Chapter Two: Interspecies Terms of Agreement
A very tired Celestia stared intently at the golden visor that stood before her. The owner of said visor stood stiff as a board in his armor, with four others behind him in the same style armor. Moments passed with tension as Celestia scrutinized the being before her. Finally, with a calm sigh, Celestia gave a smile and nodded.
"I do believe we can trust you...er, Spartans? Was it?" She asked a little unsure. Rachel nodded and removed her helmet.
"Yes, your highness, that is correct." She said with a smooth and calm voice.
"Very well. I thank you greatly for your assistance with the defense of PonyVille and its citizens. You and your comrades are allowed to go to the medical wing and seek treatment if needed." Celestia told Rachel.
"Thank you ma'am, but we'll be fine. We can take quite the beating." Rachel said with a slight smirk.
"As you wish, but please, visit the others in the medical wing. It would be a great relief to them knowing we have powerful allies in the fight against Discord." Celestia said as she waved them out of the Grand Hall. Rachel and the others gave a crisp and uniform salute, then turned to leave, the Royal Guards opening the doors for the four Spartans. Celestia spoke up and the the four stopped.
"I'm sorry for the corruption of your comrade." She said sadly. Rachel gave a simple nod and then four Spartans left the Hall.
The Spartans of Alpha Squad walked in silence behind Rachel as they approached the Medical Wing. The Guards bowed them through, and the nurses put 'Visitor' pins on their armor when they approached the desk and signed in. Walking down the hall, they received small 'Thank You!'s from various nurses, patients, and other medical staff. They entered a medium sized room and saw the six ponies they saved laying in the beds. The three young foals they encountered in the forest were sleeping in chairs scattered around the room, mainly next to their older siblings. Rachel motioned for the Spartans to remove their helmets and they did as one.
"Is anyone awake...?" Rachel asked quietly. She was met with a very hyper Pinkie Pie bouncing up and down in front of her. Pinkie had one foreleg in a sling and there was some medical gauze wrapped around her head, covering her left eye, and yet, both eyes still had bright cheeriness in them.
"I know I am! I know I am! But why is that? Is it because I'm all drugged up and can't feel the pain, or-." But Rachel cut her off with a raised hand.
"Pinkie. Calm down and go lay down young lady." She teased-ordered the pink pony. Pinkie saluted and bounded back to her bed and laid on top of the sheets.
"I don't know how she does it." Donovan chuckled.
"No one really does, and we just don't bother to ask her." Twilight said groggily as she woke up, most likely being woken up by a hyper Pinkie. Donovan chuckled again and sat down in a free chair as the others relaxed and scattered to sit down. Rachel sat with Twilight and slumped down in the chair as she relaxed.
"Can't remember the last time I sat down." She giggled. Twilight added her own giggle.
"I can't remember the last time somepony new had saved my butt from imminent danger." She said in response.
"You know, for a bunch of colorful ponies, your kind seems to have a lot of enemies." Joseph pointed out. Twilight gave the best shrug she could with the sling on her foreleg.
"I can't really explain why though. We just do I guess." She replied. Joseph gave a bemused grunt and look to Apple Jack, who seemed to be stirring awake.
"That Discord character is quite the tough one though. Did he messing with your minds?" Lizzie asked as Rainbow Dash sat up tiredly. She smiled at Dash and ruffled her multi-colored mane gently. "Hey there Speedy. How's your hammer hanging?"
"Feels like I got slammed into a mountain after preforming a Sonic Rainboom..." She said groggily, putting a hoof up to her half-wrapped head. Lizzie chuckled a bit and lightly punched Dash's shoulder.
"You'll be fine." She said playfully.
Apple Jack had popped her back and sighed with relief.
"Ah guess takin' a beatin' like that can really help out tha joints." She said laying down on her bed, only to jump in fright at the sight of Joseph sitting next to her bed with Apple Bloom. Joseph nodded his head and tilted an imaginary hat at the Earth pony.
"Howdy miss." He said with a smile. Apple Jack calmed down and smiled.
"Howdy to ya' too." She said.
As all this was going on, Twilight was studying Rachel's features, taking in ever detail of emotion.
"Are you alright miss?" Twilight asked her. Rachel snapped out of a small trance and looked at the lavender pony.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, sort of..." She said meekly. Twilight sat up and frowned.
"Is it about your friend?" She asked. Her answer came in the form of silence from Rachel. "Want to talk about it...?" Twilight continued.
"I guess it can help..." Rachel admitted as she sat up and hunched forward.
~Seven hours ago~
The girls had become bored and very tensed from all the time they've been waiting underneath the dome. Apple Jack had decided to take a nap in the makeshift trench, Rarity was flicking the brim of her camouflage sunhat, Rainbow Dash was circling about in the air lazily, Flutter Shy was shaking like a leaf in a winter wind from all the tension, Twilight was searching about frantically for any sign of a break in the shield, and Pinkie Pie was playing patty-cake with a enemy. The enemy was sitting at the shield edge and Pinkie was at the internal edge, and the two were playing patty cake with the shield preventing them from touching.
"Patty cake, patty cake! Bakers bake!" They said together in cheerful stupidity, as if they forgot the current situation at hand. For the most part, the inside of the shield was silent, the Mini-Discords having long given up at trying to break the shield.
As Apple Jack slept, her ear twitched slightly. Few seconds later, it twitched again, and again. Stirring, Apple Jack sat up and turned in the direction her ear was twitching.
"Y'all hear tha?" She asked curiously. The others all turned to Apple Jack.
"Hear what darling?" Rarity asked.
"Tha' small pops." she replied. They all sat in silence, trying to hear what Apple Jack was talking about, but to no success.
"I'm afraid we can't hear anything AJ." Twilight said a bit worried. "I'm sure it's just the stress getting to you." she continued.
"No, Ah know Ah can hear 'em." Apple Jack shot back as she reared up and rested her forelegs on the trench edge, straining her hearing. Few moments of silence passed, then there was a loud, triple pop, and Apple Jack jumped.
"Y'all hear it tha' time?" She asked urgently. She was met with nods and the girls all joined her and look directly ahead of them, the pops getting louder.
***
"Of course there was a damn camp of the things inside the forest, of course there was!" Rachel scolded herself as her and the others, with pony foals in hand, crouched at an internal forest clearing and gazed upon the camp of odd creatures. Some were sparring, others were sleeping, and most were eating what looked like small woodland creatures, the small creatures still raw and uncooked, some were trying to escape with massive bites in their small bodies. The small ponies all let out a collective gasp, but their mouths were quickly covered by large, gloved hands.
"Shhh...we don't need to let them know we're here..." Joseph said in a whisper to one of the young foals. They nodded with wide, frightened eyes as they looked back to the sight in front of the group. Rachel signaled the Spartans to follow her back into the forest a bit. The obliged and followed quietly through the forest. What they failed to see, was one of the feasting enemies had spotted something at the clearing edge and had started in the direction of said movement.
"Okay, I'm I'm thinking is we stick to the clearing edge, away from the camp, until we reach the force field. Then we try to contact whoever is inside there to let us in. Agreed?" Rachel asked. The others had nodded, all except Antonio who had given a sigh and a shake of his helmeted head. "You disagree?" Rachel asked the ex-Commander.
"You know that is bound to fail. One of you or those ponies will be seen, and get us all captured, or worse." He said with fake sound of intelligence.
"Antonio, you forget who's in charge now, and I say, we sneak around." Rachel growled.
"I say we charge in guns blazing. Hey! Maybe we can use these little ponies as bait to lure some of those odd creatures away!" Antonio said as he made a little jump towards the ponies, who shrunk into the confines of their Spartans' armor.
"Are you trying to get us killed?" Rachel asked, her voice rising.
"Not all of us, just you guys. I'll come out alive and get a ride back home, tell the Captain there was nothing of interest, and when he asks what happened to you all, I'll just say the terrain where we landed was dangerous and you all fell to your deaths." He said with an audible sneer.
"Why you-!" Donovan started, but as he started to get up, a cry of shock was heard.
"WE HAVE SOMETHING IN HERE!" It was one of the creatures from the camp. It started to turn and run, but Lizzie put it down with a single round from her Magnum.
"That's sure to attract a lot of attention..." Joseph said gravely as he and the others drew their own Magnums and switched the safeties off, priming them to fire. Silence passed by in pregnant seconds. The Spartans all sat as frozen statues, looking at each other as their motion trackers started lighting up with red. Soon, eyes started appearing around them. Yellow with red pupils, in the form of the Cheshire Cat, cat-like and squinting. Chuckles and evil cackles soon filled the silence.
"On my signal, we charge for the shield..." Rachel whispered. The others nodded, still looking towards each other. Rachel held up three gloved fingers, and she counted down.
3...
2...
1...
Her fist clenched and the Spartans all moved in blurs of movement as they stood, and ran for the shield.
"Ma'am! We're going through the camp, aren't we?" Donovan asked as he ran with Sweetie Belle in his one arm, clutching her close like a child would with a favorite teddy bear.
"Only path we can take!" Lizzie said before Rachel could answer.
"Lizzie's right! If we take the edge, those things can cut us off before we reach the shield!" Rachel yelled back. As she ran, one of the creatures hopped in front of her, only to meet her Magnum at point blank and be shot into a shadowy mist. The others soon started having to deal with the creatures as they popped up like Whack-A-Moles on either side of the running Spartans. The three foals cried as the sounds of gunfire surrounded them and they hid behind their small forelegs, trying to block out the sights and sounds.
Upon breaking into the camp, the Spartans all charged through like a out of control train. They formed a delta arrow head as they ran.
"Following my plan then?!" Antonio jeered.
"Antonio, when we're inside the shield, I'm going to knock you into Limbo!" Rachel yelled. But, before Antonio could reply, five of the creatures tackled him from the side with ferocity greater than that of a Jackle, or Skirmisher for that matter. Roars and snarls were all Antonio heard as he was taken to the ground and bound with some kind of invisible force, then knocked out, all in a period of fifteen seconds. The others stopped, only briefly, then continued to run. The amount of enemies was growing, and Joseph gave a yell of frustration.
"How many of these damned things are there?" He yelled as he switched his Magnum for the Battle Rifle on his back and fired the signature tri-burst into a pack of the creatures, banishing three from existence.
"We're almost there!" Lizzie yelled, but as she did, she was tackled from behind by two of the creatures. One ripped her Air Assault helmet off as its counterpart bit down on Lizzie's now exposed neck hard. She gave a sharp cry of pain and fell. Joseph stopped to see her fall.
"Lizzie!" He cried, as he tossed a still crying Apple Bloom through the air to a empty handed Rachel.
"Joseph, keep going!" Rachel yelled as she stopped to see what he was doing. She saw Joseph charge for the creatures on Lizzie's back and he viciously bashed them in the heads with the butt of his rifle. The creatures vanished and He picked up Rachel in a fireman's carry as he slung his BR and picked up her helmet.
"GO!" He yelled at Rachel as he ran past her and to the shield. Rachel fell in step behind him. She pulled up Lizzie's vitals on her H.U.D and saw that she was alive, but barely. If she didn't see any treatment, she could very well bleed out on Joseph's back if they didn't hurry.
***
The girls all stood on their hindlegs in the trench as they saw some even more odd looking creatures come running at their shield.
"What in the hay are those?" Rainbow Dash asked as she squinted her rose colored eyes trying to get some clarity.
"I have no clue, but Pinkie Pie, get your party back over here!" Twilight yelled at the pink pony. Pinkie stood, waved good-bye to her patty-cake friend, then bounded over to the trench.
"Girls! Look!" Apple Jack yelled in shock and pointed a hoof forward.
They all looked and gasped. Three foals, in the arms of three of the new creatures.
"They have the Crusaders!" Flutter Shy said in panicked shock.
"We have ta' try an' save 'em!" Apple Jack yelled as she ran over the top of the trench, with Rainbow Dash and Rarity in her step.
"Wait! Girls, wait!" Twilight called, but they were too full of worry and anger to hear her as they all charged for the shield.
"Don't worry Sweetie Belle, Rarity's coming to save you!" Rarity cried out as she ran.
***
Rachel's H.U.D. said they had about three hundred meters left before reaching the shield. They ran with all their might across the grassy plains towards the glowing shield.
"Come on! Only three-hundred meters to go!" She told the others.
"It's times like this where I wish we had Sprint on us!" Donovan yelled. Joseph ran past like a bullet train with a dying Lizzie on his back. He ran past Rachel with frightening speed that a even a Spartan shouldn't have as he approached the shield. Ahead of them, Rachel could see three more ponies charging for them.
Why are they coming at us...? Rachel asked herself. These three seemed to be older than the three foals they were carrying, but there was one thing they all had in common; A fiery look of determination in their eyes. Rachel picked up her speed and met Joseph at the shield right as the three ponies got to the shield.
"Let us in!" Joseph ordered.
"Give us our little sisters!" a white unicorn demanded.
"So that's why they were coming to meet us. They think we stole their sisters. Rachel said to herself.
"We'll give you your sisters if you let us in! We have a injured friend who needs immediate medical attention!" Joseph said. At this time, Donovan had caught up and was holding a crying Sweetie Belle.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO SWEETIE BELLE!?" The white unicorn yelled enraged.
"We did nothing!" Rachel yelled.
"Liar!" A cyan pegasus yelled.
"They're crying because of the violence that was going on around us as we ran to get here!" Donovan yelled. A dull thud could be heard, as an orange pony bucked the shield in attempt to break it herself.
"When Ah get to y'all, Ah'm gonna pound you inta applesauce!" She yelled with an angered country accent.
"Look, if you don't let us in now, your little sisters and us are going to become a new meal for those things in the forest! We've already lost one of ours to them, and the other got bitten and is bleeding badly. Please! LET US IN!" Rachel said as a collective roar was heard behind the Spartans. They froze and slowly turned to see the enemy army charging towards the shield.
"Put the foals down and draw your weapons! This is where we make our last stand!" Rachel ordered. Donovan and Rachel both put the foals down behind the Spartans and they made a semi-circle around the young ponies as they drew their rifles. Joseph put Lizzie on the ground with the three ponies as he drew his Battle Rifle with a demonic growl.
"They're going to eat lead..." He growled. The three ponies on the inside of the shield looked at them as they put the foals down with slight confusion as they turned to defend themselves.The Spartans all stood tall and still, their rifles to their shoulders, their eyes down the sights, trigger fingers lightly squeezing the trigger. The mod of an army came closer with every second. Each of the Spartans H.U.D.s each said the army was less than three-hundred meters away, and closing fast. Suddenly, the shield appeared in front of the five Spartans. With confused movements, the Spartans lowered their rifles and turned to see the three ponies again, but with slight confusion on their faces. That fiery determination in their eyes was now replaced with confusion, relief, and slight fear. A purple Unicorn walked up to the group and sighed, exhaustion showing on her face.
"I believed your story. I couldn't sit here and watch as you were taken down, trying to defend a wounded friend and three youngers." she said. The Spartans all slung their weapons on their backs. Joseph knelled down to Lizzie and checked her pulse.
"She's barely there..." He said looking to Rachel. She looked to the purple unicorn.
"Thank you for saving us and the others. Please, our friend needs medical attention, and we don't have anything on us. Consider this a favor for saving these three." She said gesturing to the three foals, all sitting in a state of shock that was wearing off as their older sisters held them close and gave re-assuring words. The orange pony gave Rachel a death glare, but mouthed a Thank Ya' as she held her yellow younger. The white unicorn was busy holding her younger sister, but was getting twigs and dirty out of the youngers' mane. She and the cyan pegasus both nodded a sign of thanks and went back to attending to the foals.
The purple unicorn looked to Rachel
"Yes, thank you for saving them. We can have Flutter Shy take a look at your friend and try to help. She's good with animals, but I'm not too sure about..." She looked at Rachel. "Whatever you are." She said meekly. Then, a sudden look of curiosity over came the purple unicorn. "What are you anyway? Where did you come from? Is that armor you're wearing?" And soon she was in a storm of curiosity that rained down a hail of questions. Rachel tried her best to not slap the unicorn right now. But the orange pony spoke up before she did.
"Twi, stop right there. Now's not tha time fer questions. Y'all can ask that later." She said scolding the purple unicorn. The unicorn in question stopped her torrent of questions and calmed down.
"You're right. Sorry Apple Jack. I guess the stress of all this had gotten to my head." She said sheepishly. She gave a collective sigh and started again. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Twilight Sparkle, personal student to Princess Celestia, and these are my friends; Apple Jack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and the one hiding behind Pinkie is Flutter Shy." She said pointing to her friends as she named them off.
"And who might ya'll be?" Apple Jack asked. Rachel removed her helmet, which was a sign to the others to do the same.
"I'm Rachel, Spartan A Zero Ninety-Eight. The one kneeling is Joseph, Spartan B Zero Twenty-Two. Then there's Donovan, Spartan C Zero Thirty-Nine, and the injured one is Lizzie, Spartan B Zero Zero Two." She said pointing to her comrades in the same manner as Twilight.
"I say, you all have some very interesting names." Rarity said looking to them.
"Well, the numbers aren't a part of our name, it's just our call number. It goes name, then company, then number in said company." Donovan explained. He was met with slightly confused faces on the ponies. "I'll explain later..." He mumbled. Twilight looked at Lizzie and waved Flutter Shy over. The yellow pegasus walked over nervously, her face hidden behind her long pink mane.
"Can you help their friend Flutter Shy?" Twilight asked gently. Flutter Shy gave a squeak of nervousness as an answer and slowly walked over to the wounded Spartan. She met Joseph's stare and jumped back, even more terrified.
"You're gonna help me?" He asked simply.
"I-I can t-try..." Flutter Shy responded quietly. She knelt down next to Lizzie. "W-Where is she h-hurt...?" She asked. Joseph gently pointed a gloved finger to the massive red stain of blood that was still fresh on Lizzie's neck where she was bitten. Flutter Shy only took one look, and when she did, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fainted.
"Oh, I should've said she can't quite handle blood yet. Well, she can, in small drops, but not a whole bite wound..." Twilight said sheepishly once again. She walked over and looked at the wound. "She needs more advance medicine than what Flutter Shy has in stock." She said simply. As she said this, Flutter Shy stirred and woke up.
"N-no...I'm sure I have somet-thing that can do the t-trick..." She said trying not to look at the blood. Joseph save a slightly-relief sigh.
"When can you start?" Rachel asked.
"I can fly back for you Flutters! Just tell me what you need and I'll get it!" Rainbow Dash said extending her wings, ready for flight. But before Flutter Shy could respond, a clap of applause literally came out of nowhere.
"My my my...it seems you Ponies have new allies!" A laugh. "But it wont be enough to stop me or my army." The voice continued.
"Dang it Discord! We will stop y'all!" Apple Jack said.
"Yeah! It'll take more than your stupid army to try and stop us!" Rainbow Dash added.
"You will never defeat us Discord! We'll defend Equestria until the end!" Twilight said valiantly.
"Well then...let's just see what Canterlot has to say about that! All forces, mobilize for Canterlot!" Discord said as his voice vanished. The ponies all visibly paled as he vanished. Twilight spun around to Rachel.
"You have to help us. You can add a strength difference and help us win! Please, I beg of you!" She said hugging Rachel's waist to emphasize the urgency in her voice. Rachel knelt down to Twilight's level and patted the Unicorn.
"We'll help the best we can. But first, we need Lizzie back in action." She said sadly. Twilight nodded and dashed over to Lizzie. She stood there and her horn started glowing. She bent down and touched Lizzie's bite wound with the tip of her horn and pulled away. The bite mark was enveloped in a purple glow and soon the blood was being draw back into the Spartans' body, and the skin was being closed up. Once it was clear, Lizzie's eyes opened and she sat up with a grunt.
"Ugh...what happened...?" She asked placing a hand to her forehead.
"You got badly bitten and nearly died. Luckily I was able to use my magic to heal you." Twilight said proudly.
"Then what was the use for me?" Flutter Shy asked sadly. Twilight's ears flattened.
"Sorry Flutter Shy...I had forgotten I asked you to help Lizzie out..." She said.
Flutter Shy gave a slight nod and smiled. "It's fine Twilight." Then Lizzie spoke up.
"Can you explain why we're surrounded by talking Ponies, Rachel?" She asked.
"I'll explain on the way. Right now, we need to get to Canterlot. Can you quickly get us all there Twilight?" Rachel asked.
"I can try and teleport us there, but this many ponies and..." She stopped. "What exactly are you?" She asked the Spartans
"Humans." Donovan said simply.
"Right...humans, may take a strain on me and I may not be able to fight for a few minutes." Twilight said looking to Rachel.
"It's worth the risk. What do we have to do?" She asked.
"Just stand close to me and I'll start up the spell."
"Sweetie Belle, I want you and the girls to go hide in the Boutique. Alright?" Rarity asked. Her sister gave a nod and the three foals ran off in the direction of Carousel Boutique. Joseph helped Lizzie up and handed her the Air Assault helmet she wore.
"Thanks. Come on, let's make these freaks pay." She said.
"Alright everypony, stand close." Twilight said. They all stood near her and Twilight's horn started glowing. After a few seconds, there was flash, and the Spartans and Ponies were gone.
***
Antonio swam about in the dark sea of unconsciousness. His thoughts swam around his head and were echoed in the dark sea.
"Damn Rachel. Damn the others..."
If I were still in charge, I wouldn't be in this situation...
Maybe if I were to get revenge...
Then a different voice entered the dark sea.
"I can help you out Antonio, Spartan B Three-Hundred... it said with a charismatic tone.
"Who's there? How do you know who I am?" Antonio asked. He was answered with a chuckle.
"I'm the one who can help you put Rachel and the others in their place. I know who you are because I can see into your past thoughts and memories." There was a soft clicking of a tongue. "Oh my, such a harsh childhood. Such a terrible life in general. To be taken as as a child and trained to fight a war against a foe with greater power."
"Show yourself." Antonio ordered. A pair of crazy looking red and yellow eyes appeared before him, with a wicked smile.
My name is Discord. God of Chaos and Madness. And I have an offer for you, Antonio." The mouth said.
Antonio was taken a back slightly, then he changed his tone.
Alright Discord, I'm listening.
"How wonderful! Alright, here's the deal: If you let me inside your mind, I can grant you powers and strength you've never before had. Imagine the possibilities! You can take your old team down without breaking a single sweat! And once they're out of the way, You can help me take over this land, and I'll make you a king!" Discord said. Countless thoughts ran mad in Antonio's mind. Power, revenge, leadership. Yeah, he liked the sounds of that.
"Alright Discord. You have a deal." Antonio said with a smirk.
"Marvelous..." And with that, the mouth of Discord expanded rapidly, almost frighteningly, and swallowed Antonio whole.
***
Antonio laid on the ground of the camp. When he awoke, his eyes were a sickening yellow and red. A smirk crawled across his lips as he sat up. The last thing he remembered was the screams of terror the odd shadow creatures gave as he laid waste to them, his new powers taking them down, one at a time.
Chapter One: Arrival of the Giants
Darkness was creeping upon the land, and Celestia could feel it. Months prior, Discord returned to his evils ways, and vowed upon the corpse of Celestia that his army and power would take Equestria, and plunge it back into eons of chaos. The revelation stunned Celestia as she watched Discord vanish before her eyes, off to create the army he had foretold. Ever since then, Celestia has been on edge, waiting for the moment Discord to strike. And in that time span, not a single word or sighting of Discord occurred. She told her faithful student, Twilight, of this news and she promised that her and her friends would be on guard at PonyVille.
Celestia was sitting in her personal library, reading into defensive and offensive spells that she might have to use in an act of self-defense. As she read, a particular spell arose in her text, and it caught her eye.
“Summoning of the Giants…?” She mumbled to herself. She read into the spell and hoped that the spell worked. Standing up, Celestia ignited her horn and it glowed a pulsating red. She clenched her teeth as the magic powered up. With a gasp, the spell dissipated in a flash of red, followed by a small KA-BOOM! Celestia stumbled and as she looked for the giants, she was saddened to see that none were summoned, and hung her head in defeat.
She closed the ancient text and retired to her bedchambers, exhausted from the exertion the failed spell dealt her.
***
Antonio sub-consciously loaded his Shotgun as he stared at the entrance to the CQB portion of the massive Gym onboard the UNSC Frigate Juniper. His robotic right arm tirelessly worked the buskshots into the receiver chamber of his shotgun. It was late at night, and he couldn’t sleep, so he decided to run off the energy he had. Thing is, Antonio has ran the course about ten times over the past few hours. With his Shotgun fully loaded, Antonio unsheathed his Kukri knife from his Security shoulder bad and let it bounce in his palm.
He huffed behind the steel and red of his Grenadier helmet as he used his HUD to remote activate the timer. The countdown pinged and the Spartan III was off like a shot. Targets immediately rose to meet him with glowing target rings, only to be shot or gutted by either a buckshot or blade. Antonio was a blur of motion as he rounded the corners and sprinted down the halls. The course ended suddenly and Antonio stood at the exit slightly panting.
“One minute and forty two seconds. That must be a record.” A female voice spoke from behind him. Antonio turned to see a pair of shockingly blue eyes that belonged to Rachel, Spartan C382. She was only wearing the standard-issue black under suit, and it hugged her curves nicely, as it did on all Spartan III females.
“What are you doing down here? It’s after hours.” Antonio asked with a cold voice. Rachel frowned a bit.
“I’m guessing you’re having trouble sleeping again.” She replied crossing her arms. Antonio placed the shotgun and kukri in their places and sighed.
“And what if I am? It’s no issue to you. It’s my personal issue and you shouldn’t need to worry.” He said prodding her in the shoulder a couple times with his robotic hand.
She gently pushed his hand away from her and glared.
“Antonio, you’ve changed. Not only as a friend, but also as a person all together. You’ve become cold and unfeeling towards Joseph, Lizzie, Donovan, and me. We rarely see you outside of the battlefield—“She was stopped with another prod, and Antonio spoke, his voice bordering on malice. “Wanna know why I’ve changed? After we watched Magnux Three, my home planet, fall to the Covenant, I was shown that being kind isn’t going to get you anywhere in life. If you want to succeed, you need to be professional. And a professional doesn’t have time for friends.” He said coldly and harshly.
Rachel gasped a bit at how harsh the statement was.
“Antonio…” She said shocked.
“And stop calling me by my name. I outrank you, and therefore I should be called Commander, or Sir. Understand me, Sergeant?” He asked with a venomous tone.
Rachel turned to leave before he got anymore harsh.
She could feel her eyes burning with tears.
***
Captain Jacob Faust, age twenty-five, stood on the bridge next to the ships’ AI podium. The AI, named Dusk, was oddly modeled after a cartoon pony from the early 21st century, but Faust didn’t mind it. Besides, AI all vary in forms, why is Dusk any different?
But actually, it does bother Faust. After tracing his family tree, he found out that one of his ancestors had created the show that Dusk had been modeled from, and that made Jacob very sick to his stomach. Even in the 25th century, his family name is still linked to that show.
That being beside the point, Faust waited for the next set of orders to come in from UNSC Command. Dusk looked at her Captain with rose red eyes and sighed.
“I’m getting the orders now sir. They’re looking pretty bland to me.” She said.
“Read them to me Dusk.” Faust said.
“To the UNSC Frigate Juniper, you have been assigned to map and explore a recently discovered star system. Enter area with precaution. The 115th Battle Group will be nearby in the event of hostiles. Report any findings back to Command.” She read in a bored tone. “I told you sir.” She added.
“Well, it’s better than nothing. How long until we can get underway?” He asked. “Give me time to warm up the Slip Space Generator. That’ll take about…thirty minutes to an hour. Then I have to plot the course, and my math is telling me it will take about three months to arrive, sir.” She told him.
“Tell the crew to prepare for Cryo. I’ll go get ready myself. The ship is yours Dusk, and don’t get a scratch on her.” He teased as he departed from Dusk’s company. “Aye sir.” She replied as she turned on the PA system.
“Attention all personnel. We just got orders from Command.” She added a pause for dramatic effect. “We’re not being sent to fight Covies or Rebels.” She giggled a bit as she literally heard a massive groan from within the ship. “Sorry guys, but we’re being sent to map a recently discovered system. Ready yourselves for Cryo. See you in three months.” She concluded.
Dusk immediately went to work on plotting the course and warming up the slip-space drive. The course was laid in and now all she had to do was wait for the confirmation from the reactor that the ship was ready for slip space.
The ping for slip-space sounded and Dusk sent the ship underway.
***
Twilight awoke with a grumble. Her bed sheets were entangled with her body and she struggled to free herself of the cloth prison. Having no such luck, Twilight used her magic to teleport the blanket onto the floor next to her bed. She sat up and yawned, only to receive an eyeful of sunlight as is poured through her window. She winced harshly and pulled her curtains shut. Looking over, Twilight found that Spike was already up. This statement was true as the smell of breakfast was wafting through the room. Twilight sniffed the air and her stomach roared.
“Mmm…grass pancakes…” She muttered with hunger in her voice.
Twilight departed her bed, brushed her mane, and set off down the stairs into the library portion of her home. The smell of breakfast intensified as she neared the kitchen.
“Spike, I’m awake! I-“She was cut off with the sight of a fire on the stove and Spike panicking. “Twilight! I don’t know what happened! I was trying to be nice and make you breakfast, but something went wrong and-“He too was cut off when Twilight used her magic to bring a bucket of water over the fire and put the fire out.
Spike sighed with relief as the fire was extinguished. He looked up at his friend. “I’m sorry Twi. I tried being nice and-“Again, he was cut off. “It’s fine Spike, I know you had good intentions. We can just go to the restaurant down the way to get some breakfast.” She said with a friendly smile.
Spike nodded and went to clean up the mess he unintentionally made. As he cleaned, he spoke again. “Hey Twi, did you remember about the party tonight?” He asked. Twilight looked up, slight horror on her face.
“P-party?” She stuttered. “Yeah, it’s Vinyl Scratches’ birthday today, remember?” Spike asked. Twilight started to breathe rapidly as her mind raced. “I completely forgot! We have to go and get her a gift! Oh, this is such short-notice!” She whined.
“Short-notice? You and Pinkie Pie have been planning her party for weeks! How can you forget that quickly?” Spike asked.
“I guess I just got so busy that I forgot!” Twilight retorted. “Come on, we have to go now!” She told Spike.
“But I’m not done cleaning.” He deadpanned.
“You can get it later! We have to get a gift for Vinyl now!” Twilight said using her magic to levitate Spike and send him out the door, with herself right on his tail.
It wasn’t until she was already half-way to the store that a feeling started nagging at Twilight. A feeling that something big was going to happen, and it was going to happen very soon.
***
Dusk was sitting bored on her podium, reading small diagnostic reports from all over the Juniper as it traveled through slip-space. The reports usually told her of the ships’ status, status of the crew, and power in the power generators. But there was one report that went unnoticed until Dusk stopped after going pass it. She went back to the report and scanned the flashing red title.
CAUTION: SLIP-SPACE FIELD COLLAPSE IMMINENT!
Dusk’s holographic eyes widened to the size of tea plates as she sped read the diagnostic report. In a state of panic, she released Captain Faust from his Cryo sleep.
“Captain! Captain! Emergency!” She yelled. Faust was groggy as he woke up.
“Dusk? What’s wrong, are we there already?” He asked.
“Far from it sir!” Duck replied. “Then what’s wrong?” Faust asked.
“We might not even make it there because the slip-space field is collapsing around us as we speak!” She yelled. Faust immediately went into action.
“Wake the crew. Tell them to be ready at their stations.” He told her. Dusk nodded and activated the ship-wide Cryo release. In minutes, the bridge was buzzing with activity as technicians worked a way to regulate the field long enough to exit and make any necessary repairs.
“How long ago did the issue start?” Faust asked Dusk.
“About twenty minutes after you went into Cryo, sir.” She said, panic still evident in her voice. “Any idea what’s causing this?” Faust asked.
But as Dusk was about to reply, the bridge immediately went a bright red.
“What’s going on Dusk?” Faust yelled.
“Readings are saying something is shrinking the field!” Dusk replied. The Juniper starting to shake violently as the red slip-space field now rapidly closed on the frigate. With a loud explosion, the Juniper vanished into thin air.
Moments passed. Stars twinkled, planets slowly rotated, space seemed empty. That is, until a massive red explosion erupted from no where.
In the explosion, the Juniper roared into existence as it tumbled and rolled uncontrollably though space.
“Dusk! Set the ship straight! STRAIGHT DAMN IT!” Faust yelled to the AI.
With quick and precise commands, Dusk ordered the engines to full stop and ordered the docking boosters to slow the rotation of the ship. Within minutes, the powerful boosters had slowed the spinning ship by only sixty-five percent. But that was enough for the ship to finally stop its’ suicidal spin. The bridge crew floated in zero-gravity and Faust clutched to his command chair for dear life.
“Artificial gravity is kicking in again in about forty seconds.” Dusk informed her Captain.
Faust was about to respond when the gravity kicked in and the entire bridge crew smacked into the steel flooring. Standing up, dazed and confused, Faust quickly cleared his head and stared at the AI.
“Are we dead?” He asked.
“I honestly have no clue sir. But if we aren’t I can’t say the same for some of the ships’ crew. I’m getting reports of about eight accident related deaths.” She said grimly.
“Get the clean-up crews up and running. Scan the surrounding space to see if we’re at our destination.” Faust said. But something in the back of his mind told him they weren’t, but he simply ignored it.
“I’m getting the readings now sir.” Dusk said. Silence followed for a few moments.
“We’re not at our original destination. We’re somewhere completely different.” She said with a shocked monotone.
Faust approached the bridge windows and gazed out at the space that the ship arrived at. He looked and saw a planet that looked a lot like Earth.
“Dusk, do you think the ship was teleported back to Earth?” He asked the AI.
Dusk contemplated it for a moment.
“It’s possible. The readings are saying that the planet is very similar to Earth, so we may have just had a freak hiccup with the slip-space drive and got spat back out at Earth.” She replied.
“Send a message to Command.” Faust ordered.
Dusk nodded and turned to work on the message. She waited for a reply, but one never came.
“Sir, I’m not getting a response. Something isn’t right.” She said worried.
“Send Alpha team down to scout the area. I’m getting the same feeling Dusk.” Faust ordered.
Dusk nodded and activated the PA.
“Strike Team Alpha, gear up and take a Pelican in Bay Zero-Five. I repeat, Strike Team Alpha, gear up and report to Bay Zero-Five.” She told them.
Antonio was standing with four other Spartans, who made up the rest of Strike Team Alpha. Rachel was suited in her full Scout armor with a DMR, Donovan was in his Commando gear with an Assault Rifle, Joseph was in his Recon get-up with a Battle Rifle, and Lizzie was wearing a full set of Air Assault, duel wield Magnums in her hands with a jet pack to complete her ensemble. Antonio made sure his right arm wasn’t dinged up from the massive commotion that caused the ship to rapidly tumble through space. After checking the servos, he gave the nod to board the Pelican that was planet-bound.
“We’re going to be landing on the dark side of the planet. Prepare for anything. Reports are saying that there has been no response to any of the attempts at contacting command.” Antonio warned, and the other Spartans nodded as they sat down in the Pelican troop bay seats.
After the rear hatch closed, the Pelican rose with a roar of the engines and slowly moved forward out of the landing bay.
***
It was nighttime in PonyVille, and the small town couldn’t be anymore lively. Over the hills and surrounding forests, one can hear the familiar wubs and dubs of PonyVille’s own Vinyl Scratch, being played. In the town center, a massive party was going on. Ponies were either dancing, eating and drinking, or staying off to the sides and chatting over the loud PonyStep music. At the front was a banner that read: “Happy Birthday Vinyl!” in big letters. Twilight and her friends were off on the side talking while Rainbow Dash DJ’d the party.
“Pinkie, this has to be your best party to date!” Twilight yelled over the music.
“I know! I didn’t expect such a great-turn out! Although why wouldn’t I, my parties always have a big turn out!” Pinkie yelled back excitedly.
“I woulda thought tha Vinyl was gonna’ be opposed ta her own party!” Apple Jack yelled.
“Of course not darling! When Pinkie organizes a party, you can never turn her party down!” Rarity replied.
“It sure was nice of RD ta help with tha music!” Apple Jack added.
“It’s great because this allows Vinyl to mingle with everypony else!” Twilight replied.
And at that moment, Vinyl appeared next to Twilight.
“Hey gals! Thanks for coming!” She yelled.
“It’s no problem Vinyl! Here, I got you something!” Twilight replied using her magic to raise a small, wrapped present to Vinyl.
“For me? Oh Twilight, you shouldn’t have!” Vinyl replied.
“Open it! I hope you like it!” Twilight said.
Vinyl tore into her present and smiled with glee as her shaded eyes looked upon a new pair of DJ shades.
“Thanks Twilight! I’ve been needing a new pair for a while!” Vinyl said hugging the purple unicorn.
“It’s no problem Vinyl! Go ahead and have fun!” Twilight said after returning the hug.
Vinyl nodded, put on her new shades, and went off to party. A couple minutes later, Rainbow Dash came over the loud speakers.
“Okay everypony! This DJ needs to take a break! The music will resume in ten minutes.” She told them as she was met with a rounding applause for her great DJ work.
Rainbow descended the stage steps and approached her friends.
“Phew! Who would’ve thought that being a DJ can be such a work out!” She said wiping her forehead free of sweat.
“I’d guess keeping the crowd pumped to that type of music would be a workout…” Rarity said with a roll of her eyes. RD was taking a sip of water and nodded.
“A crowd can be a tough one at times.” She replied. Just then, there was a collective gasp in the crowd. The Mane Six looked to the source and found Spike running over to them with a look of panic and urgency.
“Twilight! A letter from Celestia!” He said handing the letter over while catching his breath. Twilight opened the letter with her magic and read the letter. She gasped in horror.
“What is it suga’ cube?” Apple Jack asked worried.
“We need to get everypony out of here! We need to take our positions!” Twilight said running up the stage.
“Twilight, what’s going on?!” Rainbow asked after her. Twilight took a hold of the microphone with both hooves.
“Everypony listen! You need to leave now! I just got told that Discord is on his way here with an army! Get home now!” She cried urgently. In a second, there was a massive commotion of panic and fright. Ponies were running into each other or over each other as they tried to evacuate the town center. Twilight joined her friends who immediately knew what to do. Flutter Shy and Rainbow Dash took to the skies as the others ran to their pre-assigned spots in this type of emergency.
It took only a matter of minutes for the town center to be deathly quiet. Twilight, Apple Jack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie were all adorning combat helmets in a trench as their two Pegasus friends flew over head. No one spoke a word as the silence became unbearable. Suddenly, an explosion occurred in the distance, and it was near where Flutter Shy lived.
“Rarity and I will create a bubble to protect the town. Apple Jack and Pinkie Pie, I need you two to go and make sure that no enemies get through. Rainbow Dash and Flutter Shy will be providing air coverage if you need it.” Twilight told them. The girls saluted and went off as Rarity stayed behind. “When I give the signal, use everything you have to create a strong barrier, got it?” Twilight asked the fashion diva.
“Of course darling. I may not look like much, but I have the magic where it counts!” She said triumphantly. Suddenly, another explosion went off nearby.
“Get ready Rarity. Here comes trouble.” Twilight said. The silence became unbearable once again. Suddenly, a collective roar sounded at the forest near PonyVille. Out of the forest came dark creatures. They looked like they were smaller Discords, spliced with a Pony. It looked gruesome, and they all charged in a massive army.
“NOW RARITY!” Twilight ordered.
As one, the two Unicorns’ horns glowed blue and both shot a blue beam straight up, which then turned into a protective dome that descended around the town. Only a few of the enemies got through, but they were quickly dispatched with a forceful kick from one of the four defending ponies. Outside the force field, the Discord-ites pounded on the blue barrier. Rainbow Dash and the others returned to Twilight and Rarity.
“How long until they get through?” RD asked.
“I honestly have no clue. It could be minutes, hours, or days. But by then, Discord might ignore us and move onto Canterlot. We have to hold them here.” Twilight said to her friends. They all nodded in response as a evil cackling came over the air.
“You little ponies honestly think that you little barrier will keep me out?” Asked the evil, yet charismatic voice of Discord.
“We won’t let ya’ll through Discord! We’ll hold our ground!” Apple Jack yelled back with a mighty voice.
The laughter only replied.
“I’ve been waiting a long time to finally crush you little pests, and I’m not going to be foiled! I’ll personally deliver your lifeless body to Celestia, Twilight. It’ll just go to show that her little pet has finally failed the Royal Highness.” Discord said with a malicious tone.
“Just try your worst Discord! We’re not afraid!” RD said shaking a fist into the air.
“Oh, you will be. And once you are, you’ll be drowned in the sea of Chaos that will surely come!” And with that, Discord’s voice vanished with a nerve-racking cackle.
The Mane Six all looked at each other in silence as the pounding on the outside of the barrier intensified.
***
The Pelican broke through the atmosphere with ease and descended into the night skies as it flew.
“Pilot, find the closest clearing and put us down there.” Antonio ordered the pilot.
“Yes sir.”
After a couple of minutes, the Pelican banked and swung about as it slowly lowered onto the ground.
“Be ready for anything.” Antonio told his team as the rear hatch lowered.
“Strike Team Alpha, move out!” Antonio ordered as he rushed out, Shotgun raised to shoulder height.
However, nothing came to meet them. Just the nighttime wind and the sounds of the grass rustling in the wind.
“Rachel, send up the Recon Probes. Let’s get a feel for the land.” He said with a cautionary voice.
She nodded and pulled out three small probes from her Tactical Softcase. She activated them with her wristpad and they sparked to life, hovering at the level of her head. She transferred the orders into them and they took off in separate directions. One to the north, one to the south, and one to the northeast.
“We should be getting a reading here soon, Commander.” Rachel told Antonio.
“Good. Alpha, fan out and move. Follow my lead. Pelican, return to the Juniper. We’ll radio back when we find anything.” He told the pilot.
“Yes sir. Good luck Alpha.” Replied the pilot, and with that, the Pelican took off into the night sky, roaring for space.
The five Spartans all fanned out and moved in step with Antonio, weapons lowered. Rachel was messing with her wristpad as she was receiving the information from the recon probes.
“Sir, there seems to be some sort of force field to the northeast. Worth checking out. Mountains are to the south, and it’s just forests to the north. The field is near the edge of a forest.” Rachel reported.
“Alpha, we’re moving northeast. Let’s see what’s going on over there.” Antonio ordered. The Spartans all followed behind him and raised their weapons as they entered the dense forest.
The first structure the Spartans came upon was in a style of a small tree house. It looked like a small and quaint country house; a single light came through the windows.
“Rachel. Scout it out.” Antonio ordered. Rachel sprinted forward and up the odd walkway up to the entrance. She raised her DMR cautiously and pointed it into the entrance.
“Hello…?” She asked.
A scream from within erupted and Rachel stumbled back a bit as three blurs of color raced past her.
“Stop them!” She called to her teammates.
Immediately, the four others sprung into action and stopped the blurs with a swift tackle and pinned, what-ever they stopped, to the ground. Lizzie was holding down the forelegs of a young foal as she leaned over it, gazing into a pair of frightened greyish purple eyes. Donovan was holding another young foal in a stomach and neck lock, its’ greyish eyes frantically moving about as its’ mulberry and greyish rose colored mane bounced with each head movement. Antonio was trying to keep the last one silent by covering the snout of the foal as its’ big red and frightened eyes looked into his golden visor, its’ yellow coat shaking visibly with fright.
“What are t-they sir?” Donovan asked as he struggled with the squirming foal.
“They look like young ponies.” Rachel said as she cautiously walked over to the others.
“What, do they belong to some farmers around here?” Lizzie asked as she forced her young pony back down.
Suddenly, one of the ponies spoke, something the Spartans weren’t expecting.
“We’re not work ponies!” yelled Donovan’s pony.
“What the…?” He asked looking up at the others.
“Please tell me you heard that!” He yelled.
“Not so loud!” The pony spoke again.
“Try to get some help Sweetie Belle!” Lizzie’s called out. The one called Sweetie Belle tried to kick Donovan, only to hear the sound of hooves smacking metal armor.
“I can’t! I can’t hurt it!” Sweetie Belle called in terror.
Antonio’s captive bit his left fingers and he lifted his hand, which allowed the pony to escape him.
“Stop it!” He ordered Rachel.
“Go Apple Blossom!” Sweetie Belle yelled.
Rachel sprinted and picked up the fleeing pony and received a faceful of hooves to her visor which cracked. She stumbled back and Apple Blossom ran away.
“Help! Help! Some monsters have my friend! Somepony, any pony! Help! There are giants here!” She yelled.
A sudden scream could be heard in the distance.
Sweetie Belle and the other young pony made eye contact, bit the hands of their captors, and ran off.
“They’re small, but they can sure bite!” Donovan yelled.
“Hold on Apple Blossom! Scootaloo and I are coming!” Sweetie Belle called as the two ran. “Follow them!” Antonio ordered, and the Spartans all followed in chase after the ponies.
The Spartans only stopped running when they saw about twenty odd looking creatures surrounding the young ponies. The three cried out for help as the dark creatures advanced on them, hunger present in their yellow eyes.
“Spartans, engage!” Antonio ordered.
Rachel and Joseph stayed behind to provide support as Donovan, Lizzie and Antonio charged the creatures, guns firing. Antonio blasted on of the creatures away and it simply vanished into black smoke. Donovan sprayed his Assault Rifle and took out about three in one magazine, while Lizzie blasted away at the creatures with her Magnums. Some were advancing on her, and she started doing some fancy CQB fighting, Magnums still firing. She used her Jetpack to gain altitude for a back-flip, causing two of the creatures to smack into each other, allowing Lizzie to only waste one bullet on them. Antonio gutted some with a Kukri and Shotgun combo as cleared out the creatures.
The entire fight lasted only two minutes, and soon the Spartans were standing victorious.
The Spartans turned their attention to the three huddled ponies.
“P-Please don’t eat us…” The one called Apple Bloom said with a shaky country accent.
“Please…let us go…” Sweetie Belle pleaded.
“Please!” cried Scootaloo.
Rachel walked up, slinging her DMR.
“We’re not going to hurt you little ones.” She said getting closer.
“Rachel, what are you-“Antonio started, but he was cut off with a quick glance from Rachel.
She knelt to the three ponies levels and removed her helmet.
“It’s alright; we’re not going to hurt you.” She repeated.
The three ponies gazed at Rachel, their jaws dropping.
“W-what are you and what are y-you going to do t-then…?” Sweetie Belle asked. Rachel tilted her head.
“Haven’t you seen a Human before? Surely you must’ve.” She told them.
The three shook their heads, and Rachel frowned.
“Well, we’re not going to harm you. Just wait there.” She told them standing up and walking to Antonio.
“Yeah, we’re not on Earth.” She said stating the obvious.
“What gave you that idea Sergeant? The fact that there are three talking ponies? Or that we just blasted away some odd creatures?” Antonio asked, agitated.
“What are we going to do?” Donovan asked.
“Y-you can h-help PonyV-Ville…” Sweetie Belle suggested.
Antonio looked past Rachel.
“PonyVille?” He asked.
“Our home town! It’s under attack by more of those creatures and we need your help! We were hiding in out tree house, trying to hide from them when you found us. We though you were some more of those creatures, so we ran…” Scootaloo told them.
Rachel looked to Antonio, then back to the ponies.
“Which way?” She asked. The three pointed in unison: to the northeast. “Sir, we should help them. If they’re home is under attack, the least we can do is help.” Rachel told Antonio.
“Not our home, not our issue. We move in a different direction then.” He stated coldly.
Rachel gasped.
“Sir! With all due respect, this is the perfect time to show whoever lives on this planet that we mean no harm!” Rachel pleaded.
“Think of the new opportunities we can get now that we’re on an alien planet!” She added.
“Not our planet, not our home, not our issue.” Antonio stated, harshly.
Rachel gazed at him through her helmet.
“How can you be so cruel? Sir, I’m relieving you of your command. I’m taking over as Commander of this squad and I will have you reported.” Rachel said turning and walking to the three ponies.
“Sergeant! You do not disrespect your CO like that in front of the squad!” Antonio yelled as he raised a robotic hand in with an accusing finger.
“Kiss my ass CO. I’m in charge now.” She stated while she knelt down to the three ponies.
“We’re going to help you out little ones.” She said.
“Then follow us!” Apple Blossom cried as the three got up and rushed off to their town with the Spartans in tow.
“Hmmm…this should be interesting…” A charismatic voice said as a pair of odd yellow eyes appeared and traced Antonio as he ran.
Very interesting indeed...
