Twilight groaned and opened her eyes. She looked around and saw she was in a lavishly decorated bedroom. She looked over at the window and gasped. A large forest graced her eyes.

"What...Oh no." She said, remembering the events of the previous hours. Blueblood kidnapping her, being stuffed into a cage, then waking up here. She swore loudly and walked towards the door, only when she touched it, it shocked her hand. Twilight saw a bright orange field arranged in geometric shapes covering the door. She instantly recognized it as Promethean hardlight shield. She then turned her attention back to the room. She attempted to use her magic, but it as soon as her horn glowed, it went out.

"Cancellation magic." she swore. "That spell theory was declared illegal three hundred years ago! All of them were destroyed!"

"Not entirely." Said a voice. The door slid upwards revealing Blueblood. Twilight growled angrily at the sight of him.

"I managed to get my hooves on the last copy of that theory. Though it did take some...assistance from the Prometheans to get it working, I finally succeeded. Now, there's no stopping me from taking what I want."

"Me, I presume?" Twilight said, rolling her eyes. "You know it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding, am I correct?"

"How.." Blueblood asked.

"Just because I can't move doesn't mean I can't see. I saw a ring come out of your pocket and I made the connection." Twilight said. "And before you ask, I refuse."

Blueblood smiled, then he cackled loudly. Twilight then received a powerful shock. She screamed in pain before collapsing, orange electricity covering her body. Blueblood chuckled and pulled out a Promethean object, shaped like a box, only with a few buttons on it. Twilight then saw some sort of collar around her rear left leg emitting the energy. As she stood up angrily, Blueblood chuckled again.

"I took the liberty of making sure any response would be...favorable. Anything else will earn you that" he said.

"Bastard." She growled.

"I'm purebred unicorn, thank you very much. And once you're my wife…"

"Nothing will stand in my way. Not your pathetic excuses for friends, not my aunts or cousins, not even the humans."

Blueblood sealed the door and Twilight collapsed on the bed, crying. Then, she heard a strangely familiar voice.

"Cut that out. I've got a plan."

Then, a Blue mist formed in the room, and the form of Zag-938 appeared, chuckling.

"Zag?" She asked. "How are you…"

"Quiet! No one must know of my presence. The UNSC is planning a rescue operation to attack tomorrow. I have a plan to assist."

"What?" Twilight whispered.

"I have an exact copy of Blueblood's schedule in my data storage. Don't ask how I acquired it. Just know that I know his every move. He's planning to invite you to a one-on-one meal tomorrow night, at the exact same time the UNSC strikes. He's using you as a shield." Zag said.

"What are we going to do?" Twilight said.

"Go to it. I'll be with you the whole time. I can now hack myself into any Promethean unit open to my signal influence. I'll hack myself into one of your escorts, so I can protect you. When the UNSC arrives, I'll signal them and then, I'll get you out."

"Okay." Twilight said. "I'm still nervous though."

"Do not be. It'll all work out." Zag said, smiling, before he warped himself out. Twilight sighed and collapsed on the bed.

"Get here soon...please."

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

Onboard the Infinity situation room, Lasky, Palmer, the Spartans, Celestia and Luna looked down at a holographic map of Blueblood's flight path and destination.

"We know he reaches about here before he sets down." Roland said. "The problem is, one he sets down, I can't track him, since the tech went offline. I do know, thanks to thermal scanning, that he's in or near a large fortified compound. Large keep surrounded by two walls. I've counted at least fifty different Promethean units. Twilight's bio-signature isn't showing up, so I have no idea where she or Blueblood is currently."

"So we're back to square one." Celestia said.

"I agree." Luna added.

"We're not." Lasky said. "Can't we break the door down?"

"That's the problem, Captain. There's only one main entrance, and one good LZ." Roland said, pointing out the main gate and a garden near the rear of the keep. "And both are heavily guarded. They're expecting us to do that. We need a plan."

"What we need is intel about potential weaknesses." Locke said. "If we could get in close, we could scale the wall."

"Wall's topped with Hard Light blades. You'd get shredded." Roland said. "What we need is a way to get in undetected."

"I might have that."

Everyone looked and saw Glassman striding into the room.

"What did you say?" Celestia asked.

"I know a way we can get inside scot free."

"Show us." Lasky said.

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

Glassman led the group to the hangar bay. Three large crates, large enough to contain a Pelican, were placed near each other. Glassman tapped his pad three times, and the crates opened, revealing…

Nothing.

"Nothing? That's your plan?" Lasky asked, walking up and then, he was stopped by Glassman.

"Step any more forward, you'd bang right into my plan. Or plans, I should say." Glassman said, and he tapped his pad again, and the forms of three black Pelicans appeared inside each crate, as if out of nowhere. They were slimmer than the regular Pelican, and the nose had more prominence.

"Stealth Pelicans." Glassman said proudly. "Using an active camo module, I reverse engineered three versions, only these bad boys are big and powerful enough to turn big things invisible, such as Pelicans. The camo auto regenerates, so if you take fire, give it a few seconds and it'll be back up to full power. The downside is, they lack the armor of the traditional Pelican, but they're WAY faster. While they can't fire any weapons while cloaked, the engines reroute their exhaust to keep the Camo generator going. Meaning the engines are silent and completely undetectable. They're your ticket into that compound." Glassman said proudly. "I call them the Blackbirds."

"Shit." Chris said. "How long did it take you to make those?"

"Three weeks. One to make the three generators, the other two to hook them up and apply the paint job." Glassman said. "Each one can carry a Spartan or Marine fireteam, Mongoose, Warthog, or Scorpion. And it does require two pilots. One to handle the flying, the other to manage the tech."

"Great. They operable?" Palmer asked.

"Fresh from testing, ma'am. Though they haven't officially been test-flown, give me until midnight to run diagnostics and preliminary tests. Then, take em' for a ride as you see fit." Glassman said.

"Great. You strike at midnight, then. Crimson, Osiris, Blue. You're on the rescue op. The Equestrians have a support squad ready as well." Lasky said.

"Great. Let's get ready, then." Chris said. As the Spartans walked towards the ready room, Lasky turned to Celestia.

"We'll get her back. Don't worry." Lasky told her.

"I hope so." Celestia said. As the sun set, Zag watched it from atop the fortress's keep.

"Showtime." he said, before vanishing.

Author's Note

Double update!