Dimensional Chaos: Evil Rising

Chapters

Chapter 1: The Arrival
Chapter 2: Debrief with Bad News
Chapter 3: The Unity Within
Update

Chapter 1: The Arrival

He was Captain Lasky, commanding officer of the UNSC mightiest starship. Now..... he was the man who presided over the greatest defeat in human history. He looked around him. In the bridge of his ship.... it was chaos. Metal shards and loose wires hung everywhere..... his comms officer lay dead at his station. He had a casualty report of 60% on the datapad in his hands..... 60% of the massive fleet he had been given command of. Outside..... repair ships were desperately working on repairing what was left of the UNSC's and House Vadam's task forces. Lasky sighed.

At first.... it was thought to be a resurgent Covenant.... but even the Covenant were having problems. Their own forward bases had been decimated, human colonies had gone completely dark..... and it was because of a fleet of seemingly indestructible dreadnoughts..... and according to this report..... they were sentient starships of all things.

Only one good thing had come from all of this: the success of two legendary squads of soldiers. One was perhaps one of the greatest Spartan Fireteams in existence: Fireteam Majestic. The other.... well they weren't exactly human.... or even Covenant. Aurora Squad, Equestria's finest, most elite soldiers, had volunteered to assist the UNSC in answering a new threat.

Aurora Squad had brought back the intel. Lasky chuckled when he remembered seeing that squad for the first time. He had been skeptical at first.

The first of the pony soldiers had been a UNICORN of all things. Magelight, expert in offensive magic, defensive magic, and demolitions. He had a bit of a country spirit. As strange as his species was, this guy really knew how to fight. Strong, stubborn, and competitive, but honest to a frightening degree and skilled in his fields without doubt. He could provide a Magic Bombardment or Magika Shield in the blink of an eye and often bring down any standing structure within 30 seconds or less. You don't mess with this guy or his squad unless you wanna become a puddle of blood and guts.

The second was Blackstar. He was an Earth Pony, and he had frightening skills as a deadeye sniper and stealth infiltrator. However, off the battlefield, he was often the party freak, as posed by his attitude even during briefing. His stealth skills often.... had him seeming close to breaking the 4th wall..... though everyone knew he couldn't, cameras always had him pegged if he wasn't careful, at least until after the UNSC's enhanced stealth course. Lasky chuckled when he remembered that Blackstar also had a sense of humor and always knew what to say to make everyone in the room laugh.

Then there was Tyro. Unicorn, Tech Support specialist and Cyberwarfare expert. He often used armor abilities, creating elements on the battlefield that supported his team, be that regen fields, bubble shields, auto-sentries, or mines. His hacking abilities were legend, even managing to crack the greatest firewalls that Roland could put up just for practice. Damn that pony was good. Despite the danger that he was to his enemies, he was sophisticated and often treated most non-combat situations as a formal event. He was a generous guy, often lending the kind of support others failed to give and providing gifts to his fellow soldiers. He was also, interestingly enough, skilled in armor development, creating aesthetically pleasing yet highly functional sets of armor equipped with the latest and greatest in technology. He had a field day when he was given access to UNSC armor tech. Honest to god, you would have thought he was gay for a minute with the giddy giggle he let out.... which in turn earned a smartass joke from Blackstar that made Tyro huff in indignation. Damn that one made Lasky laugh.

Next was Firestorm. Pegasus, Heavy Weapons specialist, and Logistical expert. He often provided the best in suppressive fire, mortar bombardments, and logistical analysis of enemy supply lines right down to a frighteningly accurate degree. He was also fast.... VERY fast. Competitive too. However, his loyalty to his squad was always paramount. When he received an order, he followed it and did it well too. Plus, he was always there to pull fellow soldiers out of a hotspot. It was likely because of him that casualties were only 60%, not 65 or 70. He was unreal. His armor also provided him with the ability to achieve controlled flight in the vacuum of space thanks to micro-thruster technology.... although it wasn't recommended he try entering or exiting a planet's atmosphere with the suit alone.

Then there was Pureheart. Also a Pegasus, he was the team's Medical and Psychological specialist. In combat, he was a deadly force. In the medbay or triage tent, he was the greatest medic in the field. In the interrogation room, he was a beastly monster that every enemy of the UNSC, House Vadam, or Equestria HATED. Off the battlefield though.... he was sensitive.... regretful of the horrible things he's had to do though aware of how necessary they were. He often made up for these things through his kindness to others off the field or in the medbay. He often gave the best in treatment and his patients often left with a smile and renewed confidence. He had his work cut out for him today.....

Finally, there was the squad's leader. And surprisingly, one of the highest ranking members of Equestria's Paladin Guard. He was a Commander to be precise. Gunnarmain Steelhoof, Tactical and Strategic Mastermind, Inventor, and (thanks to lessons from his wife) a budding prodigy of magic that could flay a man alive with his mind. As Squad Leader, he was the one in charge of ensuring Aurora Squad's safety and success. It was his actions that had brought in the intel they needed..... five hours ago.

---Five Hours Prior---

"GO GO GO!!! GET IN THERE!!!" As Gunnar yelled to his squad, red bolts of deadly energy flew their way. He used his magic to hold open a door that had been impeding their progress.... and he was straining.

Pureheart looked at the Commander with concern. "Sir.... you alright!?"

"DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME! JUST GET IN THERE AND WATCH TYRO'S BACK! WE NEED THAT DATA!" Gunnar yelled at him.

Pureheart nodded and galloped through the door. The only thing that had been blocking the enemy from killing Gunnar as he held the door was a bubble shield that Tyro had left behind reinforced by a magika shield held up by Magelight. "Sir we need to get back to cover NOW," Mage yelled at him.

"YEAH I GET THAT! LAST ONE IS THROUGH, DROPPING THE DOOR!" Gunnar let his magic ease and the door slammed shut with a loud clang. He was surprised that these dreadnoughts had doors.... or that they were even able to get aboard. Good thing Tyro is "A master of his craft" as he claims to be. Hacking a ship computer that was apparently alive can't have been easy. Gunnar and Magelight took positions at the nearby cover, their mag-boots clanking against the metal plating. Gunnar looked over to see a large number of bulbous humanoids aiming their weapons in the stallions' direction. "Damn..... that's a whole lot of tangos....."

Magelight scoffed, "We can take 'em. No bucking alien beast is takin my buddies from me."

Gunnar smirked, "Let's just keep these bastards out of the core room till Tyro and the others can get us that data. He said five minutes right?"

Magelight raised an eyebrow: "Yeah... he did."

Gunnar chuckled. "Let's give him ten. LIGHT EM UP!"

Mage and Gunnar broke cover and raised their weapons, initiating a plasma bombardment unlike any other. The creatures were quick to go down, ever plasma bolt finding its mark in the mass of hybrid cyborg aliens.

The radio crackled to life and Tyro's voice was heard. "Hey guys, this thing is dumber than it looks or it took some form of damage before it got here. Either way, I'm already downloading the data and there is a huge bunch of it. Footage, recorded info, data intercepts, everything. We'll be coming out in three minutes. Have the limo ready."

Gunnar laughed, "You're smarter than you look jackass!" He fired another round and three of the aliens went down in a domino effect.

He could hear the smirk in Tyro's voice. "Now now, no need for vulgarity. Can't have a little finesse on these missions?"

Gunnar shook his head with a grin on his face as he took cover again to reload. "Tyro, there isn't much room for finesse on these ships. Save it for the Canterlot Ballrooms will ya?"

Tyro laughed. "Roger that Commander. Tyro out."

Magelight grinned at Gunnar: "Time for a little surprise."

Gunnar nodded at him in response, "Do it."

Magelight and Gunnar turned and fired a bombardment of kinetic energy with their magic. Blasting cybernetic aliens back and forth all over the place. Some of them became bloody, pulpy, wiry puddles.

For three minutes, the two sides traded fire. Then, the radio came to life. Shadow Stalker's voice was heard. "You know maybe those aliens should look up every once in a while. It would save em alot of trouble." a lot of laughter was heard from the rest of the squad as a pair of grenades fell down into the mix of alien hostiles...... BOOM!!!! Bodies flew everywhere.

Gunnar snickered, "Shadow, you smartass."

Magelight could only grin.

"Tyro here. We're coming out. Could you get the door for us good sir?"

Gunnar rolled his eyes and concentrated his magic on the door, forcing it open while disrupting the magnetic locks. As soon as it opened, the dark blue Unicorn, Tyro and the golden yellow pegasus, Pureheart rushed through, followed by a black pegasus in equally black angular body armor that unleashed a hail of plasma on the remainder of the aliens with a pair of shoulder mounted Ravager Plasma Gatling guns.

Mage depolarized his visor to show his red-furred face and his grin. "Firestorm you showoff."

Firestorm grinned back at him. "Just savin' the day pal."

Gunnar rolled his eyes. "Come on guys, back to the Pelican! Mage, get that team shield up. Shadow, meet us at the landing site."

Shadow's smirk could be heard in his voice, "I'm already there. Man you guys are slowpokes. Oh and DeMarco says hi."

Gunnar grinned and took the lead, "Come on you maniacs."

They fell in line. Mage brought his shield up while Tyro kept dropping mines. Plasma fire continued to be directed at the enemy by Gunnar, Firestorm, and Pureheart. Soon the exit hatch was in sight, with the rear-port engine nacelle of the Pelican they had attached to the hull under the large dreadnaught's shields visible on the other side. Gunnar stopped at the hatch and put up his own magic shield, ushering his team through. Mage added to the shield's strength.

A blue armored, humanoid figure appeared at the door and held up what Gunnar recognized as a UNSC MA5D Assault Rifle. "COVERING FIRE!" It yelled with a voice Gunnar recognized as belonging to one Carlo Hoya. The bullets flew at the alien creatures, bombarding them with devastating HEAP rifle rounds. A lot of meat and tubes fell to the "floor" or floated off into the alien ship.

Gunnar smirked and gave a thankful nod to Hoya. Aurora and Majestic retreated to the Pelican as Tyro used his expertise to slam the hatch in the enemy's face so to speak. They boarded the Pelican, and DeMarco was waiting for em. When the hatch closed and the cabin pressurized, he took off his helmet to reveal a saddened grimace. "Tyro, Thorne, get us out of her."

"Aye sir," Gabriel Thorne called back. He began piloting the Pelican away from the ship and Tyro used his hacking abilities one more time to open a hole in the enemy shields for em and make em invisible to enemy sensors more or less. They still had to dodge a few GIANT RED LASERS! along the way but Thorne was a damn good pilot. The Infinity was waiting for em.

Infinity seemed to have been taking a beating. When she entered Slipspace IMMEDIATELY after the Pelican entered the hangar.... Gunnar knew something was wrong. The op hadn't been flawless after all....

DeMarco looked at him sadly. "The Captain wants us all in the debriefing room..... six hours....."

Gunnar nodded in understanding.... and a lot of smiles vanished in that moment....

Chapter 2: Debrief with Bad News

---Briefing room, 6 hours after hostile engagement---

Gunnar and his squad entered the debriefing room, all of them wearing uncertain looks on their faces. Fireteam Majestic followed them in.

Lasky turned to them when they entered. "Thank you for coming.... please take a seat."

The teams took their places in the briefing room. Bridge officers and other leading figures aboard the Infinity were also in attendance. Gunnar took that as a very bad sign.

Lasky scanned the room carefully before beginning. "Now, as you all know, we have recently made first contact that has been decimating both Covenant and UNSC forces along all fronts. Today was our first run-in with the bastards..... I don't intend to let it be the last."

Shadow chuckled halfheartedly and whispered to the rest of the team, "Well so much for a break...."

It earned a few smirks at least.

Lasky continued. "Now, unfortunately, the data we've received is.... less than comforting. Roland's decryption earned results just a few minutes ago and brought us some disturbing information. The path these guys have apparently planned confirms our predictions to be accurate. They are heading towards Equinia."

This resulted in murmurs of horror and disbelief throughout the room. Gunnar among the fearful. If that's where these guys were headed.... Twilight and his son Starshine were in danger.... not to mention all of their friends. Yes, Discord included.

Lasky frowned at the reactions and continued on. "We predict that they will arrive within maybe two months. Their FTL travel capabilities are surprisingly slower than ours thankfully, and apparently don't agree too well with the Slipspace activity that has constantly shifted the natural balance of this galaxy. This gives us time to warn our allies and prepare a defense. Unfortunately, Equestria is still recovering from a recent attack. Recon satellites and observation probes we had left behind transmitted disturbing data to us recently. The country was attacked by a demonic entity known as "Lord Tirek." We were unable to respond due to being stretched too thin and the data came in late. We only just received confirmation that the situation was resolved by the power of, guess who."

Gunnar smirked. "Lemme guess, the Elements of Harmony?"

Lasky grinned ear to ear. "It seems they haven't lost their touch. Even after having their abilities ABSORBED of all things by this Tirek, they were still able to harness another power to defeat and banish him, while restoring magic to those Tirek had stolen from. It was quite a national success if you ask me and proof of their power.... oh and it would seem to be unwise to anger Princess Twilight. She is apparently capable of wielding power substantial enough to down a CCS Battle Cruiser according to the power readings sent by the satellites."

Gunnar shook his head, grinning and chuckling. "Oh Twilight, you never cease to amaze."

Magelight elbowed him, smirking. "Playcolt."

"Shut it, she's my wife," Gunnar retorted, shooting a glare at Mage.

The squad still all snickered however.

Lasky cleared his throat and continued. "Well, we already sent a message via the comm system we left for the Princesses and they are now aware of the threat. We sent all the data we could. Holographic images, measurements, power estimations, everything. The UNSC Admiralty Board are already responding, calling this an 'Alpha level threat.' They're sending substantial reinforcements. Among them are at least twenty five Marathon Class Cruisers."

Paul let out a long, low whistle. "You gotta be kidding me. These things are that much of a threat?"

Lasky nodded in response. "They decimated at least fifty seven different Covenant forward bases each within the span of either a few seconds or minutes. Reports of entire UNSC colonies disappearing along their route also says it all.... not to mention the mess they leave behind. Casualty reports are staggering. We need to intercept and destroy these bastards before they reach Equinia or any of the major worlds like Reach. Multiple fleets are massing to respond to any attacks. House Vadam is also on full alert so expect reinforcements from them soon after encountering the bulk of the hostile force."

Thorne spoke up. "Do we have an ID on the hostiles?"

Lasky nodded again. "We do. Roland?"

The yellow hologram of a man in pilot's jacket and attire appeared on the holotable. "Thank you captain. Now, decryption of the data you guys acquired allowed us to get an ID on previous victims of these things. Surprisingly, these machines keep highly accurate records. Their previous encounters were against an alliance of Humans and other unknown species. These guys designated the hostile machines "Reapers." As far as we can tell.... they aren't even from our dimension. None of the other species, other than humans, is recognized from the decrypted records. Further analysis of the data also indicated that these machines operated in a cycle, harvesting all advanced civilizations every 50,000 years."

Hoya jolted back in surprise, uncrossing his arms. "Harvesting civilizations? What the hell is wrong with these things?"

Roland raised a hand to silence him. "It gets worse. These machines are sentient dreadnaughts capable of affecting the minds of most organics, converting intelligent organic beings to their cause. That little bit of information was acquired through a cross reference with one of the alien corpses you managed to recover. They are obviously a heavily genetically modified version of one of the resisting species in the "source" dimension. We can't get an ID on the species. Defining characteristics are their four eyes and carnivorous appearance prior to genetic modification. Yes we did find images among all the data. We're sorting through Terrabytes of information trying to catalog it all. They're keeping my access limited simply so I don't suffer early rampancy."

"Damn....." was all Paul could say breathlessly.

"It doesn't end there. Data acquired allowed us to identify the process these "Reapers" use to convert sentient beings. Their last victim cycle called it "Indoctrination." Apparently that was relevant enough for the Reapers to maintain a memory of it, and a very lightly encrypted memory of it at that. All we can get is an ID on them and their most defining abilities to wipe organic memories, convert organic minds, and rip starships in half. All further data is too heavily encrypted for me to crack without going into an early rampancy. We're leaving it to human and sangheili specialists and "dumb" AI's to get this one fully decrypted. Even then..... It'll take years to get it all unscrambled and cataloged."

Gunnar's jaw dropped both at the scale and the implications. Of course this had to hit them. Will they ever get a break. Still.... the question remained..... What exactly were these Reapers? What are their origins? How did they get here? What do they want? Those answers were obviously gonna be hard to get. The silent soldiers in the room were obviously all thinking along the exact same lines. This was gonna be a long fight......

Chapter 3: The Unity Within

---Ponyville, Equestria, Crystal Tree, 12 hours after hostile contact---

Equestria, land of magic, friendship, and beauty. This is the home of the Ponies of Equinia.

In a giant Crystal Tree, a certain young alicorn princess was awakening. Twilight sat up in her bed and stared out over the land from her bedroom window. After quite the stretch and the biggest yawn any mare could make, she smiled as she took in the beauty of her kingdom. She heard small snores, startling her out of her moment of bliss. When she turned to see what it was, she quietly giggled. Lying in his new, luxurious bed was none other than her number one assistant: The purple baby dragon Spike.

After another moment of taking in the glorious new day, Twilight stood and went to her bathroom. A million thoughts raced through her mind as the minutes passed by and she prepared for the day. She did the usual, brushed her mane, straightened out her feathers, brushed her teeth. No doubt her friends were on their way to enjoy breakfast with her today. She went downstairs..... to find a Paladin Guard waiting for her.

That got her thinking. These ponies with all their technology and firepower could have stood up to Tirek couldn't they? No..... Tirek had stolen their magic during his assault no doubt. Loss of magic meant loss of strength for a pony.... even the strength to wield the powerful.... and heavy..... armor and weapons of the Paladins. She shook it out of her mind. Such thoughts were irrelevant now.

She smiled at the Paladin. "Good morning," she greeted.

The Paladin smiled at her through his depolarized visor. "Good morning Princess. You slept well I trust?"

Twilight giggled a bit. "I did...." then she frowned a bit. 'I would have slept better if Gunnar were here....' she thought to herself.

The Paladin trooper noticed her frown. "Are you certain you are okay?"

Twilight smiled a bit again. "Yeah... just.... missing somepony right now.... I'll be fine."

The Paladin chuckled and nodded. "I understand. We all miss the Commander. However.... I don't think any of us miss him quite as much as you do. He will return. Have faith."

Twilight smiled. "Thanks. Oh I didn't catch your name."

The soldier smiled again and answered her indirect query. "Star Rider, at your service ma'am. Flight Combat and Recon Specialist."

Twilight giggled again. "A pleasure to meet you Star Rider. I'll talk to you later. I'm gonna go get breakfast ready before my friends get here."

Star Rider let out another chuckle. "No need ma'am. The chefs have that covered. Today is a day to relax anyway. You have no pending appointments."

Twilight beamed at that reminder. "GREAT! That gives me and my friends plenty of time to work our magic. Gotta keep the Magic of Friendship flowing."

The pegasus Paladin soldier couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Can't wait to see that rainbow again Princess. It's quite a spectacular sight. I'll let you know if anything requires your attention."

Twilight giggled once more and continued beaming at him. "Thanks Star Rider." She then turned and headed downstairs to the front lobby where she would meet her friends. A few royal guard were posted there to help maintain security..... that word suddenly had Twilight thinking about.... and missing.... the UNSC ships that patrolled the skies months ago.... providing Equestria with security and homes to the soldiers that brought even more companionship to the ponies of the land. Even the human colonists had been evacuated.... and she never knew why. She found herself missing the gentle thrum of starship engines high above.

Twilight suddenly heard a knock at the door and beamed again. She opened the door to find the most welcome sight of her five best friends beaming back at her. As always, Pinkie spoke first.

The bubbly mare bounced forward excitedly. "HI TWILIGHT! So what's for breakfast today huh!?"

Twilight laughed. "I'd tell you if I knew. The royal chefs are preparing it today."

Rarity just lit up at the mention of royal chefs. "YOU HAVE ROYAL CHEFS NOW!? Oh my goodness you really are a princess now." That earned a few giggles from the rest of the group.

Rainbow yawned though.... of course. Too early for her to be up at this time.... most days. "Heh.... think we could start eating? I could use a wake up call."

Applejack was giggling all of a sudden. "Don't yall normally get up this early to manage the weather?"

"Not this early on a Friday," Rainbow shot back.

Pinkie giggled. "Silly AJ! Rainbow always sleeps in on Fridays!"

Applejack shrugged. "Aaaaah don't really keep track so ah wouldn't know."

Fluttershy giggled a bit. "You know, we're still two short. Where's Spike and Discord?"

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Discord was invited?"

Fluttershy looked back at AJ as if the farm pony had lost her mind. "Of course, Discord is our friend too you know."

Rarity smiled. "I will admit, he really did learn his lesson, and he came through for us a couple times during that last.... i-incident."

Rainbow scoffed. "If only those human fighters were here at the time. A few airstrikes would have beat Tirek down good! Or maybe one of those Havok Nukes Thorne kept mentioning."

Twilight looked at Rainbow as if SHE had lost HER mind. "Rainbow! A human nuclear device would have wiped out Ponyville and Canterlot in the process! Those things have a massive blast radius!"

Rainbow rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Oh.... heh, good point."

"Oooohoho, I'm here! Are you ponies talking about our Missing in Action human friends!?" a male voice called as the source approached: Discord floating down with an umbrella Mary Poppins style.... much like he had a couple weeks ago.

Fluttershy beamed at his arrival. "DISCORD!" She hugged him. "You made it!"

Discord chuckled. "But of course. I wouldn't miss a breakfast party with my true friends."

Twilight giggled. "I'm glad you could make it Discord. Well, everypony is here. Spike is still sleeping. He's tired from a long night of stargazing soooo I think we should let him sleep in."

Rainbow snickered. "I'll bet that one was your fault Twi."

"How'd you guess?" Twilight deadpanned before leading everypony inside.

The guards closed the doors behind them. The soldiers gave each member of the party a respectful nod, even Discord surprisingly enough. After a short journey through the halls of the new castle, they arrived at the dining room. And hey ho, wouldn't you know it, Spike was there waiting for both the group and for breakfast.

"Hey guys! Good to see ya!" Spike greeted. "I hope everypony is well."

"We are, thank you for asking Spike," Fluttershy giggled.

"Well he is always quite the gentleman, aren't you Spike?" Rarity praised.

Spike was speechless and blushing quite a bit after that particular compliment (three guesses why HAHA)

Discord then spoke up. "Hey Twilight. Where is that stallion you're always speaking so fondly of?"

Twilight frowned at the mention of him. "H-he.... had to be called away. It was a volunteer mission, considered suicidal by many.... I don't know what he's doing out there.... but it could have to do with the difference between life and death for the whole universe for all we know."

Fluttershy hugged her. "Don't worry Twilight. Gunnar will be back again soon. Have faith. He hasn't failed yet now has he?"

Twilight smiled a bit at the reassurance. "No.... No I suppose he hasn't."

"Let's hope he comes back soon..... It would be nice to have the whole gang here," Discord admitted. "Plus I'd like to meet this soldier, he sounds very unique."

AJ chuckled, "Unique don't cut it. He's an inventor, and a good one. He's a brilliant leader and magic user now too, thanks to a certain alicorn princess that's standing in the room with us."

Twilight blushed and smiled sheepishly a bit as she took her seat at the table. The mares and Spirit of Chaos all took their seats and the food soon arrived. Soon they were chowing down on some of the best food in town.

Then Fluttershy had an idea. "Hey Twilight..... I think we could send him a signal. Something to let him know we're thinking about him."

"Like what?" Rainbow asked curiously.

Fluttershy adopted a knowing smile.... then realization hit Twilight. "THE FRIENDSHIP SIGNAL! We could send a rainbow out!"

"That may actually work," AJ agreed.

Rainbow smiled. "Maybe we could make sure it reaches our human friends too? I miss those guys."

"Same here. That Gabriel Thorne for instance was such a gentleman," Rarity sighed. "I say we send them the signal."

"YIPEEEE!!!! Let's do it!!!!" Pinkie yelled out with excitement.

Discord and Spike couldn't help but smile.

The mares gathered at the center of the throne room.

"Ready girls?" Twilight asked.

"Ready," they replied in unison.

They channeled their magical energy, focusing it into the beam that would become their signal. It took a moment to build. Then there was a flash. A rainbow beam flew up to the top of the Crystal Tree. A flash outside signaled activation, probably making a LOT of ponies smile. The beam flew high into orbit, emitted one more brilliant flash....and then was gone. On its way to the intended recipients.

---UNSC Infinity, bridge, 18 hours after hostile contact---

Lasky sat in the Captain's chair of the UNSC, pondering as slipspace swirled around outside the ship. His mind wandered..... then suddenly a small alarm beeped.

"Sir," the sensor station officer called out. "Incoming energy beam..... and its coming straight into slipspace like its nothing and right for us!"

"What....?" Was all Lasky got out before a beam of rainbow colored energy flew into the ship, phasing through the viewport windows and swirled around the individual members of the bridge crew before traveling deeper into the ship, vanishing through the walls.

"What.... the hell.... was that....?" were the comm officer's only words on the matter.

Lasky smiled. It felt familiar. Looked familiar too. "I have an idea."

---UNSC Infinity, Spartan Armory, 18.1 hours after hostile contact---

Palmer and DeMarco were standing to the side, chatting away. Aurora Squad had gotten into a sparing match with the rest of Majestic.

A familiar Huragok Engineer named Patchy was on the sidelines, whistling and cheering Gunnarmain on.

"Ten credits says Gunnar has you on the ground before you can count to three Madsen," Hoya snarked.

"Oh ha ha, you're on," Madsen quipped.

That was the last word before a beam of rainbow energy phased through the wall and into the room. It swirled around each occupant individually for a few moments each before vanishing deeper into the ship. Each Spartan and Pony looked around at each other.

For Gunnar, Patchy, and the Spartans, the beam had brought a familiar feeling and presence into the room. It had made them smile.

Pureheart spoke up. "Sir? W-what was that?"

Gunnar smiled at the pony soldier. "A message from a few loved ones if I'm not mistaken." He looked in the general direction of the ship's bow just as the Spartans and Patchy did. They were coming home..... and their friends missed them.

"I'll be home soon Twilight," Gunnar whispered so no one else would hear..... though one pony did hear it... somehow... some way. The energy remaining in the room acted as a conduit. For a moment, one voice made a distant mare smile and caused her to let a tear of joy fall.