Halo: Equestrian Campaign

“…three, four, five, six..”

Twilight let out a sigh of relief as the last search party walked into her library. She was disappointed that none of them had found the meteorite that had crashed down in the forest, But at the same time she was thankful that none of them had encountered the strange animals that had attacked Zecora earlier. A chill ran down Twilight’s spine as she thought back to what her zebra friend had told her.

“Over two meters tall, standing on two legs, made of metal, no face, and very dangerous. These things don’t sound like anything I’ve ever heard of before, and none of my books detail anything like them either.” Twilight raised her fore-hoof to her head and lightly massaged her temples. “They couldn’t possibly be aliens, could they?”

“That would make sense if they came with the meteor.” interjected Spike. Twilight was a bit agitated that he had been listening in on her ‘personal’ conversation, but that was prone to happen since she was talking aloud to nopony in particular. “Anyway, we should probably get this meeting underway. Everypony is really tired and would like to get a few hours of sleep before returning to the Everfree.”

“You’re right Spike, I’ll get started right away.”

Everypony silenced themselves as Twilight took her place at the front of the library. All where anxious to hear about the condition of their zebra neighbor, and about what had put her in such bad condition. The fatigue brought on by hours of non-stop work didn’t help their patience either.

“Listen up everypony!” started Twilight. “We are all tired, curious, and frightened because of what happened last night. The good thing is that we have made a lot of progress considering the fact that we only started working a few hours ago. However, we still have a lot of unanswered questions. The ‘sky fire’ which appeared last night and dimmed throughout the day is still a mystery to me as well as the princesses, we still haven’t found the meteorite that crashed down in the Everfree, and now we may have a new problem on our hooves.” Twilight took a deep breath before continuing her speech. “A lot of rumors have been going around about how a pony was attacked in the forest today. I am letting you all know now that this is true.” several gasps elicited themselves from the crowd. Twilight let her audience whisper amongst themselves for a minute before starting up again.

“Zecora, a longtime inhabitant of the Everfree, was chased and gravely injured by two creatures within the forest. She described them as being bipedal, standing over two meters tall. They were covered in metal plating from top to bottom, protection perhaps, but we aren‘t certain. She also said that they lacked a face, meaning she couldn’t make out any eyes, ears, mouth, or muzzle. Again, this could be a part of their armor, but we can’t be certain. Lastly, they carried some sort of device that made a very loud noise. It sounded like thunder, or a firework, and is most likely what caused the injury on Zecora’s leg.  The likes of these animals has never been seen before in all of Equestria, and no foreign treatise holds any reference to them either.” Twilight paused for a second time to let the information sink in before resuming. The next bit of information could be a bit hard for her audience to swallow.

“It is very likely that we are dealing with an alien species from outer space. Their appearance can be linked back to when the meteorite crashed down in the Everfree. That is, after all, when we first encountered them.” This time, the crowd’s excitement was less contained. Nearly everypony jumped up at once and shouted one thing or another at Twilight. “I know it may sound ridiculous, but it would make sense if you think about it logically!” she shouted over the din.

“If they are aliens, what are we going to do?!”

“Are our families safe?”

“We should evacuate. Let the royal guards handle this, my family isn’t sticking around when there’s a blood-thirsty alien on the loose!”

Twilight stood still and let her listeners calm themselves down. After some time, they wore themselves out and returned their gaze to Twilight.

“I have sent an urgent message to Canterlot requesting for military aid, as well as an evacuation team. I beg you all to stay and continue in your efforts to find the meteorite, but you may leave for Canterlot if you feel unsafe. Anypony who wishes to do so should leave for home now and begin packing their things, evac chariots will arrive tomorrow afternoon.”

Nopony moved for a moment, each one was waiting for somepony else to be the first one to go. A petite mare was the first to leave, and many more followed after her, too many. Soon enough, only ten remained. Five were easily recognized by Twilight as her best friends. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity all stood next to each other, bearing strong looks of determination.

“We’re here for you Twilight!” confirmed Rainbow Dash. “It’ll take more then a few space-ponies to scare us off!”

“Darn right!” agreed Applejack.

“Well, I certainly appreciate all you doing this for me, but what about your families. Applejack, Rarity, what are you going to do about your sisters?” Rarity was more than happy to step up and lend her aid.

“No need to worry darling, I have connections in Canterlot. They would be more than happy to give shelter to any friends or family of ours who need it.”

“Well that’s a relief. Rarity and Applejack, you should go home and get your sisters packed. Like I said before, I’m not certain about what we are dealing with here, and it would be for the best if they were away from Ponyville as soon as possible.” Both ponies nodded and exited the library.

“Meet me back here tomorrow.” Twilight called after them before turning her attention to her other three friends. “Of course, the same goes for you. Rainbow Dash, could you do me a favor and make sure Scootaloo is ready to go as well? I dunno if she has anypony looking after her right now, so it’s probably for the best if you check up on her.”

“Yes Ma’am” jeered Rainbow Dash, shooting her friend a cocky salute. “I’ll get right on it!” And with that, she flew out nearest window to complete her task.

“Pinkie Pie, you can go on home. Let the Cake family know about what’s going to happen, and help them pack up if they decide to leave.”

“Alrighty Then!” Shouted the exuberant pink earth pony as she bolted out the front door so fast, Twilight’s head spun. “I’ll see ya’ tomorrow.” After finding her balance, Twilight turned to address the last Element of Harmony in the room.

“Fluttershy, what are you going to do about your animals?” The timid pegasus shrugged her shoulders before responding.

“Well, I’m definitely concerned for them. I can’t imagine what those metal creatures would do to them, it would be too horrible. I may just let them run free for a while, animals have a way of sensing danger and finding good places to hide from it. Sending them to Canterlot would be preferable, though I suppose it’s more important that ponies get to safety first. Plus, I can’t imagine the royal guard would be comfortable carrying anything like a bear all the way to Canterlot.” The two friends shared a quick laugh at the thought of royal guards struggling to fly a full grown bear several miles to the capitol of Equestria.

“Alright Fluttershy, if you think letting your animals loose is the best course of action then I wont argue with you.” After Twilight sent her last friend away she turned her attention to the last five ponies in the room. One Pegasus, one unicorn, and three earth ponies.

“I appreciate your commitment to the situation,” complemented Twilight. “but I’m not sure how I can use you. I doubt one Pegasus is strong enough to carry a cart of four other ponies, so using a flying chariot is out of the question. The evacuation effort is handled, and I doubt the town needs any more security, what with the Canterlot Guard arriving soon. Do you have any suggestions?” The lone unicorn of the group stepped forward and addressed Twilight.

“We were all collaborating a few moments ago while you were talking to your friends, and we think we’ve come up with a way for us to be of assistance.” She paused for a moment to collect her nerve before continuing. “We are all willing to venture into the Everfree forest again and resume the search for the crashed meteorite.” Twilight was a bit taken aback by this.

“Wait, let me get this straight. You five are volunteering to go back into the Everfree forest despite the fact that there are dozens of dangerous monsters there, including the ones that attacked Zecora and are potential aliens from outer space?”

“Well, ma’am, when you put it like that it sounds like an insane plan, but we all think we can handle it. That thing that fell into the forest yesterday could be the key to figuring out what’s going on here, and the five of us feel as if it is our duty as citizens of Equestria to aid you in whatever way we can.”

“Again, your loyalty is notable, but I can’t let you go alone into the forest. It’s simply too dangerous for a hoofful of farm ponies to handle. I mean, you wont even be able to search by air, you‘ll have to look for it on hoof.”

“Lets not jump to conclusions here.” butted in one of the earth ponies. “Not all of us have worked on the farms here our whole lives. My two brothers and I served in the Equestrian Royal Army for two terms each, and that mare your talking to is a magical student from Trottingham University.” If Twilight was supposed to be impressed, she wasn’t. She had seen stronger stallions venture into the forest before and come back looking deeply disturbed. It would take more than a miracle for the five of them to venture forth, find the crashed meteor, and return to Ponyville unscathed. Unfortunately, it seemed the ragtag quintet was not to be dissuaded from their path, and they were adamant on doing this.

“Alright,” sighed the librarian in defeat. “,you can go. Just promise me that you will return here at the first sign of danger. The last thing I want is any of you hurt, or worse…”

“Don’t worry ma’am, we’ll be fine.” asserted the unicorn. “We’ll set out early in the morning tomorrow and head for the section of the forest that wasn’t searched yet. If we find anything, we will notify you immediately.” With that, the five of them got up and left for the night, each giving Twilight a curt nod before passing through the door.

The purple mare mentally berated herself, there must’ve been something else she could have had the five remaining volunteers do. Now they were all set risking their lives over a chunk of rock that happened to be located in one of the most dangerous places in all of Equestria. There was nothing she could do now to dissuade them. The only thing she could do was hope that they would make it back alive by tomorrow evening.