Chapter 28: Forest Misadventures (Part 1)

August 11, 2558
1011 hours
Thatchholm Gildedale

King Ironaxe, the Lord of the Dale, sat upon a wooden throne, which was draped in the scaly skin of once living Komaga.

Said throne was situated on the far side of the large, barn-like structure that was his country’s capitol.

He awaited the return of Ashtail and the rest of his guard, as he had received word that his right-hoof stallion was bringing the first returning soldiers from the lost battalion.

One of which was his daughter.

“My King? You look nervous,” said his royal advisor. “Is everything alright?”

“I’m just excited is all,” Ironaxe replied. “I haven’t seen my daughter in a few days and...to be honest, I wasn’t sure if she’d survived!”

“The news hit us all very hard,” said his wife, also eagerly awaiting her daughter’s return. “But you never gave up hope! And now you’re faith has been rewarded!”

“Right you are, m’lady!” said Ironaxe’s advisor.

“My love,” said Ironaxe. “When she arrives, I would like some time alone to speak with her.”

The shield-maiden seemed taken aback by this, before slowly nodding in understanding.

A few more minutes passed before the doors to the hut opened, revealing a procession of Gildedale soldiers.

In the lead was Ashtail, who greeted his only superiors.

“My Lord, I present to you,” he started, gesturing behind him. “The traitor!”

“What?!” Ironaxe exclaimed.

The procession halted, then parted, revealing Greyblade in shackles and on Cinder Pine’s back. As ordered, he unceremoniously dropped her to the ground.

Without warning, Ironaxe dashed over to Greyblade, lifted her up onto her knees, and embraced her in a tight hug.

“Daughter!” he exclaimed. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

He then turned to his guard commander in disgust and anger.

“Ashtail! What is the meaning of this?!” he demanded.

“My King, she’s the reason so many of our own are dead!” said Ashtail. “She’s a traitor to our nation!”

“How dare you treat one of our own soldiers this way!” snapped Ironaxe. “Let alone MY daughter?!”

“But...my King-?”

The Lord of the Dale then spoke in a low voice to Ashtail.

“The deaths of all those who were under her command is on me and me alone. Release her, now!”

After a moment of awkward silence, Ashtail reluctantly bowed his head.

“As you wish, my Lord,” he said. “Cinder Pine, you have the key.”

The brown-coated stallion wordlessly unlocked her shackles, afraid to say anything before his King.

He didn’t have to however, as Greyblade immediately kissed him on the cheek in front of everypony present, before giving him a warm hug.

“Thank you,” she whispered to him as he returned the embrace.

"Anything for you," he whispered back.

Soon, she was walking back up the steps to rejoin her family.

As he watched her leave, Cinder pine noticed Ashtail giving him a ride look. The brown stallion was suddenly aware that he was blushing!

"Father, this isn't your fault!" said Greyblade.

She lay on her haunches before her father as he sat on his throne.

"Are you not grateful?" he asked.

"Of course I am! But someday you'll have to let me deal with the consequences of my actions!"

The Lord of the Dale simply sighed at this.

"I can’t be your little girl forever,” Greyblade finished.

“I know,” he said. “But that’s why I sent you out in the first place.”

"What?”

“Yes! I didn’t want you to suffer such a horrible loss, but the arrival of the humans proved to be far more deadly than I’d anticipated.”

Ironaxe then reached down and lovingly held his daughter’s face in his hooves.

“I wanted you go out into the world and learn,” he told her. “See and experience another land, something I never did, so that when you take ownership of this throne one day, you’ll be a better ruler than I ever could be!”

He then kissed her on her forehead before releasing her.

“I’m just glad you’re alive! And safe,” he continued. “You’ve already been through enough, served your imprisonment in Equestria. No Gildedale soldier who may or may not return will be punished for serving their country.”

“I understand,” said Greyblade before a question came to mind. “Father? How did you know what they’re called?”

“What who are called?”

“The humans?”

“Oh! See this other, alien, arrived at our doorstep yesterday. Said he came in peace and that he knew the humans well.”

Ironaxe then pointed behind Greyblade, who then turned her head to see a rather tall, armored creature sitting at the long table, having some discussion with the town elders.

It ate with not a mouth, but monstrous-looking mandibles!

“He could tell you better than I,” Ironaxe continued. “But I think he calls himself a, uh-a Sang-heal-ee?”

“Did his kind give him a name?” asked Greyblade.

“He said we could just call him the Arbiter.”

“That’s an, interesting name.”

“Funny you should ask about him, as he heard about your story and wanted to personally meet you…”

Greyblade and her new Alien friend walked alone together toward the Princess’ private hut.

His golden armor shone in the moonlight, reminding her much of her own armor.

“Do the humans know you’re here too?” she asked.

“No,” he said in a deep voice. “I came alone, and in a private ship that can hide me from their detectors.”

“Oh.”

She walked in silence with him again for a brief time.

“Why? Are you following them?” she prodded. “Are you...spying on them?”

“In a sense, yes,” said the Arbiter. “In case I need them in the future.”

Finally, they arrived at her hut.

“Why me?” Greyblade asked. “Why now?”

She stepped in front of him before the entrance.

“And who are you anyway?!” she questioned confrontationally. “What’s your story?”

“I was once in your position,” said the Elite calmly. “I too suffered a great loss at the hands of humanity.”

Her tense demeanor immediately loosened.

“All I am offering is the help you seek,” he said. “Nothing more.”

Greyblade nodded.

“Come in,” she said, pushing open the door to her hut.

Arbiter went in first, ducking in order to make it through the wooden frame.

“Well, it is clear this place wasn’t meant for tall creatures,” he said, still ducking. “Do you mind?”

He pointed at her bed.

“Yeah, go ahead,” said Greyblade, putting up her black sports-cap next to the doorway. “Sit.”

She shut the door as the Elite straightened his back upon sitting down. His head tracked the blonde princess warrior as she crossed the room over to a coat hanger, taking off her tan jacket as she moved.

After hanging it up with her mouth, she unexpectedly stood in that one spot, looking forlornly past the hanger.

“I don’t know what to do,” she said finally. “I failed to keep my soldiers safe.”

She walked over to her wardrobe, where a brand new set of gold-painted leather armor hung next to an assortment of dresses.

“All but one of them are dead and I barely made a dent in Equestria’s defenses.”

She looked at her reflection in the emerald on her helmet.

“I’m a failure and a disgrace, but my dad tried to play it off!”

Behind her, the Arbiter nodded in understanding.

“You still feel deserving of punishment,” he interpreted. “Don’t you?”

Greyblade simply turned to him with an understanding, yet solemn look.

“If there is anyone here who understands your pain, it is me,” he stated.

“Yeah?” said the Dalepony princess. “And what’s your story?”

Arbiter just leaned forward, staring at nothing in particular.

“I was once supreme commander of the largest space fleet in the galaxy,” he started.

Greyblade’s blue eyes blinked twice, stunned.

“But, when I let a very sacred place get destroyed by the humans, my hierarchs at the time deemed me a heretic,” the Arbiter continued. “I lost everything: my fleet, my command, my armor...my pride.”

“...Horseapples!…” she breathed.

The Elite only nodded solemnly.

“They were going to have me executed, and I would have gladly accepted it,” he said.

“I’d gladly be imprisoned to be honest,” said Greyblade, shrugging. “But executed? Probably not!”

Arbiter just gave her a mildly annoyed look.

“Sorry! Go on…”

“But instead of hanging me by my entrails, the hierarchs decided to spare me,” he went on. “Since I had served them so faithfully in the past, they gave me this armor, sending me on secret suicide missions.”

“Some leaders you had,” said Greyblade.

“Ha! Tell me about it!”

“So, what are you trying to say? What’s your advice?”

“Given such a predicament, I let go of the past, focusing only on the missions given to me; working through them honestly and with sincerity.”

He stood up, ducking once again, and walked over to Greyblade’s armor.

“It was the most enlightening decision I ever made,” he finished.

“How?” she asked.

“I won’t bore you with the details, because this is about you, not me.”

The Arbiter lifted the Dalepony’s helmet off its hook and began inspecting it.

“Focus only on the situations before you in the present, with sincerity, doing the work as honestly as you can,” he said. “That is my advice.”

“Are you saying I should focus on my punishment?” Greyblade asked in confusion.

“I’m saying there is another way,” said the Arbiter.

He then held out her helmet in front of her face.

“Redemption.”

Greyblade took the helmet in her hooves.

“But, how?” she asked. “I’m not being given missions by some, hierarchs!”

“No, you’re being offered a mission by me.”

Her eyes widened in realization.

“Your mission, should you choose to accept it,” the Arbiter started. “Is to rescue a very important pegasus from the clutches of your former ally.”

“From...the changelings?” she asked nervously.

He nodded in response before continuing.

“Her name is Rainbow Dash, and like her name suggests, you can identify her by her rainbow-colored mane. She is currently being escorted by five highly trained and experienced human warriors. They are trying their best, but I doubt they’ll make it.”

“What makes you say that?”

“This morning there were six.”

Greyblade didn’t respond, audibly gulping instead.

“I can take you there, along with one other, in my ship, but I cannot help you. I do not wish to be detected by humanity at this time.”

“But I-I can’t fight the changelings alone! Their technology is far beyond anything I have-”

“You want redemption? This is it. I never said it would be easy.”

There was a pause.

“Why is she so important to you?” asked Greyblade.

“Through means I do not yet understand, she has been endowed with the ability to use one of six ancient and powerful relics on this world,” said the Arbiter. “Tools that the humans need if they are to be of use to me in the future.”

The Dalepony Princess simply looked into the emerald on her helmet, before a sly grin crept across her face.

“I may have a plan,” she started. “You never said I had to engage the changelings directly.”

Arbiter gave what passed as a smile for Sangheili.

“Now you’re following my advice!” he said.

August 12, 2558
0639 hours
Somewhere 180 miles southeast of Ottapaw

“That all...wasn’t there before,” said Rainbow Dash. “Was it?”

The rest of the squad shook themselves out of their stunned stupor.

“I knew it sounded noisy outside last night,” started Shifty. “But god-DAMN!”

“Gunny?” said Alex. “Can you radio Infinity? See if they’re gettin’ this?”

“Already on it,” said Alvarez, before speaking under his breath. “What the hell?”

“We were prepared to drop into a forest anyway weren’t we?” asked Corporal Marcus Williams. “This just means we’re in even better shape now than we were before, right?”

“It’s not that that’s got me worried,” said Alex. “It’s the fact that a forest grew in a desert overnight! This literally defies all known laws of physics!”

“So...what now?” asked Jenkins. “Couldn’t they just pick us up right her-oh FUCK me! Everyone hide!”

The PFC pointed out at yet another flight of patrolling changelings before ducking down and running to the back of the cavern. Everyone else followed suit, scurrying as quietly as they could.

“Jesus!” he exclaimed as he hurriedly put on his helmet.

“Good you all came back when you did,” said Gunny, who had been at the back of their alcove nearly the entire time. “I was going to tell you to check your radar.”

Activating their heads-up-displays, numerous red dots appeared within the circle on the bottom-left of their visors.

“Blimey!” was all Williams could say.

“Yeah, they ain’t picking us up here,” said Alvarez.

“Why couldn’t our Pelicans just fly through lightning?” asked Shifty frustratedly. “Didn’t aircraft become immune to lightning like, five or six-hundred years ago?”

“Yeah? Then they lower the ramp to let us on and BOOM!” said Sergeant Alex Thompson. “One lightning strike and we’d have all been fried!”

“Basically, it was never gunna work Private,” said Gunny.

“Oh, Celestia help me!” said Rainbow as she curled into a cerulean ball. “Chrysalis did this…”

The now five-man fireteam looked at her shivering form.

“...just for me!” she finished.

“Damn right it’s just for you,” said Jenkins. “She knows how important you are, so she’s pulling out every stop!”

“But if they’re gunna take you, they’ve gotta go through us first!” said Marcus.

Rainbow simply nodded at the Corporal, but without losing her distressed and jittery demeanor.

“Well, what’s the plan from here?” asked Jenkins, addressing his squad-leader. “Does Infinity have any useful intel?”

Gunny just shook his head.

“Only that if we’re going to leave this cave, we’re gunna have to do it soon,” he said. “I have a plan though: each of our suits has a one-time-use-only cloaking device, tech courtesy of the forerunners.

“If we activate them right at the mouth of the cave, we’ll have plenty of time to make it all the way to a safe-spot in the valley before they time out. From there, we can look for a clearing and call in that pelican.”

“Question,” said Alex, raising a hand. “How do you know there’s a safe-spot down there?”

“These guys move in small pockets. We’ll use our radar to slip between them.”

The Sergeant just nodded his head in response.

“What...what’s a cloaking device?” Rainbow piped-up.

“It turns us invisible for a short time,” said Jenkins. “We would’ve used it earlier but, like you heard, if we use it once we can’t ever use it again.”

“Unless, you know, we restock another one when back on the Infinity,” Shifty finished.

“But, I can’t do that!” said Rainbow. “How am I supposed to turn invisible.”

“I was just about to get to that,” said Gunny. “Remember what I asked you to rub dirt in your mane, and I said mud would be ideal?”

The pegasus just laid a hoof on her frazzled mane, eyes widening in realization.

“Well,” Alvarez continued, pointing outside. “It just rained.”

As Rainbow Dash started shaking her head in protest, PFC Ogden Jenkins unexpectedly stood up and walked over to his squad leader.

“Gunny?” he asked. “A word please?”

“What? This can’t be said in front of everyone?” Alvarez replied.

“It’s about Rainbow,” Jenkins whispered into his ear. “But I’d rather not tell you this in front of her.”

“...Ah...excuse us...”

The two of them then walked over to another corner of the cave, leaving the others with confused looks.

“What’s this about Private?” Gunny asked.

“Sir, when I read off the scanner’s readings of Rainbow’s vital signs to you, I withheld some information,” said Jenkins.

“Christ! Why?! You know I have to re-report this to Infinity now, right? And they aren’t gunna like it!”

“I know! I know! This is my fault, I should’ve told you earlier, and I'm sorry for putting you through this, sir. But at the time I couldn’t say it in front of Rainbow.”

“You were content to tell her she was raped.”

“She knew that already! Look, this is something she doesn’t know, and I think it’s best that she isn’t aware of it now, because I don’t know what’ll happen if she finds out…”

“Well, spit it out already!”

“You know when I told you how she had an unhealthy buildup of bacteria in her system?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, it was more than that...she should’ve been dead already.”

“What?!”

“I don’t understand it either, but there should be too much for her immune system to handle! Something else, something the scanner couldn’t pick up, is keeping her alive.”

“So, you’re worried that rubbing mud all over her is gunna push it over the edge?”

“Exactly.”

“Look, I get your concern, but you realize not doing that is guaranteed to put her life in danger. We just pointed out that she doesn’t have a cloaking device! What else are we supposed to do?”

Jenkins held onto his pensive and worried demeanor as Alvarez placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I appreciate the information, but I’m sorry. We have to take the risk!”

Finally, Jenkins sighed.

“Understood sir,” he said.

“If they ask about this conversation,” Gunny started. “Just play it off for now. The two of us, mainly you, will let the rest of the squad know about Rainbow’s condition in private later.”

“Aye, Gunny.”

They then made their way back to the rest of Fireteam Icebreaker.

“What was that all about?” asked Shifty.

“We’ll let you know at the bottom of the hill,” said Alvarez bluntly. “But only after we get there! Dash, let’s go.”

“Aww!” she moaned.

“Rainbow. Outside. Now!”

With a yelp, RD was thrust face-first into thick mud.

Everyone was just outside the cave, getting ready to sprint down the hill.

“What the HAY?!” she squeaked.

“Sshhh! Keep it down!” hissed Jenkins. “This is for your own good, Rainbow!”

“But I already feel sick!”

“You’ll recover. It’s either this or you die outright, so choose already!”

With a heavy sigh, the pegasus began to rub the disgusting material all over herself, starting with her chest and thighs.

“Why’d you have to shove me in?” she asked after a moment.

“You were going to hesitate,” said Jenkins. “And we literally don’t have that kind of time! Here, let me get your back.”

Rainbow dash laid down onto her stomach in the puddle of mud, proceeding to vigorously rub the substance into her mane as Jenkins spread it across her back, neck, legs, and tail.

“Hopefully the tape wrapped around your wings stays in place,” he said to her once he finished.

“Yeah,” she croaked as she stood up.

“Let’s go!” said Gunny. “And try not to slip, Rainbow!”

“Yeah, no kidding…”

Jenkins held out a hand, which was still dirty, to the cerulean pegasus.

“You’ll need to hold on to me,” he said.

“Why?” she asked, placing her hoof in his hand.

The ODST responded by activating his cloaking device, disappearing from sight along with the rest of his squad. However, she was still able to feel his grip.

“That’s why,” he said. “You’ll lose us otherwise.”

Rainbow only nodded.

“Okay, valley’s one-and-a-half klicks down the hill and our five minutes has already started!” said Alvarez, his shimmering form already starting to run. “Let’s move people! Let’s really move!”

Suddenly Rainbow felt her hoof get yanked forward. Her heart rate climbed rapidly as she nearly stumbled trying to match their pace!

Past trees and various greenery she ran, guided only by the tug of a ghost, when she suddenly tripped over a rock and felt Jenkins’ hand slip away!

She fell on her face and stomach before rolling some ways. Quickly she got up on one knee, but of course, she couldn’t see him.

“Ogden?!” she called. “OGDAAAN?!”

“I think I heard something!” she heard a voice call from behind her.

Accompanying that voice was the sound of buzzing, bug-like wings!

“I’m here,” came Jenkins’ whispering voice. “I’m right here! Take my hand!”

Looking in the general direction, the pegasus barely made out the shimmering form of his arm reaching out.

Slowly, she reached out to grab it, but not before a green fireball flew between them!

Rainbow shrieked as the projectile exploded not too far down the hill from where she was. She then spun around to see a full platoon of changelings staring her down.

“Dang it! Missed!” said one of them. “I think that’s her, sir!”

“After her!” said their leader. “Move!”

“Rainbow! RUN!” said Jenkins, his voice receding.

“Wait!” she squeaked. “Don’t leave me!”

“Just head straight down the hill, we’ll meet you there!”

Seeing no other option, the injured pegasus bolted down the incline, eyes full of tears from the stress and newfound adrenaline.

The minutes felt like hours as she ran. Explosive green bolts nearly missing her over and over again.

Every time she began to feel fatigue taking over, the fear of what could happen to her if she stopped replaced it, momentarily giving her a small energy boost.

How long this would last, she could not know, but she had to keep going!

Finally, the incline leveled out. She was in the valley, but she still had yet to escape the changelings’ sightline.

Another green explosion, another boost of energy.

In and out of bushes, ducking under branches and around trees, she tried everything she could to do so, but her own vision was starting to blur from sheer exhaustion.

She had to stop soon and she knew it!

Finally, Rainbow dashed behind a tree and hoped for the best.

She listened as the beating of insect-like wings came ever closer, shutting her eyes in dread as the sound came the closest it ever had.

Unable to stop her own loud gasps for air after having ran for so long, she cupped both her hooves over her mouth and tightened her eyelids!

But as soon as the sound crescendoed, it began to fade.

She opened her eyes as the humming of changeling wings became softer and softer, before tentatively taking a look around the tree trunk.

The cerulean pegasus watched as her pursuers disappeared into the foliage, before relaxing and shutting her eyes once more to breathe a sigh of relief.

Letting her guard down.

She screamed the moment she opened her eyes, as she was greeted by the green tip of a changeling’s spear right in front of her nose! A lone changeling soldier now had her cornered.

She flattened her back against the tree as if she wanted to melt into it, panting in terror and desperately clutching at the bark, all the while darting her eyes back and forth between the changeling and the business-end of his weapon.

It wasn’t glowing, though.

Is he going to kill me or not?! she thought panickedly.

“You slippery bitch!” he said finally. “We’ve got you now!”

“What?!” squeaked Rainbow.

“The Queen will be pleased to hear that she has her leverage back!”

He then lowered his spear and grabbed one of her arms.

“No! NO! Please!” she said, trying in vain to resist as her captor spun her around and pushed her against the tree. “OW! Get-get off of me! Get off!”

He had dropped his spear by this point and was holding her by both of her elbows.

“P-please! Just leave me alone!” she whimpered before getting kicked in the lungs. “AAH!”

“You wish I’d kill you? Don’t ya?!” he whispered into her ear. “Well it ain’t happening! Just come quietly-”

“B-bu-buck you!” she wheezed.

He simply pressed her head into the tree even further as he angrily hissed into her face, licking under her ear with his tongue. Rainbow heard his insect wings beat faster, and she whimpered more loudly as she felt him begin to lift off.

He was right. She would’ve rather been dead, vaporized instead of being recaptured and tortured again!

But the changeling suddenly tightened his grip and shook violently as a bullet careened through his head, causing Rainbow to briefly shriek in fright.

Slowly, he released his grip on her and fell over, but Rainbow didn't watch. She just let her arms hang, dropping to her knees from exhaustion, continuing to stare at the tree bark in front of her.

Finally, she began to sob quietly, putting her forehooves on her face and placing her forehead on the tree, before slamming one hoof onto its trunk.

The tears now coming from her eyes were partially due to the pain coming from her injured wings having been squeezed, but also from the mental horror of having been so close to being captured yet again!

She then shakily took a look at the changeling’s corpse behind her.

Without warning from her own gut, she puked!

“Rainbow?!” called Jenkins. “Rainbow! Are you okay?”

When she heard him run up behind her, she let off the tree and held her stomach as though she were trying to hug herself. The shivering pegasus just shook her head.

“No,” she croaked.

The ODST gently placed a consoling hand on her back as her face tightly contorted into one of pure anguish, trying in vain to hold back her sobs.

“I am so sorry,” he said softly.

Her thoughts were still consumed by the horror of going back...there; the horror of a future that didn’t come, but almost could have.

That could still come.

“Hold me!” she wheezed, still clutching her aching stomach.

Jenkins gave her a big hug from behind, allowing her to let her sobs go, and the two simply sat there, rocking back-and-forth under the canopy.

“It’s alright,” he told her. “You’re okay. You’re always okay…”

Author's Notes:

Happy holidays everypony!

Leave a comment if you enjoyed the action-packed ending to this chapter