A/N: Being a devoted Halo fanatic, I just had to write this sooner or later.


Falling into a profound sleep from the wounds inflicted upon him by the traitorous Forerunner Ancilla 343 Guilty Spark, Johnson poured over the long, battle-filled life he had lived. The entirety of the Human-Covenant War played out in his mind, all the way from the fateful First Contact on Harvest, to the opening of the portal at Voi and the battle on and above the Ark.

He recalled all the brave men and women he's lead and served with for the past three decades. The sacrifices, the emotions, the bold, catchy speeches, the explosions, and above it all, the triumphant, blazing fire of humanity. No matter how hard the the Covenant had pushed and burned and killed, they couldn't stop the ending of the War in their defeat. They could never extinguish the collective sparks of those whose fought and died to protect everything they knew.

All of this and more flowed through Johnson's mind. However, something else, somethingforeign, was lingering on the fringes of his mind. It was an alien presence with a dream-like quality, seeming benevolent and feminine in nature. Johnson's unconscious mind could hardly even register its existence, let alone put a description or proper name to it. He had never experienced nor encountered such a being or force in all his life.

Regardless of how he was able to perceive things within his dying mind, he was helpless to know of the events occurring in the world without. Johnson's limp form slid off the platform as it tilted to one side and began to fall into the abyss below, while the Control Room of Installation 04B shook itself apart as if gods themselves sought the facility's demise. As both Installations tore each other apart in the resulting explosions, something– the presence Johnson had detected earlier–took advantage of the vast amounts of energy being unleashed to break through the barriers between worlds and reenter the unconscious mind of the Sergeant, whose nervous system was only half-way through the process of shutting down.

Whatever the being was, it apparently approved of and possibly even admired what it saw in his mind, and decided to extract his essence, personality, and memories before they became permanently irretrievable. Now, all it would need to do is...

"Ahhh, what the hell...What's this freaky thing in ma head?! Didn't I just die? I... I can't feel my teeth! Oh wait, I never could..." Johnson shouted in his head, confused and perhaps a little annoyed.

In the entity's efforts to extract him, it had inadvertently awoken the human's mind.

"Curses! We could have sworn this would go a lot more smoothly than this. Hmpf, no matter. You there, human!" The being said in a feminine voice, addressing Sergeant Johnson directly for the first time.

Johnson heard it clearly, as it seemed to echo through his mind. While he couldn't detect nor feel his body at the moment, he unexplainably felt like he was still alive. "What? Is this...Am I in limbo? Are you the Almighty or something? If ya don't mind me saying so Lord, you sound like a sexy woman!"

The being did not speak for a moment, remaining quiet as Johnson probed around the inside of what he assumed to be his mind. It was as if he were trying to find a light switch in the middle of a dark forest. At last, the feminine voice replied back. "We beg your pardon? Dost thou not know who we are? Allow us to introduce ourselves, then. Thou art hearing the royal voice of Luna, co-ruler of Equestria and Princess of the Night!"

"Ha, ha-ha! I always knew you were a funny one, Lord! Now uh, is this about me dying and activating your gigantic Anti-Sonofabitch Machine Hoolahoop thingy, or is there something else ya need the good Sergeant for?"

Luna's voice was hesitant at first, before replying. "We do not understand what you mean by this..'Hoolahoop' of which you speak. Thou art in this state between death and life now for the sole reason that we have seen your exploits, analyzed your abilities and traits, and saw fit to alter fate in thine favor, Avery Junior Johnson. We would like you to fight alongside us in protecting our land of Equestria from grave threats."

Sergeant Johnson was unsure of how to react to this realization. "So, you mean to say that I'm not actually dead? I'm still alive?" Luna shook her unseen head. "Erm, not technically. You are deceased, but not in the conventional meaning of the word. Your body is dead, but thanks to us, your essence is preserved. We can bring you back, but there is but one catch."

"Well, to hell with it, hook or not, go ahead. I suppose I'll play Sir Lancelot for ya and protect the land, but only if I get some big shiny helmet and some decent cigars in return! Now resurrect me dammit, I'm too pretty to die!"

Princess Luna chuckled. "Very well then. You will be resurrected in your body as it was just prior to your being wounded, but take heed! Thou shalt not be in the same location. Indeed, you will be in a whole another dimension!"

"Well then, 'Princess Luna' with the sexy voice, I don't care if you end up teleporting me to goddamn Candy Land, or the inside of Lord Hood's personal bathroom, you might as well work your magic then. What other choice do I have?!"

Accompanied by a magical whirring noise as energies began to form around Johnson's dreamlike out-of-body experience, Luna's voice addressed Johnson once more. "It is done. Momentarily, you will find yourself alert, healthy, and in control of your newly reconstructed body as you begin your fall to Equestria."

"Sweet, Princess. But do ya mind telling me what on Earth is the catch? Did you just say something about a fall?!"

"Oh yes, about that."Luna paused, putting her two hooves together nervously, although of course Johnson could not see this. "We may have...made a few, tiny errors on our trans-dimensional coordinates. You are going to land straight on the snow-filled summit of a mountain upon your teleportation in."

Luna continued, her voice being slowed down by her growing nervousness. "The summit might also be home to a dragon or two."

"Say what?!" Johnson exclaimed.

"Err...but on the bright side, we shall see your true skills as a warrior, is that not so?" Johnson said nothing back for a moment, recalling a certain time flying down to New Mombasa.

For a brick, he flew pretty good!

"Terrific." The Sergeant finally replied sarcastically.


A/N: Someone over on FIMFiction pointed out to me that I reverted to Johnson's earlier Halo 1-Halo 2 personality while I had him in his serious Halo 3 personality at the beginning, there is an explanation for that. It is simply that his death and revival is resulting in him having personality conflicts, much like how when someone takes a massive blow to the head, then forgets things or has a personality change. Serious Johnson will pop up from time to time when appropriate.

IMPORTANT: An incident on FIMFiction almost resulted in this story's deletion. I had to rewrite Chapter One to not have the Halo 3 ending scene with Johnson's death and dialogue. For consistency, I have likewise modified it on here. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Thanks for reading!