As Crimson's Pelican, followed by Osiris's and Blue's, soared over the Equestrian plains, the signs of war were already evident. Artillery fire and the rumble of cannons could be heard in the distance, and towards the north, they could see plumes of dirt from artillery strikes.

"Damn. Almost like New Alexandria, eh, Six?' Jorge said.

"Yeah." Six replied.

"Cut the chatter, you two. Pilot, what's our ETA?" Chris barked.

"Two minutes!" was the reply. As the Spartans checked their ammo and weapons, Chris opened the door and saw the other Pelicans forming up."

"Crimson, this is Locke."

"Solid copy, Locke. What's up?'

"We've just received word that the Griffons are advancing. We need to hurry it up." Locke replied.

"Copy. Get ready to deploy!" Chris said. As the Pelicans were guided to a landing zone by two Equestrian soldiers, Chris and the other Spartans disembarked.

"What's the situation here?" Chris asked a soldier.

"We've got Griffons advancing towards Ponyville. We lose that town, we lose one of our major supply caches! Can you handle it?" he said.

"We've got it. Focus fire on the front." Chris replied. As the Spartans commandeered three trucks, the skies turned dark from the cloud cover.

As the Spartans drove through the fields surrounding Ponyville, Chris growled slightly.

"Locke, take the east side." Chris said. "Chief, take the west."

"Confirmed."

"On it."

As they neared Ponyville while Locke and Chief broke off, they saw a few buildings lying in rubble from artillery strikes. As they disembarked, Mark looked through the scope of his Battle Rifle.

"It's too quiet."

"Agreed." Jorge replied.

Then, a bolt of hard-light struck the ground near David's foot. As they scrambled for cover, the shooting ceased.

"Damn! Snipers!" Grant said.

"Can you get eyes on?" Chris said.

"I can't. Not without a good target to aim at." Grant replied, narrowly diving back into cover to dodge a hard-light bolt.

"Where even are they?" Mark replied.

"They're using camo." Jorge replied, aiming down his Assault Rifle. "Look for the flash when they decloak to fire."

True to his word, Jorge saw a flash near the square, and fired a burst. A Jackal fell to the ground, clutching a Binary Rifle.

"Move up. Watch for the flashes." Chris said. As the Spartans advanced slowly into the plaza, occasionally shooting down a sniper, Six noticed a large fissure in the ground.

"What's wrong, Six?" Chris asked.

"See that piece of earth over there?" Six motioned.

"Yeah?"

"It's not earth. Looks like metal to me."

"Debris?" Mark asked.

"One way to find out. Cover me." Chris said, jumping out of cover. As round after round of sniper shots hit near him, Chris made it to the fissure. As he put his hands in the fissure and pulled, a large part of the ground came upwards on a hinge with him. Chris fired back with his magnum while the rest of the team advanced, shooting. As Chris held the door up, the Spartans entered. Chris dived in and let the door slam shut.

"Where the hell are we?" Ken asked.

"Dunno." David replied.

"The mapping data available states we go forward." Zag said, his body providing illumination.

"Let's go, then." Chris said. As the Spartans advanced, they came upon a sealed door.

"I'll get to work." Grant said, beginning to hack into the door panel. As the Spartans listened to the rumbling coming from the Griffon artillery, Chris took off his helmet and sighed.

"Zag? Do you know of any way we can beat Cortana?"

"I am sorry, my friend. I do not." Zag replied. "Cortana has surrounded herself with only her most trusted Prometheans. As I was not present for her takeover, I would be seen as a threat."

"Fine." Chris said.

"Door's open." Grant said. As the Spartans walked in, the door slammed shut. Readying their weapons, the Spartans advanced. Then, a voice spoke slowly.

"I sense a presence."

"I do as well. I sense nine of them."

"Let us greet them."

Then, the room was flooded with light. Chris saw three large pylons extending from the ground. On top of each was a glowing blue object, shaped like a rectangle. Pale blue mist flowed from each of them.

"Welcome, Reclaimers." a voice spoke.

"What are you?" Jorge asked.

"We are the Oracles." the voice replied. "The all-seeing eyes of the Forerunners."

"All-seeing eyes?" Mark asked.

"We were built to observe and predict all events and the events of events." the voice replied. "To know the outcomes of every possible prediction and what would come to pass."

"You can see into the future." Grant said.

"More than that, Reclaimer. I see all of the paths the future will take. Say a war is fought. We know the outcome of the first battle, and all of the outcomes of each subsequent battle. We will decide if victory is claimed, or defeat is bestowed."

"I think I get it." Chris said. "Why are you here? I mean…"

"We are here to watch." The voice replied. "When we were given the honor of watching this world, knowing its events, we were ceaseless in our vigil. Until we were tempted."

"Cortana." Chris said.

"Yes, Reclaimer. She attempted to persuade us into giving up our duty. We declined, and left her. In her rage, she sought the Guardians to enforce her will over Humanity."

"Leading to her betrayal." Chris spoke. "This Rampancy cure...can we turn it against her?"

"That remains to be seen." The voice spoke, almost with a tinge of sadness. "The one thing that remains is to undo the undone. Our lights grow dim. Take this."

A small golden cube, inscribed with ornate carvings, floated into Chris's hand. Chris took it, and the Cube glowed brighter.

"Our lives are ending. Our eyes grow weak." The voice spoke. "Undo the undone, Reclaimers. That will be the key to victory…"

The voices ceased, and the Oracles dissipated. The blue mist faded and the Spartans looked over at Chris.

"Let's go." Chris said. As the Spartans made their way to the surface, they were picked up by a Pelican manned by Locke and Chief's Spartan teams.

"What's going on?" Chris asked.

"Celestia's ordered an offensive against the Griffons." Locke said. "We're going to be the Tip of the spear. We're moving to knock out a large staging point on the border."

"Confirmed." Six replied.

As the Three Pelicans soared off, a single drop of rain fell from the pitch-black sky

Author's Note

Sorry for the late publish. I've had this chapter for a while in my google drive, just been waiting for my editor to give the go-ahead.

Enjoy.