and Pinkie Pie formed around the ring. After a few moments, the tension was palpable in the ring as I lowered my body into an offensive and quick stance, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
“FIGHT!!!”

With a roar, the Blue recruit in the center rushed forward as his Yellow friend on the right moved up along the right, and his Brown friend hung off and back to the left. Smirking, I rushed forward and juked right past the blue recruit’s spear and grabbed the shaft of it with his left hand and yanked the spear from the pony and rolled off to the right, and swung the spear in a low wide arc towards the yellow pony who jumped backward to avoid the swing narrowly. However, by moving backward, I had cornered him against the edge of the ring.

Using the spear's centrifugal force, I spun and threw the spear towards the blue recruit, who narrowly ducked beneath the spear’s glowing tip but failed to dodge the shaft, which smacked the blue recruit in the side of the jaw, stunning him. Ducking down and continuing my counter-clockwise spin, I leaped into the air, swinging my right leg towards the yellow horse to keep the recruit on the defensive. As my leg narrowly swung past the yellow horse’s neck, the brown recruit finally made his move. Rushing forwards and swinging the spear in a top-right to left arc, the brown horse attempted to catch me as I landed and smash my head with a spear.

Acting on a whim, I rolled forward and left away from the yellow horse but now into the Brown horse’s guard. Rising on a knee, I brought my knife up and across the recruit’s chest plate, hitting three straps and causing the right shoulder pad to hang freely from the horse’s leg, hampering his movement. As I came to my full height, I spun my knife in my hand to make the handle facing towards the recruit's head. Swinging my hand in a hammer strike, I struck the butt of my knife against the recruit’s head with a swift crack. Falling to the ground unconscious, I turned to face the last two recruits, one on each side, both with their spears firmly pointed at me. ‘One down, two to go.’ I thought to myself as my grin grew even wider.
By now, the crowd was roaring with excitement as the two recruits and I stared each other down, neither party wishing to renew the assault, but neither team was willing to let the other team strike first. I knew that now that they knew what I could do, they would be all the more cautious, so I needed something to tilt the odds in my favor. Looking to my feet, I smirked and quietly laughed. “Think fast, lads,” I yelled as I got ready.

Shifting my feet, I put the shaft of the stun spear from the brown recruit in between my legs and shifted my feet, kicking the spear upwards where I caught the bottom of the spear with my hand and threw it overhanded like a hatchet forwards towards the yellow recruit on my left. Juking left, I sprinted onto the left side of the yellow recruit as he juked to my left. Bringing my left foot up, I snap kicked the yellow recruit’s helmet. Knocking the recruit onto his side and unconscious as the Blue recruit advanced with a low sweeping strike with his spear.

Leaning back and jumping, I began to execute a backflip. Still, I was quickly stopped when a large force collided with the back of my helmet, knocking the metal cover from my head, stunning me for several seconds, and knock my knife from my hand as I rolled across the ground, dodging the several cleaving strikes aimed towards me as I tried to figure out what happened. After a few seconds, my mind pieced everything together. The recruit must have quickly switched directions of his spear and knocked my helmet off.

Rolling to my feet and gritting my teeth in concentration, I jumped over another sweeping strike. As I landed, I spun and ducked a high sweeping strike before rising with an open palm and striking the blue recruit under his jaw and sending him flying backward unconscious.

Raising both fists in the air, I smiled in victory as sweat poured through my buzz cut varnish colored hair. The crowd roared in victory and applause as some other recruits pulled their friends out of the ring. Bouncing over to me, Pinkie Pie bro hoofed me and smiled from ear to ear. “Congrats, How are you doing?” Asked Pinkie Pie.

“Good if a little sore,” I replied as I walked over and grabbed my helmet and knife, replacing both pieces. As I stood and turned around, the crowd immediately silenced, and the sergeant marched over to me.

“Impressive work. What’s your name?” Asked the sergeant, a small upward curve of his lips the only physical hint of his praise.

“Captain Blake Hubbard, UNSC Spartan-IV program,” I replied as I gave off a small salute.

“As I said before, very impressive… but not your best. You got two of those blades, but you only used one.” Replied the sergeant as he marched into the circle, His bright white and gold armor shining in the sunlight with polish. Smirking, the sergeant’s horn on his head began to glow, and four spears began to glow off the weapons rack and fly over to the sergeant, who continued to hold them in mid-air.

“Now,” Said the sergeant as he lowered himself into a combative stance as the four spears floated around him for a second before locking into place with two spears in defensive poses and two spears in offensive poses. “Show me what you got.”

To say the crowd was shocked would be an understatement; nearly all the recruits were awe-shocked, and the few left who weren’t were starting to cheer and chant. I smiled and smirked as I grabbed my two knives again and activated the video record button on my helmet. ‘If we're gonna have an awesome-sauce duel, we might as well get proof at the same time.’ I thought mirthfully to myself as I lowered myself into a defensive position, my two knives held forwards ready to strike.
“Alright, let’s roll.”

Canterlot, Equestria
April 5, 2556
1315 hours
Mike’s P.O.V.

“Wow, this place is amazing!” Lane all but shouted as we left Canterlot’s main library. Several books about magic, history, and culture weighing our rucksacks down with weight, I rolled my eyes as Lane and Twilight continued to talk shop and make jokes about history; honestly, I was beginning to feel like a third wheel here as we walked through the upper city area surrounding the library. Eventually, we found a water fountain, and I greedily made a break for the ledge, setting the bag of books down and stretching my shoulder.

‘Ah, stings a little.’ I thought to myself as I rolled the joint, popping it several times while I waited for Lane and Twilight to catch up. Sitting on the ledge, I watched the crowds as they walked by; everything from scholars and professors to aristocrats and nobility hung around this area, and I couldn’t blame them. Several trees and gardens surrounded the area and numerous fountains, each with a different figure placed atop them.

Remembering my promise, I opened the compartment on the side of my rogue armor and pulled out the scanner. I activated the scanner and slowly waved the machine around, pointing the antenna at several buildings before I stopped at the castle where the readings were skyrocketing. ‘I suppose the home of a demi-god princess would have a lot of magic to it.’ I thought mirthfully as I replaced the scanner, and Lane and Twilight walked up to me.

“What was that, Mike?” Asked Twilight, only a slight amount of suspicion in her voice as she and Lane walked up and sat on the fountain’s ledge as well.

“Don’t worry. It was just a device designed to measure and detect magical energies. The scientist’s back at base wanted us to look and see if it’s the natural habitat that causes your magical powers.” I explained as I pulled the small tac-pad device out and showed Twilight, activating it and swooshing it around to get a few recordings before putting it back. Twilight looked at the device in curiosity as Lane messed around with his helmet.

“Hey, Mike.” Began Lane as he took his helmet off to examine it. “Check your comms and try and reach the others. I’m not getting anything from Matt, Brayden, or Blake.” Remarked Lane as he scanned over the part of his recruit helmet that contained the radio array. Furrowing my eyebrows in confusion, I reached to my helmet and keyed the comms.

“All teams, this is Mike. Sound off.” I ordered over the comms only to be replied with by static. Deciding something was definitely off, I stood and tried to find a better signal, “I repeat, this is Mike. Sound off.” I repeated as I looked over to Lane, who gave a non-committal shrug of confusion.

Standing around with my worry growing by the second, I was suddenly bumped into from behind. Spinning around to look, I found a paint colored guard Pegasus on his rear shaking his head in confusion while another group of guards rushed off with an excited look in their eyes.

Coming up behind me, Twilight helped the guard to his feet. “Where are all you guys going?” She asked with a mix of confusion and curiosity in her voice while Lane and I stood off to the side. Our day here in the big city had taught us many things, but one thing was for sure; the guards are not too fond of us.

“Oh, there’s this big red metal guy in armor sparring against sergeant Buck. They’ve been going at it for like forty-five minutes now, and we’re all going to watch.” Said the Pegasus, a wide grin on his face and excitement in his eyes. “You’re free to come to watch as well.” The Pegasus said as he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck before remembering his buds left him and running off. “Hey, wait up, guys!!!” He yelled as he ran off into the distance.

“Big red metal guy, huh?” I commented as only one figure came to mind with those specifications. To my right, I saw Lane place an armored hand on his face and sigh loudly.

“Well, that accounts for Blake.” He grumbled as he let the hand slide down his face, his amber eyes narrowing in concentration. “Now, if only we could find Matt and Brayden, and we’d be set.” Finished Lane as he placed his purple recruit helmet upon his head once again.

Sighing loudly and picking up the rucksack full of books, I began to jog after the Pegasus. “Come on,” I yelled over my shoulder as Twilight and Lane began to jog with me. “If we find If we find Blake, Matt and Brayden probably won’t be far behind.” I finished as we continued our jog ahead.

“What… What makes you think you’re friends will be with your other friend.” Twilight yelled as she readjusted her bag to fit more comfortably.

“Well, that’s simple.” Said Lane beating me to the punch line. “It’s Matt and Brayden. If there’s a fight going on, the two of them are likely either close by, part of it, or making bets on it.” Finished Lane.

Continuing our jog for another thirteen minutes, we finally arrived at the academy to see a veritable sea of guards in the building's courtyard. Towards the center, I could hear the telltale sounds of wood cracking against metal and metal clashing with more metal. Slowly pushing our way through the ponies crowd, we finally arrived at the center to find a rather interesting sight.

In the center of the ring was Blake dodging and weaving and jumping around an older unicorn who had three spears twirling around him, blocking almost all of Blake’s slashes and jabs while Blake kicked and blocked and dodged every spear strike, sweep, and feint.

“Oh, hi guys!” Yelled a familiar pink pony that had pom-poms in her hooves. “You’re just in time to see the end of the fight.” She said as she continued to cheer and jump around. Twilight sighed and followed Pinkie to the other side of the arena as Lane and I watched to battle continue.

The battle had become one of attrition as Blake swished and jumped around calculated and accurate spear strikes and sweeps. “Christ,” I said as I watched Blake slide under a sweep that was but centimeters from his head as Blake bounced up and spun to kick away another spear as it tried to come down onto Blake’s back. “Three spears against two knives? Blake’s doing pretty good considering.” I commented as I watched Blake do a flip over the pony’s back and do a cross block with his knives to stop another sweep.

“Four.” Yelled Lane over the roar of the crowd as we both winced when a clever spinning sweep distracted Blake long enough for an overhead cleaving strike to nail Blake square in the shoulder, sparks flying from the spear as a small electric charge was discharged.

“What?” I said confusion as Blake managed to grab onto one spear and use it to block another sweep before slashing at the unicorn’s armor and breaking a strap, causing one of the many plates to slide off the unicorn.

“Four spears, Michael.” Yelled Lane as he pointed to some splintered remains on the far side of the arena. “It would appear that Blake decided to remove one of his opponent’s weapons earlier.” Commented Lane as we both cheered at a successful strike against the unicorn from Blake.

“Damn,” I muttered in praise for Blake’s Martial arts capabilities. “Then I lied. Blake’s doing incredible considering.” I murmured as Blake did a backflip over two sweeping spears and rolled as he landed, dodging a third diagonal spear strike as he rushed forward and delivered an open palm strike to the unicorn’s ribs before rolling a few yards back and assuming a defensive position. The sergeant did the same, still twirling each spear to keep Blake guessing. At this point, both parties had to be running on fumes as if the entire battle had been like this.

Seeing an opportunity, Blake put away both knives and rushed forward, and slid on his knees for the last few feet to catch the spears in his hands. Grappling the spears, Blake tried to push forward but must have forgotten about the third spear as it drew back behind the sergeant to come forward in a cleaving strike. Seeing the movement, Lane put together the plan and yelled. “DO A BARREL ROLL!”

Hearing the phrase and acting on instinct, Blake jumped and rolled to the right, twisting the two spears in front of him as the third spear cracked to the ground a foot away. Seeing his opportunity, Blake stood and spun on his heel while lifting his right leg and then bringing it crashing down on the shaft of the third spear, shattering the shaft and making the crowd roar in amazement.

Still moving from his spin, Blake put both hands on a single spear and yanked it from the sergeant’s telekinetic grasp. Jumping forward and away from the sergeant, Blake spun back around to face the sergeant and was about to charge into the fray when a commanding voice broke the silence.

“ENOUGH!” Yelled a deep gravelly voice that brought every single recruit to attention. Even I had to fight the urge not to stand at attention and salute. Looking over to the academy building's front door, I saw a large horse decked out in ornate white and gold armor that was decorated with numerous medals and ribbons.

Marching forward to our little group, the literal sea of troops split before the officer like Moses and the Red Sea. Coming to a stop in front of the sergeant, the Officer looked down onto the sergeant with a perked eyebrow. “Sergeant Adrian Buck, might I ask what is going on here?” The officer questioned a hint of amusement in his clear-cut but gravely voice.

“Yes, General, A few recruits got rowdy when the captain here came to look around, so they challenged him to a duel. After he thoroughly trounced all three, I saw the opportunity to train the recruits here in some more… complex offensive maneuvers.” Explained the Sergeant, who in his defense stayed calm and clear the entire time, likely used to such inspections.

Changing targets, the general sauntered over to an alert Blake who stood at attention and looked the general in the eye. “And that brings me to my second question,” drawled the general as he looked Blake over, inspecting several pieces of Blake’s armory and physiology. “Who are you?” Asked the general with an inquisitive look.

“Captain Blake Hubbard of the United Nations Space Command Spartan-IV program… Certifiable bad-ass, I have papers to prove it.” Said Blake, Finishing with an almost audible grin. Almost on instinct, both Lane and I face-palmed. If it wasn’t Matt or Gunny’s corny jokes, it was Blake’s pride and swagger.

Squinting at Blake and appraising him once more, the general nodded. “I see, my name is General Terrance Vindictus, and it was imposing that you fought Adrian here to a standstill.” Said Vindictus as he nodded over to the Sergeant standing at attention. “The horse is a war hero after all, and in all my years as headmaster of the guard’s academy, I have yet to see anyone defeat the old bucker.” Continued the general as he nodded over to Sergeant Buck before facing Blake once again. “Tell me, Captain, do you know where you’re fellow… ‘Spartans’ are right now?” Asked General Vindictus, hesitating at the Spartan part, as he glanced through the crowd, I could tell his piercing eyes had picked up both Lane and me.

“Well, sir, I can only speak for myself, Pinkie Pie, and I’m gonna guess Lane is somewhere in the crowd. So Mike and Twilight are likely with him..” Drawled Blake as he shifted his feet and rolled, no doubt sore limbs. “As for Matt, Brayden, and Fluttershy, I can’t say.” Finished Blake. Vindictus, who had been pacing so far, stopped and nodded.

“Excellent, if you and your friends would follow me to the castle, I will reunite you with your fellow Spartans, Matt, and Brayden. Princess Celestia would like to see you.” Explained Vindictus as he turned heel and began to walk through an arch towards a road that leads up to the castle. Glancing at each other, we nodded and began to follow the general, with Twilight and Pinkie following us.

Looking over to Lane as we passed through the arch, I had to grimace. If Matt, Brayden, and Fluttershy were up at the castle, there were only two answers, either there had been a big fight, and the guards subdued them. ‘Unlikely, VERY unlikely,’ I thought to myself. Or they’d willing went to the castle and were likely not going to be leaving until we pull their asses out of the fire.

‘Great,’ I thought as I looked up the castle and rolled my sore shoulder once again. ‘Out of the Fryingpan and into the fire we go.’ I thought as we continued up the path and towards the castle, our friends, and though I didn’t know it at the time, our destiny.

Author's Note

The largest chapter YET!!! Did you guys have fun with this one?