Author's Note

I just want to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry I took so long to update this. sorry for letting you guys down. If you can forgive me, thank you. If not, just accept my apology.

Thank You

Catch the Disease!

"So here's how we play." Six said, setting the ball in between the teams he made. "Your objective is to get the ball into the enemy's goal. Simple as that." He glanced between Twilight and Rainbow. "No magic or flying. If you get touched, go back to your goal to respawn."

"This is just like hoofball." Rainbow said.

"Well, what we usually did is beat each other with gravity hammers and swords, but that would kill you so... yeah... Alright! To your positions!"

The ponies split into the groups he set up.

Team 1:Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy.

Team 2: Twilight, Pinkie, and Rainbow.

This is gonna be good...

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The two groups went to their sides, as Six walk into the middle and set the ball down.

"Alright, so on my mark, go at it." The Spartan held out his arm with three fingers out. With each pump of his arm, a finger disappeared, until.... "Mark!"

And the ponies went at it, tackling and laughing with enjoyment.

Or, that's what would have happened...

"Mark!" Six yelled, but no one moved, as the ground started to shake. They all looked up as a large shadow passed over them. All the mares had open mouths and dinner plate eyes as two phantoms were flying, or crashing, over head. The purple ships crashed through a part of the castle, and still continued towards a forest.

"What was that?!" the elements yelled in unison.

"Shit, that's not good..."

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"Luna! Luna! Damn it, where are you?!" Six was frantic to find the mare of the moon. He was going to go after the phantoms, but he needed his armor. After rounding a corner, the seven pushed open the doors to the throne room, where Luna stood looking over the damage. She turned around to the sound of the grand doors that we not damaged, opening.

"Six, what was that?" she said in an exceptional calm voice considering what just happened.

"Those were phantoms, possibly caring very dangerous covenant forces."

"Princess! How can you be calm at a time like this?!" Twilight exclaimed. Luna's reply was in a scream, while using the Canterlot voice. Needless to say, it hurt.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! WHAT DO I DO WHAT DO I DO?!"

"Luna!" Six yelled, while running over, and put his hand over her muzzle, silencing her. "I can handle this. The ships didn't crash that far from Canterlot. Just get me my armor." He looked deep into her eyes and gave the best comforting smile he could muster. Good thing it worked, or his ear drums may have burst from another scream.

"Okay, okay..." Luna took a deep breath, while her horn lit up. A second later, Six's armor appeared next to him, encompassed in a blue glow. "Stand back with your arms out please." He did just so. Luna started putting his armor back the way she took it off, starting with his feet, and working up. Six couldn't help but smile. He felt like his favorite superhero, Iron man, the way he was suiting up. After about a minute, Six put his helmet on, his HUD lighting up. Running a standard system check, the shields charged up, signaling everything was placed properly.

"Good, everything is workin'. I'll be back in a few."

"We're coming with you." Twilight said.

"No. I'm not having you see things you don't understand. You could get seriously hurt or worse." Twilight opened her mouth to argue but Six beat her to it. "Not open for debate."

"You can't stop us. I'll just teleport us to you." Six sighed, his hand meeting his visor. He couldn't stop them. Plus, they know the land and could navigate it better than he could.

"Fine, but if you so much as breath without my say so, I'll personally kick you back here. Got it?" They all nodded. "Good."

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"So what other creatures live in the Everfree forest?"

"Well, after manticores, minotares, and hydras, anything else is fictonal."

"Like slendermare." Rainbow eged. She smirked, gaining reaction out of Fluttershy and Rarity.

"Rainbow there is no such thing."

"Even if there was, old Sparty would get her." Pinkie interjected.

"Yeah, but from what you told me..." Six stopped, an unotified red dot appearing. He had taken strands of the mares' manes and scanned the DNA from each strand and instaled it as friendly in his HUD. Six motioned for the girls to head to the thick brush while he pulled his energy sword out. The trees were thick, so solar power might be a problem, but it was one problem that was away from the Spartan's mind as the red dot aproached. Large rustling and roaring could be heard. But it suddnly stopped. No noise, no movement. Then, all of a sudden, a ferocius roar was heard as, what Six believed because of how the girls described it, a manticore jumped from the foleage.

Six heard the girls wimper behind him as he stood there, the two having a stare down. Yet, a yellow dot moving behind him caught his attention.

"Girls!" he wispered. "Stay back!" but he was defied as a yellow peguses walked up to the manticore. Six couldn't tell, but the other five were just as shocked when they first saw Fluttershy do this.

"It's okay..." she said, to sweetly for the situation. "They're really nice." But that statment was countered as the beast raised its right arm, claws extended, to end Fluttershy with her back turned. Six had to move fast.

Turning around, the yellow animal lover saw what horror she put herself in, and her body showed it. She closed her eyes with a shriek, waiting for the impending impact to hit. But it never did. She popped open one eye, then both with a gasp at the sight that was before her.

Six moved fast. Before the manticore brought its claws down Six was already in front of Fluttershy. He stood still as the creature sunk its knife like claws into the spartan's left arm. Yet what Six felt, was no where near what the manticore was going to feel. When he was running up to Fluttershy, Six swapped his sword for an infamous blue ball he kept. When the creature roared, because Six contracted his muscles in his arm to hold the beast, Six shoved the plasma grenade into its mouth. Pressing the green button, Six stuck the grenade to what he belives was the begining of the creatures stomach, and pulled his arm out. With his hand free of the blue death bringer, he gave a wicked right hook to the beast, causing it to fly through trees and thorn bushes for so far, the last thing they heard was the explosion.

"What the fuck was that Fluttershy?!" Six unleashed, but instantly regreted when his reply was a wimper. "Look" he sighed "I know you love animals, and the first time you delt with that creature, it ended well, but you can't judge things from what happened first. I mean, if you did, would you girls trust and talk to me like you do?" They shook thier heads, no pony finding words for the situation. The silence was good for a few moments but they had to keep moving. "Come on." Six said, as he picked Fluttershy up just like you would a puppy. After a quick jog, the seven came up to the crash site. Bits and pieces were scattered about, with elites and grunts sorting threw the wreckage.

"So thats what the aliens look like...." Twilight half stared, half gawked. "Fasinating..."

Six was paying her no mind as he over viewed the hostiles. Nothing he couldn't handle, as long as he was stealthy about it. Yet a group of three elites caught his attention.

Wait a minute.......... Three.....Zealot class. Are the looking for something? Six prossesed what this ment, but came to the conclusion that he neededx answers. He turned around to the six waiting mares. "Okay here is what's gonna happen. I'm going to circle the wreckage, taking out any hostiles. When I take them out, Twilight, I ned you to use your magic to pull them out of sight. Alright?" Nods all around. "Good. Stay quiet, and keep hidden."

Six started circling, thinking of where to start next. He decided a lone grunt was first. Not an important target, and easy to miss. Picking up a rock, he chucked it at the things head. it flopped to the floor, with a grunts and elites laughing at it. It yelled something, and stormed off towards where the rock was thrown. reaching the tree line edge, it piered in, and saw a gold visor. Before anything else happened, Six stabbed the grunt in the head, and pulled the coarpse into the bushes. Looking back out, a minor elite heard the rustling, and moved to investigate. Upon entering the foliage, he saw the body, but before he could say anything, the split jaw felt something climb his back, as Six stabbed it in the head. Two down, few more to go.

As Six was killing the not so innocent creatures, something was eating at his gut: the amount of hostiles were no where near what could fit into the two phantoms. But he pushed this problem aside to face a new one. The Zealots had grown weary of his actions and stated to roam. The problem was that now, they were staying close to fire from the wreck so anything coming towards them they could see. Unless that thing had active camoflauge. Sneaking up to the first zealot, Six thought of how he should kill it quickly, and an idea came to mind. Running up the elites back, Six reached over, grabbed the two mandibles, and pulled, effectively snapping the elite's neck. He watched as the body was wisked away by Twilight's magic. Walking up to the next one, Six cut a tendont inits right leg, and brought the knife up and into its head. However, now came a problem, where was the leader? Six was answered as he felt something fall on top of him and pin him. He knew what came next. The gauntlet sword pierced his helmet...

Or, thats what would have happened...

"GET OFF OF HIM!" Rainbow yelled, as Six felt the wieght instantly move. Getting up, he jabbed his knife into the Field Marshals knee, and kicked the elite across the head. Reaching down, the spartan striped the gauntlets off and held his sword to the elites chest.

"You will answer my questions, or die very painfully. Your choice." Six said in sanghillian. The elite just stared at him, defingly. "Okay..." Six kicked the knife, making it twist into the elites leg.

"What ......do you want to know?"

"How do you know about this places?" The elite laughed, resulting in another kick.

"I should ask you that. This place is protected by the gods' shield. When we intercepted a demon distress signal, we couldn't let you taint this land."

"I sent out no signal. No vessle, UNSC or covanent, were here. This is unexplored territory called the 'celestial plains'?"

"We did, but the distress signal was coded, and repeating armor malfuction."

"What? Armor, show last transmision."

"Directive confirmed. Last transmistion sent at 12 May 0900. Message sent Automaticly. Reason: Armor Tamporing."

"Wait a minute..." Six put 2 and 2 together. When Luna was attempting to take off his armor, the sensor tripped because it wasn't mechanical. Yet attention was grabbed away as another red dot, an ultra, yelled and fired. Swiftly, Six reached down, grabbed a sticky, and chucked it at the elite, sticking it right in the face. A few seconds of yelling and the ultra was dead. But a few seconds was all the zealot needed.

Grabbing the knife lodged in his knee, he stabbed the spartan in his side. Pain shot threw Six as he grabbed his side, and watched as the zealot ran away, Six started moving towards as a rainbow blur shot past him.

"Get back here!"

"Rainbow, NO!" Six shouted trying to stop her, but failed. She wasn't trained, and it showed.

The elite turned, still holding the knife, waiting for the pony. The moment she got close, the zealot lifted her arms and stabbed her.

"RAINBOW!