Of Friendships and Warships

“Red Team, coordinates for a facility in the north have been locked. Get there find out what need from it.” Those were Red Team’s last orders. Now, their Warthog was a burning wreck and Douglas was MIA.

+++ 2 hours earlier +++

“You see that, 042?” Alice asked from the passenger side.

“Yes, and it is gaining! Douglas, shoot that thing out of the sky!” Jerome yelled hitting the brakes and turning the wheel sharp right. The gun on the back went loud, but the large rounds did not appear to do much to the thing pursuing them. “Red Team to Spirit of Fire, unknown hostile has engaged us! Request fire support, danger close!”

“Our comms are being jammed!” Alice notified Jerome. Then he noticed a cliffside was nearing.

+++ Current time +++

“Red Team to Spirit of Fire. Come in.” There was no answer. “Any UNSC forces respond!” There was still no answer, just static.

===++++ ++++=== 1 week later

“Foxtrot-247 approaching drop zone,” the Pelican’s pilot yelled over the engines to the passengers, which were six ponies and four marines. The troop bay door opened to reveal the landscape beneath just as a blur.

“It’s been a week since they’ve arrived, forgive for lighting that timberwolf on fire by accident now, Applejack!” Twilight yelled to Applejack over the engines. Right then the Pelican started slowing and descending.

“Even I can’t go this fast! Only 2 hours to make it to the Crystal Empire at top speed!” Rainbow yelled over the engines.

“Foxtrot-247 on final approach,” the pilot yelled just in time for the dropship to swiftly come to a complete stop without tossing anyone about the troop bay. The Pelican then descended vertically from there. After it landed next to the Crystal Castle, the pilot shut down the engines.

“No, they know what they did!” Applejack yelled, angry that she was to apologize for nothing.

“Why do you even care, it happened to a timberwolf! Let it go,” Twilight tried to tell her friend, though the orange pony was not listening.

Cadence was waiting for them where they landed, and led the ten of them into the castle to the throne room. What they saw was something no could have predicted. Red Team managed to get to the Crystal Empire after they disappeared a few days previously.

“We found them, or rather, they found us. They requested we contact a spirit of fire, so we sent a letter to Celestia. Apparently somepony named James Cutter was there on business with the Princess, so she told us they were sending somepony else to get them instead,” Shining Armor explained to the group.

“We are just here to shuttle them to their destination, then we’re heading back. Boomerang Company didn’t report. Cutter is concerned,” Sheppard said.

“That’s bad, good luck,” Cadence said.

“We aren’t leaving anytime soon,” Twilight said.

=== ===

“Approaching last known location of Boomerang,” the pilot yelled to the passengers.

“Alright, Atlantis, we aren’t landing this bird. Ropes at ready, we are going in ten,” Sheppard ordered the fireteam as the troop bay door opened.

=== ===

“My ponies are concerned about your being here, James,” Celestia said, “What are doing here?”

“We found ourselves here, and now we are searching for anything to get us home. Sparkle, Anders and I have found nothing in her library that could help us. I request permission to look through your library to find something to help us get home,” Cutter said.

“No, I cannot let you,” Celestia replied.

A guard bursts through the large double doors to the throne room, “Changelings are attacking!” the guard yelled before the changeling queen telekinetically through him across the room.

=== ===

Fireteam Atlantis had their Pelican touchdown in a clearing not far from Boomerang Company’s last known location, though there were only signs of a battle in the environment.

“Woolsey, relay to Cutter this: Unknown hostiles have captured or killed Boomerang Company, search has been inconclusive so far,” Sheppard said to the pilot. “Atlantis, gear up, we leave in five.”

“Sheppard, Cutter is either out of range or having equipment problems, your report has been relayed to Spirit of Fire,” the pilot said.

Five minutes later, Fireteam Atlantis started following some mysterious tracks northeast.

=== ===

“I burnt my toast,” Kinsano taunted yet another changeling she had reduced to a crisp with her flamethrower, all while laughing at everything. As royal guards around her were being overwhelmed by sheer numbers, Kinsano was able push forwards. Once she was close enough to the door, she slammed one shut on ten changelings, then covered them in flames. By now the guards were completely overwhelmed. Kinsano turned her back to the door and tossed a pair of incendiary grenades over her shoulders, then ran upstairs and towards the throne room.

The changeling queen was already there, and both Celestia and Cutter were captured. Kinsano did the first thing that came to her mind, burn every single enemy she could see, which was just the changeling queen. She charged and fired her flamethrower at the changeling queen. The changeling queen, unaffected due to linking her life with something else, just slammed her forehooves onto the flamethrower to brake. Her next attack knocked Kinsano out.

=== ===

“Cave up ahead, flashlights,” Sheppard ordered.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Carter said.

“Like ‘someone’s legendarily bad luck just kicked in at full blast’ bad? Or ‘we made a left at Ponyville that should have been a right’ bad?” Sheppard asked, thinking it was the former.

“It’s the former, Aure. I’m sure this place just became warzone, but then again…” Carter said trailing off when he noticed some kind of green substance covering the walls.

“I don’t think its toxic or anything like that. It might not be safe to handle, though,” Jackson said.

A weird voice then started talking, “Just like those three in the machine,” and it said no more.

“Atlantis, to the Pelican!” Sheppard ordered, knowing it was the former.

Upon exiting, the four marines were facing a horde of thousands of black bugs. “Should we call air support? Woolsey modified our Pelican a while back,” McKay said.

“Hold tight marines, death from above!” the pilot said before firing several missiles into the horde and streaking overhead, splitting what survived into more manageable numbers.

“Well that worked, we still can’t win. Give us a few minutes and we’ll floor this horde,” Sheppard calmly notified the Pelican. “Atlantis, open fire!”

=== ===

“We’re coming hot,” Sheppard yelled into his commlink jumping log and falling into a crouch behind from a full run. They made to the clearing, and the rest of Atlantis got cover within the clearing moments later. Sheppard stood up and fired a grenade from the rifle-mounted launcher into the approaching horde.

Seeing that wiping out one small group of humans just wasn’t happening, the changeling king decided to take matters into his own hooves and wipe the group out himself.

“We’ve incoming, and its massive,” Woolsey yelled to Atlantis after he got to the back of the Pelican.

“Here,” Sheppard said offering his rifle. Once Woolsey took the rifle and started firing into the horde, Sheppard grabbed the rocket launcher they keep in the back.

“I will wipe you all over,” the changeling king taunted. Sheppard aimed the rocket launcher at the king.

“I beg to differ, my master,” Sheppard said before he fired the rocket launcher. The rocket found its target ensuring the king would never be whole again. The Pelican took off and flew towards Canterlot.

=== ===

“I will finally have my revenge!” the queen started monologuing, “I will conquer Equestria, then the whole world! Then I’ll kill this spirit of f”

A gunshot cut her speech off. Cutter fired three rounds in short succession into her.

“Changelings coming from the hall! James, I’ve got these,” Celestia said, but before she could attack them a Pelican flew through the wall. It just turned fired missiles into the changelings and collapsing the hall on top of whatever remained. It landed and opened the troop bay revealing Fireteam Atlantis.

“Want to be rescued?” Sheppard said as got off and picked up the unconscious Kinsano. Once everyone was back one the Pelican, it took off flew out of the building.

=== === 1 week later

“James, I think I owe you a chance to look through the rest of the libraries over the country,” she said, “though, you may not look over Canterlot’s.”