Equispartans II

As the three Pelicans sat themselves down in Ponyville square, Twilight and The Arbiter walked out to greet them. Stepping out of the transports, Chris took off his helmet, and looked Twilight square in the eye.

"What happened?' Twilight asked.

"The fuckng Griffons. They're working with the Prometheans. They've also developed several new models. Ramos has the data we obtained." Chris said.

"That I do." Ramos said, speaking through the helmet loudspeakers. "Codenames are Tarantula, Antlion, and Locust."

"Great. Did they detect you?" Twilight asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, they did near the end of the mission. We shot our way out, but now we know the Griffons are working with the enemy, and they know that we know." Tanaka said.

"Brilliant." Twilight said. Then, a scroll appeared in front of her face. She unfurled it and began to read. After a few minutes, she sighed.

"Celestia's invited all you, plus Lasky and Palmer, to a war council in Canterlot. It's critical, since…"

"Since what?" Locke asked.

"Since the Griffons have cut off diplomatic relations with Equestria. And that's a step towards declaring war." Twilight replied.

"Let's get moving, then." Chris said.

"Let's." Twilight said. As the Spartans boarded the Pelicans, Twilight sat down and strapped herself in. Noble Six then tapped her on the shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine. I'm just...worried. Even with all of the new tech we've developed, we haven't had a war in thousands of years, mainly thanks to the Sister's diplomatic skills. But now…" Twilight said. Six nodded, then he put his hand on her shoulder.

"We'll fight just like we did back then. We won't abandon you."

"Thanks, Noble Six." Twilight said.

"You know…" Six said. "You remind me of someone."

"Who?" Twilight asked.

"Her name was Kat, designation Noble Two. She may have been nothing short of a scientist, but she knew her shit in combat. She was a damn good soldier." Six said.

"How'd she die? I read that most of the members of Noble Team were KIA."

"It was during the battle of Reach. We were evacuating New Alexandria as the Covies were glassing it. During our escape, a sniper put a Needle Rifle shot in her head. Killed her instantly. We tried to shoot the sniper down, but the damn Jackal escaped. I still don't know what happened to her body. Jun's working on finding it, but he hasn't had much luck. Thing is…" Six said, then he drew a old M6G magnum, old issue. Roughly carved into the slide was "Remember Reach". Twilight also say tally marks, at least sixty, carved into the grip.

"I still have her sidearm." Six said, with a sad air in his voice. "When I was captured, they took all my ammo, my armor abilities, everything. The only thing the bastards didn't steal from me was my armor and this. I managed to sneak it into my cell. My main pastime was carving that and how many days I was there. It was the only thing keeping me sane."

"I'm sorry." Twilight said.

"Thanks." Six said.

"Canterlot in five!" Came the pilot's voice. As the Spartans stood up and took hold, Twilight sighed and looked over at the form of Noble Six.

"I'm so sorry…" She whispered. Then, the familiar jolt of the Pelican setting down snapped Twilight back into reality. As the bay doors opened, the Spartans stepped out into the sunlight. Then, Celestia, along with a few other ponies, walked towards them, along with Lasky and Palmer.

"Crimson, Blue, Osiris. Good to see you." Palmer said.

"You too, commander." Chris said.

"Shall we begin?" Celestia asked. As they walked into the council room, the ponies present bowed, all except for one. Prince Blueblood watched the humans with a mix of anger and nervousness. He attempted to stare down Noble Six, but the Spartan pretended to go for his gun, causing Blueblood to back down. As the humans took their seats, Celestia cleared her throat.

"Council, we are facing a grave threat. The Griffon kingdom has allied itself with what the UNSC knows as "Prometheans." They have cut off diplomatic relations with the Diarchy, and are planning to go to war."

The was a murmur of worry. Celestia sighed and continued.

"We may have the technological advantage, but we do not have the numbers to hold off a sustained war of attrition. The UNSC and a Splinter faction of Covenant Aliens have agreed to assist us. Before you get any ideas, the Covenant are on our side. They have white markings to designate themselves as friendly."

The nobles nodded.

"Lasky, will you take over?"

"Sure."

Lasky stepped up to the podium.

"We will support you in your time of need, just as we did before. We have three additional ships incoming, all bearing supplies and reinforcements. The only problem, is that we don't know when they will arrive. Due to a system corruption led by a Promethean AI, most of our own AIs have been corrupted and have turned against the UNSC. The last I have heard, since we have cut communications with all turned systems and ships, is that twenty percent of the AIs affected have been shut down or disabled. But the Promethean who started the breakout is currently supplying the Griffons with Promethean tech and weaponry. I will promise you one thing though…"

"We will not abandon you...no matter what."

The nobles gave a round of applause, and Celestia resumed her position at the podium.

"I hereby declare the Equestrian Home Army on mobilization status. Get all units available armed and ready for combat at moment's notice."

"Is that wise, Aunt?"

Celestia turned to watch Blueblood walk to the middle of the room.

"It is wise, nephew. Why would you ask that?"

"Because you were just too late. NOW!" he yelled, and the forms of twenty Promethean Soldier units materialized and drew their weapons. The Spartans drew theirs and aimed. Then, Twilight disappeared in a flash, and reappeared under Blueblood's hoof, only paralyzed.

"Lower your weapons, or I kill her." He said, and the Spartans lowered their weapons. Blueblood smiled, hoisted an unconscious Twilight onto his back, and then growled and he walked towards the door.

"Kill them…"

At that moment, the three Glass windows above the podium shattered, and the forms of Fireteam Icebreaker jumped through and began to engage the Soldiers.

"Recover Twilight! We'll handle things here!" Buck said, and Chris and Six burst out of the room, and sprinted after the fleeing Blueblood. Six fired off a few shots from his DMR, and one grazed Blueblood's hood. Blueblood drew a Boltshot and fired a few bursts, denting the Spartan's shields. Blueblood dived to the left and began running down the hallway towards the Gardens.

"ROLAND, THIS IS FIRETEAM CRIMSON. LOCK DOWN THE CANTERLOT AIRSPACE NOW! DEPLOY LONGSWORDS! WE HAVE A BREACH!" Chris yelled over the comms.

"Copy, diverting Longswords! And you don't need to yell." Roland replied. As they reached the doors, Six slammed against it to no avail.

"Shit. Sealed." he said.

"They're not." Chris said, looking up towards a window.

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

As Blueblood burst into the Gardens, he hastily scanned the area for his transport. He sealed the doors with magic, and then he then saw a Phaeton, guarded by two Promethean Knights. He ran towards it and boarded it.

"We have incoming hostiles. Kill them." he told the Knights, who assumed battle positions. Then, the Spartans burst out from the top window and Ground-slammed the Knights before killing them. Blueblood sprinted in, put Twilight in a stasis field before he mounted the controls. As the Phaeton rose into the sky, explosions rippled around it. Three Longswords sped past, strafing the Phaeton. Blueblood growled, and turned around. Then, he gunned the engines. As the Phaeton sped into the sky, Chris growled.

"Crimson! This is Lasky. All clear here. What's your status?"

"This is Crimson. He got away. He's got Twilight. His Phaeton's most likely heading towards the Griffon Border."

"Copy. We'll pursue and find him." Lasky said.

"What could he have wanted with Twilight?" Celestia asked.

Crimson sighed, then he saw Six pick something off the ground. Chris walked over and growled upon seeing the object.

"Celestia...we found something. And you're not going to like it." Chris said.

"What is it?"

"Wedding ring." Chris said. "He's gonna force her."

"THAT BASTARD!" Celestia roared. "We need to find him! I will not let him touch her!"

"We will." Chris said. "Roland! Can you track Promethean tech?"

"Using the Janus Key tech, I can. I've got a solid bearing. He's heading towards the Griffon Kingdom, near the Border. His estimated trajectory is the capital, but he appears to have broken course and headed towards the Griffonstone Forest."

"Then that's where we'll met him." Locke said.

"Agreed." Chief added.

As Chris looked towards the sky, the sun slowly set.

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

Blueblood smiled as the Phaeton flew on autopilot towards the Last Resort. He had previously noticed he had lost the ring he intended to force upon Twilight's horn in marriage, but he thought little of it.

"Once you are mine, Twilight…" he said. "I can finally rule as I see fit. And you…"

Twilight, now asleep, shuddered slightly.

"Will be right by my side. As husband and wife."

As the Phaeton flew, they failed to notice a orange mist appear from out of the Phaeton. It then turned red, then yellow, then finally to Blue. It then formed into the shape of a Knight, thought he had changed significantly. His armor had become more agile and smooth, and his legs and arms had become armored and spiked. His head now bore a plume, and his wings now rested on his back instead of his shoulders. Zag-938 smiled as his new body took form.

"Well, well. Looks like the backup I made worked. Let's get back to business. Chris…"

"I'm back in the fight. Zag-0938, reporting for duty, sir."

As he formed back into the Phaeton, Blueblood suddenly shivered.