AN: I don't own My Little Pony or Halo. They belong to Hasbro and Bungie/Microsoft/343 Industries respectively.
Chapter Fourteen
Spartan-A196, beneath the Griffin Kingdom capital, in the sewer system. 1859 Hours, January 12, 2553 (Military Calendar/Local Time)
It had been an uneventful flight from the ruined Insurrection base to the outskirts of the Griffin capital and Lisa had used the time to flick through everything she had downloaded from Elisa's computer.
Most of it was administrative in nature, detailing rotas for guard duty and recording day to day activity, but what Lisa had paid the most attention to were the locations of the other Insurrectionist bases and the overall goal of the operation.
Elisa had, for the most part, been telling the truth. The Innies were planning on using the Griffin Kingdom to wear down Equestria's defences, giving them guns and training in the art of war in exchange, before staging a bloody overthrow of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, but what she had failed to mention was that once Equestria was under their thumb, the Insurrection would turn their sights on the Griffin Kingdom and occupy their land, too, but only once a fleet of rebel ships slipped in, carrying with them an invading army.
The timeframe attached to the operation had the ships arriving within four months, around the same time it would take for the Shadow Boxer to return to Earth, assemble a battlegroup, and then come back.
More worryingly, the total number of Innies present on Faustia was well over five thousand, scattered across the planet and waiting for the order to strike or hunt down a lone Spartan. Even if she set her battle rifle to single shot and made every round count, Lisa would run out of ammo long before she could get a fifth of the way through them.
Then again, they did carry similar weapons to her so the ammo situation might not be as bleak as Lisa thought. It would just mean scrounging off the dead.
But that was a worry for if or when she did run out of ammo.
Right now, though, Lisa was making her way through the sewer system beneath the capital city, heading towards the palace.
Trixie and the Pelican were stashed in the forest way to the south, waiting patiently for Lisa to return.
The pipe Lisa was in was barely big enough for her to walk through and raw waste came up to her knees, hampering her movement, and the only light came from the occasional shaft to the surface, some twenty metres above her, leaving the pipe in darkness.
With no plans for the sewers or a link to the STARS satellite overhead, Lisa had instead memorised the street plan of the city above during a flyover and compare it to the path she was taking, hoping that sooner or later she'd come across the palace.
She would occasionally go up one of the shafts and poke an optical probe through the tiny holes in the manhole cover to check her progress. For the most part, Lisa was on the right course barring a few detours and each sweep with her probe would show the palace getting bigger.
Lisa's next obstacle would be getting into the building itself. The guards would no doubt be looking for her and the general public might not react too well to seeing a seven foot tall Spartan emerging from the sewers beneath them.
With any luck, the sewers would come out somewhere beneath the palace, hopefully in an underground storeroom or dungeon, and give her a chance to infiltrate as quietly as possible.
She checked the next shaft, noting with satisfaction that the palace was looming over her, then carried on down the pipe until she spotted a shaft that lacked any kind of light filtering in from above.
With slow movements, Lisa made her way up until she came to the cover. A quick check with her probe revealed that it was a dungeon lined with empty cells and, more importantly, nothing else.
The cover was nothing more than a few pounds of iron kept in place by gravity and Lisa gently eased it off, the metal making a grating noise as it was pushed over the stone floor, then hauled herself out of the sewers.
She moved to the dungeon's door, leaving behind mucky footprints, and drew he battle rifle
There was no one on the other side of the door, just an empty stone corridor illuminated by flaming torches set into the wall at regular intervals.
Lisa opened the door as quietly as she could and set foot into the palace proper.
Spartan-A196, in the Griffin Kingdom capital, in the palace. 1912 Hours, January 12, 2553 (Military Calendar/Local Time)
To her right was a dead end, damp and covered with moss and mould in a few places. To her right were four more doors, the furthest of which was open with light spilling out and the sounds of several people talking drifting from it. The window in the door next to it gave off a faint glow. Beyond the doors was a flight of stairs leading up into the palace.
Moving quietly, Lisa edged towards the closest door to her and opened it, stepping inside quickly. The room had more cells, five along two walls facing each other, all of them empty. On the wall opposite the door was a rack filled with shackles and chains, presumably for moving prisoners.
Lisa went back into the corridor and approached the next door. It was the same as the previous two, containing ten cells and chains, and the Spartan fully expected it to be empty.
The corpses of several dozen ponies greeted her, instead.
She took a step into the room, recognising the bodies as the Equestrian Trader's crew and Twilight's Royal Guards. There were four or five of them in each cell and blood trailed from their corpses, heading to a drain in the centre of the room.
Lisa headed to one cell and opened it, kneeling to investigate one of the bodies. It was the pirate she had kicked during the Trader's encounter with the pirate ship, killed by what looked to be several bullet wounds, as did the other three ponies in the cell.
Looking over her shoulder, Lisa saw hundreds of brass casings on the floor and ten spent magazines from an MA5B assault rifle. She stepped out of the cell.
Forty or so ponies, dead. Executed by either the griffins or the Insurrection, but executed nonetheless. They had most likely been on the Trader, drinking or readying the ship for departure, and captured by Geoff's people with little to no warning, then taken to the dungeons where, after being thrown into cells. They were gunned down.
Lisa went from cell to cell, hoping against hope that one had somehow survived the onslaught, either by playing possum or by luck, but found only dead bodies.
Spike was in the fourth cell she searched.
The little dragon was huddled in one corner, arms clutched around a wound on his stomach, lifeless. Lisa examined his injury and noted that it was too large to be from an assault or battle rifle, but about the right size to have come from a magnum. There was no exit wound.
She tried to imagine what it must have been like for him, watching the rest of the room's inhabitants being killed one by one, somehow being missed by the sixty rounds that would have been sprayed into the cell he was in, only for a magnum to be drawn and fire the fatal shot.
It must have been harrowing, terrifying and confusing for Spike, his life slowly draining away and surrounded by the dead. Maybe the person with the pistol had stopped and watched, laughed even, as he died.
Lisa drew her battle rifle and made for the dungeon's door, returning to the corridor and the final two doors.
She opened the second to last door and entered, finding the usual ten cells. Only instead of the dead, Lisa found Twilight Sparkle, alive, sat in the furthest cell with only a wafer thin mattress to sleep on.
The Alicorn looked up with a dejected expression at the door opening but her eyes widened with surprise and relief at the sight of Lisa.
The Spartan motioned for her to keep quiet and shut the door behind her, quickly making for Twilight's cell.
'What happened?' she asked, crouching next to Twilight.
'I-I don't know.' Twilight whispered. 'One minute, me and Spike were getting ready to go to bed when five griffin guards burst into our room. One went for Spike and I tried to stop him but another hit me over the head and it all went dark. The next thing I know, I'm stuck in here.'
'Why didn't you use your magic to break free?' Lisa asked, eyeing up the bars. They were an inch thick and set into the stone floor. Not much of a challenge for her.
'They threatened to hurt Spike if I did.' Twilight said. 'He's being kept somewhere-'
'Spike's dead.' Lisa said, cutting the princess off. 'He's in the next room, along with Sparrow and his crew. Someone used an assault rifle and shot them all.' She reached up and took hold of the cell door, testing it for any give.
'Y-You're lying.' Twilight whispered as Lisa tensed. 'Spike can't be dead. They said-'
'They lied.' Lisa said. 'They must have shot him after they separated the two of you. The griffins are in league with the Insurrection and they're planning to start a war. You were an insurance policy if Celestia didn't back down straight away. Everyone else on that ship wasn't.' She pulled, using her augmented strength to prise the cell door from its fittings with a faint clang then set it against the wall.
Twilight remained where she was, tears slowly forming in her eyes.
'Spike can't be dead.' She whispered softly. 'He can't be.'
'Ma'am, I saw his body.' Lisa said, drawing her battle rifle. 'He was dead and had been for some time. There's nothing I could have done to save him. He's dead. Everyone is.'
'No.' Twilight said. No.' She got to her hooves and made for the door, her tears now falling, not so much throwing the door open as nearly blasting it from its hinges. The noise it made carried and Lisa heard shouts coming from the next room as Twilight left theirs and head to the one Lisa had indicated, prompting the Spartan to run after her.
She poked her head out of the doorframe and saw a griffin guard poke his head out from behind his door, each seeing the other. The griffin froze. Lisa didn't. She drilled a neat burst from her battle rifle into the griffin, dropping him, then followed Twilight into the dungeon containing the bodies of the Trader's crew and the Royal Guards, slamming the door shut behind her and locking it.
Twilight was in the fourth cell, staring at Spike's body. Her mouth was opening and closing but no sound came out.
'Ma'am, we have to leave.' Lisa said, placing her hand on Twilight's shoulder as she walked over. 'There'll be more griffins inbound. The sooner we get out of here and out of the city, the better.'
'He's dead.' Twilight finally said, voice no more than a choked whisper. She was crying fully now, her tears mixing with the blood on the floor, and starting to shake a little. 'He's dead.'
'And we'll likely join him if we don't get out of here.' Lisa said. Shouts came from beyond the door as griffins began banging on its surface, trying to get in. 'Ma'am, there's nothing you can do to bring him back.'
'I hatched him.' Twilight said, reaching out with a hoof to touch Spike. 'I've known him since he was born. We- He was my number one assistant.' She took a sharp breath then let it out in a long, shuddering one. 'He was my family.'
'Ma'am, I know this is difficult for you but we need to move.' Lisa said as the pounding at the door increased. 'Now.'
'He's dead.' Twilight whispered. She moved her hoof to cradle Spike's head, disturbing his arms so that they fell away and revealed the bullet wound in his stomach. 'Why would anypony do something like this?' She took her hoof away and looked at the other bodies, of Sparrow and Moonlight and the Royal Guards. 'Who could do something like this?'
A crack appeared in the dungeon door and Lisa redirected her attention to it, battle rifle aimed squarely in the centre. 'You're going to find out in a few short seconds if you don't move.' Lisa said. 'Spike is dead and no amount of sobbing is going to bring him back. Now leave him and get ready to run.'
'I'm not leaving him!' Twilight shouted at Lisa, her eyes raw from crying. 'I loved Spike like he was family. I am not leaving him behind because you say so.'
'Then carry him.' Lisa said quietly but firmly, locking eyes with the princess. 'But if you don't get your ass into gear, I will knock you out and carry it to safety. And believe me, I will not hesitate to do just that.'
The crack on the door widened.
Twilight's mouth compressed into a thin line as she glared at the Spartan. 'And the others?'
'If you want to carry them as well, be my guest.' Lisa said. 'But I am not risking my life for forty dead ponies.'
'Don't they deserve to be buried?' Twilight said, pointing her hoof at each of the cells. 'Who says the griffins will do that? They killed everypony and left them in here.'
'And they'll have two more bodies to add to their collection if we try to take them all.' Lisa hissed. 'Have you any idea how exactly we would go about getting them from here to somewhere they can be given a decent burial? Or how to do it while evading a city full of griffins looking to stop us?' She felt frustration begin coursing through her body and it took a second to get it under control.
'Giving forty ponies a burial is not worth risking the lives of two people, one of whom is a princess.' She said in a slightly forced tone as the door cracked again. 'Yes, they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect but we do not have the time or means to do so. We are in the middle of a hostile city with enemy combatants bearing down on us. If we manage to get out, and I mean if, then either your or Princess Celestia can try and negotiate the release of the bodies. But for you to do that, we need to get out of here. Otherwise, and I cannot stress this enough, there will be two more bodies for the griffins to leave unburied.'
A large splinter of wood fell from the door.
'Now. Pick up Spike and stay close to me.' Lisa ordered as she turned her full attention back to the door. 'Because when they door finally breaks, all hell is going to break loose.'
Spartan-A196, in the Griffin Kingdom capital, in the palace. 1929 Hours, January 12, 2553 (Military Calendar/Local Time)
Lisa kept her battle rifle aimed at the door's centre, right where she imagined where the head of a griffin would be. Her motion tracker, which would have been invaluable in knowing roughly how many assailants were beyond that half a foot of wood, was useless due to Twilight's proximity.
The Alicorn had gently levitated Spike onto her back, using the care and delicacy like a mother would use with a newborn. She used her wings to try and keep him in place, covering the dragon from sight.
'Stay behind me.' Lisa said to Twilight. 'If you any of the griffins carrying weapons like mine, tell me and try to shield yourself from them using me.'
'Okay.' Twilight whispered.
The griffins pounded on the door again, causing it to bulge slightly near the centre. Another impact and the splintering became more pronounced, resembling a jagged mouth.
A third and final impact served to fully force the door open and it sagged open, the two halves swinging independently on their hinges, and revealed the griffins that had been trying to force their way in.
There were easily a dozen of them, all charging for the dungeon, and Lisa calmly switched her battle rifle from burst fire to single shot, expending twelve bullets to kill twelve targets before they could even make it two steps inside the dungeon.
They fell to the ground, dead, and Lisa marched forward, stepping over the bodies, then headed for the stairs. Twilight followed as closely as she dared, trying her best to avoid the dead griffins and their blood as it leaked out and joined to make a large pool that was steadily growing.
At the top of the stairs was a wooden door which Lisa opened with a swift kick, dumping her and Twilight into a high ceilinged hall. There were more flaming torches set into the walls with tapestries depicting past kings and queens hung between them.
'Which way to the entrance?' Lisa asked as three griffins armed with swords appeared, only to be dispatched with headshots as soon as they came within sight of the Spartan.
Twilight made a strange choked noise but pointed to their right.
Lisa took off down that way, guessing that seeing so much killing wasn't doing well for the mare's mental state. She had been against it back in the Crystal Forest and the Spartan doubted much had changed since then.
They entered a wood lined corridor empty of targets and Lisa broke into a jog, rifle at the ready, then turned a corner where five griffins stood, swords drawn, barring them access. Five suppressed shots later, they were being jumped over by the people they had been sent to stop.
The corridor came out into a four-way junction.
'Which way next?'
Another silent point with a hoof, this time left, and the duo jogged down it, Lisa slightly in front of Twilight.
She fired at a griffin in front of them but stopped midstride when Twilight yelped in surprise and terror.
'Chief!' Twilight cried. 'Help!'
The Spartan turned on her heel and saw two griffins, one struggling to keep hold of Twilight who was fighting for her life while also keeping hold of Spike, while the other fumbled with something in their claws.
Lisa recognised it for a grenade and guessed from the sudden expression of triumph, the griffin holding it had managed to prime the device.
Time seemed to slow.
Her body reacted without thought, bringing the battle rifle up into a firing position and, two shots later, dropped the two griffins, releasing Twilight but also causing the frag to drop and bounce. Lisa sprinted towards the Alicorn and grabbed hold of her leg, using her augmented strength to haul Twilight away from the frag grenade. In slow motion, Lisa saw Spike's body slip from beneath Twilight's wings and fall to the floor, right next to the grenade, and saw Twilight's head start to turn around and look.
Lisa knew that an M9 fragmentation grenade had a fuse of around three seconds after it came into contact with a solid surface. It had already bounced and come to rest when Lisa grabbed Twilight, giving her two seconds to put as much distance between them and the frag.
She shifted Twilight so her body was between the Alicorn and the grenade, meaning half a ton of shielded Spartan was in the way, then launched them into the air, tucking as much of Twilight in as she could to limit the chances a piece of shrapnel would hit her.
The grenade exploded and sent a shockwave flying outwards, propelling the tiny slivers of metal to subsonic speeds in all directions. Her shields took the brunt of it, draining to a quarter charge, but a sharp intake of breath from Twilight hinted that some had hit her and as the pair came in for a less than controlled landing, Lisa shifted her body so that it would touch the ground first.
They bounced once then came to a stop as time restarted and Lisa let go of Twilight. She got up and went to pick her battle rifle up, checking it for damage. There was none.
The two griffins who had tackled Twilight, and Spike's body, were little more than a bloody mess on the floor, feathers littering the whole thing, obliterated by the frag grenade.
Lisa turned to look at Twilight as she stood up, blood trailing from her front right leg, and hobbled to where the grenade had exploded.
'No.' Twilight whispered. 'No!' She rushed to the site and began frantically looking for any sign of the dragon, tears flowing freely from her eyes one again. She began sobbing in earnest when she realised there was nothing left. 'Spike.'
'Ma'am, we have to go.' Lisa said gently, pulling Twilight up off the floor and away from the mess. 'There's nothing more we can do.'
She expected Twilight to put up some kind of resistance, to object at leaving Spike behind, but Twilight mutely allowed Lisa to pull her up and take her out of the palace, repeatedly whispering no under her breath as she continued to cry.
Spartan-A196, near the Griffin Kingdom capital, aboard captured Pelican dropship. 2027 Hours, January 12, 2553 (Military Calendar/Local Time)
The Pelican came to life without any complaints as Lisa went through the start-up procedure, closing the rear hatch and feeding power to the engines. It was airborne within seconds and heading to Equestria soon after.
It had been tough getting from the palace to the Pelican, especially with Twilight near enough comatose and half the city looking for them, but with a good deal of luck and deep shadows, they had made it and joined Trixie.
She had seen to Twilight while Lisa went into the cockpit and got everything ready, using a First Aid kit to clean her wounds and dress them before wrapping the princess in a blanket.
Lisa set the Pelican on autopilot then headed aft into the troop compartment where Trixie and Twilight sat across from each other in silence.
'How is she?' Lisa asked, taking a seat next to Trixie. Twilight was just staring blankly ahead, not focusing on anything before her. The deck beneath her was wet from tears.
'Trixie doesn't know.' Trixie said. 'She hasn't said a word since she got here.' She looked at Lisa. 'What happened?'
'She lost Spike.' Lisa said. 'First when he was shot dead then, when she tried to bring his body home for a funeral, a grenade exploded next to him. There was nothing left to bring back, let alone identify.' She leaned back and let out a tired sigh. 'I think it was all too much for her to handle.'
Weariness crept up on Lisa and her eyes flickered for the briefest of seconds. 'How much sleep have you gotten, Trixie?'
'A few hours.' Trixie said.
'Good.' Lisa said. 'I need you to watch the control panel in the cockpit in case something goes wrong. If it does, you come and wake me as soon as you can. Okay?'
'Okay.' Trixie said.
'Thanks.' Lisa said. She settled down into her seat and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep a few seconds later.