Chapter 1: The Mare of the Night

The tall figure trudged through the muddied path, barely visible beneath the layer of water that flooded the forest. "Nothing like heavy rain to be the first thing I come across." For some reason his shields were down. He had been listening to the constant beeping for the last hour or two, which was supposed to tell him they needed to recharge. But they just wouldn't. The bar at the top of his HUD was flashing empty. Perhaps it was the water… 'What am I thinking? That doesn't make any sense…. I think my shields had something to do with that device, though…'

He looked to the left and right, and all he saw were trees behind trees. The branches extended every which way and covered every opening they could find. The darkness beyond the branches was bloodchilling, but after everything he'd seen, darkness was the last of his fears. Still, he swore his eyes caught glimpses of silhouettes lurking just past the trees. He glanced at his radar in the lower right of his HUD, hoping to find some answers there. But there wasn't a single signal anywhere. Just his own blue dot right in the center.

Still, he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Everybody can experience that. It's like a sixth sense, telling you when someone… or something… can't take their eyes off of you. Another glance around showed his rising paranoia, yet he shook the feeling. The radar wasn't showing anything, so he shouldn't worry about it, right?

His head looked down at the water he was walking in. Looking back at him through the rippling puddle was a Spartan, his visor a deep purple, the helmet colored black, and a thin, purple streak moving down the right side of its face. Those colors… black and purple. They really represented who he was as a person. They also reminded him of nighttime, due to the dark characteristic of them. He loved the night. But he hated this one. The clouds were heavy and flat, completely blocking out the starry night sky and the moon… If this place even had one.

Normally, it would be hard to see three feet in front of him, but his visor did its job in enhancing the visuals of the environment before him by outlining objects and sharpening depth perception. At least there wasn't an annoying greenish tint when it came to its night vision.

Before he knew it, his visor outlined some sort of structure in the distance. As he drew closer, he noticed that it was a ruin. Old and crumbling, it was a tower that still stood despite the obvious structural damage. Gazing downward, he took note of a ravine that separated him from the structure. A single thin, shaky roped bridge connected both sides.

The Spartan placed a metal boot on the bridge, nudging it. The ropes swayed left and right, and a wood plank or two slid off and tumbled down into a river at the bottom of the ravine. Still, he was stubborn. 'Maybe… Just maybe it will work…' He added more and more of his weight to the boot he placed on the bridge, testing to see how much of his weight it could hold. But before even reaching half of his weight, the planks beneath his boot snapped, and his boot fell through, bringing his body forward. The entire bridge snapped and the planks collapsed in on themselves. Luckily, his reflexes were sharp, allowing him to regain his balance without giving in to such a fatal fall.

"Well I'm not gonna cross this way," he muttered sarcastically. "When in doubt, check your HUD."

He relied heavily on his HUD. It is sort of a strength, but can be a weakness when his HUD isn't available. He knew he had to get out of that habit, but now wasn't the time. At the bottom right of his HUD were two circles. One depicted a rocket-like symbol. The other was an obvious shield. The rocket symbol is what caught his attention. Thruster pack. An easy way to get across the ravine.

Taking a few steps back, the Spartan took a running start and pushed off of the ground with what strength he could muster. As he ascended, he activated his thruster pack, giving him a boost of speed farther into the air. The extra height gave him enough room to land on his feet and regain his balance.

Turning away from the ravine, he came face to face with the tower. He shrugged, raising a hand to open up its large wooden doors. "Shelter is shelter…"

Without any delay, he opened up the doors and stepped inside. It was dark and gloomy in there. At the center of the room was a large, sturdy wooden table. It must've been centered, but at the moment it was crooked and off center. Beneath it was a wrinkled, dirty red rug that was partly rolled up. The walls to the left and right along with the far wall had darkened red banners hanging from the ceiling. There was some sort of sun-like symbol plastered on the banners to the right and a clear, crescent moon on the ones to the left. For this level, there appeared to be nothing here.

Flanking the doorway he came through were stairs that seemed to spiral up to the top floor. It would be unwise to search the top floor, since there may be something either useful or dangerous up there. Leaving the table and its banners to themselves, he stepped foot on the first steps and cautiously moved up.

At the top was another set of doors, this time much smaller than the entrance's. He absent-mindedly lifted his hand to push them open, but he noticed something on his HUD. His personal radar seemed to be scanning again, unlike his time outside. He saw his blue dot as always… but just a little ways ahead was a white dot. It was unmoving… just sitting there. Weird.

By instinct his hand went for his side arm, which would normally be on his right hip, but instead grasped nothing. He shook his head, cursing his stupidity for not taking his own inventory in the first place. Well… the white dot didn't seem to be moving.

He kept an eye on his radar while he felt around his belt and hardcase. Even though it would be obvious as to what he had, reviewing the exact count of what is at your disposal can help you manage your equipment more efficiently if a situation were to arise. In this Spartan's case, he had somehow gotten his hands on two pulse grenades… while in his hardcase was a hardlight shield module. It made him really question what went down before he got to wherever he was. He just couldn't recollect his memory. 'Now is not the time… I'll think about it later.'

Alright. The only weapon he had was his combat knife, which was sheathed on the left side of his stomach. Well… a weapon is a weapon. He would have to make do. His hand grasped the blade's handle and unsheathed it slowly, the melodious metallic sound of the casing running along the blade's side echoing quietly down the staircase.

"Here goes nothing…" With one last, short exhale of breath, he pushed the door open and took three quick steps inside, planning to confront whatever this thing was face to face. As he moved through the darkness, he noticed his HUD outline some sort of chair at the far end of the room. The white dot on his radar was also getting closer and closer with each soft step. He was walking on a red carpet, similar to the rug beneath the table downstairs. Along with that, there were various holes in the ceiling letting in the rain water.

As he drew closer, he noticed that this was no ordinary chair. It was a throne. A large one at that. The carpet he was walking on led from the door he entered all the way up to the throne, just like a throne room of the historical European Kings and Queens back on Earth. Just where was he?

He stopped at the foot of the throne. The white dot on his radar appeared to be right where it was placed. He looked around. Nothing. Was his radar just screwing up again?

Suddenly, he saw movement from behind the throne. In one swift motion, he raised his knife, ready for a fight. "Alright. I'm gonna need you to… What the…"

His arm was engulfed in a turquoise aura of some sort. As he dwelled on it longer, he realized that it wasn't just his arm, but his entire body was surrounded by it. Just as he tried to make a move, he found that he couldn't. This… aura… it was immobilizing him. But how? All of his time on the Infinity and he had never seen this before.

As time moved on, he felt the hand with his knife begin to strain. Pressure was being added to it, and soon it started becoming painful. Whoever was doing this was trying to disarm him. He couldn't let it happen. With all of his focus, he struggled against the aura, slowly moving his arm forward, trying to shake it free of the pressure being placed on it. But his efforts were in vain. The pain only grew worse. As if breaking his concentration, a voice called out from the shadows behind the throne. "Drop it."

The voice was feminine, but leaned toward the deeper side. Nonetheless, the Spartan was not about to be forced into submission. He continued to struggle, slowly moving various parts of his body. Somehow, he was breaking free of the aura. The voice spoke again. "As you wish." The pain in his hand grew more intense. He felt as if the bones were slowly splitting open at every point. This continued until he couldn't fight it any longer, and his hand lost its grip on the knife. The weapon hit the carpet lightly, bouncing to a standstill at his feet. The pain in his hand completely vanished upon doing so.

Next thing he knew, his feet were off the ground. "Huh?" He was floating in the air, his arms and legs flailing as if they had control of whatever was happening to him. Unfortunately for him, he was not in control.

"Your efforts in resisting my magic were futile. You could have dropped it in the first place, and you wouldn't have had to experience that kind of pain." He said nothing. The feminine voice laughed. "The silent type? It doesn't matter. You are going to answer my questions."

He said nothing once more.

The voice was silent a moment before continuing. "So let's start with this. Who are you?"

The Spartan didn't answer the way she would have liked. "And if I don't answer?"

"Well…" The voice said, as if she was smiling. "Let's just say you will cease to exist."

"Hm… Alright," he said, the hint of sarcasm coating his tone, as it always did when he dealt with strangers or negotiated. "I'm Michael."

"M-Michael?!" She asked, shocked. "So it is true then…"

"What's true?" She ignored him. He asked again. "Come on, what's true? You've got to give me some answers here, too. I mean, seriou-"

"... Okay okay I get it. Anyway… Are you human?"

"Uh… Yeah."

"And the knife?"

His answer was quick as he glanced at it on the floor. "It was a precaution. When I explore uncharted territory, it is only wise to have something to protect myself of any dangers there may be. Don't you agree?"

There was a pause. "Of course."

"Now um…" Michael cocked his head to the side. "Do you think I can see what you look like?"

There was a moment of silence, but the shadowy figure eventually stepped out into the dim light coming in from a nearby window, revealing a… unicorn? But it also had wings, so what was it? Her coat was what seemed to be a pitch black, but she was wearing multiple blue gauntlets on each of her hooves. To match the gauntlets was a helmet, which had holes for her ears and a smaller hole for her horn. However, the most magnificent thing about her was her hair. It floated around as if there was a constant breeze only affecting it. Along with that, its dark blue outline contained what looked like stars, giving off the impression of the starry night sky.

That hair was all Michael could think about. "So… What's the deal with your hair?"

"M-My hair…?" She stammered, a confused look on her face. Soon enough, she realized. "Oh. My mane. Well… I don't really know how to explain it… but I always figured that it was because I play- er… I mean played, an important role in this world…. Along with Celestia."

Michael was confused. Important role? Celestia? "What is a Celestia?"

She put a hoof to her mouth, suppressing a giggle, before regaining her mature composure. "It isn't related at the moment."

"Okay… And what's your name?" Michael asked, feeling a bit less threatened by this… unicorn with wings.

"Nightmare Moon," she answered, a look of guilt spread across her face.

'Nightmare Moon? Seriously?' Good thing he was wearing a visor, because he was truly puzzled. Where the hell in the universe was he? A place where there are talking unicorns with names that a five year-old could think of… that's where. Still, he did notice her expression change. "What's wrong? Do you not like your name?"

Nightmare shook her head quickly. "No it's… nothing."

"Another time then…" Michael muttered under his breath before thinking up another question. "So you mentioned something about an important role."

"What of it?"

"Can you explain it?"

"Yes…" She took a minute to think. "I used my magic to transition from daytime to nighttime. With my power, the moon would rise, enshrouding the world in darkness."

Michael was still confused. 'Does this planet not rotate? What?' He stopped questioning himself. He might as well just take in all the information he could get. "So what you're saying is that in your absence… the night would never come?"

"That is correct."

"So you are what makes the night so enjoyable. Well… Here at least."

"Yes, I… Wait what?"

Michael thought he may have said something offensive. "What?"

"You… 'enjoy' the night?" Nightmare asked, clearly disbelieving his comment.

"Well yeah." Michael wondered why anyone wouldn't. He looked up at one of the holes in the ceiling, expecting to see the night sky, but only saw the gray of clouds. He scowled. "As long as there aren't any clouds to block the stars… the stars… that's my favorite part about it.

"Wow… I never thought anypony really did."

Anypony? He ignored it. "Why wouldn't they?"

That look of guilt. Again. "I've done some things… that I'm not proud of… to put it lightly…"

Michael let out a sigh. He wasn't really getting anywhere. It wouldn't hurt to hear out her problems. "I know we just met… but uh… want to talk about it?"

"W-What? Really?" Nightmare asked, getting flustered. Is he serious?

"Yeah…" Michael said, before remembering that he was still afloat. "It might help if you put me down first."

There was a hint of doubt in her eyes. It was evident, and Michael could see it. However, he felt his body lower until his feet touched the ground. The turquoise aura around him dissipated as well, leaving him free to make his own movements. "Thanks."

"Keep in mind that I am not letting my guard down for a second," Nightmare said, taking a couple of steps back. It was clear that he was still a bit of an unknown entity. Not that he could blame her. It's not like he trusted her either, so it pretty much went both ways.

He twisted his wrist back and forth, getting a feel for it again. That pain was almost unbearable. "Anyway… Before we start, can you tell me how exactly you can do that?"

She looked around. "What?"

"That magic stuff. I've never really seen it anywhere else."

"Oh," her horned glowed, and soon the knife on the floor was surrounded by the same turquoise aura and began to rise into the air. "Anypony with horns such as mine are able to work with magic."

There was that word again. Anypony. "So you're not the only talking unicorn?"

"Correct," she said, tilting her head. "And I am not a unicorn. The right term is alicorn, which means that I have wings and a horn."

"I guess that makes sense. So there are unicorns and alicorns."

"And pegasi and earth ponies."

Michael frowned behind his visor. A whole race of talking horses that neither the UNSC or Covenant seemed to have discovered. "If pegasi have wings… then what about earth ponies?"

"They have neither."

"Where's the fun in that?" Michael asked.

Nightmare chuckled, finding his questions silly. "While unicorns can use magic and pegasi can fly, earth ponies have undaunting strength. Nopony would go hoof to hoof with them."

Hoof to hoof. Michael shook his head. "Nightmare. Where in the hell am I?"

He referred to her name like it was nothing. Her words were shaky for a moment. "E-Equestria."

"Equestria…" He paid her nervousness no mind, thinking about her answer. "I've never heard of this place. And I've been all over the galaxy."

Nightmare looked confused. Since when did humans…. "Do you know a lot of planets?"

"Kinda," Michael answered. "It's complicated. You see-"

"Wait." She stopped him, an idea in her head. "You don't need to explain."

"Why not?"

The alicorn stepped closer, a bright light springing to life at the tip of her horn. "Don't be afraid."

It was clear that her way with words was off. 'Don't be afraid' were words that made Michael feel even more cautious. "Whoa hold on. What're you doing?"

Her eyes widened and she looked away in shame, the light dying on her horn. "Oh my… I was way too direct. My apologies. I simply wanted to read your mind."

"Read my mind, eh?" Michael muttered, wondering about the kinds of consequences that could come with that option. He didn't have any knowledge of classified operations… None he could think of. At the same time… Nightmare didn't seem too harmful… But then again he could be wrong. It could all be a trick. "Um… weren't we going to talk about your problems?"

She nodded. "Yes we were…"

"Well first, let's do that. I want to hear about your past. Then after, you can learn mine."

"O-Okay…"

Michael walked over to the broken throne and thought for a moment. "When you told me your name, I noticed you started to look… sad. It happened again when we talked about the night… you even mentioned that you've done some 'things.'" He turned to her, noticing the familiar look of guilt for the third time in just a small amount of time. "Do you mind elaborating on that?"

"I… Yes." She walked up next to him, staring at the old throne. Its headrest was half-crumbled, bearing a dirtied emblem. It was undecipherable due to its ruined state. "I am known as a 'Nightmare' for a reason. Long ago… I was once one with Princess Luna. Sister of the Princess of the Sun, raiser of the moon, I made sure that day would transition to night. I watched over the ponies as they slept."

Michael turned his head to the opening in the ceiling, gazing at the clouds blocking the night sky. "That doesn't seem bad. Stargazing all night? Amazing."

"Yes, but…" Nightmare said lowly. "I noticed how they saw the night. They seemed fearful of it. The younglings sometimes had nightlights when the moon rose. Rather than enjoying the peace the stars gave them… they slept through it… they didn't cherish it. They took it for granted."

"I don't think that's-"

"And Celestia!" Nightmare's voice began to grow louder. Michael could see her soft eyes shift and change. "They always basked in my sister's doing! The younglings always rose to play in the sun! They… they didn't acknowledge me…" The sadness in her voice began to shift as well, bringing about more anger. "... But I knew how to change that. I knew how they could learn… to not take the night for granted."

"Nightmare…." Michael muttered. "What did you do?"

"If they couldn't appreciate the beautiful nights I gave them… Then maybe the nights… didn't last long enough for them to realize…" She stood straight up, her eyes filled with a turquoise light. "I brought them an eternal night!" As she said this, lightning erupted from her horn, heading straight for Michael. He instinctively dove out of danger, letting the bolt to collide with the floor where he stood and explode. Nightmare was practically cackling. "That would teach them! They would learn to show some appreciation! THEY WOULD BOW DOWN TO-"

"Nightmare! You're acting crazy! Cut it out!" Michael was positioned to dodge any more lightning thrown his way.

Her heavy breaths began to slow, hearing Michael's voice in the midst of her sudden rage. Soon, the light in her eyes died down and they returned to normal. The electricity that danced around her horn dissipated as well. "M-Michael… I… ugh…"

One instant she was filled with violent energy and the next she seemed close to collapsing. Michael concluded that she was not entirely in control of her own power. At heart she seemed good, but what made her "bad" was her uncontrollable power. When she got angry, she lost control. He wanted to help steady her, but she seemed to be fine seconds later. Strange. "So what I took from that was… um… you let your anger and jealousy of your sister, Celestia, control the power you possess."

She bowed her head. "Yes…"

"Nightmare…" Michael muttered, before speaking up. "An eternal night… do you know what that would do to the life here? I mean… I don't live here… but the grass, flowers, and trees… they are the same as the ones I know back home… Nightmare. These plants need the sun to survive… to keep the world beautiful." She was still silent, slightly trembling where she stood. Michael sighed. "Look, trust me. The night sky is amazing in more ways than one. But beauty also surrounds you through the plants and animals that make it that way. Though the night sky would forever be in the sky to gaze at, nature itself would lose its beauty. I don't think that the pe-... ponies… would find any comfort in the night after that. Especially when everything is… dead… around them."

Nightmare slowly lowered to the ground. "How could I have not seen that… To be so ignorant…" Her entire form just seemed sad, slumped over, and depressing.

Michael shook his head and stepped towards her, kneeling down to her level. "Hey. Cheer up. You wanted to hear about me, right?"

"Yes." Nightmare nodded slowly, looking up at him. Her horn began to glow just as it did before, leading Michael to stumble back. "What's wrong…?"

He thought about what she could see if she read his memories. Some of his closest friends have perished, the destruction that happens everywhere he was sent… And then the files he read about the "flood." Then there was the Fall of Reach. He didn't exactly experience the flood or Reach first hand, but he has learned about them throughout his life in the UNSC. Sad events just like those were something he couldn't risk.. Especially if Nightmare hadn't seen anything just as bad or worse. "I honestly don't think that seeing what I've seen is a good idea…. First let me ask you this. Has there been any catastrophe here?"
"Of course," Nightmare answered, her eyes looking upward as she thought about them. "There was an incident with a being named Discord who turned Ponyville into his idea of paradise… but he was stopped quickly. Um… Canterlot was invaded by Queen Chrysalis and her army of changelings. Also stopped, nopony was seriously injured if I remember correctly…"

"Anything worse than that?"

"No… Not that I can think of…"

"Alright, then." Michael stood fully from his kneeling position. "Then I advise against reading my memories. I don't think you can handle what's in here." He tapped his helmet.

Nightmare seemed amused and stood up herself, letting out a light chuckle. "Try me."

"That's the thing," Michael retorted with a wave of his hand. "I don't think I want to. For your sake, of course."

"Michael," Nightmare said as she stepped closer. "Trust me."

It may have been him being nice, or he may have been convinced through the use of some magic, but either way, he gave in. "Ahhh alright. But I warned you." He stepped forward as well, bending slightly at the waist so that his head was closer to her horn. Its glow resumed. Slowly, she bowed her head. As soon as it came into contact with Michael's helmet, his shields flickered, and he quickly stepped back, just as he did before. 'Weren't my shields down? When did they come back up?' He was so used to listening to the constant sound of his shield system beeping that he didn't even realize the beeping stop.

Nightmare almost laughed. "It seems I need direct contact. Is there a way you can remove your… head shell?"

"Uh… Yeah." Placing both hands on opposite sides of his helmet, the joints unlatched, and he lifted the helmet off of his head. What was revealed was a simple olive complexion, short black hair, and cyan eyes. The air that hit him was surprisingly cool. He assumed that it would be muggy since it was raining, but it was easy to breathe. It felt pleasant.

Nightmare was speechless for a moment.

Michael cocked his head to the side. "What's wrong?"

"I've never seen a human in so long."

"Humans lived here? When?"

Nightmare seemed to glare, but her expression gentled. "Hundreds of years ago."

Weird.

"Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?" Michael asked, his expression not worried, but almost daring.

"I am certain." Without any further delay, she placed the tip of her horn on his forehead, the glow on her horn spreading throughout his face. His irises changed to a deep blue color as she began to see everything Michael could remember.

The memories that Michael had little trace of were harder to view. Most of those memories occurred when he was too young to fully commit events in his life. On the other hand, there were plenty of memories that he had a clear recall of, which made them easier for Nightmare to see. Those memories flashed by Nightmare one by one. His entrance into the UNSC appeared to be ones of the brightest days of his life. The smiling faces of everyone on induction day made the atmosphere lively. Following that were months of rigorous training. Unlike the camp he went to before his induction, this one was a lot more unforgiving. However, Nightmare noticed that Michael, alongside his closest friends, pushed through to the top. He formed his strongest bonds with others during this training. And… to Nightmare, it didn't seem bad. This kind of training was expected for someone in the military.

Then, things grew dark. Nightmare watched as Michael was being dropped right into a firefight. As soon as the doors opened, Michael turned his head to the right and watched a beam burn clean through his squadmate's face. Nightmare was beyond shocked. But Michael seemed unaffected, and ran through the doors anyway, straight into the danger.

The memory faded. Nightmare searched for something else, anything better than what she just witnessed. Another memory appeared, this time, in a park of some sort. Nightmare felt herself relax as she viewed the trees, the sun, and the lake in the background. Michael was conversing with another man. He mentioned golf, and the other man nodded his head. The two laughed every now and then as they made their way down a brick path that circled the park. Suddenly, the two stopped, and the man looked Michael in the eyes. "When we get back, we're going back to Earth. My parents have been waiting years."

Michael smiled and nodded back, extending his hand. "I'll keep you safe."

The man, instead of shaking his hand, grabbed his wrist. "Right back at you."

Nightmare smiled to herself. Everything looked fine. Michael was happy where he was. But one thing that troubled her… what was Michael talking about? Keep him safe from what?

That's when it hit her. The entire scene Michael and his friend were in began to twist and shift. The once sunny, peaceful park quickly turned dark. The ground became burnt and barren. Trees were on fire, and there were other lifeforms everywhere. The sky had turned from its pleasant sky blue hue to a deep red and black gradient. Nightmare frantically turned left and right, taking in the chaos of the situation. Michael and his friend weren't in civilian attire anymore. The two were wearing similar styled armor, each primarily black. Michael was grasping his friend's wrist as he began to dissolve into thousands of tiny orange flurries.

He couldn't do anything. At that moment, so many ideas ran through his mind. Ideas that could save his friend. But each one would get shut down in the end. Nothing would work. It was the first time he felt powerless. All he could do was watch as his friend dissolve… and his flurries blow away and disappear into the distance. Seconds later, he was grasping nothing.

Nightmare stopped the memory after that. She wanted to get out. More and more memories began flashing by, each showing a couple of seconds before disappearing. In one instance she watched Michael disable a group of three… aliens. Each were a lot taller than him, but he outsmarted them with every attack they threw. Next thing Nightmare knew, the three aliens were lying on the floor, dead. Michael was a natural killer.

She stared at Michael in his memory, and all of a sudden was back in the ruins in real time, staring at the Michael that stood before her. Out of instinct, she took a couple of quick steps backward, even though he clearly posed no threat to her now. Once her horn lost contact with his forehead, his irises returned to their natural cyan state, and he swayed a bit from the introduction of magic into his body. He placed a hand on his head, forming a fist and knocking on his helmet to make sure his senses were still in one piece. He recovered, looking at Nightmare's reaction. He shrugged, almost smug. "I warned ya."

"Y-You're a killer!" Nightmare shrieked, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Great. Michael rubbed the back of his neck, something he tended to do when explaining himself. "Well… yes… In a way. Wouldn't you kill anyone or anything threatening the safety of your friends, your family, or even your entire race?"

"To kill…" She never thought of it that far. In this world, it was imprisonment, banishment, or simply "defeating" someone. But death itself… Humans really did live chaos-filled lives. But this one…

"So I'll ask you, Nightmare. Are you a threat to me?"

The question caught her off guard. She asked herself the same question, ready to begin overthinking of the many consequences that could come with either of her answers… But she cleared her mind. The right answer was obvious. She smiled, her sharpened teeth showing. "Of course not, Michael."

He smiled in return. "Good! I don't intend on being a threat to you."

"Yes… Sorry about earlier. I didn't know anypony would give me a chance."

Michael shook his head, latching his helmet back onto its proper place. "Hey, at least you didn't blast me on the spot." That comment brought out a laugh from the alicorn, something that wasn't normal for her for a thousand years. Michael looked around for a second. "Do you mind if I crash here? I'm kinda tired… I haven't properly rested in days."

"Be my guest," Nightmare replied, a hint of excitement in her voice.

Michael walked over to the stone throne and sat at its foot, leaning his back against it. At his feet was the dirtied red carpet. It wasn't gonna get any more comfortable than that. Nightmare had made her way elsewhere in the room. He could hear her movements from where he sat, but they were slightly more distant.

A moment of silence followed. It gave Michael time to reflect on the past hour. A walk down a muddy forest path… discovery of ruins… and now a new race of talking horses. And he is acquainted with one of them. Weird.

Suddenly, her voice broke the silence. "Michael. Are you leaving when morning comes?"

"Yeah."

"Don't be gone long. It gets lonely."

"No problem." Michael thought for a second. "Never really had a friend, huh?"

"Not in a thousand years."

Michael sat straight up. "You've lived that long?!"

"Yes."

He opened his mouth to speak again, but he left it alone. Leaning back against the throne, he sighed and closed his eyes. "Goodnight, Nightmare." After hearing her reply, the Spartan soon felt himself fall into a deep sleep.