Halo: Equestrian Campaign

The dust slowly settles over the dimly lit hospital lobby. You and your soldiers huddle together behind what is left of the reception desk. If the Covenant decided to end this quickly with a firing squad of fuel rod guns, you wanted to have as much cover between you and them as possible. You take a moment to mull over the situation in your head before addressing your men.

“Our first priority is getting out of town. We’ve had too many close calls when it comes to civilian casualties. The last thing we need is to turn the population totally against us by getting one of their own killed in a crossfire. By now, they’ve probably got a rifle trained on every exit to this place, and i don’t expect it will be long before they start feeling courageous and storm us. We need to think hard and fast if we want to get out of here. Anyone have a plan in mind?” A moment of silence passes over you and the soldiers. Slowly, your demolitions expert raises his hand. “Tyler, what’s on your mind?”

“Well, like you said, every covey this side of the universe has got his gun aimed at our exits. That being the case, why not make a new one? Simple, I know, but we could try blowing a hole in one of the walls where there’s likely fewer aliens watching.”

“I’m down for it,” chides Brendan as he walks over to what’s left of the rear wall and tears down the remains of the hospital’s directory. “I’d wager either the west or east wing is less likely to have a door on it, so we can make a hole in whichever one is closest to the forest. Hell, we can even do it on an upper, give us a height and even bigger surprise advantage over any bogies on that side.”

It wasn’t much of a plan, but there weren’t many options open to you. With time being of the utmost importance, you opt to committing to the flawed plan rather than waste time trying to concoct a better one.

“We’re not exactly close to the forest. It’s on the opposite side of town with roughly a quarter mile of open ground between the last buildings and the treeline.” Placing a finger on the map, brendan points to where he plans on making his exit. “Just buying ourselves a little bit of time and some cover, we’ll want to make our exit through the east wing. Unless we want to be target practice for the grunts, we’re going to have to make our way through town. We’ll simply be too exposed if we make our way around the outskirts like we did to get here.”

“Puts us in a tight spot,” grunts Dan. “We’re trying to keep the fighting away from town, but it won’t do anybody any good if we’re vaporized out in the open.”

“We’ll make do.” you state calmly. “If we move fast and check our fire, we should be able to make our way through town with minimal structural damage. We’ll compromise and maneuver through the less densely packed sections. It’ll give us some cover, but also minimize the amount of buildings that will receive damage once the fighting breaks out. Once we bust out of the east wing, stick together and we’ll work our way down main street; give the square a bit of a berth, and leave town for the forest. When we get past the treeline, split up and meet back at the castle. Calvin, take stock and alot ammunition while Brendan gets his explosives ready. I want everyone locked and loaded in five, understood?

“Yes, ser!” snap the Helljumpers in unison.

Dozens of elites and jackals kept their rifles locked onto every doorway leading into the hospital. Even Ben-Hassrathee himself kept his beam rifle carefully aimed at one of the larger glass windows on the east side of the building. If there was any chance of exterminating the parasites within without sacrificing his men in a full on siege, he was going to take it.

The sun slowly rose crawled higher and higher from the east, beating down upon the empty dirt roads and abandoned market stalls that littered the shopping district. Not a single pony was insight, all laying low in their homes as per the demands of the Elites. No one was to interfere with their operation. The ponies knew not whether to be comforted or terrified. They were simple folk, and only wanted their lives to return to the humdrum status quo they were comfortable with.

Mandibles were set and clawed fingers itched over sensitive triggers. The Elites were scared too. The martial prowess of humans was not unknown to them, and they prefered to fly back to their ship and glass the filthy apes from orbit, them and the locals. But their leader was adamant, the equines were to be spared, and the humans slaughtered personally.

Moments passed, and so did minutes. Every elite desperately scanned each window and door for any sign of life, any way they could kill the human warriors from a safe distance. Ben-Hassrathee’s patience dwindled with each passing second. He valued the lives of his soldiers, but he wasn’t about to stand around all day and let the degenerates within the hospital concoct a plan of escape. The time to act was soon arriving. Slowly, the zealot raised his arm to signal his troops to advance on the decrepit building.

An explosion sounded from the east side of the building. Smoke and debris showered down on the soldiers in the streets, followed by six shady figures in dark battle-scarred armor. The ODSTs and their Spartan leader unloaded their weapons on the covenant soldiers immediately in front of them. Shields broke and aliens crumbled under the torrent of lead that rained from the human rifles. The four jackals and two elites that had been in the street were reduced to piles of neon sludge and mangled flesh.

“Demons!” Shrieked Ben-Hasrathee in his gnarled Sangheili dialect. “Destroy them!”

As soon as your feet hit the ground, you start running. A startled elite rounds a corner in front of you to investigate the explosion. Without reloading, you grasp your battle rifle by the barrel and swing the rifle like a bat at the enemies head. The butt connects with the elites helmet just above his temple, causing his shields to break, and the helmet to buckle under the impact. His body is carried by the momentum of your strike and ragdolls of to the side. You don’t stop moving to finish the alien off, you have to keep moving.

You dive behind a building for a moment to slam a fresh clip into your rifle. Your men follow suit and briefly dive behind any cover they can find to reload their weapons. Plasma bolts and pink crystals burn and ricochet off the cobblestone road and buildings around you. You peek your head out just enough to lock onto a few unarmored targets advancing towards you and your men. You raise your rifle and turn their exposed heads into purple and blue clouds of mist. You signal your ODSTs to continue your the retreat through town. The longer you stay in one spot, the greater the chance is of a local getting hurt. A large green explosion erupted next to you on the street. Your shields fizzle from the force of the impact.

“Fuel rod grunts,” shouts Dan as he fires a controlled volley from his DMR. “Spread out and keep moving.” All six of you sprint from your cover and make your way further down the road towards the center of town.

“Watch the alleys, there moving quick to get in front of us!” You turn to see several shadows matching your pace one street over from you. You push yourself to your limit to out run them. If they manage to slow your progress, even just a little, you and your men are dead.

As per the alien leader’s instructions, Twilight and her friends had taken shelter in town hall with as many other ponies that could fit inside the large structure. However, as the explosions and screaming drew closer and closer, everypony couldn’t help but feel like they had made a wrong choice somewhere along the line.

“Twilight, what the heck is going on out there?” asked a frantic Rainbow Dash. “You said those things were going to get rid of the monsters that attacked Zecora. It sounds like they’re blowing up the town! There are other ponies out there hiding in their homes, what if they get hurt?”

Twilight felt a cold sweat break out on her forehead. This situation had gone from bad to worse. Things had been out of her hooves from the start, but now she and all her friends were really in trouble. She had to think of a way to get involved again. If she didn’t take action soon, then any injury or, Celestia forbid, death would be her fault.

“Spike, I need you to send an urgent letter to Canterlot right away. We need any of the princesses here right now, It doesn’t matter which one. Not the royal guard, not the army, not even my brother. The princesses, understand?”

“Yeah, I gotcha. I’ll get right on it.” shakily replied the purple dragon before heading off to carry out his major task.

“Alright, the princesses should arrive shortly after Spike sends that message. They’ll already be on high alert with everything that’s going on. Now that we have that settled, we need to figure out what we can do down here.” Applejack was quick to mozey her way next to Twilight to add her two cents.

“I know you told us we ought to stay inside so we don’t get hurt, but it doesn’t feel right to me to sit around and do nothing when i’m certain we could be doing something, anything at all.”

“I’m with Applejack.” butted Rainbow Dash. “There are ponies out there who are in danger. Look, we know what direction these alien freaks are coming from, and where they’re headed. Between me and AJ, we could get out ahead of them and warn all the ponies they’re headed towards to get out of their homes and circle back to where the aliens came from.”

“And the rest of ya’ll can head to where they came from to help anypony who’s hurt!” finished AJ. Twilight turned to her three other friends present in the cramped building. Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy fidgeted nervously, but all nodded their heads in agreement. They weren’t the hardiest ponies in town, but their resolution was unshakable.

“If this is the plan, then let’s not waste any more time!” cried Twilight. “Keep your heads down and stay away from the fighting. Let’s go!”

The Covenant had managed to keep you and your men funneled down main street, and now kept you pinned down in the center of town. Though you had managed to outpace the elites flanking you, a squad of grunts had been deployed ahead of you. They made for easy kills, but had slowed you down just enough to allow the heavier units time to get ahead and cut you off. You and your helljumpers were now held up in the dead center of the small village, using wooden market stalls and the occasional tree for cover against the rampant fire of the endless horde of religious zealots.

“Running low on ammo!” shouts Calvin from behind an overturned apple cart riddled with smoldering plasma holes.

“I’m out!” shouts Dan. “Someone toss me a weapon!”

You roll from your hiding place behind a continuously shrinking pile of crates and land next to Dan. Without a word, you hand him your battle rifle with its last full clip of rounds. He turns to you and cocks his head, as if to confirm the trade.

“Take it!” you command, drawing your pistol and sliding that action back. “I’ll make a run for some fresh weapons and grenades. You cover me.” Dan nods his head in confirmation and stands to draw enemy fire. The rest of the shock troopers take notice and unleash a barrage of whatever lead they have left to suppress the enemy soldiers.

You leap from your shelter and sprint straight ahead, firing eight consecutive rounds into the first elite that blocks your path. His shields drop and three bullets puncture his chest piece. You swiftly finish him off with the back of your fist. As he crumples to the ground, you wrench the plasma rifle from his limp talons and grip it firmly in your free hand. You pivot on your heels to the right and put a two bullets into the heads of a pair of jackals. Spinning around again, you pump the last six rounds of your magazine into the backs of three retreating grunts. An explosion behind you knocks you off balance and sends you sprawling into the mud and blood coated street. Rolling onto your back, you throw your empty pistol at the concussion rifle wielding elite that had fired at you. The blunt protective connects with his helmet, disorienting him and weakening his shields. A barrage of machine gun fire from your soldiers reduces him to a pile of bones and sludge.

You crawl over to the grunts you had just gunned down and grab up the weapons they had been carrying. You grab two plasma pistols, three needlers and a couple of light blue grenades. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing. You get to your feet and make a break for the ODST nearest to you. You arrive at Brendan first, offering him a two needlers and the explosives.

“Hold onto the grenades, you know how to use them best. Keep one of these guns for yourself and get the other to Chris. I’ll distribute the rest to the others!” Brendan doesn’t even nod in confirmation, he just scoops up the salvaged ordinance and dashes towards Chris to replenish him. You make your way from tree to stall to give the rest of your men their weapons, blindly firing your plasma rifle upwards to keep the aliens suppressed without putting any more holes into the local’s buildings. With a final burst of energy, you dive behind the overturned apple cart shielding Calvin.

“Where’s your gun?” he asks as you hand him the last commandeered covenant weapon. You draw your large combat knife from its sheath and say nothing. The handle feels good in your grasp, being specifically molded to fit your hand perfectly. Calvin says nothing else and returns his focus to the battle. The enemies were thinning, only a straggler here or there remained and was like to be gunned down in a moment. For how long this dip in alien soldiers would last you had no idea.

Just then, the sound of large wooden doors being slammed shut reaches your ears. You look to the large building in the center of the square, town hall, and see six of the equine inhabitants rush down the main steps and out towards the town. All run off in separate directions, except for a purple female with a horn on its head who remains at the top of the steps, bathing the large wooden doors in a warm pinkish glow. As the aura disappears, the two doors change in appearance from a rich brown to a dark grey, transforming from wood to granite. She spins around and makes to sprint into town, but freezes when her eyes latch onto you. They shift from you, to Calvin, to the rest of your men, to the mounds of dead covenant soldiers surrounding your immediate position, and finally back to you. You raise your hand and give an amicable wave to the shaking little unicorn. Her legs shake a little as she takes an instinctive step back. You don’t know what you could say to make her any less uncomfortable, and opt to turn your gaze away from her and back to the road you had come down. There was no need to prolong the awkward exchange of glances and frighten her further.

“Uh.. Hello?” she shouts delicately, choking on her own nervous words. You turn back to the mare and respond in kind.

“Hello.”

“So… y-you understand me?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You’re not going to hurt me?”

“No, ma’am.” She takes her eyes from you to glance around the square littered with dead alien bodies and wretches slightly before responding with a little more confidence.

“I find that a little hard to believe.”

“In hindsight, I can empathize.”

“If you’re not here for us, then why did you attack Zecora?” She takes a strong few steps forward, but opts to stay on the top step so as to maintain some height over you. Whatever makes her comfortable, you suppose.

“Who’s Zacharia?” pipes in Calvin.

“Zecora.” sternly corrects the unicorn. “She’s the zebra you almost killed in the forest.” You cringe a bit at the memory of the short lived hunting trip from earlier.

“An accident.” you respond in a measured tone. “We didn’t mean to harm any friend of yours. We’re sorry.” It’s not a great defense, but you hope that by virtue of the fact that you’re talking here and now lends you some credit.

“Uh huh…” she sighs uneasily. As the unicorn internally sorts the situation out in her head, you decide it’s best to cut to the chase and express some good will.

“We found some of your villagers in the forest and brought them back here this morning.” Her ears perk up at this news and her attention returns to you. “That’s why we’re here. Some of them had been hurt pretty badly, and we didn’t have the supplies to properly treat them. They’re in the hospital now.” The mare’s eyes slide from side to side. You could tell she wanted to trust you, but was uncertain if you were being honest. “What’s your name?”

“M-my name?”

“Yes.”

“Uhh, Twilight. Twilight Sparkle.” You bite your lip to suppress a little snicker.

“Well, if that’s you’re name, that’s your name.”

“Oh, and I suppose they call you anything better?” Calvin chokes on a laugh at Twilight’s sudden cattiness. You reply dryly,

“No, not really.” Both you and the mare share a short giggle at your expense. “We’re trying to get out of town. The covenant wants us dead, and we don’t want any more damage done to your town. Do you know the quickest way to the forest? We’re holed up in an old castle there.” She visibly brightens at the mention of the fortress in the woods.

“Oh! I know where that is, that’s the castle of the two sisters! If you want to get there fast, head a bit down manestreet and cut across at-” Her directions were cut off at the sound of a large explosion behind you. You spin on your heel to see green flames bursting apart the overturned cart Brendan was hiding behind. His body flies limply through the air and lands several yards away in a tangle of unnaturally twisted limbs. Before you can cry out, a number of similar explosions erupt across the market.

“Dammit! Twilight, take cover!” You shout to the Unicorn, but she was already ten steps ahead of you, launching herself off the steps and behind the building. You sprint towards the direction of the explosions, there was no point in trying to find cover with firepower like that aimed at you. You swing past Brendan’s body and grab up his needler and the last plasma grenade he had on him, unfortunately unable to stop and check to see if he was even still alive.

You scan the horizon for any sign of the fuel rod toting covenant soldiers. It doesn’t take long to spot them. Four elites barrel down the street towards your shoddy fortifications, heavy weapons raised and zeroing in on your location. At the head of the squad  charges a massive warrior in golden armor with a needler in one hand and an energy sword charged in the other. This imposing figure was the leader, no doubt. His headstrong approach was admirable, but your appreciation for his bravery wouldn’t stop you from pumping several crystals into his head. If you took him down now, the fighting in the town would end and the citizens would be safe.

“Take out those elites with the heavy ordnance.” You shout over your crackling intercom. “Drop them, and i’ll take down the leader. We knock these guys out, and we’re set to get out of here.” Through the static of your com-link, you hear what sounds like several ‘yes sers’ before a combined burst of plasma and needler fire volleys itself towards the incoming elites. Two leap behind cover as their shields drop, but the leader and one of his subordinates continue their charge down mainstreet.

You run out to meet them, priming the plasma grenade for use. You toss the blue explosive at the leading zealot. He evades the grenade by mere meters and the bright blue ball sticks to the shoulder of the alien charging close behind him. He lets out a scream of surprise and terror before exploding into a shower of organic matter and armor shards.

You raise the needler and pull the trigger tight, firing a stream of purple tinted crystals at the oncoming elite leader. They connect with his energy shield and shatter on impact, but manage to do enough damage to overexert the shields and cause them to break. He staggers ever so slightly, but doesn’t break stride towards you. He raises his own needle rifle and empties his clip in your direction. You dodge forward and to the left, avoiding most of them. Fortunately, your shields prove equally fortified and withstand the few shots that connect with them.  You come out of your forward roll and let the momentum carry your body forward towards the Zealot, drawing your knife from its sheath.

The elite raises his sword and brings it down towards your head. The vicious blue energy blade nearly connects with your helmet, but misses at the last minute as you dexterously duck and lean to the left. You drive yourself upwards and forwards, grasping your knife with both hands and driving it home towards an exposed part of the elite’s torso below his chest armor. Your arms come to a complete stop as they are jarred against the elites massive body. The blade had stuck into his abdomen, but had stopped only an inch in as his reactivating shields had absorbed the majority of the impact.

The zealot growls in anger and agitation and swipes at your head with the back of his sword arm. You duck under the blow, letting go of the knife and slipping to the left. Before he can make another move, you deliver two solid jabs to his helmet. In a fit of rage, the leader of the covenant thrusts at your chest with the tip of his energy sword. You bring your right arm in and block his attack at the wrist, again avoiding impalement by mere centimeters. You bring your left arm forward on his inside and hug his massive arm to your chest. With all your strength you jump and wrap your legs around his captivated limb and drop the leader to the ground in a tight arm bar. He fights you every step of the way, vainly punching at you with his free hand but you’re not about to let go any time soon. Slowly, you raise your hips upward, putting pressure on the back of his elbow with your pelvis.

But before you hear the satisfying crunch of joints snapping, an incredibly bright light erupts in the sky above you. It’s as if the sun itself were focusing all of its energy on you all at once. The light was so intense, it penetrated right through your visor and forced your to shut your eyes tightly to keep them from burning. Before you knew it, you felt yourself being grasped tightly by some massive force. It wrapped itself around you and tore you and your pinned foe apart from each other. The wind is knocked from your body as you’re slammed and held to the burnt remains of town hall. You struggle with all the strength in you and your mjolnir power armor to escape, but to no avail. All you can do is fight to open your eyes for a moment to get a look at the new foe in the fray.

In the very center of the square stands a large white creature, wings spread wide and head held high. It looks like the other inhabitants you’ve encountered, but taller and clearly more powerful. The horn on its head glows a majestic gold, and the same goes for several objects similarly pinned to the ground and walls of surrounding buildings. You recognize them as your men and a few semiconscious covenant soldiers, including the zealot you had been dueling.

Your attention returns to the majestic creature which was now slowly walking towards you. The stern gaze and strong stature spoke volumes of the beings authority and composure as it walked right up to you, some cruel alien from lightyears away, come here to destroy this town and hurt its citizens. You braced yourself for what was to come, putting every last ounce of your strength into moving your arms to activate your armor lock located on your wrist mounted data pad.

“Sleep.” it commanded. Instantly, your limbs grew heavy. It was as if every muscle you ever trained had vanished and only a skeleton was left to support the two-ton weight of your power armor. The golden aura around you vanished and you collapsed face first on the ground, losing all sense of awareness and consciousness the moment your faceplate makes contact with the scorched cobblestone road.