HALO:EQUESTRIA
Chapter I:Welcome to HARMONY
Twilight was apprehensive. She stroked her helmet absent-mindedly with her left hoof as she thought about what awaited her. Will I be accepted? Am I good enough? Were those horrible operations all for nothing? She shivered at the thought of the pain she had endured to be here. "Calm down, Twilight," she scolded herself. "You're going to be just fine". The lavender pony shivered, despite the heat. As she did so, her seat shook with her. Still getting used to it all, eh?. She smiled. Same old Twilight, she thought. Nervous over a little test. Four years ago, Twilight had been selected to participate in the SPARTAN project, her body modified to withstand more pain, being made more physically powerful. She still remembered that fateful day. The 10 bit coin rested in her pocket. How could I forget my life being turned upside down like this? Celestia noticing her gift for magic. It seemed only yesterday she had been visited by the pony with the strange mane. Hello there, Twilight. I've heard that you're a little filly with a lot of magic in you. Then the training. The tests. The failures. She still remembered them. Their awful, twisted bodies. The way they had screamed. a tear appeared in her eye. Moondancer. Snips and Snails, those inseperable kids, only a few years younger than her. Ruby. Sandy. All gone now. And worse, those still alive. Lyra and Bon Bon, left blinded, broken, howling in fear and agony. She started shaking. Stop thinking about it, Twi. She wiped the moisture from her eyes. She was getting close to the srop point.
The blades atop the GRIFFIN helicopter slowed, then ground to a halt. Twilight was on the ground. Slipping her helmet on, she exit her seat, stretched her legs, and trotted towards the compound. Ponyville. The first anti-Changeling outpost I've seen. Entering the main building, she was met by a grey haired pony, with some light stubble. "Right this way, Miss Sparkle".
***
"And Ah'm tellin' you, she's gon' be FINE!" a pony shouted from behind the door. Twilight stopped, hesitant, then slowly pushed the door open. Four ponies were sitting around a central table, looking at some screens showing Changeling activity. An orange pony was standing next to an overturned seat, glaring at a white pony, whose purple hair was a little TOO well-groomed for a soldier, in Twilight's opinion. "Hello, dear", said purple-hair, rather awkwardly. "We were just... talking about you... heh...". "OOOOhhhh, somepony's in trouuubleee" piped up a Pink-armored pony in the farthest seat. "Ahm assumin' yer the new member, right, Sugarcube?" the orange pony asked. "Y-yes... If I'm interrupting anything, I can j-" Twilight was cut off by a light blue pony with a rainbow-coloured mane. "Nah, were just finishing up. I'm Rainbow Dash, leader of HARMONY", she said, unfurling her wings and hovering over lazily, extending a hoof. "How d'you do?" asked Twilight as they shook hooves. "And this here's AppleJack", Rainbow gestured to the orange pony. AppleJack tipped her large hat at Twilight with a polite "Howdy".
The purple haired unicorn stood up, walked over and took Twilight's hoof next. "I'm Rarity, dear. Welcome to HARMONY, I'm happy to have you here, even if you aren't as qualified as some members we've HAD". Rainbow Dash sighed. "You STILL aren't over Tom, are you?". Rarity gasped theatrically. "I haven't 'gotten over' him because he was my one true LOVE!". "I swear, Rarity, he had about as much charm as a ROCK", Dash muttered through clenched teeth. "Annnyway", Twilight said nervously, wandering over to a yellow pony who had stayed silent, almost unnoticed, throughout most of the proceedings. Twilight noticed that she had a prosthetic left front leg. "What's your name?". "Fluttershy..." came the quiet reply. "And you are?", Twilight asked, turning to the pink-armored pony, with a tuft of candyfloss-like hair protruding from her helmet, almost like a unicorn's horn. "I'm Pinkie Pie. And I'm, like, super excited to meet you, and we're going to have a ton of fun here, and we can have a party to welcome you, and a party after every successful mission, and we can have parties even when we don't have a reason to, just because we can, and it'll be GREAT, all six of us, because we're gonna be the best of friends!". Twilight smiled. Friends. "Well, if nopony has any objections, I think we should 'get this show on the road', so to speak", Rarity drawled, although not in an unpleasant way. "OOOh, and we can have a ROAD party, for every road that we put a show on for! And there'll be cement cake, and big PARADE FLOATS! And it'll be so much FUN!". And in fits of giggles, they headed off for their first mission briefing, with no idea what fate awaited them.
***
Dear Professor Celestia,
Today I learned that friends can be found anywhere, and that even if you've only known somepony for a few hours, you can still consider them a friend. At first I was worried that everyone wouldn't appreciate me, but I've had an extremely warm reception here in Ponyville. I hope that I can see you soon,
Your Faithful SPARTAN,
Twilight Sparkle
***
"Ahh, Twilight", Celestia said to no-one in particular. "If only I were so enthusiastic about your transformation. Alas, I carry a very heavy weight of guilt upon my shoulders. I wish I hadn't had to take you or your friends away from the lives you could have had". A single tear fell from her eye. She wiped it away with her hoof, and straightened up. Compose yourself, Tia. She sat back at the keyboard, watching the the screen as she coded. A few more days, and she would be ready. But not yet. Not yet...
Next Time: Changelings!
Author's Note
Well, this was my first attempt at a fanfiction. Any comments, criticism, suggestions? Leave them in the comments.