PONYVILLE HOSPITAL

2:21PM

The Warthog drove up and stopped at the front entrance to drop Aaron off before heading off to its next destination.

Aaron was a bit baffled at the size of the building, and at the fact it had only three floors. How was this supposed to be convenient to the population of Ponyville, which was quite big, along with how spread out the village was? Of course he knew this wasn’t the time for making judgements. Somepony has been hurt under mysterious circumstances, and it was his current task to try and find out what.

As Aaron walked through the doors and into the lobby, he was once again greeted with a sea of pony eyes that observed him. Even if Celestia did grant his kind access to the public places in Ponyville with reassurance with their protection they were providing, humans were still an interest to observe.

Ignoring his unwanted attention, Aaron strolled up to the front desk to address himself to one of the front desk administrators.

“Can I help you, sir?” she asked. Since the UNSC has thankfully become acquainted with the public facilities of Ponyville, the administrator showed no signs of being afraid or nervous.

“Yes. Spartan Aaron Jensen of the UNSC, ma’am. I've received orders from command to investigate the unknown injuries of a pegasi by the name of,” Aaron pulled out his datapad that contained the profile of the patient’s name. “Cloudkicker.”

“Let me see here,” the administrator said as she looked through the patient files. Finally she found Cloudkicker’s most recent update.

“Ah yes. She should be in Room 218.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Aaron said with a nod, before heading off for where Cloudkicker would be receiving treatment.

Within several moments of Aaron disappearing into the elevator to head up to the second floor, Rainbow Dash literally burst through the front door, startling everypony within the lobby. Luckily none of them were elderly ponies with a weak heart condition.

She then raced up to the front desk and demanded, “Where is he?”

“Who?” the administrator asked confused.

“That Aaron guy. Which room did you send him too? One of my weather team members is hurt and I demand to see her now!”

The administrator immediately knew what Rainbow meant, and reverted to business attitude and composure.

“I’m sorry, Miss. Rainbow Dash. But Mr. Jensen’s tasks have to be done without the views of unauthorized personnel. I’m going to have to ask you to leave until further notice.”

“But my team is in there. How come they get to be in there while I can’t?” Rainbow insisted.

“Because they were witnesses to the accident and brought the patient in. Since you weren't there, you don’t have the clearance.”

“But I..” Rainbow began, but was cut off from a hoof raise.

“There’s no excuse that you can make. Rules are rules. Now, please leave or I’ll have to get security,” the administrator warned firmly--but Rainbow unwisely held her ground.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Rainbow hissed. “Not until I can see my friend.”

“So be it then,” the administrator sighed and triggered the silent alarm. A few seconds later, Rainbow was completely surrounded by earth, unicorn and pegasi pony security guards with a hint of determination on their faces.

Rainbow had to admit to herself that she was intimidated by being outnumbered, but she knew she was brave and didn’t let anypony stand in her way from what she desired. Even if it meant a reckless deed.

Before she could do anything stupid, Twilight and Fluttershy rushed through the door in a nick of time. Rarity and Pinkie soon joined them.

“Rainbow!” Twilight scolded. “What on Equestria has gotten into you?”

“Get out of here, Twilight. All of you. I can handle this alone,” Rainbow insisted.

“Handle what? What were you about to do?”

“None of your business! Now go!”

Since Twilight wasn’t getting the answer she wanted, she turned to one of the security officers.

“What’s going on here?” she asked him.

“I’m afraid your rainbow-maned friend here was trying to trespass into a patient’s room without authorization, your majesty,” he replied.

“That patient happens to be one of my weather teammates! Why is that so hard to believe?” Rainbow demanded with thin patience.

Twilight sighed and turned back to Rainbow.

“Look, Rainbow. I appreciate that you’re showing great concern for one of your teammate’s injuries, but there is such a thing as taking it too far. Celestia knows what would've happened if we didn’t come here sooner. You have to think about your actions, Rainbow; or they may turn against you.”

Rainbow fell silent for just a moment to process what Twilight just told her.

She admitted to herself that she may have gotten a little out-of-control, and Celestia knows what she could’ve done.

She now felt helpless, but still angry.

“Then what am I supposed to do, Twilight?” Rainbow asked quietly with a hint of disdain, while turning away from her alicorn friend.

Twilight gently put her hoof on Rainbow’s neck which made her flinch a bit, but Twilight didn’t cease.

“All you can do is wait. We’ll all be here for you. I promise,” Twilight assured calmly, while the four other mares joined in the comfort.

Twilight then turned to the security officers.

“You may stand down now, gentlemen,” she said.

They nodded and returned back to their assigned posts.

It didn’t take long for Aaron to find Room 218 because two UNSC marines were standing guard on either side of the door with MA5D’s at hand. When they noticed Aaron, they righted their rifles and saluted.

“At ease, marines,” Aaron confirmed. “Is the patient named Cloudkicker in there?”

“Yes, sir,” replied one of the marines. “The doctors have awaited your arrival.”

He then opened the door to let Aaron in.

When Aaron entered the room, he was greeted by the eyes of the company which consisted of Nurse Redheart of course along with a few UNSC medics attending and checking over Cloudkicker who was currently sleeping at the moment. She was hooked up to machines that were inserting blood, and doses of morphine into her body to relieve her pain.

Standing at one side of the hospital bed were Cloudkicker’s two weather teammates, Thunderlane and Flitter looking down on her with anxiety and glumness painted on their faces.

Nurse Redheart then acknowledged Aaron and addressed him.

“Are you Aaron, sir?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied. He then looked down on Cloudkicker’s feeble state. “How is she doing so far?”

“Well luckily her condition is stable, but her injuries are far more severe then we have thought possible. It just seems so strange though that it came from a cloud,” Redheart replied shaking her head. “It just doesn’t make any sense. Clouds are not supposed to burn ponies since their texture is water.”

“Well if the water is heated to a certain point, it could cause scalding,” Aaron said even though he was confused at the point that clouds were actually vaporized water. Perhaps the clouds on this planet were made up of something else that Aaron didn’t know about.

He then turned his attention toward Thunderlane and Flitter who gazed at him worriedly.

“Can either one of you tell me how this incident occurred?” he asked.

“Well,” Flitter began nervously. “We were somewhere in the Palomino Desert to help bring in a warm front toward Ponyville you see, and for some reason; these strange clouds began appearing out of nowhere.”

“Define, strange.”

“They appeared to have a bit of a light-purplish color to them,” Flitter replied. “That’s one thing.”

“There was also a peculiar smell to them as well,” Thunderlane added.

“The clouds smelled? Of what exactly?” Aaron asked with a familiar sensation of dread beginning to creep over him. He knew what the color purple meant.

Thunderlane put a hoof under his chin as he recalled his memory.

“It’s hard to describe really, but it definitely smelled foul; as if it came from a polluting production factory like the ones in Detrot,” he explained.

“That’s probably what it is then,” Aaron concluded. “If they had an unnatural color and odor to them, then they’re not made from water.”

“But there was nothing there that was producing the clouds at all,” Flitter stated. “It’s as if the source was invisible or something.”

“I see,” Aaron said. He then turned to Redheart.

“Can you please describe the nature of the victim’s injuries?”

“Sure,” she replied, and turned to Flitter and Thunderlane. “You two may go now. This is classified patient records.”

Both Thunderlane and Flitter nodded and left the room. When they were finally out, Redheart turned back to Aaron.

“Well...it appears as if whatever was inside those pollution clouds that Flitter and Thunderlane described--it caused the coat and flesh to melt off which almost went to the bone. Thankfully it didn’t,” she explained, looking a little pale in the face despite having a white coat; but her expression and the way she choked with the words indicated how sickened she was. In all her life and career, she has never seen an injury so gory before.

Aaron’s suspicions were confirmed now.

He knew what caused Cloudkicker’s injuries, and the strange purple clouds; which in fact were NOT clouds at all. It was industrial smoke, and not the human kind either--it was Covenant.

Whenever the Covenant found a secluded area, far away from enemy territory; they would construct main bases, or citadels to be precise.

These installations were industrious due to construction and development of vehicles, weapons, and ammunition that would be given to certain Covenant units. The result was purple smoke that consisted of plasma waste which on contact with skin or other organic material, would singe.

As for the reason for not being able to see the facility, Aaron knew that they were using spires to cloak its location, even the flagship that resided in orbit above the site.

Aaron knew now that the citizens of Ponyville and all of Equis would be at the mercy of the genocidal alien collective if action wasn’t taken soon!

“Thank you, ma’am. That will be all,” he said.

“But don’t you know what could cause such a ghastly injury?” Redheart insisted. “Because if you do, I’m sure we can stop this before something like this happens to somepony else!”

“Let us handle it, ma’am,” Aaron reassured calmly. “The procedure that you're doing, along with the assistance of the medic marines will make Cloudkicker pull through. Trust me.”

Redheart was unsure and suspicious at first, but reluctantly chose to believe Aaron’s statement.

“Very well then. We’ll carry on then.”

Aaron then nodded his approval.

When Aaron came into the lobby, he was both surprised and a little irritated to see that he was once again disobeyed by Twilight and her friends--except Applejack who wasn’t anywhere to be seen. They were all gathered around a disgruntled Rainbow Dash.

“What are you guys doing here? Didn’t I make myself clear to stay back in Ponyville while I dealt with this?” he demanded.

“Why didn’t you tell the administration that I was part of the weather team so I could see whoever was hurt?” Rainbow demanded. “Plus, who is it? Is she going to be okay?” she was now near hysterical.

“We’re sorry, Aaron,” Twilight said now sounding defensive. “But Rainbow wanted to make sure one of her weather teammates was alright. I should admit I disapprove of you not informing the hospital administration of her membership so she could visit. Why would you neglect to do such a thing?”

Aaron didn’t expect to be counter-questioned like this, but Twilight did have a point. He should've been mad at himself for misjudging the persistence and determination of these ponies.

“Well I actually thought that you would actually listen to me this time, but I guess I was wrong,” he replied shaking his head. “Look if it makes any of you feel any better; the patient’s injuries are critical, but with the treatment being provided--recovery and survival for her is positive. But from this point on; you will do as you are told, or punishment with interfering with the UNSC operations will be authorized. Do I make myself clear?”

The mares simultaneously nodded and said yes, even through Fluttershy practically whispered it with fright. She didn’t want to face punishment if it meant that she couldn’t see her friends, or pet animals anymore.

“Good,” Aaron confirmed. “At least Applejack set a good example.”

“She needed to stay home to help look after Granny Smith. She may have gotten sick or something. The poor thing,” Fluttershy stated sympathetically.

Aaron surprisingly raised a brow at this because he wasn’t aware of the situation when it happened back at the farmhouse, and he was quite concerned; but for the moment now, he had to focus his mind on the main issue at hand. The Covenant were assumed to be on Equis, and he needed to bring that to Kenwood’s attention for the sake of Twilight, her friends, and the entire planet.

“I see,” Aaron finally said. “I wish her to get well soon. But now if you’ll excuse me please, I need to report back to the Express to brief Kenwood of a pressing matter. Surely Celestia and Luna should be involved as well.”

This statement took Twilight by surprise because since when would she be excluded from a discussion involving her mentor? She thought she was supposed to be onboard with the controversy between the royal sisters, and the UNSC.

“But what about me? Shouldn’t I be involved in this too, along with my friends?” Twilight insisted.

Aaron shook his head.

“No. What I ask of you now is to stay here and make sure everyone here is prepared for anything that might happen. If any of you have family or relatives living in far-off locations, you should tell them to get prepared for anything as well,” he instructed.

“Twilight, dear. What is he talking about?” Rarity asked worriedly. She couldn’t bear to think of her little sister, Sweetie Belle in harm’s way.

“Is it some kind of special surprise party that I didn’t know about?” Pinkie asked, clearly disappointed that she couldn’t get involved.

“What are you up to?” Rainbow asked suspiciously with stink-eyes.

“I wish I could explain it to all of you, but I can’t. Look. We won’t let any further harm come to any of you if you just do what is asked of you--and I’m asking that you all remain here until further notice. We swore to protect you, and that is what we intend to do,” Aaron stated before activating his COMM watch and linked it to the transportation channels.

“This is Spartan Jensen reporting. Requesting transport to the Express. Over,” he said.

“Roger that. Sending a Pelican your way now,” reported one of the officers onboard the corvette. “Any reason through, sir?”

“I have assumed intel I wish to relay with the captain. I also request that Celestia and Luna come aboard too for the brief.”

“Consider it done, sir. Pony Express out.” the officer said before he signed off.

A few moments later, Aaron’s Pelican arrived for him.

Before he stepped on, he turned back to the five worried mares who just stared back at him.

“I know you’re scared. To tell the truth, I am too,” he assured. “This world of yours is too peaceful and harmonious to be harmed in any sort of way. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you guys, or the ones that you hold dear. We’ll do anything we can to protect this planet. You just have to have faith, whether you choose to believe in it or not. Hell, I’m not even superstitious to follow that sort of thing; but we all have our ways.”

With that, Aaron climbed aboard the Pelican and the back hatch began to close behind him.

Before the hatch was completely closed, Aaron said, “One more thing. Make sure to tell Applejack I wish her well, along with the rest of her family.”

Twilight and her friends could only watch then as the remainder of Aaron’s sight was masked by the hatch as it finally closed completely and sealed before the Pelican took off for the outer atmosphere.

“What’s going to happen to him, Twilight?” Fluttershy softly asked.

“Him? More like the planet? That human knows something; and surely you do too,” Rainbow stated pointed an accusing hoof at Twilight.

“Rainbow! It isn’t polite to point hooves at anypony, and to make accusations as well,” Rarity scolded.

“Oh shut it, Rarity! I didn’t even ask for your input,” Rainbow spat.

Rarity gasped in offense.

“How dare you speak to me in such an uncouth way! That’s especially no way to speak to a friend who is trying to help others,” she huffed indifferently

“Oh yeah? Well what are you going to do about it?” Rainbow challenged.

Sensing a conflict about to unfurl, Fluttershy squeaked and dove for cover in a bush. Fortunately though, Twilight jumped in before hooves would fly--but she looked very troubled.

“Enough! Both of you!” Twilight shouted, coming in between the two feuding mares. “What is happening to our friendship here? For Celestia’s sake we need to stay together here, and twice something has happened that nearly tore us apart! I know that Aaron, and the rest of his race being here is getting to most of you--frankly I’m scared too. But we need to stay together. Our friendship is very strong and powerful, and we can’t forget that. It would surely disappoint Celestia, Luna, and all of Equestria.”

There was an uneasy and unnerving silence coming from everypony for a moment. Then finally it broke when Rainbow softly spoke up.

“I’m sorry, Rarity, for snapping at you like that; and I’m sorry, Twilight, for aiming an accusation at you. I deserved to be scolded like that.”

“I forgive you, dear,” Rarity said with a small smile and extended a hoof to Rainbow's, who gently lent her own hoof so they would touch. Twilight did the same.

In seconds, all five mares were holding each other close to let each know that they cared about their friendship deeply, and they would not let the affairs and their suspicious of the UNSC stand in their way--even if it meant that it could be the end of their world as Twilight knew it.

Aaron may have been blunt, but Twilight knew secretly that the enemy of the UNSC had found Equis without him even saying it.