What else is up There?

Chapter Thirteen

First to fight

March 26th, 2553
Equestrian star system
City of Barklin, Capital city of the Canine Republic
Staff Sergeant Jennifer Williams of Marine Combat Team Fourteen
1:17PM

"Marine Combat Teams 7, 21, and 35, keep the flanks covered while we and MCT 28 move up!" Staff Sergeant Williams barked as she and her squad kept crouched behind an M808B Scorpion Main Battle Tank, callsign Smasher 1-1, as it grinded through the streets of Barklin.

The sky was darkened, the afternoon sun having been blotted out by the smoke clouds covering the city.

The Covenant had not invaded Barklin with ease.

When word of the Covenant's return spread across Equestria in the form of their ships coming down dozens of countries and species rose up to fight back against the monsters that terrorized them all twenty years ago.

The canines had been no different.

The Canines, having the third best military next to the Griffons and Dragons, had stonewalled the Covenant on the ground and had even managed to push them back in certain areas of the city.

Of course, they could do nothing about the Covenant Corvette hovering over the city.

That is where the UNSC Dawn of the Sun came into the picture. The Marine Combat Teams were ordered to push into the city and assist the Canines in holding back the Covenant before they moved on to a Covenant super-cannon that had been erected directly in the city center, built on top of the ruins of a statue of a glorious Canine leader the Covenant had destroyed.

When the super-cannon was destroyed the Dawn of the Sun would rush in and engage the Corvette, destroying it and allowing the humans to take control of the skies above Barklin.

With air superiority they'd be able to eradicate the Covenant presence in Barklin and pave the way for Operation: Reclaim, which was supposed to be a large-scale operation to retake Manehattan and then the rest of Equestria from the Covenant.

Staff Sergeant Williams' thoughts were interrupted by a fuel-rod bomb detonating near her squad, raining chunks of concrete and dirt all over them.

A few seconds later a trio of Covenant Banshees flew overhead.

"Keep moving, Marines!" Williams ordered as they all proceeded down the main street of Barklin, a large boulevard that lead straight to the city center where the Covenant super-cannon awaited them.

It was a straight push to the city center; one and a half miles of road that lead right to their target. The only obstacles were the rubble and the Covenant forces engaging them.

They were halfway there.

"Go, go, go!" Williams yelled as they continued to follow the Scorpion down the street; explosions, gunfire, and the clatter of Brute weapons and the whine of plasma rifles pounding at their ears.

Along with the smell of smoke and charred flesh there was the characteristic stench of burnt rubber, the smell no soldier ever wanted to smell as it meant Brutes and the horrifying wounds their spike weapons produced were not far away.

Suddenly there was a boom and a ringing noise as the Scorpion fired at a Wraith tank down the street, cracking it open like an apple tied to a grenade.

The Marines opened fire on Brute squadrons pouring out of the alleys, with Staff Sergeant Williams tapping bursts into the enemy with her BR55HB-SR.

Just then a Brute chieftain dropped down next to the Staff Sergeant and swung a gravity hammer down, the heavy block at the end of the weapon slamming down onto the ground next to Williams and throwing her back a number of feet.

As the Staff Sergeant lied on the ground she looked up at the Chieftain as it approached her, preparing to finish her off.

Suddenly the Brute's head exploded in a shower of blood with the whistle of a beam rifle accompanying it..

Williams stood and looked to where the shot originated, seeing absolutely nothing or no one who could've shot the Brute.

Which could mean only one thing: Spec-Ops Elites.

With the increased confidence of having Spec-Ops Elites covering her and her squad Staff Sergeant Williams ordered them all to continue following the Scorpion as it still went on its way.

"Grenade out!" one of the Marines yelled as he chucked a hand grenade toward the enemy positions, blasting apart a Brute and several Grunts.

"Keep pushing, we're almost there!" Williams yelled as she fired on any Brute she saw. Grunts with Fuel-Rod guns fired their weapons and Jackals on the rooftops sniped with Carbines.

The Marines of MCT 14 ducked behind the Scorpion as carbine shots ricocheted off it, the shots coming from multiple windows and and even from a church tower.

Suddenly a purple beam lanced past the Staff Sergeant, the energy beam ricocheting off a chunk of debris right next to her.

Williams took cover and got on the radio to alert the Scorpion. "Smasher 1-1; 500 meters, Brute sniper, church tower at 11 'o' clock

The Scorpion's turret turned and the cannon aimed up at the building in question, pointing the cannon right at the top of the tower where the bell and Brute were residing.

"FIRE!" Staff Sergeant Williams ordered, and the gunner of the Scorpion complied.

The 90mm cannon of the M808B Scorpion was small by most standards but its power potential was more than a match for a simple Brute sniper hiding at the top of a tower.

The Scorpion fired and a 90mm tungsten-coated high explosive shell impacted inside the bell room the Brute was in, the explosion sending a shockwave that rang the massive bell before it collapsed with the rest of the tower.

The Brute had been incinerated.

"All callsigns on this net; MOVE UP!" Staff Sergeant Williams bellowed as the Scorpion continued grinding down the road, obliterating any fortified positions or vehicles the Marines couldn't destroy.

They all made it to the end of the street where it branched left and right in a 'T' fashion, the roads to the left and right went around a large circular pit where the majestic statue of a former Canine leader once stood.

In place of the statue was the enormous Covenant plasma cannon.

Suddenly the air warmed as the cannon's plasma coils heated up, shaping and forming a giant blob of superheated plasma which it then expelled out of the barrel of the cannon, launching it several miles to a designated target.

From what Williams understood the Covenant plasma weapons were actually very crude; using brute force and technology barely understood by the Covenant themselves to form the plasma blobs their weapons fired.

The superheated plasma was also prone to overheating through prolonged or extreme firing.

In an effort to vent this heat the Covenant designed their weapons with exchanges, heat-sinks, and other forms of dispersing the excess heat to cool their weapons and keep them firing.

And the Type-27 'Mantis' Anti-Aircraft cannon* was no exception.

When the plasma bolt was fired several flaps opened on the bottom to allow the plasma core to unfold and vent its heat, exposing it to anything that came its way for seven seconds.

It was the window the Marines needed to destroy the massive weapon.

"Smasher 1-1, target: Plasma core 700 meters to your front. Engage!" Williams ordered as the Covenant cannon fired, the flaps underneath unfolding and exposing the core.

The Scorpion fired and 90mm's of high-explosive tungsten flew straight and true into the plasma core of the Mantis, immediately obliterating it and causing a chain reaction which completely annihilated the emplacement.

"WOOOH! That's what I'm talking about, baby!" one of the Marines of MCT 14 yelled as the Covenant cannon exploded and collapsed, the same fate befalling it as the statue it had been built over.

"UNSC Dawn of the Sun, the Covenant AA cannon has been destroyed, you may commence your assault" Staff Sergeant Williams said into her radio as the Covenant Corvette above the city began to turn.

"Copy that, Staff Sergeant. Thanks for the help" Captain James Mitchell replied over the radio.

There was the characteristic rumble of ship engines as the UNSC Dawn of the Sun streaked across the sky, travelling the fourteen miles it was away at in ten seconds flat** and arriving above the city of Barklin.

There was a deep hum before an incredibly loud bang as the Magnetic Accelerating Cannon built into the front of the frigate fired, firing a 600-ton white-hot metal ferric-Tungsten slug across the evening sky at 30,000 meters per second. With no explosive properties by default the MAC rounds' damage came entirely from kinetic energy.

In short it could put a world of hurt on the bad guys.

the MAC round slammed into the Covenant Corvette; 600 tons of kinetic energy concentrated on one basic point was more than an even match for the Covenant Corvette, which didn't even have its shields up.

The massive round punched straight through the Corvette and gutted it from stem to stern, hollowing the entire ship and causing it to dip and start falling to the ground, the remains of the engines sputtering as power still attempted to flow to them.

The Covenant Corvette disappeared from view as it fell behind the buildings of Barklin, coming to its final resting place outside the city with an earth-shaking rumble.

The Covenant occupation of Barklin was no more.

"Good job down there, Marines. Keep the area secure for incoming HVI's" Captain Mitchell declared over the radio.

"You heard the man, Marines; set up a perimeter" Williams ordered, her Marines complying as they began to move around, making sure the area was secure.

A few minutes later a Pelican drop-ship swooped down, hovering a few inches off the ground and the rear ramp unfolded, allowing Captain James Mitchell and the leader of the ponies to step out.

Her assistant, a lavender Unicorn, also followed.

"You did good, Marines" Captain Mitchell stated as he approached Staff Sergeant Williams, who did not salute under specific orders to avoid doing so lest she inadvertently show enemy snipers who their commander was.

"Thank you, sir" Williams replied, stowing her battle rifle on her back; the magnetic strips on her standard issue Marine armor keeping the weapon in place.

"With Barklin secured and the Canines on our side we'll be able to start Operation: Reclaim right away" Captain Mitchell said.

"Yes, Sir."

The Captain looked around the area, eyeing in particular the remains of the Covenant cannon and the chunks of the statue around it.

"From what I heard the statue the Covenant destroyed to make room for their cannon was of the greatest leader the Canines had ever known; a one Otto Von-Barkhoven. He was the most respected leader of all leaders the Canines had ever had, and the Covenant just demolished his commemoration because it was in their way" James said, his voice deadpanning.

"Sir?" Staff Sergeant Williams said, confused by the Captain's behavior.

James Mitchell turned back to look at the Staff Sergeant, his face weary and tired-looking. "Do your job, Marine; kill every Covenant you see. Kill them all" the Captain said.

"With pleasure, Captain" Williams responded, still feeling slightly confused by the Captain's words.

Captain Mitchell turned and headed back to the Pelican to return to the Dawn of the Sun as Rala 'Toram and the Everlasting Faith arrived above Barklin, beginning to deploy thousands of Elites and their vehicles and equipment into the city.

Suddenly a shrill scream pierced the air, prompting Staff Sergeant Williams to whip around and draw her battle rifle, seeing that the Princess' purple Unicorn tag-along had been nabbed by Brute Stalkers, who had snuck up on them using their active camouflage.

"HEEELPP!" the Unicorn yelled as the Brute that had grabbed her held her against his body, using her as a shield from any gunfire.

"Stop him, he's taking Twilight!" the Princess yelled as the Marines took aim on the Brute, who was snarling at them as he and his companions began to back away.

The Brutes reactivated their active camo and disappeared from sight, leaving the Marines on high alert.

"Look for a shimmer in the air! Engage any shimmer that's moving with purpose!" Williams shouted.

"No! You might hit Twilight!" Princess Celestia declared, confusing the Marines as they didn't know which orders to follow.

Just then one of the Marines screamed in pain and Williams turned around, seeing him held in mid-air with a gaping wound running through him, having been caused by some kind of blade.

Just behind him was a shimmer.

Williams raised her BR and fired, sending a burst into the shimmer which scrambled the Brute's active camo and revealing him for all to see.

He was a Chieftain, a clan Chieftain just like that one Brute had been before the Arbiter killed him, he was adorned in fancy armor and had dozens of knives and other blades on his person.

In his hand was a massive blade that looked like the one that came stock on Brute grenade launchers; a handle had been fashioned and welded to the blade to form a massive sword.

The blade was what had been holding the Marine up.

The Chieftain growled and discarded the dead Marine, powering up his invincibility force-field as the Marines opened fire.

"Somebody get a beam rifle, that's the only thing that can drop their fields!" Williams ordered.

She was too late; a Covenant Phantom drop-ship swooped down, activating its gravity lift and bringing the Chieftain up into the vehicle, followed by the Stalker holding the lavender Unicorn and his companions.

The Phantom began to fly away as several plasma bolts rained down, impacting on the ground as they missed the Phantom.

The plasma bolts had been fired by the Everlasting Faith.

"NO! Captain, you order Rala to stop firing!" Celestia yelled as she approached Captain Mitchell, who was still standing near the Pelican.

"Are you out of your mind, Princess? Those Covenant bastards have Twilight! Do you have any idea what they're going to do to her?" Captain Mitchell asked.

"Exactly my point; we must save Twilight from their clutches!" Celestia replied.

"No, it's too dangerous. It'd be much faster and safer to just destroy the drop-ship" James Mitchell stated.

"But you'll kill my student!" the Princess protested.

"Better she dies than be tortured by the Brutes" the Captain explained.

For a moment it seemed Princess Celestia would concede to his point and allow them to destroy the Phantom carrying her student.

It was not to be.

Princess Celestia rose into the air with a few flaps of her wings as she looked down at Captain Mitchell, her mane and tail igniting into a fiery orange and flames literally appearing in her eyes.

"I AM APPALLED AT WHAT YOU ARE SAYING! MY STAR STUDENT IS ON THAT DROP-SHIP AND YOU WILL RESCUE HER!" Celestia bellowed, her voice filled with fury.

"It's smarter and safer to just kill her! I know she's your student but she knows valuable plans. If the Brutes learn those plans it will spell the end of your species!" Captain Mitchell replied.

At these words Celestia completely ignited, her entire form awash in flames and she spread her wings as she hovered in the air, drawing power from the sun as she prepared to speak once again.

"THOU WILL LISTEN TO US! YOU WILL OBEY AND YOU WILL RESCUE MY PUPIL FROM THE COVENANT!" Celestia thundered, the full fury of the sun behind her voice.

"FINE! Rala, belay the fire order. We're going to rescue Twilight from the Covenant" Captain Mitchell said into his radio as Celestia began to extinguish, the flames disappearing from her body as she dropped to the ground completely unharmed.

"Marine Combat Team Fourteen, you're with me. The rest of the squads stay here to help secure Barklin" Captain Mitchell ordered as he stepped onto the Pelican, Princess Celestia following with smoke trailing from her body.

Staff Sergeant Williams and the rest of MCT 14 stepped onto the Pelican and it returned to the Dawn of the Sun where Captain James Mitchell and Princess Celestia went back to the bridge.

"We've been tracking the Phantom since it left, Sir; it flew several miles before it stopped. We believe it has docked with a Covenant ship" Lieutenant Crusher said as Captain Mitchell sat in his command chair.

The Dawn of the Sun began to rocket away from Barklin with the Everlasting Faith in tow, both ships following the signal to wherever the Phantom may have stopped.

As the came over the horizon they saw that the Phantom had indeed docked with a Covenant vessel, though it wasn't a standard ship.

It was the Covenant space station that had destroyed Ponyville.

"Look at the size of that thing" Lieutenant Crusher commented as the entire bridge crew stared out at the station.

"Behold, humans; the space-station Devout Believer" Rala 'Toram exclaimed over the radio.

"That's what I'm sending my Marines in to?" Captain Mitchell said as he looked over the space station, "It's a suicide mission."

"I have faith in your soldiers" Celestia declared as she stood next to the Captain.

"MCT 14, prepare a full combat load, I'm sending you into a Covenant space station to retrieve Twilight Sparkle, the Princess' prized student" Captain Mitchell said on a direct communications link to the Marine squad.

"Do not worry; your Marines will be fine" the Princess said.

Captain James Mitchell reached into his pocket and produced a small block of polished wood an inch thick, holding it up to Princess Celestia.

"Here, knock on this" the Captain said.

*-*-*

*This is the AA cannon seen in Halo 3, specifically the level The Storm.
**I hate this fucking '10 seconds flat' joke, it's really fucking old and I hate the character who said it. I don't know why I put it in.

Author's Note: "Noo I never had to knock on wood! But I know someone who has! Which makes me wonder if I could!"

That song's awesome.

I have to say the finale for season 2 was awesome! I would've liked there to be epic music during the credits instead of the theme, but all in all the finale was fucking beast.

If you spot any spelling errors or ship names that aren't italicized let me know so I can fix them!

These make me want to reach into my ass and tear out my prostate: Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, and all related characters belong to Hasbro. Staff Sergeant Williams, Captain James Mitchell, Otto Von-Barkhoven, and all related characters belong to me. My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro. Halo belongs to 343i(possibly unfortunate.)

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