ODST Alomar Pt3

"So wait, magic is just something you can...do?"
>"Mmhm." Twilight responded, levitating a small cup to prove her point. "I don't understand how you *can't* use magic."
>The two of you were in what was apparently her old room, and she had crooned about it being untouched from the last time she had been here.
>You were both waiting for a ride back to Ponyville, where you would collect your gear and then head to the "Badlands", where the last nest had been found.
"Because I just...can't?"
>Twilight was on her bed, reading.
>You were leaning against the wall, arms crossed and helmet in the crook of your left arm.
>"Surely SOME humans must be able to?" She asked, looking slightly confused. "I mean, minotaurs and griffons aren't know for it either, but even they have a few mages."
"Well, there were stories way back in the days of knights and kingdoms that had people using magic." You said. "Lately though, nothing has popped up."
>"Why not?" The mare asked curiously.
"It's treated as superstition, really. Anyone with some sort of self-proclaimed 'paranormal' ability is treated as strange at best, and a danger to society at worst." You said with a shrug.
>"That's...unfortunate." The purple pony said, sitting down on her bed.
"Don't get me wrong. Some of these people are a legitimate threat."
>You put a hand to your chin, thinking.
"Ten years ago, there was a man who thought he had psychic powers that could be induced through drinking human blood." You started, and Twilight looked at you with some disgust.
"He had at least twenty hostages in a building, and a small squad of ODSTs were sent in to get him. I was part of that squad, my first mission with the ODSTs."
>You grimaced at the memory.
"He set off a bomb underneath the building as we closed in, killing himself and nineteen of his hostages. One of my squad was killed as well."
>Twilight went a little pale.
>"Oh no..."
"Like I said; most of the humans who claim they have 'magic powers' are either full of it, or dangerously deluded."
>"I see." The purple pony replied quietly, letting the subject drop. "Well, until Celestia has the ride to Ponyville ready for us, do you mind answering some questions?"
"I'm still rather upset at you for hitting me in the back of the head. So no." You replied flatly, bruise still twinging.
>She sighed.
>"Look, I'm sorry." The purple pony started. "It's just...you killed that manticore so easily and instantly, I thought...you'd do the same to me."
"So you never thought to actually say 'hey, I'm here, don't shoot'? That's literally what I asked." You asked, eyebrow arched in disbelief.
>"I panicked, okay!?" Came the exasperated reply. "I...I thought you were a threat, and you were headed for Ponyville. I didn't know what you were going to do if you actually got there, so I...subdued you."
>You sighed, index finger and thumb pressing on the bridge of your nose.
>It was because of panicky bullshit like this that had you in a losing war against a superior opponent in the first place.
"Well, I can't say that I'm going to forgive you for it yet. That was really, really uncalled for."
>Twilight sighed, head down.
>"I know. I wouldn't expect you to."
"Instead, you can make it up to me."
>She looked up at you.
>"How?"
"These...changelings. What are they?"
>Twilight brightened up a bit, turning to the large collection of books on the wall.
>"Changelings are beings that feed on love, and as their name suggests, they can change their appearance."
>She opened a book labeled "Beastiary" to a page featuring a black-shelled pony, looking all the world like a horse version of a Drone.
>Compound eyes, holes in its transparent wings and thin legs, a stout horn on its head...
>Nothing you hadn't killed before, in theory.
"Advantages?"
>"They have access to light offensive magics, and can change form on a whim. They usually utilize this for spy work, but occasionally will do it to cause chaos during a battle."
"Mmm." You said, leaning back a bit. "Weaknesses?"
>"Their carapace is very weak, a single buck from an average earth pony being enough to break it. Their vision is also very poor, and the longer they go without a source of love, the weaker they become." Twilight supplied.
"Right. So a single round from my weapons is more than likely going to kill them, that's fine."
>Twilight nodded.
>"You should beware of the Changeling Queen, however. She is...quite a bit stronger than your average Changeling. Her disguises are better, and she can enthrall ponies for a time. My...brother was the latest victim of this magic, though I'm not sure if she's enthralled anypony else."
>Twilight looked a little uneasy.
>"If she has...they may be too far gone to save."
>You nodded.
"So cap her first, then the rest fall like dominoes. Good to know."
>"In theory, yes." The mare agreed, nodding. "She would be at the bottom of her nest, however. The nest is likely a twisting hall with many, many dead ends."
>A knock on the door signaled the new arrival.
>A pegasus guard stood there, looking at you and obviously terrified of you.
>"S-s-sir, ma'am, your ride is r-ready."
>You heard his armor clatter lightly as he almost imperceptibly shivered in fear.
>These were the guards you were going to back up? You might as well do this yourself.
>The ride back was uneventful. You had finally ruled out this being some sort of Covenant trap, seeing as you had gone a full twenty four hours without being tortured in some way.
>...aside from that branch to your head.
>So now the question was: Just where in the hell *were* you?
>Uncontrolled slipspace jump, with no way of dropping out on your own...you could be anywhere from the edge of human space, to the edge of the Milky Way.
>You had no way of knowing.
>You and the purple horse boarded a carriage, leaving you almost alone with your thoughts.
"Twilight."
>"Yes?"
"Any idea where, exactly, we are?"
>"I don't follow."
>You sighed. This might be an exercise in futility.
"I mean in space. Spacial coordinates, what your galaxy is called, anything."
>She looked at you blankly for a second, then looked troubled.
>"Hmm...I honestly don't know, I haven't given it much thought. I can look it up for you while you're gone."
"That would be great, thanks."
>The rest of the ride was silent, Twilight avoiding eye contact as best she could.
>"...I'm sorry." The pony said quietly, looking at the floor.
"What for?" You asked, quirking an eyebrow.
>"For hitting you, for keeping you captive, for not being able to tell you where you are...I've been useless to you at best, and absolutely detrimental to you at worst."
>You sighed again. You had a feeling this would be a theme here.
"It's fine. I probably would have done the same in your position."
>"R-really?"
"Yeah." You half-lied.
>Probably wouldn't have knocked her out, but she would have been detained for a little while.
>At least until ONI got their grimy hands on her.
>You shuddered.
>That was an unpleasant train of thought. You may not have liked the mare at the moment, but you hardly wanted her dissected.
>You had worked with some ONI agents before, they were...not the most pleasant people, to put it lightly.
>Offloading from the carriage, you noted that it stayed put.
>"We're to take you to the burrow, as soon as you're ready." The front guard said, avoiding your gaze and looking antsy.
>Much the same reaction from smaller Covenant troops, you noted: Grunts just sorta...ran when ODSTs and Spartans came through, and these three ponies looked ready to do the same thing.
>You quickly gathered your ammunition and weapons, then grabbed your detpack.
>The detpack was really a large dufflebag-like container, and it contained three demolition charges, linked to one another.
>They could be detonated by either keypad code, or authorization through your HUD.
>If each on its own was enough to blast through three meters of artificially strengthened Titanium-A battleplate, then rocky cave wall stood zero chance.
>You left the three charges of C7 on the table, you didn't think you would need more power than you already had.
>Taking one frag grenade and leaving the other on the table, you stepped back into the carriage.
>Twilight was staying, as she had promised you she'd figure out where in space you are.
>Just so you could figure out just how long it would take for a signal to reach the UNSC.
>...if they were even still around at this point. Things were looking kinda grim before your unscheduled absence, if you were honest with yourself.
>Your helmet's calender was also all kinds of screwed up, having been knocked out completely by the Slipspace jump.
>It currently read July 20th, 1999.
>You sighed lightly.
>No point in worrying about it right now, though. You had a job to do.
>You sat back and nodded off, your first actually peaceful nap in almost a day.
---
>You were dropped off roughly ten hours later, helmet on and headed towards what appeared to be a camp.
>Several ponies in golden armor were milling about, polishing their weapons, or even sleeping.
>Two flags were here: One matching Celestia's tattoo, and another that you didn't recognize.
>Looked a little like Twilight's, but on a shield instead.
>You frowned, then headed over to one of the ponies that was sleeping.
>Rapping your knuckles on his 'bed' (which was, in fact, a table), he leapt up as if he had been burned.
>"GAH! Darn it Sunny, I tol-tol-told...you...oh..."
>His cursing and anger sputtered out almost immediately as he noticed that you were NOT 'Sunny'.
>"Wh-wh-who are you...?"
"Where's your CO?" You asked, deliberately ignoring the question.
>"Why do you want to know...?"
>You rolled your eyes under your helmet and simply cocked your sidearm, making sure it made a nice, metallic *click*.
>"HE'S IN THE BACK TENT, DON'T HURT ME!"
"Thanks."
>You were glad you hadn't loaded the pistol yet, that would have been a waste of time loading the round back into the magazine.
>These guys were frigging pathetic.
>Two guards standing by the larger back tent saw you coming and immediately made way, one of them warning whoever was inside.
>"Captain Armor, incoming alien!"
>"I heard him." Came a voice from inside. "Let him in."
>Like you were going to be blocked by ponies anyway.
>You brushed past them, and you could have sworn the one on your right fainted.
>The sound of metal hitting grass seconds later confirmed it.
>Inside the tent was a unicorn stallion with a tattoo of the same kind that was on the other flags.
>He was stark white, with blue/light-blue striped hair.
>His armor was purple and trimmed with gold, as opposed to a solid gold.
>This must have been the other faction leader.
"Afternoon, sir." You greeted, flashing a short salute.
>You weren't sure if the guy outranked you, so it was better to assume that he did.
>"Afternoon. At ease." He replied. "I am Captain of the Guard Shining Armor, I take it you're the, uh, 'ODST'?"
"Yes." You replied, visor un-polarized. You didn't much care if he saw your face, wasn't like he was going to attack you.
>So far, only Celestia hadn't flinched away from you.
>Shining Armor was soon to join that illustrious 'club', as he simply didn't seem to care.
"I've been informed about you and your...supposed skills."
>Word spread fast, it seemed.
>"I'm also informed that you are going to be helping us take out this Changeling hive."
>He walked around a table, which had a map spread out.
>"This is what we've been able to map out, before being chased out by superior numbers."
>Indeed, there were winding tunnels all over. Some looped around themselves endlessly, deliberately.
>Others went high up and outside as opposed to down to the main chamber, these may have been venting tunnels.
>The ones that went down were the least mapped, they were likely the ones that went straight to the main chamber.
>Your VISR took reference images, then intelligently overlapped them with a small mini-map it was creating as you went.
>Confident you wouldn't get lost now, you nodded.
>Time to crush some bugs, then.
"Just point me at them. I have my own fight to get home to."
>"I intend to. Princess Celestia tells me you're a force to be reckoned with. While I trust her, I don't trust *you*."
>You frowned under your helmet.
"I don't need you to trust me. I just need you to stay out of my way."
>You were a man on a mission now, both figuratively and literally.
>Loading both of your weapons, you turned and left the camp, heading for the mound.
>As you stepped towards the mound, you noted rocks and trees you could use for cover if need be.
>You hoped you could do this cleanly and easily.
>Get in, plant the detpack's contents, get out, blow it and the hive sky-high.
>Then set the beacon and...wait for rescue.
>Which could take anywhere from a few months to a few years...to never.
>Right. Way to plan ahead, Alomar.
>You also wished the sun was falling, instead of high in the sky.
>Made you far too visible.
>You crept towards where the map said the Changeling lair began.
>You stopped near the entrance...to find nothing.
>As in, absolutely nothing of note, besides more rocks and grass.
>You looked around, noting you were standing on a hill.
>Either these ponies sucked at mapmaking, or...
>You stomped down, and your boot sunk into the ground.
>Bingo.
>You reached down and freed your foot, then pulled open the disguised hatch.
"Clever clever..." You mumbled, turning on your night vision and shouldering your SMG.
>One small black bug-pony came around the corner to figure out why light was coming in, and you pulled the trigger.
>Three rounds lashed out and blew it apart, caving its skull in and shattering its carapace.
>Far too easy.
>You continued following the map, whisper-quiet SMG dropping each Drone when you came upon them.
>This was child's play, you noted with a predatory grin.
>You took one of the incomplete lower routes, your HUD intelligent enough to auto-fill the map as you continued on.
>Taking note, you saw that this spiraled downwards into the ground.
>A stabilizing tunnel...or an escape tunnel?
>You marked it on your minimap, then turned around and went through another path.
>This one was more promising, going deeper than the previous tunnel.
>Your M7 whispered death, and another changeling group heard it.
>One had time to give you a confused and fearful look before hot lead took its life.
>This wasn't fun anymore.
>You turned a corner, right into a brightly lit chamber.
>Your helmet's visor quickly darkened to keep the light from blinding you, though you were still blinking stars out of your eyes.
>"AHA! So THERE'S the little worm that's been killing my children!" A feminine voice announced, sounding plenty angry. "I, Queen Chrysalis, will NOT stand for it!"
>You still couldn't see very well, but you DID see a blob much taller than the other blobs around it.
>Something lit up green, and suddenly you were soaring towards the opposite wall.
>You struck it hard, and your HUD lit up your back, telling you exactly which ribs had just cracked under the force.
>You had also dropped your SMG when you had been picked up.
>Dazed, you slowly picked yourself up.
>The changeling had other ideas, stomping down on your chest.
>Her hoof deflected off of the round surfaces, and you slugged her in the face as she lost her balance.
>"Hey, down here! I hear scuffling!"
>One of the guard ponies, they must have been following right behind you.
>The changeling queen pulled away as they came charging down the tunnel.
>As the four guards rounded the corner, she snared them.
>She looked deeply into the captured pony's eyes, the ponies' eyes dilating and going blank with a slight green shade.
>"Now, my beautiful new minions, destroy this monster." Chrysalis said sweetly, before cackling and stepping back.
>Shining Armor came around the corner just as they charged at you.
>Your magnum came out, snapping off a shot at a charging guard.
>It caught him in the leg, downing him almost instantly. He didn't get up again, though not for lack of trying.
>Shining's horn lit up, a large pink bubble surrounding the two of you.
>The other three guards slammed into it, immediately being repelled.
>"Damn, I should have known this was going to happen!"
>"Oh, Shining Armor?! If it isn't my dear husband!" Chrysalis cackled. "Come to father several hundred changelings? I promise, it'll be the most enjoyable existence you've ever experienced~!"
>"Quiet, you homewrecker!"
>Your SMG was just outside the dome. As the white stallion stepped forward, it finally was in reach.
>You lunged and grabbed it, slapping in a fresh magazine and taking aim at the bug queen.
"Shining, when I tell you to, drop the shield."
>"What?!" He shouted, grunting as he warded off physical attacks from roughly a dozen directions. "That's murder-suicide, buddy! No way!"
"Gah! Fine, keep them busy!"
>You dove and rolled, exiting the dome and clearing the waves of drones hammering Shining's shield.
>They ignored you, going after the brighter and more colorful target.
>You took aim at Chrysalis, and pulled the trigger.
>A hailstorm of lead tore into her, and she shrieked as she fell over, writhing in pain.
>The drones immediately fell back into a defensive ring around her, the hypnotized guards shaking themselves out of their hypnotized state.
>Interesting.
>"Urgh...Captain Armor, what's going..."
>"Don't worry about it. Just take Sunny and get out of here. That's a direct order."
>"Y-yes sir."
>The three picked up the fallen guard with the busted leg, whom had passed out from blood loss.
>You hoped you hadn't killed him, but you did what you had to do.
>The changelings were doggedly defending Chrysalis, not moving an inch from the bleeding-out matriarch.
>You pulled the pin on your grenade and tossed it into the middle of the ring.
>It went off four seconds later, sending bug parts every which way.
>A black scorchmark on the ground was all that was left of the Queen.
>The remaining drones alive simply stopped moving, looking distressed and confused.
>Time to blow this popsicle stand.
>Around the room were several pillars, a few of which were load bearing.
>Your HUD marked out the ones that were best, and you placed your three detpacks on them.
"Alright, we need to leave."
>"Wh-why? What are those things?"
>You simply walked past him, ignoring his question.
>The stallion followed eventually, at a pace that could be described as 'quick'
>He must have seen the sign.
>"Danger, High Explosive!"
>"What are those things?" He asked again.
"Something that will, hopefully, turn this hill into a crater."
>"What?! Why?"
"Think about how many eggs are still in there. Any one of those may hatch into another queen."
>Shining shook his head.
>"That's impossible."
"Always better to be thorough."
>"Are all...'humans' as stubborn as you?!"
"Only the best ones."
>You two had argued all the way outside, where the guard ponies had already gotten Sunny patched up.
>He was still breathing, and still had his leg.
>Lucky guy.
>Stallion.
>Whatever.
"Ready for some fireworks?" You asked with an invisible grin.
>"I...suppose."
>You sent the demolition code, and the ground rattled as the charges went off and the ground collapsed.
>The hill imploded spectacularly, sending rocks and dirt flying everywhere.
"Woohooo!" You called, glad you finally got to use them.
>Shining simply stood slack-jawed at the destruction.
>"I...I think I need to send a letter. G-Good work, I think."