Equispartans

Chapters

Birdsong
Battle For the Crystal Empire-Part One
Welcome Aboard
The Covenant
Battle For the Crystal Empire-Part Two
Battle for the Crystal Empire-Part Three
Talks
Onboard the Infinity
Battle For Manehattan-Part One
Battle for Manehattan-Part Two
Battle for Canterlot-Part One
Battle For Canterlot-Part Two
Battle for Canterlot-Part Three
Battle for Canterlot-Part Four
Battle For Canterlot-Part Five/Ending

Birdsong

Earth
UNSC Infinity
8 months after destruction of New Phoenix and the death of the Didact.

After the second battle of Requiem and the peace talks, everyone onboard the UNSC Infinity was ready for some R and R. That is, everyone except Chris-0438, leader of Fireteam Crimson. After undergoing therapy for his PTSD, and various other injuries, he was eager to get back in the fight. Except nobody else seemed to share his mood. Now, on the flight deck of the UNSC Infinity, he watched as Marines escorted the Arbiter to his Pelican. Chris frowned. A veteran of the Spartan-IV program, he had nearly single-handedly saved the Infinity from total destruction at the hands of the Prometheans and Requiem itself. As he looked at himself in the highly polished floor of the flight deck, he could hardly keep from sulking. His build was average, and he had a small scar from boyhood. His crew cut black hair was starting to grow flecks of gray. Normally clean-shaven, he had decided to grow a small stubble beard to seem more like an adult.

‘If I already was one, I sure as hell am now.’ Chris thought to himself, looking at the small data chip he had been given. Inside was Ramos, the UNSC's latest Spartan-tooled AI. As he plugged it into his helmet, which was sitting ajar next to him, he finally made up his mind. “Screw it." he said to himself, and he put on his helmet.

"Hello Spartan."

"So, you're Ramos? UNSC AI 00117-A8?"

"That's me. Only been in service for a few months."

"Not surprising." Jason said, earning a weird look from a passing Marine squad.

"Well, easy for you to say, Spartan. By the look of your armor configuration, you are Spartan-IV Chris-0438?"

“Bingo. So, what's....."

The PA system crackled, and then the voice of Captain Lasky resonated from the speaker. “Marines, AIs, Spartans, we have a new mission." Several marines looked up at the speaker, with inquisitive looks. "The UNSC has recently located a new Forerunner Shield world, now known as Birdsong. After the destruction of the Ark in 2552, we have had few instances of Forerunner shield worlds being located. That has now changed. Due to the violent reaction of the Prometheans on Requiem, the UNSC and FLEETCOM have decided to take a more cautious approach. The Infinity's new mission is to locate and study this world, and extract any data we can to further our knowledge of the Forerunners. We leave in three days. Everyone, R and R is now over. We're getting back to work."

Whoops and yells could be heard from several Marines, and Jason smiled. "Ready to get to work, Ramos?"

"Always ready, Spartan, always ready."

THREE DAYS LATER
Birdsong, unexplored space.

As the Infinity pulled into Birdsong's orbit, Chris once again looked at the hologram of the shield world. Recent scans had shown it was mostly plains, with some plateaus, and a few jungles. As the door slid open, Spartan Jared Miller walked in, accompanied by Commander Sarah Palmer.

"Still here Crimson? When's the last time you slept?" Palmer asked.

"I'll sleep after I get some action. I can't believe this planet is as peaceful as it is. It;s just too curious."

Miller chuckled a bit. “A lot of the Marines aren't feeling the same way. They think it's a nice change of pace. A few are still a bit disgruntled about R and R ending early."

"I don't blame them." Chris replied. "Just wish I could see some action."

Suddenly, the hologram crackled, and a red arrow started pointing to an area in the southern hemisphere of Birdsong.

"Well, Crimson, be careful what you wish for. The science techs are buzzing about some strange energy reading in some old facility. You're being deployed to find out what it is. Deadly force is authorized."

Chris smiled and left the room, boarding the elevator to the flight deck.

=====================================================================================================

Crimson and Fireteam Icebreaker walked slowly through the deserted facility. The two squads of Marines and the Science team had stayed back at their landing zone, and Palmer had ordered that both Crimson and Icebreaker move forward through the cave.

"This is odd. Like stir-crazy odd." Murphy said.

"Why's that, Lieutenant?" Chris said.

"It's quiet. just too quiet. Requiem messed with me so much."

Suddenly, there was a loud thud, and what looked like a large metallic ant dropped down from the sky. Chris immediately recognized it as a Promethean crawler. Chris pointed his Battle Rifle at it, then he realized that it was already dead. Jason crouched next to it and then he saw that there was a strange cavity in the head. Chris knew that Prometheans disintegrated when they died, and that one being dead and in one piece was rare, almost too rare.

As they looked forward, he noticed a long corridor with what looked like statues lining haphazardly alongside the walls. As the group walked past them, they could see that they were Prometheans, but encased in some sort of bronze-black material. John grabbed a Light Rifle from one's hands and checked the magazine. All thirty-six shots were in the magazine.

"Very strange." Chris said has he threw the weapon down. As he walked forward, they could see moss growing on some of the statues. Once exiting the hallway, Jason was astounded at what they saw.

A large portal gate, large enough, Chris reckoned, to accommodate the UNSC Infinity, was active right before their eyes. Jason saw a large number of petrified Prometheans in horror-struck poses, some aiming their weapons. After about forty-five minutes, the Marines arrived and began to set up some communications gear, Chris gave the signal that it was safe for the science team to come in. They arrived after forty-five minutes and got to work immediately. Jason looked up at the portal system. Near it, he felt at peace and calm as if he was in sort sort of harmonic euphoria. He shrugged off the feeling and sat down in front of it, activating Ramos.

"Well, that's a discovery if I say so myself." Ramos quipped.

"I guess. Problem is, why are all these Prometheans frozen?"

"Judging from my scans, they have been frozen for quite a long time. Centuries, maybe. Problem is, this portal gate is ancient. Not like the tech that was on Requiem before it was destroyed."

"So, where does it go?"

"Dunno."

Suddenly, the portal started waving erratically, and the energy pylons turned a bright rainbow color. The science team was stunned for a sec, then Jason made up his mind to contact the Infinity.

"This is Fireteam Crimson to UNSC Infinity, do you copy?'

"Loud and clear." Miller's voice responded.

"We just found a Forerunner portal. Big enough to hold the Infinity. And a bunch of petrified Prometheans."

"Interesting. What do you mean by petrified?"

"They're frozen in some sort of metal substance. They didn't even respond when I took a Light Rifle from one's hands. This is getting really creepy."

"Understood. We just got word from the science team confirming..."

Suddenly, the ground shook, and a black hole erupted from where the portal met the ground. Chris only thought one thing.

"RUN FOR IT!"

As the group sprinted back to the Pelican, the black hole grew larger and larger. As they boarded, they realized that the Infinity was slowly being pulled into the gravity well generated by the black hole. Ramos patched Jason into the UNSC's comm channel.

"Fireteam Crimson to UNSC Infinity. That black hole's gonna absorb you guys. Pull out!"

"We can't. We're too far into the gravity well. Land your pelican ASAP." Miller was practically screaming into the radio.

As the pelican docked in the Flight deck, the Infinity's bow was starting to be absorbed into the black hole. As Lasky and the bridge crew watched in horror, Lasky made a tactical decision. He opened up the PA System. "ALL DECKS, THIS IS THE BRIDGE. BRACE FOR IMPACT. WE ARE HEADING IN!"

As the Infinity was fully absorbed by the black hole, the only thing left of the shield world Birdsong was a small star and a large chunk of metal. As the metal disintegrated into ash, the star slowly shrank, then went out.

Equestria

Late at night, in Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle was finishing her thesis on magic stealing when she heard it. A loud boom, followed by a crack. Then the ground began to shake violently. She fell out of her crystal chair and onto the floor.

"OUCH!" she yelled, hitting her head on the floor. As she got up, rubbing her sore spot, she noticed lights coming on in several homes. She could hear voices coming from the plaza, and as soon as she walked out the door, she was tackled by Rainbow Dash.

"TWILIGHTTHEREAREALIENSTHATLANDEDINTHEEVERFREEINAHUGESHIP!" Rainbow said rapidly, stammering and barely pronouncing the words.

"What? I can't understand you..." Then she saw it. A huge...no...bigger than huge, gray mass, jagged in some places, with what looked like protrusions in some areas, had crashed in the Everfree forest. She could clearly read letters on the side, printed in white.

"UNSC Infinity. What's that supposed to mean?" Twilight asked Rainbow Dash, who shrugged. As the two walked into the mass of ponies yammering in frightened voices, she stepped up to the podium on the stage, and the crowd quieting down.

"Everypony, as we all know, there is something that crashed in the Everfree. Even I don't know what it is, and I'm going to find out. I'm going to travel to the crash site and see what's going on here."

"Twilight, you can't be serious!" Applejack yelled, with some murmurs of approval from the crowd.

"I am serious, Applejack. I intend to go." Twilight said in a stern voice.

"Then we are all going." Rarity said in a determined tone.

"Fine. The element bearers can come. The rest of you, disperse and go back to your homes. We'll find out what is going on." Twilight said, and the crowd began to separate.

As the motley group walked into the Everfree, Rainbow looked back. For a second, she thought she saw a pair of glowing orange eyes, but she shrugged it off and hurried to catch up with the group.

After around thirty minutes of walking, they arrived at an overlook. What they saw was astounding. The ship, or rather, the beings aboard the ship, had already set up what looked like a small camp, with beings bustling about. Twilight looked through a telescope that she had brought and she noticed that the beings were bipedal, wearing some sort of green-gray armor, and carrying long metal objects in their hands. What astounded them the most was the large being in the center, leaning on a few crates. It was taller than the rest, and instead of having green armor, it was red and steel gray. It carried an object like the others, except it was longer and had what looked like a metal object on the top. It was sitting down, rubbing a tube on the object with a cloth, and it looked as if it was deep in thought.

"What...are...they?" Rarity whispered in a panicked voice.

"Dunno. What is surprising is that they haven't noticed us yet..." Twilight said.

CLACK! CRUNCH!

Twilight looked and saw that Pinkie, in her excitement over the situation, had knocked a large stone down the cliff, making a huge noise. Twilight attempted to hide herself, but suddenly, a large stream of light shone only a few yards away from them, near a cliff face. They sighed, then they heard the cracking of sticks and the crunching of leaves. Twilight, thinking quickly, cast an invisibility spell, obscuring them from view. They looked through the shroud of the spell, and noticed that the tall being was leading the group. They were looking around, and Twilight got a better view.

She could see that they had openings on their helmets, and it showed what looked like eyes, a nose, a mouth, and hair of some colors on all of them; mostly brown, black, red, or a whitish-yellow, and some had what looked like facial hair. She couldn't see what the tall one looked like because she realized its face was covered by a helmet. The group of beings walked around, and then the tall being stopped, crouched down, noticed the hoofprints, picked up a bunch of sand, and threw it.

Now the shell generated by the spell was perfectly visible. Rarity covered her mouth to keep from gasping in horror. Twilight could hear them murmuring, and the tall one raised an appendage, and then they heard it speak.

"Active Camo of some sort. Let's see what's being hidden, shall we?"

Pinkie almost gasped, and Fluttershy passed out with a loud clunk on impact. The tall being heard it, and pointed towards the shell, and the the other beings leveled their objects towards the shell. Then, there was a loud crash as the spell splintered into fragments, and the ponies were now visible. Twilight saw that the tall one had punched the shell, causing the spell to shatter. Twilight regained her composure and stood up, extending her wings. The green beings lowered their objects, and the tall being lowered his object as well. Twilight then managed to find her voice, and as her friends readied themselves, she could only think of one thing to say.

"H...h..hello?"

Chris was having a weird day. After a large rock had nearly crushed a Marine, he had noticed a small purple glow from atop a cliff face. He had radioed for searchlights to scan the cliff, and then he noticed that the rock hadn't broken off, it had been pushed. He had gathered a small Marine squad, as Icebreaker was helping with injuries on board the Infinity, and now, he was staring at 6 equine, pastel-colored creatures. What astounded him was the fact that a few of them had a horn or wings, but the one in front, Chris assuming to be the leader of the group, had both. Then it spoke in fluent English.

The Marines raised their rifles, but Chris held up his hand and motioned for them to return to the camp. Chris took off his helmet, revealing his face, and he sat down, offering a small energy bar to the group leader. She took it hesitantly, but didn't seem to know what to do with it. Jason made a ‘eating’ motion, and she took a bite. She eventually waved off one with rainbow-colored hair, who was looking ready to fight, and was growling aggressively. The leader glared at it, and It sat down and Jason could hear it grumbling. Chris motioned for the purple one to sit down, and she, Chris realizing it was a female, did so.

"Some night, huh?" Chris said.

"What are you?" the purple one asked.

"I'm a human. Or a Homo Sapien. We're an evolving species. We do eat meat, though."

The purple one flinched at the word "meat" and Jason immediately realized they were vegetarians, or at least that they didn't eat meat.

Chris smiled. "We won't eat you or any of your kind though. We got plenty of supplies aboard the Infinity."

"That's a relief. So, what are you...humans...doing here?"

"Frankly, I could say everything I know, but everything seems to branch off into another subject, so here's the short and sweet version. New planet. Unexplored. We go there. Strange portal sucks the Infinity into a gravity well, we end up here."

"I see. The Infinity being that ship?"

"Yep. UNSC-INF-101."

"UNSC?"

"United Nations Space Command."

"You mean you've been to outer space?"

"Hell yes. Been beyond our own galaxy. We even colonized whole planets. Apart for a few...issues, everything was going fine. Until THEY came."

"Who's they?"

"The Covenant. I've been trying to avoid mentioning the war, but here goes.” Somehow, the purple one had gotten a notebook and a pencil from somewhere, Chris noticed, and he sighed.

“The Covenant were a bunch of conglomerated alien species that were united under a religious banner, believing a race that preexisted ours, the Forerunners, to be some kind of gods. First contact was sort of peaceful. Until they declared us heretics and an affront to their religion, and they began a genocidal campaign to wipe us out. Whole planets destroyed, cities burned, men, women, and children slaughtered. We barely held on. We were losing. We could have lost the whole damn war. Until we developed the Spartans. They were the ultimate soldiers. Faster, stronger, more powerful than the standard Marine. They took the fight to the Covies, and we started to win. We were taking more than heavy casualties, though."

"How many casualties?" She asked.

"We're not sure. Last official count was twenty billion casualties."

There was an audible reaction from the group. The white one passed out, and a yellow one began to sob without end. The rest just looked dumbfounded.

"Yep. Even our homeworld, Earth, was briefly invaded, twice actually, until we managed to drive them out. After the battle of Earth, the Covenant had a major schism. A large faction, the Sangheli, or Elites, sided with us after they were betrayed, and in my opinion, without them, we could have lost the whole thing. We eventually won the war, but as I said, there were over twenty billion deaths. But after the war ended, we went back to exploring among the stars. That's when we discovered Requiem. An undiscovered Forerunner world. After a large amount of fights with the native Forerunners, called the Prometheans, allied with the remains of loyal Covenant, we decided to head back to Earth for some rest. Then we explored the new world we found, we got pulled into a black hole, and we ended up here. We know we're in unexplored space, and we can't make contact with NAVCOM or FLEETCOM yet. So, for the moment, we are stuck here."

"Wow. Quite a load of JUNK!" the rainbow one suddenly yelled. "You just waltz into OUR world, make up this sob story, and expect us to believe it? What's the proof?"

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up." Chris said angrily. "Every death, every glassed world, every destroyed ship is proof."

"So what?" she said. "Why should we care?"

"You know what? You. just. Leave." Chris said angrily.

"What?" Rainbow replied.

Chris scowled. "Get your sorry little ass out of my sight. You think you can just call bullshit on what I know, what HUMANITY knows to be true, and not get away with it? You disgust me beyond belief. The five of you can come meet Captain Lasky and Commander Palmer on-board ship."

"What about Rainbow?" The Pink one asked, clearly worried. "She's our friend!"

"She can come, if she keeps her mouth shut, her sarcasm to a maximum of none at all, and she shows proper respect to those who can kill without even thinking. Which is pretty much every damn Marine and Spartan-IV aboard this ship." The tall one said gruffly, as he stood up. As he put on his helmet, he motioned for them to follow. As the group followed him Rainbow thought, shrugged, and then followed as well.

Battle For the Crystal Empire-Part One

As the Infinity slowly rose up from the Everfree, the Covenant enacted their own plans. As the Carrier Shadow of Retribution approached the strange domed city, Jul M’dama watched as the city slowly appeared before them. A central spire surrounded by homes and a large stadium of some sort orbited around the spire. Jul smiled.

“This shall be easy.”

“Shipmaster! Human ship entering our sector and closing fast!”

“The Infinity. OPEN FIRE!” Jul said angrily.

As the humongous ship closed on them, the Retribution opened up with Plasma fire. The Infinity responded with Point Defense System blasts and a few shots from the Super Heavy MAC gun.

On board the Infinity, Twilight and her friends buckled themselves into the Pelican, the ship rocked and Twilight could hear loud booms and cracks.

“What’s going on?” Twilight

“The covies are hitting the ship with Plasma fire. We don’t have a lot of time to set up ground positions. We have to move fast,” Grant replied.

“Alright. Pilot! Let’s get moving!” Chris yelled. The Pelican shuddered, then began to fly out the Hangar.

“Woah!” Twilight said as the ship began to shake violently.

“BANSHEES! FAST AND LOW!” came a scream over the radio.

“Banshees?” Applejack asked over the din.

“Covenant fighter craft. Very dangerous,” Chris replied.

As the Pelicans flew their way through the onslaught of Seraphs, Banshees, and Phantoms, onboard the Bridge, Lasky watched as ship after ship fell to the Infinity’s MAC rounds.

“UNSC Infinity to all UNSC ships that receive this. We are engaging covenant forces on an unknown world. Need reinforcements ASAP.”

“Captain, I’m not sure sending a distress call was our best option here at the moment,” Roland said.

“We need all the help we can get, Roland. Keep that message going, and tell all fighter squadrons to get ready." Lasky replied, then he turned on the intercom.

“Hangar decks, this is Infinity bridge. All Pelicans load up and deploy on surface. We cannot allow this world to fall to the Covenant!”

As the Pelicans braved their way through the plasma fire, some being shot down, the noise awoke Princess Cadance. She opened her eyes, and saw a large fleet of Alien ships engaging a much bigger ship. She could clearly see much smaller ships flying out of the big one and setting down near the shield. She noticed that they were flying in groups of five or six, and some were occasionally exploding.

“Princess!” A guard stepped in, sheer panic on his face. “What should we do?”

“Get everypony to the stadium and reinforce the shield. Nothing gets through!” Cadence yelled. Suddenly, one of the craft flew through the shield and set down on the balcony. As Cadance walked to meet it, she noticed a small painting of an eagle, an arrow and a lightning bolt clutched in its talons. As it landed, the guards readied their spears and, suddenly, a door opened.

“Hey Sis!”

“Twilight?”

As they hugged each other, Cadance could see Twilight’s friends, as well as a small group of bipeds, two of them in red and grey or yellow and grey armor respectively. They were carrying long metal objects and they seemed to be respected among the rest.

“I can only presume that you are her sister-in-law?” the red one asked.

“Yes. Why are you..”

“No time. The Covies are here, being the ones in the purple ships. They will stop at NOTHING to see this planet burn. They are led by a genocidal maniac named Jul M’dama. I suggest you get EVERY citizen here away from the combat area. The UNSC will handle this!” the yellow one interrupted.

“I see. But you didn’t answer my question,” Cadance replied.

“As he said, No BLOODY TIME. Marines! back in the Pelican. Twilight and friends, stay put. We’ll handle this,” the red one replied.

As the creatures boarded the “Pelican,” Twilight waved goodbye. The red one did what appeared to be a salute and the ship took off to what looked like a large trench line around the front of the shield.

“Can you even trust them, Twily?”

As Shining Armor walked in, Twilight gave him a hug and, as they returned to the balcony, Twilight smiled.

“Of course. I know what the UNSC is capable of. They won’t lose.”

Welcome Aboard

As the small group walked through the main campsite, Twilight could feel the eyes burning into her skull. The " UNSC Marines" as Chris had called them, were looking at the with either curiosity or suspicion while going about their duties. A few looked in bewilderment at Pinkie, who, unlike the others, was bouncing and yammering about planning a party. Rainbow just growled.

"Twenty billion....Wait, RAINBOW! Get a hold of yourself! They're ALIENS! they don't deserve to be here...." she thought to herself.

"I heard that." a voice spoke.

Rainbow looked up in surprise. Chris had stopped and was looking at Rainbow.

"You were muttering, and I heard everything."

Rainbow grimaced and lowered her head in embarrassment. She had no idea she was speaking. Chris rolled his eyes, and continued.

"Just because we're aliens doesn't mean we're evil. We are, for the most part, peacekeepers. Humans are a warlike race, but we know how to make friends and forge alliances. Let me remind you of something. Don't jump to conclusions."

Suddenly, Chris put his hand to his helmet and began to speak.

"Hey, commander.....yes, I know what caused the rock to fall.....the locals were surveying us.....no....not for an attack, they were curious....not like the covies, like a child....I said they could meet you and Lasky......fine...See ya soon, Palmer."

Jason sighed and turned to the group.

"Well, I got good news and bad news. The good news is that commander Palmer is allowing you guys on-board in a friendship and diplomatic gesture. Bad news is, you're going to have to be the subject of a bio-scan to make sure you aren't carrying any diseases or pathogens that could potentially cause an outbreak among humans. Palmer says that if you don't agree, you won't be allowed aboard the Infinity. She's stubborn like that. And tough as nails."

"Fine. Just, make it quick, please."

Twilight looked at the others, who either nodded or said yes. Rainbow muttered and looked down.

Chris smiled and entered the ship through the open hangar bay. The group followed, and promptly dropped their jaws. Twilight was astounded at the number of strange machines the UNSC had brought with them. A few humans darted about, and Twilight noticed that they were carrying yellow boxes, and a few didn't even have helmets.

"Mechanics." Chris said, noticed Twilight's puzzled look. "Not all of us are warriors. The UNSC has a few different positions for those who don't want to face front-line combat. Cooks, Mechanics, Doctors, Firefighters, that sort of thing."

"The more I see, the more I want to learn." Twilight said sheepishly.

"I might be able to get Lasky to give you access to the shipboard database via a tacpad If I'm lucky." Jason replied.

Twilight flashed a broad grin.

"Just be careful, however, if you do get access. The database contains classified...restricted (Chris had noticed Twilight's confused look)...data, including troop movements, fleet positions, and other information that could be damaging against the UNSC if it got into the wrong hands."

Twilight immediately promised she would be careful.

Chris smiled at her and opened up the elevator doors.

"What is this?" Rainbow asked.

"Elevator." Chris replied.

As they got in, Twilight thought, then looked at Chris

"How far to the medical bay?"

"It's on level A52."

"What level are we on?"

"A2"

"How long should it take us to get there?"

"A few minutes."

Chris pressed the elevator control, and mostly everyone promptly fell over. Jason didn't. As the ponies struggled to get back on their feet, Chris could hardly help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" Rainbow said suspiciously.

"I might have forgotten to mention there's a slight bump at the start when we are in atmosphere."

"SLIGHT?" A tan-orange one asked angrily.

"This elevator is primed for usage in anti-gravity environments. Like outer space. So, since the elevator has more pressure to deal with, it has a bit of a bump and a slow start at the beginning of the ride up. So forgive me if I didn't mention it." Jason said.

"Egghead." Rainbow whispered.

"If you call me that again, I might start calling you an athletic jock who can't even see past her own common sense and has a complete disregard for other sentient species, and is always jumping to conclusions. " Chris said, without even looking away from the display.

"HEY!" Rainbow yelled, but at the time, they arrived, and another human was waiting for them. Her face was lean and tough, and she had a slight frown on her face. She was in armor similar to Chris's, but instead of red and steel gray, it was sterling silver and red. it was significantly less bulky than Jason's, and it was of a different build or type.

"Crimson. These the locals you were referring to?"

"Yep. Twilight and friends, this is Commander Sarah Palmer. She's essentially the boss of every Spartan aboard the Infinity."

"Pleasure." Twilight said politely.

"Huh. You can dispense with the pleasantries. I'm not to happy with Crimson here for bringing locals here without clearing with me first. But I'll let it slide."

"She's royalty, "commander". She was a unicorn, but she literally earned her wings. Now, show some resp...." Rainbow dash tried to say more, but Twilight rolled her eyes and shoved her hoof into her mouth.

"Royalty. Well, Guess I do owe you a drink and an apology, then. Sorry. There's your apology. Drinks can come later. Now, Let's get the scans going. Shall we, Glassman?"

A human, slightly scrawny, with glasses and a lab coat, stepped up, and pulled out a small device. After a few minutes, He put it back in his pocket.

"No hostile pathogens detected, commander. Their biology is strangely similar to ours, muscle grouping, same. Bone construction, same. Blood types, Cell count, all the same. Except for one strange thing."

'What?" Everyone said at one, human and pony alike.

"They're basically human, except for the wings and horns."

"Egghead." Rainbow said sarcastically.

"Hmm. A colloquial equine-human insult. Fascinating! " Glassman said, and he whipped out a notepad and jotted a few things down. He smiled and put it away. Now, who wants to meet Captain Lasky?"

For the first time in her life, Rainbow didn't know what to say. As her jaw dropped, Palmer rolled her eyes.

"Glassman's been called a lot of things. Egghead is one of them, surprisingly. The geeks are always being insulted."

Twilight nodded.

"Well, Crimson, looks like you got your wish. Captain Lasky's on with ONI at the moment, but it should only be a few minutes. However (She said this while looking at Twilight and her friends) you aren't allowed ANYWHERE without Crimson's supervision. Crimson, accordingly, for as long as they are on ship, they're YOUR responsibility. Anything goes wrong, YOU'LL be taking the blame. Understood?"

"Sir, Yes Sir." Chris replied.

"Good. Lasky's ready for you now. DISMISSED!"

As they left the medical deck, Twilight still had a question that remained unanswered.

"Chris, why did Commander Palmer keep calling you "Crimson?"

"I'm the leader of Spartan Fireteam Crimson. The nickname stuck."

"Who's In it?"

"Grant and I. Grant was a late arrival, he got assigned after the second battle of Requiem. He's fresh from training, but he's a damn good spartan. We're friends."

"That's nice and all, but Just two?"

"Two is all Fireteam Crimson needs."

"As they reentered the elevator, Chris hit the button for the bridge.

Author's Note

Here we are!

Grant is an Spartan OC given to me by FIMfiction user Doctor Whoovian. He will be developed more in depth later, and a maximum of 4 OC's are accepted, and possibly a whole team based around OCs could be done. Like I said, only 4. I checked the Halo wiki, and a spartan fireteam is 4-5. Counting Chris/Crimson, we only need four to make a full fireteam.

For those who want to see Master Chief, don't worry. He'll arrive soon enough. Along with the covenant remnants. (the covies will be arriving in chapters 5, 6 or 7. No set chapter for the covenant invasion of Equestria.)

And thank you guys and girls for all the support you have been giving this story. It really means a lot to me.

My editor is Reqiuem17. He does a lot of good halo crossovers, and he's a superb editor. If you need one, PM him and in the message, tell him Mkchief sent you. Kudos to anyone that does!

The Covenant

As the Elevator rose steadily upward, Twilight felt dizzy looking at the shaft blurring past them. She looked at Chris, who seemed to be unaffected by the head rushes that Twilight, and from what she could infer, her friends, were also suffering. Rainbow Dash, normally stoic, was on the verge of throwing up.

Just before Twilight could pass out, the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Twilight saw various screens, all emblazoned with designs or patterns she didn’t understand, each one manned by a human, and some were walking around carrying small tablets. Two men were standing near the main window at the front of the room. Twilight could tell one was a Spartan like Chris, only his armor was all green and battle-scarred. Twilight could tell that the Spartan was in deep thought. The other wasn’t armored, except for an epaulet on the shoulder, and he had a calm, collected air around him. A smaller, yellow being was standing on the table. His attire reminded Twilight of a pilot that drove planes. He saw them, and smiled.

“What’s that?” Twilight asked, and the being smiled and laughed.

“I’m Roland, UNSC-AI SD-RLD-0205-4. At your service.”

“AI?”

“Artificial Intelligence. I’m essentially a computer program that’s smart. I can learn and talk through this hologram.”

“Amazing. You created knowledge?” Twilight asked Chris.

“Not exactly. We created Roland, a Smart AI, to monitor and control the main systems aboard the Infinity. He’s essentially the brains of the ship.” The unarmored man turned and he had a friendly and clean shaven face, yet it was worn from exhaustion.

“I’m Thomas Lasky, Captain of the Infinity.”

“Pleasure. I’m…”

“I already know. Commander Palmer radioed ahead while you were in the elevator. Pleasure, Miss Sparkle.”

“Pleasure is all mine. So, Chris told us a bit about you, and why you are here, but…”

Suddenly, the power went out and the room was plunged into darkness. The bridge crew launched into a frenzy, trying to restore the power.

“What’s going on?! Why are all the lights out?” Fluttershy yelped.

“Comms are down, Captain. We are in the dark. Trying to reestablish power. Wait...Something just hacked into the Intercom system!” Roland voiced.

"Who?" Chris said, worried.

“YOU ARE ALL….VERMIN!” A deep voice boomed. Suddenly, all of the video monitors showed a grotesque figure, clad in purple armor. It’s head was hunched over, as if on a hinge, and Twilight could see gray, mottled skin where the armor wasn’t attached. A large insignia stood on his helmet. Twilight immediately reasoned he wasn’t friendly with the UNSC

"Who's that?" Twilight asked.

“Jul M’dama. Leader of the Covenant remnants,” Lasky said with a scowl. Twilight could tell that this was not the time for further questions.

“You think that you are out of our grasp? Our arm is the arm of judgement upon the Heretic. We shall destroy this world, and those who defy us. Even your...human...allies shall not survive our fist of judgement. The Green Demon and his kind shall awaken to a world of fire, death, and bone. Your destruction is the will of the gods. And I...I am their weapon!” Jul M’dama immediately said more words in some guttural language.

Suddenly, the power came back on and the video screens returned to normal. The green Spartan turned and looked at Lasky.

“Chief…” Lasky started.

“No. Just don’t.” “Chief” said in a deep, muscular voice.

"Pardon me for askin, but what did this Jul M'dama thing say?" Applejack asked.

"Let's just say...it was an insult." Roland replied sheepishly.

“Lasky, what’s our course of action? Everyone on the Infinity saw that hingehead bastard’s little threat,” Palmer’s voice came over the radio.

“Prepare all decks for combat, and ready all Spartan Fireteams. Prep all Pelicans. We will NOT lose him this time. WE WILL FIND HIM!”

“Understood, sir. I’ll ready Fireteams Majestic, Ivy, Lancer, Wolf, and Crimson.” Palmer replied.

As Palmer’s voice faded, Lasky turned to Chris.

“Well, Spartan, grab Grant and go with Twilight and her friends to the town nearby. We need to warn them.”

“With all due respect, Captain, do we know where they even are?” Twilight said.

“Captain! Covenant ships dropping out of Slipspace towards the north! Several cruisers, Three carriers. Near some domed city,” a Marine yelled.

Twilight gave an audible gasp.

“What’s wrong?” Chris asked. He could see that the normally calm alicorn was now shivering with fright.

“That domed city….it’s the Crystal Empire….my….my brother and sister-in-law are there. The Crystal Empire has thousands of civilians there! We HAVE to do something!” Twilight yelled in a panicked voice.

“And we will,” Lasky said determinedly, as he pressed a button on the console,

“All UNSC forces, be advised. We are moving to head of the Covies at their landing zone northwest of here. All Marines, be ready for combat. We are heading in!” Lasky said with a determined voice.

“Thank you!”

“No problem ma’am. Now, head back down to the flight deck, pick up Grant and Icebreaker, board a Pelican, and get ready for combat, Crimson!” Lasky replied.

As they reentered the elevator, they stopped about halfway down. The doors opened and a yellow and gray Spartan, flanked by a Squad of Marines, walked in.

“Hey Grant!”

“Hey, Chris. Who’s the pastel-colored horse-like creatures?”

“They’re ponies. And they pretty much convinced Lasky to help save them from the covies.”

“I see. Grant Hatch, Spartan-IV. Sniper.” His armor was thinner and more contoured than Jason’s, and he had a slimmer visor.

As they reentered the Flight deck, Twilight could see the “Pelicans” were in fact large vehicles, with a tube on the nose, and mechanics were loading large tubes into pods on the wings.

“Missiles. Basically rocket-propelled explosives.”

As they boarded the Pelican, the Infinity immediately powered up the engines, resulting in a large thrust of upward movement. As the Infinity moved to save the Crystal Empire, a strange figure watched them. The Promethean Knight gazed onward as the Infinity flew towards the visible Covenant fleet. As the Knight teleported into a storage room, the Infinity readied itself for battle.

Battle For the Crystal Empire-Part Two

As the “Pelican” flew off, Cadance could see that the “Covenant” ships were landing craft of their own outside the Empire’s limits. As they landed, they also seemed to be dropping smaller purple vehicles that, when landed, immediately began shooting a purple blue energy at the shield that Cadance had put up. As they continued firing, a large flock of what seemed to be birds came out of the Covenant’s lead ship. As they came near the shield, they shot green blasts of energy at it, seemingly to no effect. Cadance looked around and saw that the normally stalwart Crystal Guard was starting to panic. She then looked at Twilight, who was watching the battle with interest, not fear or panic.

“Twily, since YOU seem to be so cool and collected in this situation, what should we do?” Cadance said, breaking the silence.

“Well, first we should get everypony out of here and to a safe place. Probably the stadium. Make sure that the UNSC can get through the shield,” Twilight said, looking Cadance in the eye.

“I see. Make sure that happens!” she yelled to the guards, the armored ponies saluting and rushing out. As Twilight, Cadance, and Shining Armor walked off the balcony, they didn’t notice the being that watched them. The Promethean Knight Lancer watched as they walked off.

“They will need my help,” he thought to himself, “But not now. When the time is right.” The knight gave the command and a Promethean Watcher floated out of his back.

“Make sure they stay safe,” the Lancer told the Watcher, the machine floating off.

Inside Pelican-1709, Chris watched as Twilight escorted her sister and brother off the balcony. Chris turned and sat down, looking at Grant.

“Think they'll be ok?”

“They will be.”

As he sat down, Crimson got a comm signal.

“What is it, Commander Palmer?”

“The Covies have broken the line and they’re making it through the shield. They have a bomb set up at some sort of sports stadium. AND they’re holding civilians hostage there. Fireteams Crimson, Icebreaker, Majestic, Ivy, and Tiger, defuse that bomb and rescue those civilians. Palmer out.”

“Pilot! Let’s get moving!”

As the Pelican turned towards the stadium, the Pelicans moving Majestic, Ivy, and Tiger joined Crimson’s Pelican. As they neared the stadium, Shade Turrets opened up, buffeting the Pelicans.

“Pilot! Get us under those guns!” Chris yelled.

“Yes sir!”

As the Pelicans dived, they didn’t notice that a Promethean Watcher was following them. As it followed them, the Knight Lancer was close behind, teleporting rapidly to keep up with the Pelicans.

“Now is the time,” he thought to himself.

As the Pelicans set down near the stadium entrance, the Elites, Jackals, and Grunts kept the terrified Crystal Ponies on their feet by occasionally shooting near them, causing them to yelp in panic, giving them a laugh. As Hunters brought the bomb in, the lead Elite turned and got a faceful of Hard Light as a reward. A Grunt turned, noticed the Promethean Knight, and ran, alerting every pony and Covenant to the Knight’s Presence.

“Surprise,” he said in perfect Sangheili to the Elites before he opened fire with his Light Rifle.

As the Marines and Spartans entered the stadium, Chris heard the all-too-familiar sounds of a Light and Binary Rifle fire. It then stopped, followed by the clashing of energy swords. As he walked in, he saw the unthinkable; a Promethean Knight engaging an Elite Zealot in a sword duel. As they clashed, the Marines focused on evacuating civilians while Grant worked on defusing the bomb.

“Chris! I can’t get this thing defused! It’s Forerunner!” Grant yelled.

Chris hurried over and sat next to Grant, who was working furiously.

“Maybe, I can help.”

They turned and saw the Knight, who had slain the Elite, walking over.

“Did you just speak?” Grant said incredulously.

“Yes, but now is not the time for pleasantries. Let me have a try.”

“Sure, but no funny business.”

“As you wish,” the Knight said, setting to work on the bomb.

“As I thought. This requires a Promethean’s touch,” he said as he disarmed the bomb. ‘We must go. The Elites will be back soon, and I doubt they will be happy.”

Chris and Grant nodded and radioed in for Pelicans to evacuate civilians to outside the Empire.

As they were about to leave, there was a small tap on the Knight’s leg. A Crystal filly offered a small flower, then it said quietly, “Thank you.”

“You are most welcome,” the Knight said as he fastened the flower to a newly formed pouch on his torso. The filly then smiled and ran off.

“Cute kid,” Grant quipped.

‘“Let’s move!” Chris yelled, the Marines and the Knight heading back to the Pelican . The Marines were unsure of the Knight, but they trusted Grant and Jason. As the Pelican flew off to join the battle, the Watcher followed its master closely.

Inside, while Chris was on the radio with Commander Palmer, the Knight sat down.

“First time I actually sat with a Promethean that wasn’t trying to kill me,” Grant quipped.

“First time I sat with a reclaimer,” the Knight said, and as they shook hands, the Pelican regrouped with the other Pelicans as they flew to the front lines. Little did they know that the Crystal filly and her parents watched as they flew off.

“May the blessing of the Crystal Heart be with you,” she said quietly before running to her parents.

As if hearing it on board the Pelican, the Knight whispered quietly, “And with you, for we all may yet be spared.”

Battle for the Crystal Empire-Part Three

As the Pelicans approached the makeshift defenses the UNSC put up, consisting of Pelicans, Warthogs, and the occasional Scorpion, they could clearly see that the Covenant were not willing to stop. Phantoms dropped Covenant forces only around 300 yards from the line, before the settled behind a wall of downed Phantoms, which the Covies were exploiting as cover. The radio kept buzzing with the calls of Marines. Even though Crimson and Icebreaker had been in worse, this was probably one of THE worst encounters between the Covenant and the UNSC.

“Shit’s gone down, Chris!” Grant said.

“No kidding, Sherlock!” Chris shot back as the Pelicans settled down in a plaza just short of the battle line. As the Marines and one Promethean Knight unloaded, they could see that the Infinity was holding it’s own against the Covenant ships, but was powerless to stop the Phantoms from reaching the surface. Worse, Occasional blasts of Plasma from Covenant cannons were downing Pelicans before they could ever reach the surface. Chris noticed that they weren’t shooting to kill the Marines, but to knock them out of the sky as to keep them from landing.

“Infinity, this is Crimson.”

“Copy Crimson!” Came the voice of Jared Miller.

“UNSC INFINITY and All UNSC ground forces, this is the UNSC Red Rider, UNSC Dawes, and UNSC Allegiant. We have located your positions and are en route with reinforcements. Stand by.”

“Well, that solves that problem! Crimson, we’ve gotten reports of a Tyrant AA gun operating northwest of our lines. It’s incapacitating our birds. Get to it and put it out of service now!” Palmer’s voice said over Crimson’s radio.

“Got it, commander!” Chris replied as Grant, Icebreaker, and the Knight reboarded the Pelican, a wraith shot knocked down a building near them. As the Pelican took off, dodging Plasma fire, they noticed that the covenant were landing phantoms closer and close to the UNSC lines.

“Infinity, this is Crimson. Those Covies have almost broken the line. You have GOT to get some Broadswords down here!”

“You are in luck Crimson! We have one fighter squadron available. I’m placing them under your mark. Give em’ hell!” Miller replied.

As Crimson grabbed the Target Locator, A plasma blast rocked the plane, sending them hurtling down towards the covenant lines.

“Infinity this is Crimson! We are going down!”

As the Pelican crashed into the snow, they immediately filed out and began shooting at the Covenant forces, eager to eliminate them. As Chris took cover, occasionally shooting his Battle Rifle at the incoming Covenant, he checked the locator. He grimaced at the large crack in the screen.

"FUCK! Locator's dead!" Chris yelled.

“I have an Idea!” The Knight said, as he sheltered next to Chris, firing blasts from his Light Rifle. “There seems to be a power generator on that downed ship. Detonate that. It will serve as a fine signal for your “Broadswords” to exploit!” the knight said.

“Sounds good!” Chris replied as he turned on his radio.

“Fireteam Crimson, this is Devil Squadron. Where’s our mark? We can’t dodge much more of this AA fire!”

“There’s gonna be a large exploding Phantom in a few minutes. Bomb straight down that line!” Chris replied, firing his Magnum with his free hand.

“Got it. Devil Squadron on station.”

“Grant! Hit the generator on that Phantom!” Chris yelled.

“Got it!” Grant replied. As he aimed down the scope of his Sniper Rifle, he furrowed his brow, then he pulled the trigger. As the bullet struck the Generator, it ruptured, causing a large explosion.

“Fireteam Crimson, this is Devil Squadron. Mark received. ASGM-10s on station! Hold on to your teeth!”

As the Broadswords carpet-bombed the Covenant lines, yells of “Victory!” could be heard over the comms. As the surviving Covenant were soon obliterated by a second volley of blasts, the Covenant fleet started to pull out, heading towards the further north. As Crimson watched, he took off his helmet, letting sweat pour off his brow.

“UNSC Infinity to all ground forces. The Covenant have been eliminated. Their ships are leaving the AO. All Marine and Spartan fireteams, return to the Infinity.”

As Crimson, Icebreaker, and the Knight watched as a rescue Pelican flew down to pick them up, they were Greeted by none other than Commander Palmer.

“Hell of a job, Crimson. You did well. As for the Knight...” she said, pointing at the Promethean, “Glassman’s gonna have a field day.”

“Chris!”

Chris turned and saw Twilight and her friends walk up, with smiles on their faces.

“You did it! You beat them back!” Rainbow said, almost ecstatically. “I take back EVERYTHING bad I said about you guys!”

“Bout time!” Chris said, and they all laughed.

“But I fear they may be back. The Covenant now know we are here. They will stop at nothing to make sure we are wiped off the face of the universe. We must be ready.” Grant said.

“That’s why we need your help.”

They turned and saw Shining Armor and Cadance walk up, along with a few Crystal Guards.

“We need your help to protect Equestria. If those monsters take over, we’ll be done for.”

“That’s not gonna happen, Ma’am. I promise you.” Palmer said.

“Thanks.”

“The UNSC will support Equestria in their hour of need. There is nothing more important now. I think it’s time for the full extent of the Equestrian government to meet aboard the Infinity for a conference. I’ll arrange it with Captain Lasky.” Palmer said.

“Already on it!” Twilight said. “I think that won’t be a problem.”

“Why?”

“Because they are already here!"

Princesses Celestia and Luna walked up, with a small contingent of Solar and Lunar Guards.

“We are ready.” Celestia said.

“Good. Captain Lasky is waiting. Let’s get this show on the road!” Palmer said, and everybody boarded the Pelican. As the Pelican set down in Infinity’s hangar bay, the reinforcements arrived. As Captain Lasky entered the Hangar bay, he watched as Crimson, Icebreaker, and some Equestrians walked out, followed by a Promethean knight.

“Crimson. What’s the Knight doing here?” Lasky asked.

“He’s with us. He disarmed the bomb at the stadium, AND gave us the idea of using the Phantom for the signal. He can talk, too.”

“Great. Icebreaker!” Lasky said, and the Squad saluted.

“Yes Sir?’”

“Take this knight down to Glassman. He’s gonna have a lot of fun. Dismissed!” Lasky said, and they walked off. Celestia stepped forward.

“I can presume you are Captain Lasky?”

“Yes. Let’s get started, Shall we?”

Author's Note

This story (So Far) was edited by the BRILLIANT Requiem17. He is a great editor, and his stories are amazing! if you need an editor, check him out!

AND OC's for Fireteam Crimson are still being accepted.

Talks

As the ponies and humans walked down the corridors of the Infinity, Celestia couldn’t help but notice that the Marines and Spartans were all stern-faced, expressions ramrod straight. She looked away and at “Chris”, who apparently was the one who had initiated contact with their world. She couldn’t see his face due to his helmet being on, but she could sense his apprehension.

“We’re here. Sit yourselves down. We have a lot to discuss.”’

They had arrived at a small conference room with a long silver table and several chairs. Twilight could see the familiar outline of Roland gazing at them, and he smiled and waved at the Equestrians.

“What’s that?” Cadance asked.

“I’m Roland. The ship’s AI, at your service.”

“AI?”

“Long story. We should get started,” Chris said and everyone sat down, Rarity taking a bit longer, because she had to load her suitcase into a cabinet, but she eventually sat down.

“First off, what are those creatures that you were fighting doing here?” Cadance asked.

“We don’t know. The Covenant aren’t exactly ones for talking. They believe that the Forerunners, some ancient race, are some sort of god. They fought a thirty year war with us, with over twenty billion casualties, over a mistranslation. The New Covenant, Led by Jul M’dama, are complete fanatics. What’s worse is that one of our top scientists, and the founder of the Spartan-II Program, Dr. Catherine Halsey, is now working with them. We tried to rescue her when she was captured, but she thought it was an assassination attempt. Now she works for M’dama, purely out of wanting revenge against the UNSC. Long story.”

“ I see. Anything else we should know?” Luna asked.

“They don’t negotiate. I don’t doubt that they will be back. We don’t know where or when. Just that they are completely dedicated to their religion, and they wish death upon any that they deem to be a heretic. Humans included.” Chris replied.

“Wow. That’s rather dark,” Shining Armor said.

“Dark indeed, sir.” Palmer replied.

“We help you out. We’ll train whatever soldiers you have to use UNSC weaponry. That will give you an edge. But you should know that we can’t fight this war for you. Only advise and intervene when we can.” Lasky said. “We are low on manpower as it is.”

“Thanks very much, Captain. Everything counts,” Luna said.

“Wait. I’m getting three contacts inside the room!” Chris said.

As the Marines readied their weapons, Chris looked around. Then he noticed that the cabinet that Rarity had stowed her luggage in had noises coming from it. He pulled it open and three small ponies came tumbling out. The Marines raised their weapons almost as soon as they hit the ground.

“Wait! That’s my sister and her friends!” Applejack yelled, causing the Marines to back off, but Chris stayed where he was, still pointing his gun at them.

“How did you get aboard this ship? ANSWER ME!” Chris asked sternly.

“Ummmmm….” the fillies all stammered.

“Let me deal with this,” Twilight said and Chris lowered his shotgun.

“Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE! We told you to stay at home!” Twilight said angrily.

“Well, we wanted to come with, so we snuck in inside Rarity’s luggage. Thought we could get our cutie marks in stealth skills or negotiation.” The fillies stammered.

“Whatever the reason, this is a RESTRICTED area aboard this ship. The Marines were told not to let any pony or human in until the talks were finished. How did you get in here?” Chris asked.

“Rarity brought her luggage in and stowed it in the cabinets, so we got out of the suitcase and listened,” Applebloom replied.

“Listen here, you three. The UNSC doesn’t like children sneaking aboard their ships. Especially since they just got out of a battle. If I hadn’t intervened, things would be a lot worse off for you,” Chris said angrily. “Now, you three can stay. HOWEVER, you must be SEEN, and not HEARD. I don’t want to hear a PEEP out of you three. If I do, I’ll make sure that Twilight teleports you home faster than you can blink, and you won’t be allowed anywhere NEAR this ship again. UNDERSTAND?” Chris said angrily.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good. Sit down, you three.” And they did shakily.

“Glad we got that resolved. Let’s continue, shall we?” Roland said with a smile.

“Well, what’s next? Any Questions?” Lasky asked.

“Crimson, just got word. Your new recruit has arrived, courtesy of Fireteam Thunderbust. Head down to the hangar and bring him up,” Palmer said, and Crimson walked out after a salute. Suddenly, the large screen showed a middle aged man, with a brown beard, now flecked with gray, wearing a UNSC captain’s garb.

“Who’s that?” Twilight whispered to Palmer

“Captain Wurtz. Captain of the UNSC Red Rider.” Palmer replied.

“UNSC Infinity, this is UNSC task force 165. We are orbiting the planet. Where can we land?”

“This is Infinity. Land close to us. Coordinates being transferred now!”

“Recieved! Infinity, we are on station!”

As the screen turned black, Lasky smiled as he turned around in his chair.

“Well, the reinforcements should be landing soon, but I doubt that this plateau is going to hold four UNSC ships. We need a new location.”

“There’s a large plain southwest of Canterlot. You can relocate there. I think everything has been resolved. We’ll deal with the ponies, you deal with the Covenant.” Celestia replied.

“Great. Sounds fine.”

“Captain! This is Miller!” a Spartan’s face appeared on the screen.

“What is it, Miller!” Palmer replied.

“The Covies have a landing zone southwest of a large city. They’re unloading forces as we speak.”

“Copy that. We’ll reroute our forces. Prep all Marine and Spartan Fireteams. Get ready to engage!” Palmer replied.

“Copy that, Commander!”

The Ponies paled.

“What’s wrong?” Lasky asked.

“That’s Manehattan, one of the largest cities in Equestria. THere are over 15,000 inhabitants there!” Cadance gasped out.

“Understood. We’ve stopped them once, we will stop them again!”

At this moment, Chris walked in, accompanied by Grant and a new Spartan. He was Cyan and Purple, and he carried a shotgun. His armor, Twilight noticed, looked like what a Pilot’s or aviator might wear.

“Hey, we miss anything?” the Cyan spartan asked.

Author's Note

And it's back!

One more OC slot left!

Onboard the Infinity

As Chris, Grant, and Evan, followed by the ponies, Lasky, and Palmer, arrived at the Flight Deck, they could see that the whole ship was abuzz with the news that they were getting back in the fight. As mechanics bustled about, Lasky smiled.

“Alright. Princesses, I recommend that you take a Pelican back to Canterlot. The Elements should take the children back to their home.”

“With all due respect, Captain, I think I would like to see the battle. It probably could give us more of an idea of what we are working against,” Twilight replied.

“Fine. Drop the kids off, then come back here. Gypsy Company will take you to the bridge,” he smiled at the groans from the CMC. “You three, come here.” They did so.

“Listen. Sneaking onboard was not only bad, it was dangerous as well. The Marines probably wouldn’t have been as nice as Chris was with dealing with you. The Elements will take you home, and I want you to STAY THERE. We don’t like trespassers onboard our starships. Understand?”

“Yes sir,” they said sadly.

“Alright. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity, as you are their siblings, would you take them to the second Pelican on the right? The pilots there are all ready. When you are done, they will fly you back.”

“Alright,” Rainbow Dash said, and the six ponies walked off and boarded the Pelican, which promptly took off.

”We should make our way to the Observation Deck. Fireteam Crimson, report to Pelican A-76-905. They will take you to the staging area just north of the Covenant defenses,” Lasky said, and the rest walked off.

Chris smiled and motioned for Evan and Grant to follow. As they boarded, they were met by none other than the Knight, accompanied by Glassman and a squad of Marines.

“Crimson, I know it’s kinda sheepish, but the Knight wants to join your team.”

“We’ll accept. Welcome,” Chris said and they shook hands.

“It is a pleasure. My name is Zag-0938,” the Knight said.

“Pleasure. Chris. This is Evan and Grant.” The Knight nodded in response. As they boarded the Pelican, Glassman tapped Crimson on the shoulder.

“Crimson. I got a present for you.” He held out Ramos’s AI Chip.

“Wow. How’d you find him?”

“The Crew of the Red Rider found him floating in space, in the ruined hunks of metal that is currently Birdsong. He was eager to get back in the fight with you.”

“I’ll bet,” Chris said as he inserted Ramos into his helmet.

“Hey Spartan. Been a bit.” the AI quipped.

“Hey Ramos. Ready for some fun?”

“Hell yes. I’m ready Spartan.”

Chris smiled underneath his helmet.

“Let’s get going then.”

As the Pelican took off, The Red Rider, Allegiance, and Dawes began unloading troops. As they did, Jul M’dama stared at the city from the safety of his ship. He frowned at the additional UNSC ships, and his eyes turned to their half of the Janus Key.

“Those humans have one half. We have the other. Not for long.” he said to himself, before walking to the bridge. As the Elites, Grunts, and Hunters saluted at his approach, he growled.

“Land our forces behind the city. Let it burn. Slaughter anything that stands in your way. Are the Drones ready?”

“Yes, Shipmaster.”

“Good. Prep them for combat.”

Back at the UNSC landing zone, Crimson’s Pelican set down, and unloaded the Warthog that it had been carrying. As the Marines refueled the Pelican and Warthog, Crimson, Grant, Evan, and Zag sat down, and broke out a few energy bars from a K-Ration.

“How long has it been since the battle at the Crystal Empire, or whatever it was called?” Evan asked.

“A few hours. Those covenant regroup quickly. I’m surprised at their tactics. I mean they were shooting our ships down not to kill, but to knock them out of the sky. Something’s up.”

“I agree. Something is, as you say, up.” Zag said.

“Definitely Zag.”

Then Chris’s com began to signal a message.

“All UNSC ground forces, this is UNSC Infinity. Get to your assigned vehicles. We are rolling out in 30 minutes. I repeat. report to your assigned vehicles! Pelican dropships, pick up your loads and deploy!”

“Well, let’s get going.” Grant said with a smirk.

As the Spartans walked to the main troop body, a Troop Warthog that drove up to meet them. Without surprise to Chris or Grant, they were greeted by none other than Fireteam Icebreaker.

“Murphy!”

“Hey Crimson! We got assigned to you again. Ready to have some fun?”

“Hell yeah. Let’s move!”

As Crimson took the wheel, Grant mounted his sniper rifle on the windshield. Zag, Evan, and Icebreaker piled into the back.Somehow, Zag had gotten his hands on a Incineration Cannon. As they drove off to the main body of Warthogs, Mongooses,and the occasional Scorpion, Twilight and her friends watched from above from the Infinity’s bridge.

“So, when’s the fighting begin?” Applejack asked.

“30 minutes or so. The Scorpions haven’t fully landed yet.” Roland said. “They are pretty big, a whole Pelican is needed to carry one. They...”

Suddenly, an alarm began blaring.

“What’s that?” Fluttershy stammered.

“Shit. Covies dropping out forces behind the city. The Repulsion force needs to head in now, or we lose the city!” Lasky yelled, “With or without Scorpion support!”

Roland smiled. ‘I’ll order the Scorpions to deploy immediately!”

“Do it, Roland!” Miller replied.

Lasky pressed his hand to the radio.

“All UNSC forces, this is UNSC Infinity. the Covies have been sighted. Repulsion force, deploy NOW!”

Lasky smiled at Applejack.

“”I stand corrected. The fight begins now!”

Battle For Manehattan-Part One

As the Repulsion force geared up for urban warfare, Chris tightened his hold on the Warthog’s steering wheel. He knew that the Covies would stop at nothing to avenge their loss at the Crystal Empire. While the Repulsion force joined up, Warthogs bumper to bumper, Chris looked at Zag, who was surveying the UNSC forces, still holding onto his Incineration Cannon. The force began to move out, Chris flooring the gas pedal. As the once tight group sped towards the city, Chris saw that the Covies had beaten them there. A large wall of shields, Phantoms, and the occasional Lich (Chris swore at seeing them) blanketed the road they were supposed to be taking. On cue, the Covenant forces opened up with plasma fire, resulting in the Scorpions shooting back, occasionally landing hits on Phantoms, but most impacted on the shields. Chris swore, out loud this time, resulting in a punch from Evan.

“Well, plan’s gone to shit!” Grant said.

“That is an understatement!” Zag replied.

Suddenly, as the remaining Warthogs and Scorpions reached the first trench line, the defending Wraiths opened up their main salvos, scoring hits on a few Warthogs. Just as Chris swerved to avoid a plasma shot, a second impacted near them, the resulting force of the explosion rolling over the Warthog. Chris, Zag, Evan, and Grant got out, Covenant Infantry opening fire the moment they were in the open. As Fireteam Crimson sheltered behind a shield, occasionally shooting back at the Covies that got too close, Chris radioed the Infinity.

“Palmer, this is Fireteam Crimson! We’re pinned down just short of the second trench line! We need reinforcements ASAP!”

“Crimson, this is Palmer. WILCO. Hang tight, we’ll get some guys to you soon. Most of our birds are down or engaged by Banshees. Keep moving forward as best you can.”

“What’s the verdict?” Evan shouted

“No reinforcements for the moment. We’re on our own!” Chris yelled back, resulting in Grant yelling a very rude word at the top of his lungs.

Chris frowned before several plasma shots streaked by, causing him to duck back into cover.

“What’s the plan now!” Grant yelled, then the plasma fired stopped.

“What’s going on?” Chris said, pausing when the ground began to shake. Suddenly, from behind the nearby mountain, a gigantic creature with six legs made its presence known. It was covered in purple armor and plasma shots streaked in brilliant lines of fire from the body.

Chris looked up and swore again.

“SCARAB!”

As the Scarab opened up with it’s energy cannon, Chris crouched behind the shield. He knew that the shield wouldn’t last long against a Scarab. With more profanity spewing from his mouth, Chris noticed a Warthog drive up.

“Murphy!” Chris yelled.

“Hey, Crimson. We gotta get out of here!”

“No shit! Let’s move!” Chris replied before the Spartans and Zag loaded up and drove back towards the ragtag defensive line that the UNSC had set up, Chris firing his Battle Rifle at a few Ghosts that decided to pursue them. As they sheltered behind a ruined Scorpion, Chris radioed the Infinity again.

“Palmer, this is Crimson. We have a Scarab on the field. We need heavy firepower NOW!”

“You’re in luck, Crimson. The Mammoth is ready and en route. MiniMAC ready to fire on your command.”

“Hell yes! Crimson out!”

As Chris looked towards the Scarab, a massive “PHUM!” erupted, and a blast of purple energy slammed straight into the left front leg of the Scarab.With the leg crippled, the massive war machine began to fall, Chris motioning to Murphy to drive back to the Mammoth. As the giant land tank drove up, Chris and Icebreaker’s warthog drove into the belly of the Mammoth. Disembarking from the Warthog, they walked up to the Bridge, where two Spartans awaited them. One was black and red, the other was cyan and red. The Black spartan carried a SAW and a Boltshot. The other carried an Assault Rifle and a DMR.

“Who are you?” Chris asked.

“Ken Orochi. This is David Estrata. We’re the reinforcements you asked for, Crimson.” the Cyan one replied.

“What fireteam?” Grant asked.

“Ken’s new. as for me, Fireteam Phoenix.” David replied.

“Good to have you.” Evan replied, and as handshakes went around, Chris looked out the window. He could see fires from several skyscrapers polluting the sky, and the Scarab, although crippled, was still generating Plasma fire from the turrets on its body.

“Pilot!” Chris said, and a Marine walked over and saluted.

“Get a target locator for me.”

“The Marine nodded, and Chris radioed Palmer.

“Crimson. You onboard the Mammoth?” Palmer asked.

“Yep. Commander, that Scarab’s gonna be a big problem with we don’t kill it. Can you scramble us a Pelican? I think the Marines on the ground need some close air support.”

“Pelican en route.” Miller replied.

“That’s my job, Miller. Anyway, the Covies have a pretty tight hold on the city. We’re still figuring out how they managed to deploy so fast. Most Marine squads are pinned down, and we’ve got a massive bulge in our line. Use that Pelican wisely, Crimson!”

“Got it, Commander.”

As the new fireteam of six walked out of the Mammoth cockpit, the Mammoth reached the first set of trench lines, while the Covenant were firing at or fleeing on sight of the colossal vehicle, the Marines began a forward push. Fireteam Crimson disembarked, and sprinted towards a group of marines, pinned down by a Shade turret.

“What’s the situation here?” Ken asked a Marine.

“We’re almost out of ammo, sir. There’s a weapons cache on the warthog on the right, but we can’t get to it. They’ve got us pinned down.”

“Leave that to us!” David yelled, and as he deployed his SAW, a squad of Grunt heavies came out of the second trench line, they immediately began firing Fuel Rod Cannons at the Marines. At that moment, a barrage of rockets impacted right on the Grunts. Chris looked up, and saw a Pelican Gunship raining hell.

“Fireteam Crimson, this is Viking-01. We are prepped for Close air support. Lazing frequencies are being sent to your Target Locator.”

“Copy, Viking-01. We’ve got a Shade Turret pinning down out guys on our six. Knock it out!” Chris said into the comm while blasting the few remaining Grunts with his Battle Rifle.

“Affirmative, Crimson. Engaging.”

As the Gunship obliterated the Shade turret, a few brave Marines took action and ran towards the downed Warthog. As Crimson covered them, the Gunship suddenly radioed.

“Crimson, this is Viking-01. We’re getting reports of the covies suddenly stopping combat with our boys. Getting chat from the science team about the finding something they call “The Nexus”. I’ve got orders for you to capture whatever the hell it is.”

“Copy Viking-01. Let’s move!”

Back on the Infinity, Twilight and her friends watched as the Covenant apparently launched themselves into prayers and worship in the city center.

“What’s going on?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“They found something BIG.” Glassman replied, walking up. “Apparently this “Nexus.” has about a few hundred Promethean warriors in it. And a Forerunner Warmind AI. Which is an AI that is specifically programmed for warfare.”

“We’ll handle it, Glassman.” Palmer said. “Crimson! Get to that Nexus and secure it!”

“Copy that!” Crimson’s voice came over the radio.

Battle for Manehattan-Part Two

As Fireteam Crimson boarded Viking-01, the Mammoth rolled past them, Marines in Mongooses and Warthogs driving past, the remnants of the Repulsion force, plus a few Scorpions. The Covenant in the Manehattan city center had other plans. As Jul M’dama watched, the Covenant, using drills and an energy beam from a Lich, dug out the Nexus. Jul frowned at the ponies being held captive in the city hall, who had dared resist them. As the Nexus was fully uncovered, Jul stepped down from the command post and walked towards the Nexus’s entrance, his loyal Zealots close behind. As he entered the Nexus, they failed to notice a UNSC Pelican gunship flying overhead, concealed by a skyscraper.

“Infinity, this is Crimson. M’dama’s on the field. I repeat, M’dama’s on the field.” Chris said with anger.

“Copy Crimson. New objective for you. Capture or kill M’dama. He can’t escape like he did on Requiem. Take him out!” Miller’s voice replied over Chris’s radio.

“We copy, Infinity.”

As Chris motioned for the Pelican to begin a strafing run, he opened the rear door. As they readied for deployment, Jul and his Zealots reached the Nexus’s entrance terminal. As the Zealots stood guard, M’dama activated the computer and inserted his half of the Janus Key. A hologram image of Equestria came up, along with a screen of data. M’dama touched it and a marker came up in a mountain northwest of the city. M’dama smiled and motioned for his Zealots to download the data. As the Zealots began to do so, Crimson was high above, taking cover behind Covenant barriers as Viking-01 strafed the onslaught of Covenant hell-bent on protecting M’dama. While the members of Crimson responded with blasts from their primaries, the Zealots finished copying the data. Jul walked out towards a nearby Phantom, noticing as a Lich flew in overhead, dwarfing the Pelican.

“Crimson. This is Viking-01. We won’t stand a chance against that Lich. Bring it down, then we’ll be able to continue support…”

Suddenly, a loud blast was heard, and a MAC round slammed straight into the Lich’s main body, sending it careening towards the ground, crippled. Chris turned and saw the Mammoth rolling down the city street, with mounted UNSC forces close behind. Chris motioned for the Spartans and Promethean to move up while the Marines engaged the Covenant, Ken watching a Phantom take off out of the corner of his eye. As he shot at it, it sped off. Chris motioned to Ken, and he followed reluctantly. Crimson made their way through the jumbled mess of shrapnel, debris, and dead or dying Covenant inside the Lich. They then entered the Nexus. As David radioed the “All Clear” signal, Chris saw what the Covenant were after.

“Infinity, this is Crimson.”

“We copy, Crimson.”

“I think I know why those Covies wanted to take the city.” Chris frowned and fed the Infinity his helmet cam. They saw a huge pillar of energy, surrounded by orbs revolving around the pillar, encased in a glass chamber.

“Holy shit. Crimson, take a look around. See if there’s anything the Covies didn’t take. The science nerds are buzzing about that.” Palmer replied.

“We copy.”

“Chris!” Ken yelled.

Chris turned and saw a door opening. As the fireteam readied their weapons, Chris led them down a spiraling set of stairs. After around ten minutes, they came to a large room, reminiscent of a laboratory. Bookshelves covered the walls. Papers, empty bottles, inkwells, and the occasional quill pen were scattered around the floor. On a separate table lay a set of scientific instruments. At the middle, near a large desk covered with books and jumbled papers, was a pedestal, and mounted on top was an orange, lavishly decorated orb. Chris started to reach for it, but Zag held his arm back.

“My scans say this simply. Do not touch.”

Chris nodded, and turned on his radio.

“Infinity, this is Crimson. You getting all this?”

“Yep. That’s a big library,” Roland quipped.

“Yeah. Anything useful?” Ken interjected over the comms.

“Well, lemme ask one of the Equestrians,” Miller replied, and after a few seconds, came back on the comms.

“Well, Twilight is apparently excited beyond words about you finding “The Lost Library” of some ancient pony named “Starswirl the Bearded”. Apparently he was a big sorcerer in ancient Equestria. One of his research labs disappeared during an earthquake one night, and Starswirl with it. See what you can find.”

“Guys, I found a body. Equestrian,” Grant yelled.

As the Spartans gathered around the body, Zag scanned it.

“He’s in a state of suspended animation. Methinks it is due to that orb. Disable the orb’s energy field, it should revive him. It is uncertain whether or not it will be successful,” Zag said.

“Copy that. Infinity. You got the scans on that orb?”

“Definitely Forerunner in origin. Try having Zag interact with it digitally,” Glassman said over the radio.

“Copy that.”

As Zag brought his hand up to the orb, a screen appeared. Emblazoned on it were fluctuating graphs, two lines of rapidly moving numbers, and a strange glyph in the middle.

“I will obtain what I can. From what I can gather, this world is ancient. This “Nexus” is simply a large monitoring station for this world. Statistics on population, weather systems, the status of the world is all contained within this Nexus Mind. However, there is something even stranger. It makes references to the “Ancestors.” I have no idea what that means, sadly. Without the other mind, we cannot control the functions needed to activate the Nexus.” Zag said, withdrawing his hand from the screen. “I will store this data for later use.”

“Copy that. Crimson. Get topside ASAP. We got a major situation,” Palmer’s voice came over the radio. “The Covies are abandoning the fight here. They’re moving their forces towards…”

“Towards what?” Evan said.

“The capital of Equestria. Get moving Crimson!” Palmer replied.

“Copy that,” Chris said.

“Wait.”

All eyes turned to the pony, now standing up.

“Who are you?” Grant said.

“The Equestrians know me as Starswirl the Bearded. Or, what remains of me. That orb contains the last vestiges of my memories. My life’s work. Share it with the Equestrians. But destroy this lab. I delved too deep into the mysteries of the beyond. I implore you. Destroy it,” Starswirl said, and he gave them a flint and steel. “And tell Princess Celestia “To the Stars.” She will know what I meant.”

He coughed before the vestiges of life finally left his weary body Chris saluted then lit a section of books on fire. As Zag gathered the first Nexus mind, Chris motioned, and they began to leave. Fireteam Crimson fled the Nexus, the library burning in their wake. As they made it out, Chris radioed the Infinity.

“You see all that?”

“Yep. The ponies are literally freaking out. But that’s not important right now. The Covies are evacuating with extreme prejudice. Get back to the Infinity, Crimson. We got work to do.”

“We copy.”

As Viking-01 landed, the fireteam boarded and took off for home. As the battle subsided, a strange, hooded figure watched from a rooftop. As the figure witnessed Crimson’s departure, it drew back its hood, revealing a Mjolnir Mark V helmet, colored steel gray.

“Noble Six...has returned,” it said to itself, then it drew up its hood, and then it vanished in a cloud of smoke and ash.

Battle for Canterlot-Part One

As Viking-01 flew back to the Infinity, the other UNSC ships engaged the remains of M’dama’s fleet. Watching, then turning away, Noble Six walked down the stairs of the building he was in. As he descended, memories flashed through his head. The death of Jorge, Kat, Carter, and Emile. His last stand on Reach. Being captured by the Covenant. The torture and interrogation he was given by them. The two options he was given. Have your armor taken and sent back to High Charity as a POW, or be marooned on a strange world to die. He chose life. But even life can be very close to death. Having to keep moving to evade the inhabitants. Stealing food to survive. Sleeping in back alleys and sometimes on the roofs of buildings, his only defense an empty Magnum. Six shook off the memories as he exited the building. As he looked around, his eyes quickly fixed themselves on a stray DMR. As he picked it up, the ammo counter displayed 00. Six swore, and continued to forage for weapons. After around five minutes, he picked up what looked like a modified Plasma Repeater from a dead Elite, only it had longer barrel and a stock. as he shouldered it, he noticed the Covenant command post. As he walked up into the main podium, he tuned the Covenant radio to all available frequencies.

“UNSC Infinity, this is Spartan B-312. Designation Noble Six. Requesting immediate evacuation from Covenant command post in city plaza. Infinity, please respond.”

Onboard the Infinity, as he watched Crimson depart from Viking-01, Lasky sighed and turned to Roland.

“What are the Covies doing now?”

“Evacuating. We’re getting reports from Marine squads that they’ve either been evacuating or committing suicide. Things seem too…Hang on. I’m getting a strange radio message, laced with Covenant coding.”

“Play it.” Palmer said, walking in with Fireteam Crimson, the ponies, and Zag, who was carrying the first Nexus Mind.

“Will Do.” Roland said.

UNSC…Spartan….Designation...Requesting....Covenant….Plaza...Respond….” was clearly heard, although loud blasts of static frequently interrupted the few clear words.

“What the hell was that, Roland?” Lasky said, annoyed at the loud sounds, while a few of the ponies uncovered their ears.

“Sorry. A side-effect of the Covie coding. I’m decoding it now. And it’s done.” Roland said with a smile. “Here’s the decrypted message.” It then played, this time much more clear and at an appropriate volume level.

“UNSC Infinity, this is Spartan B-312. Designation Noble Six. Requesting immediate evacuation from Covenant command post in city plaza. Infinity, please respond.”

“Noble Six?” Palmer said, confused. “He died on Reach a long time ago! He can’t be alive!”

“Doesn’t matter to me. Roland! Reestablish contact if you can!” Lasky said.

“Already working on it!.” Roland replied. “And...done!”

“UNSC Infinity, this is Spartan B-312, Designation Noble Six. God, it’s been a while.”

“Noble Six, this is Captain Lasky of the Infinity. How are you alive?”

“I seem to remember that the only thing you found was my helmet. I was captured, interrogated, tortured, and marooned here to die. I survived, I fucking survived, Captain. One thing they say, is that Spartans never die. I’m a perfect example of that.”

“In any case, it’s good to have you back. Where can we retrieve you?” Lasky said.

“City plaza. I’ll be waiting for you there.”

“Copy that, Noble Six. Infinity out.”

Lasky sighed and switched off the radio.

“Crimson. You’re on retrieval duty. Get Noble Six, then link up with the UNSC forces headed towards the Capital. We only have a few hours to set up defenses before those Covenant find the second Nexus Mind. We need to move fast.”

“Yessir!” Chris yelled, and as they departed, Twilight and Celestia turned to Lasky, with nervous eyes.

“Why here? Why Equestria? I know those Covenant are complete lunatics, but why here?” Twilight asked, along with nods and agreement from her friends, Luna, Celestia, Armor, and Cadance.

“I don’t know. The Forerunners must have had some connection with this world. I don’t know why or how, but I promise you. Your capital will not fall to the Covenant. I promised you before, and I’m promising you again.” Lasky said. “They once saw us as heretics, an affront to their gods. We proved them wrong after years of war. We lost so many. We'll make sure that they don't take any Equestrian lives.”

“I trust you completely, Captain. I know that you have fought them for many years, so I grant you the resources needed to defend the city.” Celestia said.

“Thanks, Princess. We won’t let you down. I believe Marine and Spartan fireteams should be landing now…”

“Captain Lasky! This is Spartan Esposito, Fireteam Forest.” the radio suddenly blared.

“I copy, Forest.” Lasky replied.

“We’re having problems with a group of locals in fancy clothing and regulars, sir. All civies. They’ve barricaded the way into the city that Celestia gave us. They’re pelting us with rocks and insults. A lot of the marines are close to firing upon them. We’re not sure what to do.”

“Hold fire and do not engage at all costs. Support will be there shortly.” Lasky said.

“We copy!” Esposito replied.

“I’ll handle this, Captain Lasky.” Celestia said, and she teleported out with a bright flash. Lasky removed his hand from over his eyes, and looked at Twilight.

“Can all alicorns teleport?”

“Yeah. But it’s very complicated magic. I was able to teleport as a unicorn, but it took a lot of time to master. Now that I’m an Alicorn, I can do it more easily.”

“Impressive.” Roland quipped. "Biological teleportation."

Lasky smiled at the Alicorn, and as Twilight saw a Pelican fly past, she whispered under her breath.

“Good luck.”

======================================================

While the Pelican flew over the remains of the city, Chris looked down at himself. He contemplated the fact that Noble Six, the so-called “Grim Reaper of Beta Company,” was still alive. Many Spartans had seen the infamous helmet cam recovered from the remains, but Chris had studied it. He had admired Six for his combat skills, and for the actions he performed in the defense of Reach. He cleared his head as the pilots notified them over the intercom that they had picked up a UNSC beacon, and were closing in on it.

“Copy that, pilot. Crimson, get ready!” Chris yelled, and as they began to set down, the door opened. Chris looked out and approaching them was a Spartan in Mjolnir Mark VB armor. It was all steel gray, with dents, scratches, and even a burn mark on the left thigh were present. As the Spartan walked up, he saluted. Chris jumped out, and looked the Spartan right in the eye.

“Chris-0438. Commander of Fireteam Crimson.”

“Noble Six. Pleasure, Chris.”

As they shook hands, Six nodded, and boarded the Pelican. Chris thought the saw him flinch at the sight of Zag, but he quickly dismissed it as imagination.

“What the hell are you?” Six said.

“My name is Zag-09. I am a Promethean Knight-Lancer, and a member of the group known as “Fireteam Crimson.”” Zag replied.

“Nice. Let’s get moving.” Six said, nodding towards the Knight. As Chris nodded, the two Spartans jumped in, and Viking-01 began to take off. As Six and Chris settled themselves down, Grant handed Six an Assault Rifle and a Magnum. Chris watched as Evan, Ken, David, and Grant made small talk with Six, who was only answering questions, never asking. Chris shook his head and smiled underneath his helmet. Around thirty minutes later, they arrived at the capital. As the Spartans disembarked, they could see Celestia talking exhaustively with the civilians on top of the barrier. As they approached, the crowd roared insults and a few rocks were thrown at Crimson and the Marines and Spartans already present. Celestia was trying to calm them down, but all their attention was on the Spartans.

“EVERYPONY LISTEN!” Celestia roared in the Royal Voice, and all of a sudden, there was quiet. “I trust the UNSC with the defense of Canterlot from the Covenant invaders. They are here to PROTECT us, not to invade, and that is final. I insist that there will be no more protests…”

“Protect us? PROTECT US?” a smart-ass voice echoed, and a stallion with white fur, wearing noble-style robes stepped up to the front. (Crimson saw Celestia swear under her breath.) “Auntie, you can’t be serious about this! Why would they show up with what I presume are weapons if they aren’t planning to ravage Canterlot?”

“I am perfectly serious, Prince. They are not here to invade. I can presume that everypony heard of the valiant efforts they put up defending our land?” She said, and several ponies nodded.

“They’re nothing more than mutant, alien apes! Why should we let them in, when they could be planning all sorts of evil things that could harm us beyond repair?” “Prince” said furiously, but before Celestia could respond, Six cleared his throat.

“Listen here. You honestly think that we’re here to invade?” he said, and Prince Blueblood nodded.

“Then listen up, you shit-mouthed ass-hat. If we truly wanted to invade, why would we have crashed in that forest, rather than striking at important cities? Why would we have made peaceful contact with your kind? Because we knew that you could be allies. We defended your land and people with our strength, and our troops have DIED to defend this world, and this is the welcome we get? Check the facts, you uptight shithead! We took back that city you call “Manehattan” with our blood, and we try to defend your capital, we get this load of shit? So I’ll ask once, then I’ll force my way through that barrier if I need to. Open up, so we can defend you and hopefully force the Covenant off your world once and for all. UNDERSTAND?” Six roared.

Prince Blueblood tried to reply, but a glare and an angry look from Celestia kept him silent. As the ponies removed the barricade using magic, the UNSC troops walked through, getting scared looks from the ponies. Blueblood tried to say something more, but Celestia’s horn glowed threateningly, and he was silent. Chris jogged up next to Six.

“Nice one there, Six.”

“I aim to please.” he replied.

Author's Note

Edited chapter up now.

And the covenant are not far behind. Expect a major battle in the next chapter!

Battle For Canterlot-Part Two

While the Marines split up after marching through the barrier towards the UNSC firebase that now occupied most of the City plaza, Crimson felt strangely apprehensive. Even as a soldier, he had even really been to a city that hadn’t been razed by the Covenant. But now, he had to look around him and admire the fact that this proud city would soon be a battleground. Then, Ramos snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Hey Spartan. Incoming message from Commander Palmer, whole fireteam wide.”

“Patch it through.”

Soon enough, Commander Palmer’s face appeared on Crimson’s HUD.

“Well Crimson, got some good news. The techs on the Infinity have some new armor upgrades for you. Top of the line. We’re sending them to you via Pelican. Get ready for it.”

“We copy.”

“Good. Palmer out.”

As the steel gray Pelican arrived, carrying two massive crates, Fireteam Crimson removed their helmets, except for Noble Six. As the Pelican set itself down, the containers opened, revealing six armor stations. While the Technicians filed out with several crates, each marked with the name of a Spartan in the Fireteam, Chris, Grant, Ken, David, Evan, and Six each occupied one. As the doors closed, Zag sat himself down and he stared at the sky. Drawing forth the first Nexus Mind, he stared into it like a piercing needle.

“Good luck to us all.”

======================================================

After around thirty minutes, the Spartans emerged. The fireteams’ battle-worn armor was replaced with updated versions of their old armor, making them look much the same, but twice as lethal. Zag walked over to a refurbished Chris, already flexing and testing his armor’s movement systems.

“Does it work?” Zag asked.

“It does. Question is, does it work for us? Hell yes.” Chris said, laughing.

“Good. I believe we have at most an hour before the Covenant arrive. We must be swift.”

“Agreed. Fireteam Crimson! form up!” Chris barked, and the fireteam stepped into formation. Zag took a position next to, but slightly behind, Chris as they walked towards the firebase. As the Pelican took off, storm clouds began to gather.

======================================================

As Fireteam Crimson walked into Canterlot Plaza, they were surprised at all the activity. Marines hustled about, carrying crates or doing miscellaneous duties. The squad leaders in the main command post were busy tapping at screens or ordering Marines. Chris shrugged and as the fireteam parked themselves on or near a bench, Chris sighed.

“What’s up, commander?” Evan asked.

“Just can’t shake the feeling that this could be my final fight.”

“Don’t think like that. You pretty much saved all of our asses on Requiem.”

“Yeah, but something just feels wrong here. That portal on Birdsong? The Nexus Mind? All of that HAS to be connected. I just know it.”

“I can understand that, Chris. My analysis of the First Mind has proved fruitless. The security applied by the creators is not archived in any Forerunner data catalog that I have access to. I believe that with the presence of the Second Mind, we can learn more. But I do believe your hypothesis is correct.”

“Thanks, Zag. We should load up.”

While the Spartans and Promethean walked over to the Weapons depot, a Marine walked over.

“Chris-0438?”

“Yes, Marine?”

“Commander Palmer is sending down new gear for you. Should be here soon.”

“Thanks.”

At that moment, weapon drops slammed into the ground. As each member claimed their package, Chris hesitated at first, but he eventually discarded his old weapons for the new models. A dull noise came from behind him, and he saw Zag reforming his LightRifle.

“New schematics received.” he said cryptically.

Chris shrugged and began to inspect his new Battle Rifle. The main feature was the new-model scope. As he attached it, there was a crack of thunder. Then, it began to rain. Chris shrugged and motioned to the Fireteam. As they began to walk out towards the UNSC lines, in the distance, a bolt of lightning hit the ground. Then, Chris’s radio received a message from Lasky.

“Crimson, this is Lasky. We’ve located the second mind. It’s at the top of the mountain. Bad news is, the covies have regrouped faster than we expected. Our wait time has been but down to fifteen minutes. We can’t lose the mind. Get moving!”

“We copy!” the Fireteam resonated.

“Good. Viking-01 is inbound to get you up there. Move fast, the covies are already moving towards it!”

“Got it.”

When the Pelican landed, Crimson boarded, and the Pelican took off. Through the now-heavy rain, Chris could see the shapes of Covenant infantry ascending the mountain. Chris sighed. As the Covenant continued to climb, Chris stood up.

“We don’t have a lot of time, Spartans. We get in, blast anything that stands in our way. Get the mind, then we evac. Now, who’s ready to kick some ass?”

“HOORAH!” the Spartans replied. While the Pelican hovered near the entrance, firing occasionally at Covenant that got too close, the Spartans unloaded. Ramos opened the door, revealing a dark room. Switching on their floodlights, Chris and the other Spartans entered the abyss. When they entered, a bolt of lightning struck the mountaintop.

Author's Note

Okay, chapter up! It's not edited yet, but it's OK for now. Thanks a lot to my editor, the brilliant Requiem17! Check out his Halo stories!

Next time-An avalanche, a Halo 5-intro esqe escape, and a massive battle for the fate of Equis. We're nearing the stunning finale! Let's kick it into high gear, Spartans!

Battle for Canterlot-Part Three

The room was dark. Exceedingly dark. Only the floodlights of Fireteam Crimson provided sanctuary. As the Spartans walked down the corridor, the lights danced across the walls.

“I’ll tell you guys, this is creepy.” Evan said, his eye on his sights.

“I second that.” Grant replied.

“Cut the chatter, you two.” Chris said, and then, as he stepped, a plate sunk into the ground. Chris barely had time to roll out of the way before a white-hot laser sliced through where he was once standing. Chris swore, and proceeded to crouch-walk through, his floodlights on the ground. Taking the hint, the fireteam members did the same. Now scanning the floor, they noticed some plates were cloaked in dust, some plates were clean. Exiting the corridor, the found themselves in a large dome, wreathed in blackness. As the fireteam scanned the room, Chris walked slowly towards the center. Then, lights came on, illuminating the dome. Grant swore.

“More books. Jesus, how many missing labs are we gonna find?”

“I’ll tell you, this is really creeping me out big time now.” Ken said, shouldering his DMR.

“Found the mind.” Chris said, walking to the pedestal. As he removed the mind, the pedestal collapsed. Then, the room began to rumble and shake.

“FUCK! Everyone out! NOW!” Chris swore. As the team made the break for the exit, dodging the now active traps, they exited to a massive, pitched battle taking place. From what they could see, the Covenant were throwing everything they had to breach the UNSC lines. Chris swore, and then, a bolt of lightning struck a snowdrift. The ground began to rumble once again.

“AVALANCHE!” David screamed, as the snow began to cascade down. Worse, trees and boulders were caught in the mix.

“Down the mountain! LET’S MOVE!” Chris said, beginning to slide down the mountainside. The members followed suit. Sliding, jumping, and dodging, the members of Fireteam Crimson desperately tried not to be covered. Then, plasma blasts struck the snow beside them. Chris turned and saw a massive Covie strike force ascending the mountain, accompanied by Wraiths with what looked like snow-plows attached. Chris activated his thruster pack, sending him straight towards the encroaching enemy. Leaping into the air, he dove down and Spartan Slammed, using the lift response to slam again, blasting several small covenant groups. As the other fireteam members slid down, blasting their way through, Chris kept a firm hold on the Second Mind, using his Magnum with his other. Then, an idea struck him. Activating his Hardlight Shield, he mounted the module on his arm, simulating a 21st century Riot Shield. Using the shield as cover for the mind, he blasted, meleed, and dodged Covenant at points, all the while blasting with his Magnum. A screech on engines alerted him to Ken taking down the crew of a Phantom and David shooting the pilots through the cockpit window. Grant and Evan were leaping across the snowplow Wraiths, eliminating the gunners and pilots. Evan leaped backward, cartwheeling to the rear engine. Shoving a grenade into the thruster, he leaped up, with Grant following. The explosion made the wraith flip, propelling the Spartans into the air. Spartan Slamming into the ground which eliminated a squad of Jackals, they continued to blast the enemy. Chris focused forward and continued to blast his way through the still-relentless covie infantry. Six and Zag were on a cliffside above them, with Zag blink-striking enemies, and Six eliminating them. Then, rockets impacted the ground occupied by a large squad of Grunts. Chris looked up and saw Viking-01 fly past, spraying machine gun fire. Setting itself parallel to the Fireteam’s position, it opened the rear doors. Chris jumped in, followed by the rest of the team. Chris took the gunner position on the rear door, while the fireteam sat down. The avalanche continued to cascade, wiping out the remains of the Covenant strike force.Then, a radio call erupted.

“Crimson, this is Miller. Glad you could rejoin us. The Covies are throwing EVERYTHING they have at us. We have unconfirmed reports of Liches as well. We need you down here, Crimson. Get here ASAP. The Equestrians need backup holding the southern defense line. Icebreaker and Forest are already present, but they’re gonna be overrun soon.”

“Say no more, Miller. We’re on it.” Chris said. “Pilot! Souther defense line now!

“Got it!” The pilot replied. As the Pelican began to turn, they could see the full extent of the assault. The UNSC lines were holding firm, but Chris and the fireteam knew they wouldn’t be able to hold out unless the southern line was reinforced.

“Crimson! AA fire’s too heavy! You’re gonna have to air deploy!” the pilot yelled. Chris nodded and motioned to the Spartans and Promethean. As they lined up, the Pelican pilot gave the “OK” gesture. They jumped out, diving into a streamlined posture. Plasma fire erupted all around them. Chris scowled under his helmet.

“My estimates and field data report we only have 15 minutes to reach the the positions. We need to speed up.” Ramos said, his CG face in a war-ready grin.

‘Copy that Ramos. FIRETEAM CRIMSON! WE RIDE HERE, WE RIDE NOW! LET’S RIP THESE BASTARDS!” Chris said, with “HOORAH!” coming from each member. A timer appeared on Crimson’s HUD. As the defense line appeared in their view, Crimson linked up and began to slow their descent. Noticing a neighborhood built on a hillside, he slowly started to dive. When he was within three hundred meters, he began to prep for a sliding impact. Hitting the ground, he rolled and began to powerslide down the slope, with the rest of the team following suit. The team slid down the mountain, while smashing through anything that stood in their way. As they reached the overlook, they activated their mag boots. Sliding to a stop, Zag simply teleported to their position. As they sprinted down the rest of the hill, they came under fire from Covenant squads. Blasting their way past them, They arrived at the main line. Covering behind a large house, which the UNSC was using a field outpost, they restocked their ammunition. With weapons full to bursting, they motioned to one another.

“Ramos, how much time do we have?”

“Nine minutes. Good news, it’s only a couple hundred meters from our position. Bad news, it’s almost overrun.”

“You heard the AI! Let’s move!” Chris said, and the Spartans began to sprint towards the battle line. Arriving at the first set of trenches, they were quickly joined by Icebreaker and Forest.

“Murphy! Sitrep!” Chris yelled, blasting the encroaching Covenant with his Battle Rifle.

“Those Covenant really want to take this line! They’re trying to flank us!” Murphy replied, whilst throwing a frag grenade.

“Copy that.” Chris replied.

‘Chris! My tactical scans say the Covenant have field artillery shelling our main lines. It is also being used for a tactical firebase. If we can neutralize those guns, we might be able to cull their offensive!” Zag yelled, synthesizing more ammunition for his Binary Rifle.

“Copy that! We need transport! NOW!” Chris yelled, and Fireteam Forest broke off. As the onslaught continued, Crimson and Icebreaker were almost out of grenades, and Zag’s supply of Synthesized ammunition was drying up. Then, a massive salvo of rockets impacted, and the Mammoth rolled past, backed up by Scorpions. Forest rolled up in a troop-hog with two additional warthogs full of Marines. As they boarded, the Mammoth blasted a group of Phantoms with the MiniMac. Motioning to Esposito, the three Warthogs drove off, leading the charge against the enemy.

Author's Note

Yes, the battle for Canterlot will be five parts of true warfare for the fate of Equestria. Like how I integrated the Halo 5 opening? The armor upgrades gave them the Spartan Slam and Charge. Plus, I will integrate enemies and weapons fro Halo 5 now. NO CHARACTERS THOUGH. This story is BETWEEN Halo 4 and Halo 5.

RECOMMENDED LISTENING
THe Halo 5 OST song- "Light Is Green." It's the theme for Fireteam Osiris, and the theme used in the opening cinematic. I loved writing to it, so it's kinda indispensable for the story.

Hope you guys enjoy! But the battle is far from over...

Battle for Canterlot-Part Four

The members of Fireteam Crimson sped past the Mammoth, under heavy fire from the Covenant artillery. Chris swore as he fired with his Battle rifle at groups of Covie infantry. Evan swerved to dodge a plasma blast and yelped.

“Chris! we got contacts!”

“Confirmed!” Grant said, sniping an Elite.

“Move it, Fireteam!” Chris said, blasting away.

Several more plasma shots streaked past and nearly scrapped the Mammoth. Chris swore and dove back into cover.

“CRIMSON!” Palmer’s voice echoed over the Radio. “GET THOSE GUNS DOWN NOW! WE CAN’T HOLD MUCH LONGER!”

“We’re trying, Commander!” Chris replied, shotgunning an Elite who had tried to hijack the Warthog.

“You had better hurry the FUCK up, Crimson! Our lines aren’t going to hold forever!” Palmer replied.

“Evan! Double-time! We need to get to those guns out of commission NOW! Chris barked, shooting at a group of Grunts.

“Copy that!” Evan said, gunning the engine. Shooting past a group of Covie infantry, Evan drove like a madman. As the fireteam sprayed a wall of bullets at entrenched Covenant, Zag looked around him. The sky was a dull black and gray, a result of the smoke and horrors of war. Destroyed vehicles littered the ground. Plasma shots and bullets streaked past in the distance. Zag was taken aback. When he had arrived on this world, he had admired its color. Now, it was a warzone. Zag cleared his head and continued to fire, his anger fueling him.

“We are nearing the gun positions. I suggest we speed up.” Ramos said over the fireteam comms.

“Easy for you to say!” Evan said, continuing to gun the engine. Then, the Tyrant guns came into view. Chris swore.

“What is wrong, Crimson?” Zag said, taking down an elite with a headshot.

“Those Tyrants have to be destroyed from the inside. We have to…”

Chris’s statement was cut short as a plasma shot streaked, hitting near the Warthog. Evan overcorrected, causing the Warthog to flip. Throwing the inhabitants, the vehicle rolled and crushed a few Grunts before slamming into a doorway, sealing it.

“FUCK!” Grant swore as he dove and dodged the incoming plasma fire.

”Entrance is sealed! We can’t get in!” Ken yelled.

As soon as this was said, the Warthog came hurtling towards them, thrown by an unknown force. Emerging from the smoke came a pair of Hunters. Groaning loudly, they began to fire.

“SHIT! Crimson! Focus fire!” Chris yelped. Taking up battle stances, the team fired mag after mag at the hulking Hunters, to no avail. Then, Six dove out of cover and charged. The Hunters focused fire on him, sending green fuel rod blasts hurtling towards him. Dodging the blasts, he jumped up and over the first Hunter, throwing a frag grenade as he did. The grenade flew true, bouncing up and into the hunter’s rear armor plate. Performing a double backward roll, he looked up as the grenade exploded. The remains of the hunter fell to the ground. Six then leaped backward to dodge the second Hunter’s charging form. He then leaped over to the now-dead warthog. Swiftly turning the engine on, he began to push. The Hunter charged and slammed into the wreckage. Six flinched, but he kept pushing. He kept pushing until the Hunter was pinned against the wall of the Tyrant. Taking a frag from his hip, he pulled the pin and shoved it into a hole in the hood. Diving away, he stood up as the grenade exploded. The explosion detonated the fuel in the Warthog, causing a chain reaction. The explosion tore through the gun, imploding the core. The gun exploded, throwing shrapnel and bodies into the air. As the explosion ceased, Six turned around and looked at Fireteam Crimson, who were standing behind him. Six turned and smiled underneath his helmet.

“That’s how it’s done.” Six said.

“Well, that’s all well and good, but how are we getting out of here?” Ken said. At that moment, the familiar drone of a Pelican was heard. Viking-01 landed near the wreckage and opened the door. Chris nodded to Six, and as the Fireteam boarded, the radio erupted.

“Just in time, Crimson. The covies are still fighting, though a bit more half-heartedly. Get back to the main line. We’re not done yet.” Miller said, and he saluted Chris over the video comm.

“We never are, Miller.” Chris said as the Pelican soared towards the darkening sky.

Battle For Canterlot-Part Five/Ending

As Viking-01 soared over the darkening sky, they could see the full extent of the hell that was now the Canterlot plain. Destroyed vehicles, explosions, and streaking bullets peppered the landscape. The sun was setting, though masked by the smoke and ash from the sheer carnage.

“Crimson! Get ready! We are going in hot!” Viking’s pilot yelled to Fireteam Crimson. Chris slammed the button, opening the rear door. As the Pelican set itself down near the main base, Chris and the team jumped out. Canterlot was unrecognizable. The once orderly streets were pocked with blast craters, wrecked vehicles, and ruined buildings. Medics rushed, carrying Marines on stretchers, alongside wounded ponies. Chris looked up, and a small hole in the ash appeared. The light of the setting sun pierced the clouds, sending radiant light down onto the scorched no man’s land. Chris sighed, then he focused himself.

“Crimson! Move out!” he barked, and the team sprinted towards the defense line. After a half hour’s run, they arrived. What the UNSC called a “Defense line.” was little more than a ragtag line of Scorpions, Warthogs, and Mongooses. The Covenant were firmly entrenched, and they were exploiting this. The UNSC field guns were having to aim under fire, while the Covenant guns were able to land hits simply by pointing up and firing. Chris sped over to a Marine squad.

“Sitrep, Marine!” Chris yelled.

“Those Covies are hitting us with everything they have! We’re gonna need a miracle to survive this shitstorm!” was the reply.

“Stay with it, Marine!” David yelled, sheltering next to Chris.

“What’s the plan this time?” Grant yelled, while he sent rounds with his Sniper Rifle.

“Hold the line, Spartans!” Chris yelled. As he said this, a radio call came into his headset.

“We’ve nearly lost this battle! We need a goddamn miracle if we’re gonna defend this city! Knocking out those guns helped, but it wasn’t enough Crimson! We need to knock them out in one killblow, or we’ve lost!” Palmer yelled.

“Got it! Tell all fireteams to hold their ground. We need air support NOW!” Chris replied, shooting down an charging Elite with his magnum.

“Negative, Crimson. All birds are engaged or downed. The Red Rider, Dawes and Allegiant are in the same shit, Crimson. We need to end this soon, and by soon, I fucking mean NOW!”

“Understood!” Chris yelled. As the rest of the Fireteam hopped out of the Warthog, Zag stayed behind for a few moments.

"I wonder..." He said, then he scowled. Then, as Zag hopped out of the Warthog to regroup with the team, a Plasma blast struck the ground barely inches from him, detonating the Warthog. The explosion sent Zag careening into the trench wall. Getting up, he looked down at his now-mangled body. Seeing the Fireteam in the distance, he began to walk. Then he began to run.

“Crimson!” Zag rushed over, limping as he went. Chris rushed over, and saw a massive cave-in in Zag’s body. One of his wings was jagged and broken, and his Lightrifle was now a mangled, broken heap.

“Zag! What the hell happened?”

“Not important. I am low on power, and wounded. I have a theory of how we can end this. I am powered by a Promethean-model fusion core. If I were to rupture it close to the enemy lines, I would wipe everything out in a three hundred meter radius, thus decimating the enemy. The counter is, when the core is ruptured, I will cease to exist as soon as it detonates.”

“Zag, you can’t possibly mean…”

“Yes, Crimson. I will die. But life is paramount with death. I have served you well. Honor my sacrifice.” Zag said, drawing out a small Forerunner totem. Pressing it into Chris’s stunned hand, he did his best to salute.

“It was an honor serving.” Zag said, before leaping out of the trench and into the driver’s seat of an abandoned Warthog. Gunning the engine, he drove at a breakneck pace towards the Covenant line.

“ZAG!” Chris yelled. “NO!”

He tried to reach out, but he fell into the ground. Looking up, he saw Zag gun the engine evermore. Zag growled as he drove, weathering the onslaught of plasma fire that awaited him. Then, the front-right wheel was hit, causing him to spin out of control. After a series of spins and flips, and a mighty crash, the Warthog stopped, and Zag emerged. His left leg was smashed, and his right arm was severed at the joint. He crawled slowly, firing a Boltshot at a few Grunts that challenged him. Then, an Elite pinned him to the ground with a stomp. Zag growled and grabbed a piece of glass from the windshield. Raising it above his core, he sighed.

“Farewell, Fireteam Crimson.”

Zag slammed the glass shard into his core, shattering the proton barrier. The Elite stepped backwards in fright as the core began to rupture. A massive surge of orange-black energy gathered into an orb, then, it vanished, followed by a huge explosion and a pillar of ash. The gust of wind threw vehicles into the air, and the bodies of fallen Marines and Covenant. The ash cloud finally settled, giving everyone a good view. Zag was no more. A crater and a small orange dust, what remained of the Promethean, was all there was. The Covenant line had been obliterated. They had simply ceased to exist. As the remaining Covenant began to retreat, Chris collapsed to the ground in shock. The Marines around him began to celebrate, cheering each other. Chris sat there, contemplating what he had just seen. Ken and Grant helped him up, and he suddenly began to cry, the first time in a long while. As he was carried into a Pelican, he broke down and began to sob.

=====================================================================

THE NEXT DAY

Chris sighed and looked down at the ballroom, now packed with Humans and Ponies alike. Celestia had proclaimed an honorary night of celebration for their victory the previous day, and to honor those lost, though Chris was in no real mood to party. He sighed and looked at the totem Zag had given him. It was rectangular, with strange forerunner inscriptions. A large blue pyramid stood in the middle. It was warm to the touch, and it felt as if a piece of Chris had died with the Promethean.

“You okay, Chris?”

Chris turned to see Twilight walk up to him, carrying a small glass of water.

“Not really. You didn’t know Zag as I did. He was a good friend, and a damn good soldier. I’m just...sad to see him go.”

“I can understand that. His sacrifice was honorable.”

“He didn’t have to die. We could have found another way, GODDAMMIT!” he yelled, slamming his fist into the railing, shattering the glass.

“Chris, he died a hero.” Twilight said.

“I know that. Without him, we could have lost the battle. That would have meant the end of everything. Hey, I got something for you.”

Chris drew out a UNSC datapad, and he handed it to Twilight.

“Remember back when we first met? About how I could give you access to the Infinity’s Database? Well, this datapad has the whole digital collection of the Library of Humanity. A basic copy of our history is on that device’s 300-terabyte hard drive. Hope you like it.”

“Thanks, Chris.”

“No problem. Thing is, we’re leaving tomorrow. We managed to get back in contact with NavCOM and FleetCOM, and they need us. We've got trouble brewing. Apparently two colony worlds have been completely destroyed. They need us to investigate.”

“Alright. But one more thing.”

‘What?”

“If you ever need a safe haven, come here. You know where to find us.”

========================================================

THREE WEEKS LATER

“CAPTAIN LASKY! Distress calls, all channels!”

Lasky entered the bridge, scowling. It was chaos as the Infinity bridge was bombarded with calls for help from nearly everywhere. Marines and Bridge crewmembers were scurrying about, trying to respond frantically. He stepped up to the main table, looking at Roland.

“What’s going on?”

“Cortana. Her and the other AI’s are shutting everything down from Earth to the outer colonies.” Roland said.

Suddenly, the lights went out. Then, red lights came on, giving off an air of evil

“Found you.”

All eyes turned to the malevolent AI standing in their midst. Lasky scowled. Cortana.

“Hide-and-seek’s over, Infinity.”

A Forerunner Guardian then appeared out of slipspace, and began to ready it's energy pulse.

“Lieutenant Jet! Emergency Slipspace NOW!” Lasky barked.

As the Infinity sped past the Guardian and into Slipspace, Lasky scowled.

“Can she track us?”

“No reason to think she can’t.” Roland replied.

“Continue random jumps. Steer clear of major settlements!” Lasky yelled, to a confirmation from Lt. Jet.

“So that’s it? We’re just gonna run?” Roland asked.

“Only until we find a way to...fight.” Lasky said, then he smiled.

“Sir?” Roland said, laughing slightly. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Hell yes. Jet! Get us to the ruins of Birdsong ASAP!”

“Yessir!”

“And get a message to Palmer and Fireteam Osiris! Tell them to link up with whatever forces they can scavenge at Birdsong.”

“Already on it, and...I got through!” Roland said. “Palmer says...you’re insane, but it just might work. By the way, Fireteam Osiris recovered the Master Chief and Blue team and are heading with Covenant splinter forces towards Birdsong. Three cruisers, one carrier. Total is 8,500 Covenant forces, along with rescued UNSC forces left over from the blast.”

“Good. We’ll need all the help we can get. Better hope the Equestrians are ready.”

“They will be.”

Author's Note

And yes, Sequel soon!

This concludes Equispartans!

Hope you enjoyed!