(Original) Chapter 12: The Day of Discord

Chapter 12: The Day of Discord

Gliese Star System

Planet Equis

Canterlot Gardens

August 13th, 2551

Friday, 8:00 AM

Humming to himself, a groundskeeper got to work trimming the various hedges and shrubs of the grounds. In addition to looking after the plants, he and his coworkers also had the responsibilities of keeping the fountains and statuary in pristine condition.

Fortunately, much of the day's work was almost done, and it wasn't even noon yet.

"Aw shoot! Empress, hit me over the head with a hoof!" The groundskeeper exclaimed. Somepony had wrote on the statue pedestal of Star Swirl the Bearded. In blue paint were the words, "Save Derpy."

Seeing a group of school foals and their teacher trotting away in the distance, he muttered to himself and shook his head. "Darn kids...". As he got to work cleaning the graffiti off, he failed to notice something wrong with one of the other statues nearby.

Discord's stone prison was beggining to show signs of fracturing. As the tiny cracks spread, a quiet chuckling issued from the stone. That however, was not the only thing that currently passed by unnoticed by anypony or anyone.

In the shadows cast by the well-tended hedges, shrubs and trees, two figures in silver-gray armor stealthily sprinted away, making their way out of the city.

Downtown Canterlot

Star Swirl Plaza

Imperial Guard Central Command

9:02 AM

"Erm... Commandant, sir?"

The appointed head of Central Equestria's entire police force twitched his moustache inquisitively as he faced the operator. "Yes, what is it?"

The communications operator looked rather flustered, and stammered as he spoke. "We're get...getting dozens of calls from ci...citizens about... um...weird things happening."

The Commandant frowned, and put a hoof to his muzzle in a bemusement. "Weird you say? First all those strange vandalism and graffiti cases, then the Empire-wide anonymous phone call threats, now this!"

"That's not all sir. The calls are coming from everywhere! All over Canterlot and Ponyville. Everypony is saying that their magic won't work, animals and objects are behaving oddly, and technological devices are going haywire!" Another operator added.

The Commandant's frown deepened. In another part of the room, somepony's holo screen had been left on, showing a TV broadcast originating around Cloudsdale.

"Skyline, your definitive source for weather forecasting, anywhere in the world."

A meteorologist's voice gave the forecast for the day, as temperatures, radar, and other information were displayed.

"Pegasi crews are reporting strange instances of bizarre precipitation originating from certain pink-colored, rogue cloud formations. Sources have confirmed the precipitation is in fact chocolate milk. While the rain is safe to be in and even drink, scientists are baffled as to the cause of this strange phenomena. On the bright side, the kid-os should be in for a blast if a rain front is over your area! The weather factories report that they are investigating the chocolate rain, and say that the rest of Equestria should enjoy yet another day of pleasant sunshine. So here's looking up to that! Have a wonderful day, everypony!"

The Commandant payed very little attention to the forecast. "Chocolate milk rain, what nonsense! Are the pegasi suddenly developing mass-altitude sickness and losing their minds?"

He sighed and put a hoof to his brow. "Just alert the Ponyville Imperial Guard Garrison. Oh, and deploy a reinforcement battalion out there to investigate and keep order if necess..." Before he could finish his command, a peculiar magical aura spread throughout the dispatch room at a speed almost too fast for anyone's eyes to track.

When it hit everypony, the operators' mugs of coffee and espresso were now full of clumps of mud or candy. The holo monitors were going on the fritz, loose objects started levitating, and even the Commandant's fine moustache was turned upside down on his face.

He let out a panicked yelp and patted furiously at his lips. "Empress damn it, somepony get me a mirror!" One of the operators summoned a hand mirror with their horn. The Commandant took one look at his muzzle, and about leaped out of his fur.

When he finally calmed down, he stared at the wide-eyed dispatch operators with his brow furrowed in distaste.

"Never mind sending out a blasted battalion." He said angrily. "Alert the Empress immeadiatly, and marshal the entire Imperial Guard. Every available police trooper is to report to their nearest post!"

As the operators got to work relaying his orders across the Imperial Guard's encrypted section of the Equestrian Global Communication Network, somepony was laughing mischievously over an open radio channel.

The almost deranged-sounding laughter made the operators jittery and nervous, whilst the Commandant sneered. With his inverted facial hair, he cut a rather comical-looking figure, which was in stark contrast to his darkened facial expression.

"I need to tell her majesty, he has broken loose."

Canterlot Imperial Palace

The Empress of Equestria was currently at her throne, busy and occupied as always. Today however, a more sensitive topic was being addressed. And a clandestine one at that.

With a cursory wave of her hoof, Celestia summoned Captain Sentry to her side.

"At your service, your imperial Majesty!" Sentry exclaimed with a bow. Celestia smiled her usual warm smile. "Thank you, you may rise Captain."

Thinking about the nature of what she was going to ask him, her smile fell into a melancholic frown. "Have you anything of suspicion to report to me regarding my sister, Flash Sentry?"

Captain Sentry's normally cool, cheerful facial expression changed to match that of his monarch's. "I'm afraid so your grace. Princess Luna...she has released the leader of the Covenant defectors to roam freely among the Palace grounds, but only under the watch of her Night Guards."

Celestia's concern only deepened. She got up and lead the Captain over to a corner. "How is it that you discovered this, Captain?" She whispered.

"One of my men reported catching a glimpse of some aliens skulking suspiciously around the library wing during the changing of the shifts with the Night Guards. He also tells me that one of Luna's guards noticed him, and actually threatened him into silence."

Empress Celestia was beggining to feel anger stir in her mind, but she suppressed it in favor of keeping a calm and collected air. "This troubles me, Captain. To think Luna would do something like this behind my back! I think we shall..."

She was interrupted by a loud beeping issuing from Flash Sentry's armor tac-pad. The Captain shrugged apologetically at Celestia before raising his foreleg to his face.

"Yes? Captain Flash Sentry here."

"Captain? Thank goodness, is the Empress available?"

"Yes, I am." Celestia declared.

"Your Majesty! Commandant Wexley of the Imperial Guard reporting. Discord has been freed from his prison somehow! We're getting reports from all across the region of odd weather patterns and bizarre occurrences, it has to be him."

At the mention of the Draconequus' name, Celestia's body tensed up like a gazelle sensing it's being stalked by a lion. "Discord you say!? This is most dire news indeed."

Commandant Wexley's reply came back over the comms grimly. "I'm afraid so your highness. And even that's not all. We're in the process of capturing the reprobate responsible for freeing him! He was trying to reach an unoccupied, unmarked Pelican landed at the edge of the Whitetail Woods."

"A Pelican? Then... A human possibly freed him?"

"As much as I don't want to believe it, I'm afraid it's true your majesty. What's worse, we're not talking some random thug who damaged the statue prison, he's a UNSC SPARTAN! We just need to flush em' out, and they'll be in our custody."

Celestia could not believe what she was hearing. "I thank you for reporting this to me, Commandant Wexley. You've done your duty well! May you please bring the man here for questioning, before Discord's current activities make such things impossible?"

"Of course, your majesty. We'll have him in the palace and under watch in mere minutes!"

Flash Sentry closed the channel on his tac pad, stiffened his posture, and gazed at the Empress with semi-stoic anticipation. "What do you wish of the Royal Guard, Empress? Shall my guards continue surveillance of the Crown Princess in the meantime?"

Celestia could read the Captain's uncertainties in his eyes like an open book.

"No, I should not have ordered you to do so in the first place. Please accept my apologies, Flash Sentry. I understand the discomfort it most bring you all, having to spy on my sister. It's just that Luna's faith in these Covenant 'defectors', worries me greatly. I do not trust their leader." Celestia closed her eyes and sighed.

"Please have your guards ready just in case Discord decides to reveal himself, and be on high alert when our mysterious human is brought in for questioning."

She trotted back to her throne gracefully, her steps perfectly masking the anxiety that was surely afflicting her mind at the moment.

"In the meantime, I shall go about directing our response and investigation. I hope and pray that the UNSC has a legitimate explanation for all of this! Discord is a potential threat to them as well, if he gets off Equis. Please summon Luna, General Forge, and Archon Spectra here, and fetch me the Elements of Harmony. With haste, Captain!"

Saluting, Sentry replied. "As you say, your highness!"

Flash Sentry did not have to follow through with the second order, as the Princess and Spectra Dash had already appeared at the doorway. In their armor, both ponies looked suited for war. The pair wore looks of near panic. Forge trailed in after them, also in his own armor.

Meanwhile...

White Tail Woods

"He can't possibly stay in their forever!" An Imperial Guard exclaimed impatiently, standing next to her comrades. The police had their weapons trained tensely on the Pelican dropship in front of them. The D77 VTOL was painted pitch black, and possessed no visible markings anywhere on its hull.

It was clearly not of Imperial origin; such unmarked vehicles are against Air Force regulations.

Naturally, the heavily-bureaucratic Imperial Guard did not take breaking of regulation lightly.

The commander of the Guard force present, a stunningly fit human woman in her mid fifties, turned to a unicorn guard near her. "Amplify my voice, will you? It's high time we nab this joker so we can head on home. I've got a five-star breakfast awaitin' us in Canterlot!" She declared.

"Yes, ma'am!" The guard replied. He ignited his horn, and cast a spell on the commander, who cupped her hands around her mouth, preparing to speak.

"ATTENTION LAWBREAKER! YOU ARE HEREBY CHARGED WITH THE DELIBERATE DAMAGING OF GOVERNMENT PROPERTY, AND THREATENING THE PEACE OF THE EMPIRE AND HER CITIZENRY BY RELEASING DISCORD!"

There was no response from the occupants of the craft.

"WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED, AND THE AIRWAYS ARE LOCKED DOWN BY THE PEGASI! YOU HAVE NOWHERE TO RUN. COME OUT SLOWLY!"

Finally, the troop bay door of the Pelican opened. However, much to the surprise of the Imperial guardsponies and guardsmen, not one, but two humans appeared. A man, and guessing by the other's armor shape, a woman. They were of the same height, and were wearing near identical silver armor.

"PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE EM'!"

The mysterious soldiers wordlessly complied, dropping their rifles, and holding their hands in the air.

"Let's not waste any more time people, cuff them! Even if Discord is running around, these two are going straight to the throne for judgement." The commander ordered in her normal speaking voice.

The guards approached the surrendering commandos, putting the duo's hands behind their backs. The two were swiftly marched over to the prisoner transport.

As they went, the commander got a good look at the now apprehended fugitives. On their armor, were the insignias for the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence.

The woman scowled, not believing what she was seeing. The last time she had seen a symbol like that, was when she been an officer in the UNSC Navy, over twenty years ago.

Canterlot Imperial Palace

Throne Room

9:28 AM

"I understand former Senator Discord is free from his prison? And he was released by a human no less! Has the Draconequus caused any trouble yet?" Spectra Dash inquired urgently.

"When was this all set in motion, Tia?" Luna added.

Empress Celestia looked to both with concern, before replying. "It was only half an hour ago he must have broken free. I believe it is safe to presume Discord has already caused some amount of chaos and disorder as well. I plan to gather Twilight and the Elements of Harmony at once to set about putting him back in his prison."

Luna put a hoof to her muzzle in though, whilst the Archon paced across the floor, pondering things as well. Seeming to come to a mental consensus, Spectra ceased his pacing and returned Celestia's worried look.

"Surely that's not necessary, Empress? I understand he may have done abhorrent things in the time between my era and now, and that you and Princess Luna sacrificed a lot to remove him form power, but I swear he is not pure evil! The Forerunners made him the way he is now. Might we just try to reason with him instead?"

"Diplomacy, with Discord? The spirit of disharmony himself? Absolutely not, Archon! The risks of letting our guard down are too great, and only the Elements can deal with his powerful magic effectively."

"But, your grace..."

"I'm sorry Spectra. When it comes to Discord, we simply cannot take any chances."

"Empress, I swear to you, if you just let us talk to him... Wherever he is, we can convince him not to bring on such chaos!"

He looked at her pleadingly. "In the old empire, the vast majority of those who betrayed us did so out of fear and personal greed. Discord was the sole treasonous member of the Senate who acted only out of grief for his people. The horror of what the Forerunner Builders did to the Draconequii and himself had likely pushed him to madness. I am convinced he could be a force of good!"

Celestia could understand Spectra's desire to see the good in Discord. It was a hope she herself possessed as well, but the pragmatism the throne brings, has stifled the alicorn's attempts to pursue it.

"I admire your desire to see the good in him, but Discord simply cannot be trusted, ever! Luna, you fought alongside me to depose him, surely you can convince him that Discord must be contained?"

Princess Luna shook her head apologetically. "I'm going to have to take Spectra's side on this, my sister. If Toyah Kusovai and his soldiers have taught me anything, it's the fact that anypony is deserving of a chance for redemption, even someone as dangerous as Discord."

"And in addition," Luna continued, "Just imagine having an ally as powerful as Discord, to help us deal with the Covenant. His magic, combined with the intelligence we have garnered from the defectors, could help end the war practically in a fortnight, Tia!"

Forge watched everypony with his arms folded over his chest. He gave a loud sigh as he looked at the Empress. "For what it's worth, I say we try and see if this Discord guy is worth talking with."

Fighting back the urge to make vocal her misgivings and distrust regarding the Covenant defectors, Celestia sighed deeply. Both the pegasus and the younger alicorn now peered at the Empress imploringly, while the General look on indifferently.

Between the gaze of the two ponies, Celestia finally caved. "Alright you three. We'll try to reason with Discord. But if he gives any indication that he is going to trick us, the Elements of Harmony are going to be used. And we still need to address why a human freed him."

Spectra bowed gratefully. "Thank you, your Highness. I will ensure you shan't regret this decision."

"My, oh my! Decisions, decisions, decisions! Oh, it must be so boring having to sit upon the throne all the time, answering questions, signing pointless documents, holding meetings with bureaucratic fools. You Equestrians need to relax and enjoy the wonderful chaos! It's lovely this time of year!"

Discord's ominous voice echoed, its force amplified by the acoustics of the throne room. Even more unsettling, the Draconequus was nowhere to be found. After his brief introductory monologue, several things happened at once.

Quiet, but unsettling laughter echoed across the Palace, while simultaneously the Imperial Guards arrived with their prisoners, and Captain Flash Sentry galloped back in from the chamber where the Elements are kept, the box containing them held in one of his wings. Surprisingly, panic was clear on his face.

"Your majesty!" Sentry cried out. "Princess Cadence opened the chamber up for us, and The Elements are gone!" In his panic, he clumsily dropped the box on the ground, forcing it open.

Sure enough, rather than the expected priceless artifacts, it was just an empty, if expensive, box.

Pausing to stare at the Captain, the police troopers handed their captives over to the Royal Guards, who moved the two SPARTAN III's towards the throne. They set them down, still bound, a safe distance away. And formed a watchful formation around the duo.

Everypony else besides Flash Sentry stared at the empty box, their jaws almost hitting the floor in shock.

"Gone?! That chamber is protected by a powerful spell that only I can break! This doesn't make sense!" Celestia exclaimed. She then looked to the prisoners.

"I thought there was only one individual who freed Discord!" Before anypony could respond, Discords' quiet laugh morphed into a hearty chuckle, reverberating across the walls and columns.

"Make sense? Oh, what fun is there in making sense?"

The Celestia was losing her patience rapidly. "Discord... Show yourself!" She furiously scanned the walls, looking for her quarry.

Luna, Forge and Spectra looked around as well, and spotted the source of Discord's voice. It was a series of stained-glass windows depicting the Draconequus in his typical chimera form.

He had animated the figure of himself with his magic, bringing the scene to life. The figure now jumped from window to window, like a character in an old motion comic strip. Luna nudged the Empress, and pointed him out to her.

The spirit of disharmony chuckled in amusement. "Do you miss me, Celestia? I missed you. It's quite lonely being encased in stone, but you wouldn't know that, would you, because I don't turn ponies into stone." He said in an as-a-matter-of-fact voice.

With her patience now exhausted, Celestia's anger finally surfaced.

"Enough! What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?"

Discord held his head up with a hand, in a relining position. "Oh, I just borrowed them for a teensy little while." He snapped his fingers, and the image portraying the Elements of Harmony vanished from the window.

Stamping a hoof in irritation, Celestia begged to differ. She glared at his figure in the window. "You'll never get away with this, Discord!"

"Oh I'd forgotten how grim you can be, Celestia. It's really quite boring."

Spectra Dash decided now was the time to try and catch the Draconequus' attention. "Senator Discord, hold off your insults and antics just this moment, please! We have vital things to discuss!"

"Hmm? Nopony has referred to me by that title in ages!"

Breaking free from his reclining position, Discord enlarged his own image, filling up most of the window. He peered at the old pegasus with recognition.

"Ah, Archon Spectra Dash himself! Of course, only somepony like you would remember my identity from so long ago. Well now, what exactly brings a living fossil here to speak to this... Humble, master of chaos?"

"Fossil?! Pray tell, whatexactly are we doing wasting our time talking to some tacky window? Why don't thou show themselves?" Luna demanded.

Discord now turned his eye upon the Princess of the Night.

"Oh, little Luna! How could I have not noticed you as well? How was your vacation on the Moon?"

Luna could feel her raging temper building. Forge laid a hand on her shoulder. "Easy, your majesty, easy now."He murmured.

The General had now caught the chaos spirit's attention. "Forthencho, is that you? Oh no, the Lord of Admiral's hair was far longer... and more stylish. Such a shame, what happened to that chap. I say, I do remember your kind being much taller back then. Did Humanity stop drinking their milk every night?"

Forge looked at the Draconequus with his jaw dropped, completely taken aback as to how to respond. Discord resumed his laugh.

"Celestia, Luna, a human, and an Archon? Goodness, all we need now is to invite the other Archons, find Tarquin and Galaxia, and your three brothers, and we can have a mighty fine reunion party in the Senate Chambers with my old colleagues. Imagine all the exciting chaos that would cause!"

Luna was turning red with fury, despite Forge's best efforts. "THOU SHALT NOT DARE SPEAK OF THE PRINCES IN THE SAME ROOM AS US, DISCORD!" She thundered. Several Royal Guards, Forge, and Spectra had to clamp their hooves and hands to their heads to stop their ear drums from rupturing.

"Luna, oh dear Luna. You always were the hasty, dramatic one. How did your armies ever manage to depose my rule?"

Celestia put her hoof down on the solid marble, creating a loud thud that echoed across the room. "Enough stalling, Discord! What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?"

Discord chuckled at the alicorns' frustration and anger. Anger, surely meant chaos. With a final fit of insane laughter, Discord at last physically manifested himself in front of everypone.

The two SPARTAN's who had been watching the whole exchange tensed up dramatically at the sight of him. It was the first visible emotion they had demonstrated all morning.

"I should ask you the same question. I understand that all the Archons except dear Spectra Dash here are now pony popsicles on the next planet over." Discord said finally, grinning at the Empress. The Archon of Fortitude twitched his nuzzle into a sneer, but tried his best to keep his cool

"And now there are supposedly six mares who are their modern-day replacements? Of course only they could defeat me, nopony has appreciation for good old chaos anymore. You're smart to assume I had taken them, I had planned to hatch a rather most entertaining plot." He sighed. "Oh, but to no avail. Alas, I was lying through my teeth, dear Celestia."

Luna graveled at the marble floor with her hoof in outrage. "What did thou say?!"

"Somepony else has already gotten to them."

Celestia and Luna were now staring at Discord incredulously. "Really? So... so you don't have them then?" Spectra Dash inquired with a now shaking voice.

Discord's face sunk into a sad expression eerily reminiscent of a very disappointed Pinkie Pie. "Oh, if only." The Draconequus put a hand to his forehead dramatically.

The Archon of Fortitude's paranoia only grew larger. "Then who in Emperor Tarquin's name does?!"

The master of chaos put his lion's paw to his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, come to think of it, I did see some tall, split-jawed Sangheili gentleman wandering around suspiciously close to the magical door that hid the Elements, right before I tried to acquire them."

Celestia's jaw dropped in horror as she stared at Spectra, onto Forge, and then to her sister. The Archon scowled in realization, and Luna was now wide-eyed as she met her sister's gaze with her own. Forge instinctively reached for his shotgun, even though he did not have it equipped. He now wanted so desperately to spill some Elite blood.

Seeing their facial expressions, Discord looked to each of them curiously with his piercing orange eyes. "It's been a long time since I've seen one of his kind on Equis. Is he a friends of yours?"

Lacking any warning, Luna exploded into pure white-hot burning wrath. In the Royal Voice, she bellowed her outrage.

"TOYAH KUSOVAI! YOU DARE REJECT AND DEFY THE BENEVOLENCE OF THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT!"

The midnight alicorn's voice carried all the way across the Imperial Palace and beyond.

As if accompanying Luna's rage, gunfire erupted from somewhere within the Palace. Flash Sentry's tac pad began beeping once more, this time with dozens of emergency reports. With pained eyes, he peered back up from his computer.

"Empress Celestia! Your Highness, the Palace is under attack!" Drawing their ranged weapons, the Imperial police and Royal Guards snapped to immediate attention, the elite guards being several milliseconds faster than their law-enforcement counterparts.

His leg shaking with adrenaline and anxiety, Guard Captain Sentry returned his sight to the small holo screen on his foreleg.

"Various sources are also reporting intrusions by armed insurgents at various strategic points around Canterlot! The Headquarters of the Bureau of Intelligence, Ministry of Technology, and Ministry of State are all being listed as compromised!"

The General's eyes widened. "Ministry of Tech... Oh no, Doctor Anders!"

Sentry was met with looks of pure disbelief from Celestia and Spectra. Luna was swift to react, however. Forge was not far behind.

"Fear not, we shall sort this crisis out, and squash these conspirators, my dear sister!" The Princess vowed. "You and Spectra should stay and convince Discord of joining us, as well as dealing with these... saboteurs. But we must organize the military's response. Please do this, will you Tia?"

Reluctantly, Celestia nodded to her younger sister. "Very well, Luna. I trust you to keep yourself safe, and to do what needs to be done. Good luck to as well, General Forge, Captain Sentry!"

John and Flash saluted Celestia, while Luna nodded at her older sibling. "Until next we meet, sister." As the Princess trotted towards Captain Sentry, she paused to address Spectra Dash and Discord. "Please inform me of what you all discover with the captured SPARTAN's." She then turned to the Draconequus.

"I would like to see where your allegiances truly lie, Discord. We could use somepony as ancient and powerful as you to help us win the war." Discord gave her a half-amused, half confused look as she began conversing with Flash Sentry.

"Captain, assemble thine warriors and scour the palace for our attackers, Thou shalt endeavor to capture as many alive as possible, we need to ascertain thine identities!"

Sentry nodded to Luna. Forge had his own plans as well. "Princess, if I may, I'd like to go get Alice, Jerome, and Douglas so we can hunt down the Covenant defector leader."

"Nay, loyal General! We shall go after Kusovai ourselves. We require thou to gather the Army and Imperial Guard police forces in Canterlot to secure the Ministry HQ's. We shall command the SPARTAN's against the treacherous worm!"

Sensing Luna's urgency, Forge did not feel the need to argue. In addition, John now had the opportunity to make sure the Minister of Technology was unharmed.

"As you wish your Highness. I'll make sure the citizens are safe and the capital free of Covenant and Insurrectionist trash. Lockdown is my specialty, after all." He declared with a raise of an eyebrow.

"T'is settled then! We split up!"

Saluting each other, the three military leaders wordlessly broke apart and headed quickly towards their destinations with ever mounting speed and anxiousness.

They took one third of the guards with them, and all the police troopers. What remained in the throne room was arguably the most elite fighting force in the Empire outside of the Military that were not Spartans, IBI Black-Ops, or Imperial Guard SWAT teams.

Discord caught the Empress' attention, who was still wide-eyed in shock from the sudden outbreak of violence.

"My Dear Celestia, just what is this war I'm hearing so much about. You know I take particular interest in conflicts! Does it involve the Sangheili gentleman I spied earlier." He inquired, raising an eyebrow.

The monarch took a deep breath, and nodded at her older sibling. "I'm afraid so. Spectra and I shall update you, then we need to deal with your 'rescuers' here, and figure out what we're going to do with you. That third task, depends on what you are about to say in the next fifteen minutes, Discord."

Discord rubbed his talon and paw together in anticipation. "Splendid, splendid! Do fill me in on this war of yours, I'm positively dying to learn more!"

Spectra rolled his eyes. Only a deranged being such as Discord would be excited in a predicament such as now.

Startlingly, more gunshots rang out from a nearby tower of the palace. The guards reacted instantaneously, forming up around the Empress, rifles and pistols at the ready, and melee weapons within reach.

Outside the throne room, numerous courtiers and guards were in a frenzy, trying to figure out what was going on, or get to cover. Their shouts issued from all over the palace.

Dash stiffened his posture, and opened his wings, directing them at the doors. "Guards, we must be prepared to defend Her Imperial Majesty with our lives!"

The Royal Guards did not have to be told twice. The ones nearest Celestia formed a living barrier around the monarch, who looked at each of them in worry. Then, her magenta eyes fell upon the ancient pegasus over their shoulders.

"Spectra, what do you recommend I do with the SPARTAN's? And I'm more than capable of looking after myself, Archon!"

He turned towards the power-armored humans with surprise. He had failed to even consider them. An idea quickly sparked in his mind.

"Since they already seem to know the layout of Canterlot well enough to vandalize more-than-important statuary and get out almost unnoticed, I say we should force them to link up with General Forge and aide him in securing our fair city."

Celestia was about to politely inform him of how ludicrous his idea sounded, until she realized they had already done the most damage they could, the Draconequus now gazing at them expectantly was proof of that.

Simply nodding, the Empress turned her eyes once more to her old nemesis from centuries past.

"Discord, what is it you wish to do? We, or I at least, am willing to offer you the hand of friendship, at least for now, if you're willing to support us with your power. "

Discord grinned at the monarch mischievously. "Oh, alright, I'll work with your little 'Empire'. I don't see the harm in it. But on one condition."

Celestia's body tensed up like it had when she first heard his voice mere minutes ago.

"You will inform me of the war. Every single, chaotic, messy little detail you know. I want to hear about it, so that I'm certain what I'm getting into is well worth my... This Draconequus' time!" He was now grinning to them, causing the already impossibly tense guards to tense up even more.

"Very well, I shall..." Before Celestia could respond, surprisingly a guard cut her off.

"Empress, your Holiness! Surely you don't intend to trust this... this demon even for a second?!" The young man demanded incredulously. Discord grinned in the face of the youth's harsh name calling.

Within the time between a heartbeat, and the blink of an eye, an older guard, another human, retaliated. He brought his pistol handle lightly, but full of malice, down on the younger one's helmet.

"Blasphemy!" He hissed as the other guard rubbed at his head. "We Guards obey our Empress without question!"

Celestia admonished the both of them strictly. "Quiet, please gentleman! We are under attack, and I will not permit squabbling of any kind among my little humans, or any of us! Is that understood?"

As quickly as he had struck the other guard, the older man put a fist to his chest and bowed. "My deepest apologies, your Highness."

Satisfied, the Empress returned her attention to Discord. "I shall tell you everything that we know as is relevant to the Human-Covenant war, a name I am fearful is very soon to be changed."

Equally satisfied, the Draconequus snickered. "We've got a deal then."

Canterlot Imperial Palace

Observatory Balcony

Toyah Kusovai, supposed leader of the Covenant who defected from the Divine Crusader, chuckled his most vile chuckle yet. He had it quite refined for occasions such as this.

The Elite approached the balcony, stepping over the corpses of the human and pony guards he had slain mercilessly with his energy blade. The fools had not even seen him coming with his active camouflage.

Activating the slipspace communications device installed in a wrist mount on his armor, he projected a hologram onto the balcony floor.

The image developed until it formed into the shape of the Prophet of Regret, or Lod Mron, as he was known only to family and fellow Hierarchs.

The young Prophet fidgeted in his gravity throne impatiently. "What is the status of our little... espionage endeavor, Councilor Kusovai?"

Grinning triumphantly at his leader, the Elite zealot replied.

"You may rest easy, noble Prophet of Regret. For the charade need no longer be maintained. We have succeeded in sowing the seeds of disunity in their empire. Within months, they shall be too politically weakened to be a threat to us."

Regret smirked at that. "This information is most appetizing, as ever Councilor. A venerable feast it all is. Have you also ensured the artifacts, these so called, 'Elements of Harmony', have been supplied to the proper hands?" He clasped his hands together for emphasis.

Kusovai chuckled once more. "Indeed. It has been hidden right under the Equestrian's noses. By the time they discover who has them, it will already be too late for their government to take action."

"That is music to me, Councilor. You have fulfilled your duty to the Covenant on this world. You are to leave this system undetected, and return to us."

"Your excellency, have the other Hierarchs been informed of our cooperation?"

Like lightning, the Prophet's smirk turned into a deadly sneer. "Blasphemy! Neither the other Hierarchs, nor the High Council, are to know anything of our doings here! It is for the greater good of the Covenant. So long as you continue to obey without question, your place on the Path, is secured, Councilor Kusovai."

Toyah bowed his head, and put his fist to his heart. "My apologies, holy one. I meant no offense."

"I do hope to see you on High Charity soon for further discussions." The Prophet of Regret declared, before vanishing from view.

Still grinning, Kusovai activated a second device, one he held in his left hand. It sent out a beacon to the pelican his brothers-in-arms had stolen. As he waited, he was greeted by company, important company.

Now shaking with rage, the Crown Princess of Equestria, flanked by the Empire's lone three SPARTAN II's, respectfully stepped around the bodies of the slain defenders of the imperial throne.

"Kusovai, thou will pay for everything you and your Covenant have done! Face us now, so that we may offer to you the true might of AN ALICORN'S WRATH!"

Kusovai laughed deeply at them, and charged his energy sword. "Wrath you say? Very well then heretic. You, who fell so easily for my machinations. Now, you shall likewise fall before my blade."

Luna and company's response was the charging of a horn, the drawing of twin M7 SMG's, a click of a sniper rifle magazine, and the purring sound of a Vulcan chain gun's triple barrels of cold hard, lead-inducing hurt.

"Your Demons will not be enough to save you, equine." The zealot sneered.

In moments, the awaited enemy-controlled VTOL appeared. Six elite zealot warriors piled out of the troop bay, wielding energy swords and plasma rifles. They landed in perfect formation at either of Kusovai's sides.

With growls of malice, the seven elites charged at the Princess of the Night and her Spartan comrades.

Luna met their defiance with an almighty cry of her own, casting an attack spell straight at the Sangheili leader. Kusovai sidestepped the killing beam of energy as it disintegrated the elite manning the Pelican's troop bay turret.

Toyah went straight for the Princess as Alice, Jerome, and Douglass made short work of his compatriots.

Alice singlehandedly cut two slower zealots down with the Vulcan, then turned her fire on the Pelican. "War is Hell, and I'm the devil!" She shouted. Purple blood flowed at her boots from her felled opponents.

Douglass fired a single armor-piercing round into another's head, and took a second's shields out of commission.

In a flurry of acrobatics, Jerome emptied his entire two M7 clips into the zealot in front of him, and ducked from his comrade's blade stroke. Using the corpse as a battering ram, Jerome knocked the other zealot down hard. Then, picking up a slain guard's spear, he ran it straight into the bastard's head, the alien's shield doing nothing to save him.

The now unshielded zealot growled and charged his energy sword, making a lunge at Douglass. Jerome passed him an Imperial energy halberd, which the sniper summarily shoved straight through the swordsman's chest.

Using his augmented strength, the Douglass lifted the fully grown Sangheili, and with a loud cry of effort, tossed his struggling opponent straight over into the waiting embrace of the cobblestone street, several hundred feet below. Only Toyah Kusovai remained.

Just as the Spartans had decimated his brothers, Kusovai had fought a hellish one forty-five second spar against the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Military. Assuming the alicorn was unable to dodge properly, he cut at her with a downward stroke of his blade.

Luna was expecting this from her brief encounter aboard the Divine Crusader. The warrior princess swiftly flared her wings, and augmented them with a shield spell. This resulted in her wings effectively acting as ablative armor plating. The super-heated plasma blade slid harmlessly off the shield matrix like a feather, generating crackles of energy as it went.

Kusovai hesitated in shock. This brief second of pause was all the time Luna needed. In another swift motion, she dissolved the shield, forcing the large elite away, staggering backwards. Exploiting the precious seconds given to her, Luna fired another destruction spell.

It hit Kusovai, but only in the abdomen. Her aim had been throne off by Douglass inadvertently as he sent his last opponent over the edge of the balcony with the energized halberd.

Luna's nemesis groaned deeply in pain as he gripped his now badly burned mid section. He still had one free hand, however, to draw a plasma grenade from his combat harness. The explosive lit up and stuck to the ground a mere two feet from where the Princess stood.

She widened her eyes as her shield ignited back to life. The spell saved her and the Spartans from potentially life-threatening injuries as the swirling maelstrom of super-hot antimatter fire consumed the area around the shield.

When Luna had finally lowered the shield, her quarry had already limped his way back to safety aboard the pelican, which was by now well away from the Palace.

The Princess' roar could be heard clearly all the way from Ponyville to Cloudsdale.

Back onboard the stolen Imperial dropship, Kusovai clutched at his wounded side, and urged the pilots to hurry.

"Quickly, get us into orbit and to the vessel our co-conspirators have secured for us! We must shrug off any potential pursuers, and I wish to be back on High Charity by tomorrow!"

"What of the other Covenant we are leaving behind?" One of the other Sangheili inquired.

"Leave them, and forget it for now. I trust they shall keep the Imperial Equestrian whelps occupied for many a day!" Kusovai then looked to a large, non-Elite figure in the seat next to him.

"Your government's decision to align with us is wise. No enemy has ever withstood the Covenant's might. Great, shall be your rewards."

"Meh, I already get plenty of rewards. It's the dealing of punishment to uncool weaklings who deserve it, that I adore."

Grinning in spite of the pain he was in, Toyah replied and offered his free hand to them. "To a beneficial relationship then." He stated.

"Whatever."

The figure took his hand in their talon, and they shook in agreement. The troop bay of the ill-gotten aircraft closed, as distant gunfire erupted across the capital of the Empire

The pelican eventually reached a waiting ship in low orbit. It was a small, unassuming civilian freighter, awaiting to smuggle the elites off of Planet Equis.

Downtown Canterlot

Meanwhile, in the city, the battle to secure the capital from any and all insurgents had only just begun.

Atop the front ornate marble facade of the Imperial Bureau of Intelligence headquarters building, prominently blotting out the Bureau seal logo beneath it, was a message scrawled in magically glowing letters.

WE ARE THE NEW SOVEREIGNTY.

WE ARE GREAT AND POWERFUL,

AND NOW EQUESTRIA SHALL

HEAR AND KNOW THE TRUTH.

EXPECT US.

Accompanying the words, was a large symbol shining in the backdrop of the letters. It was a stylized wand waving what appeared to be a cloud of luminescent pixie dust.

General Forge, accompanied now by the Bureau of Intelligence Director, and dozens of Imperial Guard Troopers, Bureau agents, and Army soldiers, peered at this desecration of Imperial Authority in total silence.

The Director, a brown-haired man in his early forties and of average but sturdy build, sighed quietly to himself.

In contrast to Forge and his combat armor, The Director was garbed in an old fashioned get-up consisting of an elegant jet-black leather trench coat, a business suit, and a matte-black fedora.

The neck of the coat was high, and combined with the Fedora, cast a shadow that concealed the majority of the Director's facial features. His lapel, cuffs, and fedora brim bore patches that depicted the Imperial Sun Banner. All of his agents, both pony and human, were garbed in a similar antiquated fashion.

Bringing a hand up to his trimmed goatee, he finally spoke, breaking the silence of the street side.

"They're holed up in there. If we're gonna clean up this city General, we're gonna have to start by clearing out ma Bureau of these... Insurrectionists." He said, with an accent that sounded like an odd hybrid of Applejack's rural drawl, and Rarity's aristocratic eloquence.

Forge folded his arms, a favorite gesture of his, and gazed at the Director. "Don't worry, Director. Like I told the Empress, lockdown is my specialty. None of these pricks are getting out of any of the Ministry facilities, except either in chains, or a body bag."

The Director nodded affirmatively, apparently pleased by this. "Don't go breaking any of our toys in their now, Gentlecolts. The IBI respects precision and careful discretion above all other things"

At that, the mysterious man joined his fellow agents at the temporary command post set up in a nearby store front.

The General watched him go, before his attention was drawn in the other direction when a crisp, professional voice addressed him.

"General Forge sir? We have been instructed to assist you in defending the city, while your Empress takes time to manage the crisis and figure out what to do with us."

Forge turned around to face the newcomers, and was greeted by an interesting sight. He raised a brow as he replied to them.

"And who might you be, soldiers?"

"Sir? Spartans B312 and B313 reporting for Counter-Insurrection Duty, sir!"