Equispartans

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.