The sky grew darker and darker as the storm clouds began to gather. A keen-eyed observer could see the little colored specks darting around the storm clouds, moving them in place. John-117 was such an observer, and watched as the pegasi busied about their work, trying to keep the storm on schedule. Despite all the wonders John had seen in the galaxy during his decades of service, Equus and its inhabitants still managed to amaze him from time to time. The ease at which they controlled the weather astounded him; even the finest minds in UNSC hadn’t managed climate control at this level even experimentally.The storm wasn’t scheduled to begin for about fifteen minutes, and John made his way to the town’s library. The SPARTAN was uncharacteristically hesitant to arrive. He knew he needed the information, for there was only so much Rarity could tell him. Still, he was not eager to face the resident librarian. She was a scholar by trade, and lived up to her duties with a passion John had rarely seen in anyone. Even when he buried himself in a book (or four), she would bombard him with questions about himself, humanity, Earth, the UNSC, and anything else that came to the purple alicorn’s mind. They were almost inevitably answered with “classified”, though this only seemed to spur her on more. Frankly, his sessions with her reminded him of some petty politician or news reporter trying to prop themselves up by questioning the SPARTAN program and what his brothers and sisters did. They did their best to ignore such annoyances, but it was still unpleasant all the same. It did partially die off after an ODST soldier decked a reporter in the face, muttering something about “snide insinuations.“Finally he arrived at the rounded oaken door, and he hesitantly gave it a knock, careful to restrain himself lest he crack the wood. Equestrian architecture was rather more fragile than its human-built counterparts. With a wide grin, the librarian swung the door opened immediately, and he stepped inside, ducking under the short doorframe. Pony constructions were small even by normal human standards, and the seven-foot super soldier was constantly reminded of that fact.Twilight levitated a clipboard and a pen from a nearby table and began trotting beside him, that same eager look on her face.“I was hoping we could talk about about your spaceships today.“Twilight always said ‘spaceships’ with a sort of giddiness. The very concept was almost mythical to her. John however was silent, which Twilight took as a sign to go on.“How big were they?”“The Pillar of Autumn was 1,425 meters long.”“How did you find your way through space?”“Classified.”“And you said earlier they were warships? What kind of weapons did you use?”“Classified.”“And what did you use to power them?”“Fusion reactors. Anything beyond that is classified information.“Twilight’s jaw dropped a little, as it always did at the mention of nuclear power. When John had first explained it, Twilight reactedd with an almost religious awe. To use the power of a star, the very power of the Princesses… and how the humans were able to use it seemingly so easily… John paid no mind to her and grabbed a book off the shelf. “Super Naturals: Natural Remedies and Cure-Alls that are Simply Super”. The book had caught his attention after hearing about the Equestrian’s herbology skills. The fact that the mixtures actually worked and didn’t simply rely on either basic ingredients in the plant mixture ~~or simply the placebo effect ~~ impressed him, and he had taken a great interest in it. Twilight continued to pester him about the Pillar, which he answered with “classifed” nearly every time.After nearly half an hour of interrogation, he stood up and walked to a shelf. John was not easily irritated, but this had to stop. Twilight briefly stopped her barrage and followed him, only to see him take the marble chess set off the shelf and carry it to a small table. He set it down and pushed one of the chairs to the side, preferring to kneel in front of it. Twilight sat at the chair opposite him, looking confused.“If you can beat me, I’ll answer anything you ask me to the best of my ability. If I beat you, you stop asking me questions. Deal?“Twilight grinned back at him. Not the eager grin she had greeted him with, but a grin of an opponent, eager for a challenge. She had had the set for a long time, and had no one to play with besides Celestia herself, and that was a rare treat these days. “Deal.“And the battle begun.Little story for the blog. A lot of people have been asking about how the rest of the Mane Six fit in with Chief, and here’s my attempt to answer for one of them.And yes, according to the novels, John is a huge chess nerd.Totally didn’t steal Twilight’s outfit from