For the Emperor and the UNSC! (Rebooted System)

by InfernoRage008

Chapters

Ch.1
Ch.2
Ch.3
Ch.4

Ch.1

Ch.1: Armored Saviours.

The Everfree Forest, 2147 CLR

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no!” Twilight screamed over and over again as she dodged between the trees.

“Twilight, I told you this was a bad idea!” Spike shouted as he held onto her.

Behind them, a pack of Timberwolves chased after them, eyes glowing with hunger. As to why the two were in the Everfree Forest, there had been reports stating suspicious activity happening inside, with even Zecora saying that there might be other ponies lurking about in the forest. To add more to the growing pile of evidence, she had found what appeared to be hoof tracks leading towards the Old Ruins. The only problem was that there was nopony within the area. The Scouts that had been sent to check it out had came back with nothing, saying that there were no signs of life.

However, Twilight wasn’t exactly convinced. She decided to check it out for herself. Of course, Spike knew she was going to do something like this and had tried to stop her, only for him to then get dragged along with her on a wild goose chase. One that had turned from bad to worse.

“If you had just listen to me and dropped it, we wouldn’t be in this situation!” Spike said in a panic, as Twilight tried to lose the pursuing Timberwolves, only to get themselves lost within the forest.

“Spike! Now’s really not the time!” Twilight retorted as she managed to corner themselves into a dead end. “Oh no.” She groaned as her ears pinned back. Hearing a chorus of snarls, she turned around and saw the lupine forms of the Timberwolves surrounding her and Spike and leaving no openings for them to escape.

Thinking fast, she cast a barrier around themselves as one of the Timberwolves made the first move, pouncing towards them, only to get rejected. The rest of them snarled as they attacked Twilight’s barrier one by one, causing quite the strain on her.

“Twilight, can’t you teleport us out!?” Spike asked, flinching every time the Timberwolves slammed into the shield.

“Ah! I should have done that ages ago!” Twilight growled in frustration, not only from forgetting that she could’ve just used the Teleportation spell, but from the strain the pack was putting on her.

Eventually cracks started to form on the shield, Twilight tried her best to hold it up as she began to tire out from the strain. Upon the last attack, the entire Timberwolf pack charged at the shield, breaking through as it shattered and crumbled. The backlash was enough to knock Twilight off balance, throwing her back against a very large tree and somewhat ending up squishing Spike between her and the tree.

“Ow…” Spike wheezed as he tried to squeeze his way out, only to regret it as he saw their predicament. “... Oh horse apples.”

“Spike, language.” Twilight scolded, only to remember that they were now at the mercy of the Timberwolves. Fear started to settle into the two, grabbing and holding one another as the Timberwolves savoured the moment, watching their prey wither in fear before them. “Spike, I’m really sorry about all of this.” Twilight managed to speak out as the hungry pack got ready to feast upon them.

“Just for that, I’d like to say I told you so and I forgive you.” Spike said before he closed his eyes and accepted their inevitable fate.

However, just before the Timberwolves could take a bite out of the two, something large and metallic came rushing towards the pack from the side. All were quite surprised by this turn of events, as Twilight saw a massive, green, metal like golem towering over them, wielding a massive pistol in its left hand and a strange sword that looked like a cross between a chainsaw and a broadsword in its right. What its purpose was, she soon found out, as she heard it revving up, the saw teeth running along one edge of the blade as the massive hulk charged towards the Timberwolves. Using its armoured shoulder, it slammed into the closet Timberwolf, it’s wooden body shattering into splinters from the force.

Seeing this happen, the rest of the pack snarled and spread out, keeping out of reach of the new threat. It did little to help as it used its pistol to fire a salvo of shots into the pack, the rounds themselves embedding themselves into their targets and then imploded inside, instantly taking out three more.

“Unless you want to be in the line of fire, I’d suggest you’d move!” The being shouted at Twilight, its voice cold and metallic.

Doing as it said, she grabbed Spike and started running again. Twilight didn’t dare to look back, using the same passage the golem made with its unusual sword. She followed a way before getting snagged in a trap, a well placed and concealed net.

“What the heck!?” Twilight shouted as she struggled to get free.

“Twilight, hold up!” Spike told her. “Stop struggling so that I can get us out of here!”

“How!?” She stressed out. He didn’t answer her immediately, but she soon got her answer as Spike used his dragon fire to burn through the net. Although they forgot just how high up they were, as they landed with a hard thump. “Oof! Ow!”

“Ugh! Why was there a trap set up?” Spike groaned out.

“I don’t know.” Twilight answered, but soon froze up as they both heard guns clicking.

“Don’t move!” A voice shouted out, as two more metallic beings came out from the bushes, only these were different from the first.

Both were wearing red and silver armor, but their appearances were each unique. One had a helmet with a gold half dome with what appeared to be a white skull on the front. The other had a more pointed helmet with a gold visor and its right arm was more heavily armored than its left and terminated in a clawed gauntlet.

Soon enough the first one came back, Twilight looking up and finally getting a proper look, though she wasn’t very fond of how menacing it looked.

The armor looked both advanced, yet slightly archaic. Across the chest was a winged skull, while the pauldrons each had unique iconography. The left had a red dual headed arrow pointing sideway, while the right had what appeared to be a winged sword on it. Its right knee had a red diagonal stripe on it, while the helmet had a narrow muzzle going down, with slots on either side. Glowing red eye lenses seemed to glare at her as she stared at it and what looked like some kind of backpack was visible behind it, with two nozzles poking out.

“So you're the one that those mutts were chasing?” It asked, somehow managing to sound distrusting.

“Y-Y-Yes.” Twilight stuttered out her answer, shrinking under its gaze. “W-Why are you looking at me like I’m the enemy?” She asked.

“Because we’ve already encountered some of your kind, and their response wasn't so friendly.” One of the other figures said, and to Twilight's shock, the voice was female. “You’re the only one that hasn't open fire on us.”

“Wait! So there are other ponies in the Everfree Forest?” Twilight questioned them and they nodded. “What was their sigil?”

“Why should we trust you? How do we know you won't tell your friends and have us hunted down and killed?” the third figure snapped, distrust clear in his voice. The other two nodded in agreement.

“Okay, fair point.” Twilight said with a sigh. “Here’s the sigil for the army I fight for.” She said, pulling off the patch on her left shoulder and showing it to them. It depicted an Alicorn with two swords crossing each other from behind it, while also having one half of the sun on the right, and the other half of the crescent moon. “I’m with the Equestria Military Arms Corp. Those other ponies you almost got killed by, are with Flame Tail.”

“Equestria? Flame Tail?” Twilight got the feeling that she was getting confused looks from beneath those visors. The female armored figure spoke up. “The first sounds like something from a cartoon, and the other sounds like one of those cats from a book series I read back home called Warriors.”

“Uh, I’m sorry to ask this, but are you three from...another world?” Twilight asked them, because from the sound and look of things, she couldn’t help but feel like they were.

“If you call getting dropped into a forest with wooden wolves, creatures that are supposed to be a literal myth and getting attacked by talking ponies with guns while finding out you're now an all to goodness Spartan when it was supposed to be a costume as being transported from another world.” The third figure said sarcastically. “Oh yeah, did I also forget to mention finding out you can do this?” He held out his hand and a massive hammer that crackled with energy materialized in his hand, the hilt resting on the ground. “Because that's so very normal on Earth.”

Twilight winced at his little rant, but it was enough to answer her question. “Okay, moving on…” She said before hearing voices off in the distance. The three beings tensed, the female bringing her left hand to her back, where Twilight noticed an ornate one handed broadsword magnetized to it.

“Did you hear those shots?” A voice asked.

“Yeah, not to mention the screaming. You think it might be that purple princess trying to save the day?” Another voice answered in a snarky manner.

“If that’s the case, she’s an idiot for coming in here. Heck, I wouldn’t mind if those three metal creatures were to kill her for us, without even realising it.” The first voice said with a laugh. “Besides, she can’t even fly anymore and her magic isn’t as powerful as it once was before.” That comment made Twilight wince at the memory of losing her wings and half of her magical capabilities.

“Great… it's those idiots…” the first figure snarled. “Alex, get your sniper rifle ready and set yourself up somewhere where they can't see you. Vik, stay here with.... I’m sorry, We never got your name, miss?” he said, turning to Twilight.

“... It’s Twilight. I’m the princess those two were talking about.” She answered, taking off her uniform and showing them what was left of her wings. They were quite shocked at what they saw.

The third armored figure spoke up. “What… what the hell happened to you?” he asked.

“War.” Twilight answered sadly, moving her mechanical wings a little bit. “That’s what happened, and what’s still going on.”

The female figure rubbed her right arm, as if she was reminded of something that happened to her. The first figure shook his head to clear it before he continued with his orders. “...Vik, stay here with Twilight and her companion. I’ll try and draw them away from here, and if they try to attack, Alex, snipe them.” The female figure, Alex nodded as she pulled out a long barreled gun that had an integrated bipod and a dual band scope. She soon walked off, her armor shimmering before she then vanished from sight. Twilight stared in shock at the spot where Alex had been.

“Did...did she just use an invisibility spell?” Twilight asked in a whisper. The third figure, Vik, busted out laughing.

“No, it's an armor upgrade that allows you to literally blend into your surroundings.” He said. “It’s known as active camo.”

“Oh.” She said with a sigh. “Sorry, I’m still getting used to technology. Nothing against it, I love it as much as magic, but I’m so used to doing things with magic that I forget about science.” She explained, looking at her wings.

The first figure gave a bitter snort. “You’re not the only one that's trying to cope with stuff…” it said before walking towards the sound of the voices, the chainblade having been replaced with a sword that crackled with power.

Vik shook his head. “The three of us have had it a bit rough when we got here, nearly got chomped on by a Manticore and getting shot at by those ponies and getting used to our new bodies… so you can see why Sasha, Alex and I are a bit on edge.”

“I guess.” Twilight said, placing her uniform back on. “Even my new wings don’t help me cope with the fact that I failed.”

“Pardon my language, but I call utter bullshit on that.” Vik said.

“Why?” She asked him. “Why would you think that? I’ve lost both of my wings and half of my magical prowess in defending Manehattan, and it still wasn’t enough. My fake wings are just a cold reminder of that fact.”

“Yet you're still fighting to save your country. If you had truly failed, you would’ve given up long ago, wouldn't you?” Vik pointed out. “I’ve seen people that have have suffered worse on the news and yet they didn't give in. And neither should you.”

“I… You’re right.” Twilight nodded with a sigh. “I shouldn’t give up, nor should I let my past failures haunt me forever. Even though Alicorns can’t exactly age.” Then an idea struck her. “Say, can you help us? I know I’m asking a lot of you three, and you do have the right to refuse and stay neutral. But what if you’re stuck here, with no way of getting back home?”

“Then it's a risk we’ll live with…” He said, his voice going flat. “As for helping you, how do we know your allies won't attack us at first sight? We’re not exactly capable of blending in with your lot.” he gestured to himself, indicating the armor.

“That’s true, but I’m still a princess. And I’m making all three of you my responsibility, granting you immunity and a chance to prove yourselves to everypony that you’ve got as much rights as any of us.” She told him with a hardened look. “And if they don’t like that, then tough luck for them. We need all the help we can get. Since Flame Tail’s soldiers tried to kill you at first glance, that gives you enough reason to fight back against them.” She explained to him.

Vik sighed. “Alright, but the three of us will need to talk it over before we give you our answer.” He said.

“Fair enough.” She nodded.

Two sharp cracks suddenly split the air, causing Vik to flinch. “Geez, it's only been at least 3 days and that still makes me jump…” he muttered.

“Can I ask you something?” Twilight inquired.

“What?” Vik replied, shouldering the rifle he held.

“Um, this might come off as offensive, but has your kind ever been to war?” She asked him. “I mean, from the sound and look of things, your race must have had wars…”

Vik gave a bitter chuckle. “We’ve had more wars than you could ever imagine. And two of these wars involved entire nations. The second world war ended up with more lives lost than those killed the American Civil War… all thanks to a mad man who perpetrated the most inhumane war crime ever seen known as the Holocaust, a mass slaughter of over a million innocent people known as the Jews.” He said, anger clear in his tone.

Twilight was completely horrified by this, she never would have imagined such a being existed to commit such an atrocity, nor did she think such a war could be waged on such ambitions. Mass genocide. “That’s...beyond wickedness, even more evil… How can any of you live through such harsh times? Let alone win a war and end it!?”

“Because we adapt. This is both our boon and our curse. As we adapt, so does warfare, from bows and arrows, to muskets and machine guns.” Vik said, staring out into the forest. “But for all the horrors humanity has done to itself, there are people who help to make our world better.”

Twilight didn’t say much afterwards, as they waited for Alex and Sasha to return. She was astounded at how his kind, Humanity, could defy such nightmares, but also saddened that it could create the very nightmares from the beginning. She couldn’t imagine living in a world like theirs.

Alex was the first one to return, her weapons slung across her back. “Everything okay here?” She asked. Vik nodded in response. As Alex crossed her arms, Twilight heard a faint whirr coming from the right arm.

Sasha was next to come back, holding a couple of combat backpacks and dropping them in front of Twilight. She quickly searched through them and found a map in one of them. “Ah-ha! Now I can find out where exactly they’ve bunkered down in.” She declared, looking it over and frowned. “So, they really are in the Ruins. But the scouts said they couldn’t find a single trace of there being any sort of activity happening in there.” She stated.

“But that doesn’t make sense.” Spike said in confusion. “How can Flame Tail’s goons be in there and not found?”

“Hmm…” Twilight hummed. “They must be in the lower levels. I doubt the scouts searched down there. If so, what could they be planning?” She questioned.

“I don't care whether or not she wants our help, we don't know enough to be sure if we should help or not!” Sasha’s voice cut across her musings. She looked up to see the three having a heated argument.

“Here’s a question; would you like to make everyone and everything your enemy?” Twilight asked the armored being with a flat look. “If so, just remember you pinned yourselves between a rock and a hard place.”

Sasha growled in annoyance, while Alex and Vik shared exasperated glances beneath their helmets. “Fine… we’ll help. But you’d better fill us in on what the hell is going on with this world…” he said.

“Deal. Now, where’s your place? I’ll tell you everything there.” Twilight asked, packing everything away and carrying it.

“We’ve been wandering this forest for three days.” Vik said. “Other than making camp twice in separate locations, we don't have a place to stay.”

“Okay, let’s find some place to settle down for today.” Twilight suggested to them, as Spike hopped onto her back.

“Isn’t there like a town nearby that we can go?” Alex asked.

“Not unless you want to get shot at under misassumptions.”

“Great….. another night of laying on the ground…” she muttered.

“Come on, let’s go before more show up.” Twilight told them as she checked the map again. “There should be a cave some ways from here.” She said as she took the lead with the others failing behind her.

As Alex followed, Vik commed her on a private link. “Still think you're dreaming?” He whispered.

Alex shook her head and didn't say anything. “Why are we here… and why do we have these powers…?” She thought as an unknown energy arced across her right gauntlet.

Meanwhile, Canterlot Castle.

“... Twilight did what?” Princess Celestia asked, a shocked look on her face.

“She went into the Everfree Forest with her assistant Spike, all because she thinks that there’s something going on at the Old Ruins.” The Royal Guard in front of her said, looking up from his report. “While our scouts have declared that there’s nothing of any imminent threat, she thought otherwise. By the time we realised she was gone, it was too late. We can’t go searching for her now. There was also reports of gunshots going off in the forest, but we couldn’t tell whether it was her or somepony else.”

Celestia sighed. “Very well, have a team formed for tomorrow’s search and rescue. We’ll probably find her at the Ruins.” She ordered.

“As you wish, your highness.” The Royal Guard replied, giving a short bow and leaving the Throne room.

Soon Princess Luna and Prince Blueblood entered. “Sister, is everything alright?” She asked her elder sister.

“No. Twilight just went into the Everfree Forest, with Spike, and is probably lost in there. We can’t send a team to look for her now.” Celestia answered with a frown.

“What could’ve prompted her to go in there?” Blueblood questioned.

“There were suspicious reports stating that there might be ponies roaming through the Everfree Forest. She probably suspected them to be Flame Tail’s troops setting up inside the Old Ruins, but the scouts found no signs indicating such things.” Celestia explained.

“Hmm, Twilight might be onto something.” Blueblood commented, rubbing his chin. “What if Flame Tail really is sending some of his forces to occupy the Old Ruins? They could be targeting Ponyville.”

“Sister, I think our nephew and Twilight might both be onto something.” Luna said as Celestia’s face now held a look of both grim resolve and dread. “What do you think?”

“I can only hope Twilight and Spike can make it out alive….”

Author's Note

And so, the story begins anew...again.

But, nonetheless, it has been great writing this story with Sebaste. And yes, there are a few changes, but not a lot to change the direction he had in mind. Hope you all enjoyed this and we thank you for reading it.

Ch.2

For the Emperor and the UNSC! (Rebooted System)

Ch.2: Know your Allies and Enemy.

“Okay, here we are.” Twilight said as the group finally arrived to the cave. It was just located close enough to the Old Ruins, so they had to sneak around the patrols lurking about, without getting caught. They did sometimes take advantage with some of the natural traps, leading a couple of patrols astray as they made their way to their destination.

Making their way inside, they checked to make sure that there wasn’t anything living inside. Luckily enough, no wild animals were found.

Alex collapsed on the floor, sighing with relief. “Thank god that's over… any more and I would've collapsed on the spot.” she said, rubbing her aching legs. Both Vik and Sasha didn't say anything as they stood guard at the entrance, or at least, Sasha stood guard. Vik leaned against the cave wall nearby, his arms crossed.

“Okay, now that we’ve got here, I’ll tell you what happened.” Twilight said with a sigh, sitting down as Spike rolled off her, exhausted. “It’s been almost a year since this war has started. We’ve already lost so much ground ever since then, taking us by surprise. Although we think that this sort of thing was within the making for years.” She told them.

“How many cities have you lost?” Sasha asked, turning his helmet to look at Twilight.

“Most of them.” She answered. “Fillydelphia is where we’re holding the main bulk of their forces off. But seeing as they’ve already made their way around it…” She sighed before continuing. “Anyway, the one leading this army against us is named Flame Tail, a Unicorn who has made a lot of technological headway in secret. Except he wanted weapons of war to be created, so that he could ‘crusade’ against those who won’t join him. But his main grudge is against us princesses.”

“Why would he have a grudge against you? You don't look like someone that would have enemies.” Vik said.

“Apparently he doesn’t think we’re fit to rule anymore. In a sense, he started a revolution. Calling us the false rulers.” Twilight answered with a frown. “He thinks that the time of the Alicorns has long past, that we need to step down.”

Sasha snorted. “If he thinks that, he’s got delusions of grandeur.” he said. “You can't expect those who have been leading longer than he has lived to step down.”

“He knew that, hence the reason why he has gathered some followers who were as ambitious as he was, invested in Advanced Technological Research and Development, amass an army. We weren’t even prepared enough to stop him, not even me.” Twilight countered, reminding them that she was an Alicorn herself, and still lost. “We’ve only just managed to get our hooves on some of the tech they’ve developed and reversed engineered it. Even so, we’re still a little ways behind them.”

“Just how advanced are we talking about?” Alex asked, walking over to where Vik was and leaning against him, his arm going around her shoulders.

“Didn’t you guys see their weapons? If so, you can tell how advanced.”

“We were a bit busy trying not to be shot at to really get a good look at their weapons…” Vik said.

“Pretty advanced. Although, I think your armor can actually withstand some of them.” She answered. “But what are the differences between your armors? Or...would franchises be the right word?” She asked them. “I mean, you did say so yourselves, in a sense.”

“The franchise this armor comes from, Halo, is set in the 26th century, and like you, humanity faced a foe like no other. One that nearly succeeded in wiping it out entirely. It was known as the Covenant, an alliance of alien species that followed what were known as the 'Prophets’, three alien leaders that wanted to use a weapon of mass destruction on a galactic scale called a Halo to ascend to godhood. The Spartans were created in response to this threat. As such our armor have built in shields that absorb a certain number of shots before they're knocked out.” Vik explained. “Sasha’s armor is known as power armor. The universe his armor comes from is… well, let's just say the Second World War was a firecracker compared to what happens in the 41st Millennium. Humanity controls a good majority of the Milky Way, but they're under constant threat from Traitors, Daemons and Alien species. There are millions of battle zones, and it’s the efforts of the Space Marine Chapters that humanity has survived so far.”

Twilight’s eyes widened at the descriptions for each of them, which lead to one conclusion. “Are you all… Super Soldiers?”

Sasha nodded. “The Spartans were augmented super soldiers, stronger bones and faster reflexes. Space Marines on the other hand were genetically modified to be faster, stronger and more powerful than a normal human. They even have 2 hearts.”

That was when Spike spoke up. “So yeah, they’re Super Soldiers in their unique ways, with their own lore.”

Vik then spoke up. “I’m actually surprised you even know what a super soldier is. Is there something that we don't know?”

“You could say that. There was some talk about creating a squad of Super Soldiers, but it was deemed too dangerous and the idea was scrapped.” Twilight explained with a sigh. “Since we don’t have enough resources, or the equipment made to do it, Celestia had it discarded.”

There was dead silence for a while. Alex then spoke up, “Won’t your friends or family be worried about you?” she asked.

“You have no idea.” Spike stated.

“My family does worry for me, especially since I lost my wings. As for my friends, well, we’re all in the military.” Twilight told them. “My brother is a General, married to another princess, who was my foalsitter, they both rule another country.” She explained.

“So your brother’s a prince in a sense?” Sasha asked.

“Pretty much.” She nodded.

Vik then took his helmet off, allowing Twilight saw his face for the first time. It was angular, with a mop of dark brown hair on the top of his head. Two light blue eyes looked at Twilight as he set the helmet down. “Guess you and your brother were destined for royalty.” he said, a small smirk on his lips.

“I suppose so.” Twilight said with a shrug. “Although, let’s just say that royalty isn’t my thing. But I got the hang of it.” She explained.

Sasha then looked out the cave entrance. “We’d better get a fire going, light’s beginning to fade.” He said.

“Alright then.” Twilight nodded as they went out in search for wood, albeit very discreetly. Once they had managed to collect enough wood for the night, they quickly returned to the cave and set up the fire place. “Spike, could you please light it up?” She asked.

“Sure.” Spike replied, taking a breath before releasing a plume of fire and lighting it up.

Alex had taken off her own helmet, her long black hair spilling out over her armor. Her green eyes stared at the fire as Vik pulled her in next to him and letting her lean on him.

“Now that we’ve learned what's going on here, do you have any questions for us?” Sasha asked.

“How did you three end up here, looking like you are now?” Twilight asked them.

“We were at a convention known as Comic Con, a gathering of movie makers, comic book writers, and toy companies. I thought it would cheer Alex up since she was still trying to recover from losing her arm in a car accident.” Vik said. “Needless to say, we were having a blast, but someone forgot our weapon replicas.” He gave Sasha an annoyed look.

“Hey, not my fault you and your girlfriend were in a hurry to get there!” Sasha retorted.

Rolling his eyes, Vik continued. “So while Sasha was checking out a new toy line from a company he gets sets from, Alex and I went looking for a vendor to buy new weapons to go with our costumes, and we finally found one, but this one… gave me a bad vibe.” His jaw clenched. “Once Sasha had joined back up with us, we went to the vendor, who happened to be dressed as a Rogue Trader from the same universe that Sasha's character came from. I bought a Reach pattern assault rifle, Alex got her sniper rifle and her replica of Ivy’s snake sword, and Sasha bought a Tigris pattern Bolter. Next thing we know, we black out and wake up inside this forest, our bodies feeling more powerful and finding out we had abilities that we did not have before. The first day, we ran into a Manticore, second day was when we encountered those soldiers, and today was when we ran into you.”

Twilight and Spike blinked at them, very surprised about the events of which lead to this moment.

“So you can see why we were on edge when we met.” Sasha said.

Twilight nodded, but then she thought about their predicament a little more. “Hmm, with all that has happened to you, who’s to say you’re the only ones to have fallen victim to this sort of fate?” She questioned, which got them thinking as well. “From the sound of things, that was no ordinary vendor, nor do I think he was human at all.”

“Well whoever he was, he’s the reason we’re stuck here…” Vik muttered.

Then Spike spoke up. “Does this mean that the Multiverse exist?” He asked.

“Well, it’s starting to look like that, but we can’t be certain.” Twilight answered him. “We’ll worry about that later.”

“Multiverse?” Sasha snorted. “If I wasn't in a world that looks like it belongs in a cartoon that had talking ponies, I would've called myself crazy.”

“A fair point.” Twilight sighed. “Still, we don’t have the answers, so we’ll leave it be until then. Tomorrow we’ll head for the Old Ruins, find out what they’re planning and if need be, stop them dead in their tracks.” She said, stating her little plan.

“I have one thing to say about that plan: Suicidal.” Vik said. “Look, I know you want to stop these guys, but they're probably on high alert if they’ve realized one of their patrols hasn't reported back. My suggestion would be to get back to wherever you live and get a message to your leaders.” The other two nodded at his suggestion.

“No offense, but you three are barking up the wrong tree.” Spike told them. “She won’t leave this one alone.”

“Okay, but charging in with no idea of their strengths and numbers isn't a smart choice.” Vik said. “What I’m trying to say is that we should get reinforcements before we do something stupid.”

“And if we don’t have time?” Twilight countered. “What then?”

“Then we’ll go with your plan.” Vik said. “But I’d rather not risk your safety over you getting killed by enemy soldiers on an ill planned raid on their base.”

“Okay, you’re right. How about a little recon and gathering some Intel, will that work for you?” She asked them.

They nodded. “Vik and Alex will go with you, since they have the equipment to do it. I’ll stay and keep an eye on the camp.” Sasha said.

“Thanks. Spike, stay here and don’t annoy him. We’ll try and make this quick.” Twilight told him.

“Hey!” Spike groaned in annoyance as the three of them left the cave.

Making their way to the Ruins in the dark of night was a lot more easy, if not only dangerous, since at this time the wildlife becomes more lively. There wasn’t that many patrols now, as they’ve all been called back, fortifying the Base. Both Vik and Alex had to improvise to divert some of the enemy’s attention, barely even making it inside undetected.

“Okay, we’re in.” Twilight whispered as they hid themselves for a bit.

“Next time, I’m staying behind with Sasha…” Vik muttered, getting a smack from Alex in response. “Ow!”

“Shh!” Twilight hissed at them as a patrol of guards went by, not noticing their presence. “We need to find some documents about what they’re planning.”

“I doubt they’ll have it on paper.” Vik said. “If it comes to hacking, I have someone that can do it.”

“Alright then, I think I know where their computers might be.” Twilight said as they snuck around, leading them down into the lower levels. “They’ll need to hide it down here so that they won’t be found out. Hopefully there won’t be many guards.” She told them as they hid away and let a patrol pass by.

They started searching around, checking every room they came across. For the most part, the rooms they checked seem to had been turned into a barracks, or armory. Soon they did find the room they were looking for, full of terminals, monitors and hard drives. The only problem was that there were a couple of ponies inside.

A single pistol with what seemed to be a massive muzzle appeared in Alex’s hand. Taking aim, she fired the pistol twice, a tiny cough emanating from the barrel. Two darts materialized between the shoulders of the two ponies, causing them to collapse. “They’ll be out for a while.” she said.

Vik chuckled. “That’s my girlfriend.” he said. Alex gave him a playful shove before he stepped up to a terminal. “Alright, Kyra, can you hack this and find out what these guys are up to?”

“Who?” Twilight asked in confusion.

Her question was answered by a small glowing figure that appeared on Vik’s hand. It was a human female, but colored a light blue and dressed in army fatigues and wearing a flak jacket while holding some kind of high tech rifle. “Can a bear fish?” she replied. “Yes, I can hack these guys, but it’ll take a while. Plug me into the terminal.” She then vanished as Vik pulled something out of a slot in his helmet and plugged it into the terminal.

Twilight was surprised by this, as Vik moved to one of the terminals and inserted the chip. “Was that an...A.I.?” She asked him.

Vik nodded. “Guessing you have something similar?” he asked.

She just shook her head. “We don’t. We’ve tried to create one, but we couldn’t.” She explained.

Alex walked back to them, having dragged the two unconscious ponies to a closet and stuffed them inside it. “How exactly did you even come by the info to make an A.I., or even a super soldier?” She asked. “I’ve been looking at this stuff and it doesn't really look like these guys are advanced enough to make an A.I.”

“More like projects they might be thinking of.” Twilight told her. “It might even be a slow process to get any of those things up and running.” She theorised.

Alex nodded before sensing something. She spun around but didn't see anything. “Must've imagined it…” she thought, shaking her head.

“Is she nearly done?” Twilight asked Vik.

“She should be done… now.” He said as the chip ejected. He picked it up and put it back in the slot in his helmet. “Okay, I’ll review some of it so that we… Oh no.”

“What is it?” Twilight asked him.

“This isn’t the only cell. They have others spread out, surrounding a town near here called Ponyville.” Vik answered, gaining a gasp of shock from Twilight.

“That’s my hometown. We need to get back.” She told them.

Nodding their heads, they left the Ruins as quickly as possible, not wanting to tip off this cell. What they didn't notice was another armored human slipping the other way. “So they’ve got Ponyville surrounded, huh? Better let Celestia know… but who were those two? That Scout Spartan’s right arm looked familiar… no, not gonna think about those times, gotta get to Canterlot!” He thought as he slipped past the enemy patrols.

As for the others, they made it back to camp and told Sasha and Spike on what the enemy was planning on doing.

“Then we’ve got no time to lose. We need to get to Ponyville.” Sasha said.

“Before we go there, I need to write up a letter to warn Celestia and the others. I’ll also have to tell them about you three, so that they won’t shoot you.” Twilight said as she shuffled around in one of the bags for some paper and pen. Writing up a letter quickly, she folded it up with the map they had, gave it to Spike as he breathed fire on it and sent it.

“What the?! I thought you were sending it, not burning it!” Vik said.

“I did! My fire can send letters to Celestia, I didn’t burn it.” Spike explained. “Sorry for not telling you guys, but we really need to get a move on.” He said quickly.

With nothing else left to say, Twilight packed the bags and they started making their way through the Forest at night. Trying to be as careful as they could be, without alerting the patrols or predators.

“Oof!” Vik grunted as he tripped on a vine. “Okay, I’m turning my helm’s light on, because I can't see for the life of me!” he then tapped a hidden button on his helmet and the single light mounted on it turned on. “Much better…”

“Are you sure that’s a good-?” Before Twilight could finish her sentence, she tripped on a branch herself, too. “Ow… Okay, yeah, we need light.” She groaned before picking herself up. They continued onwards to Ponyville, sometimes having to stop and turn the lights off before they got spotted, and once the coast is clear, they kept moving.

Finally reaching the end, they were out of the Everfree Forest, standing on the outskirts of Ponyville.

“So this is Ponyville?” Sasha asked, his Bolter resting on his shoulder. “Looks pretty quaint.”

“It is, for the most part.” She answered as they snuck around the sleeping town. “I’ll take you guys to my castle. Hopefully my friends aren’t there waiting for me, or else I’ll be getting an ear full.” She said as they reached her castle.

Once inside, they made their way through the empty halls and into a massive room, a crystal table sitting in the middle of it, surrounded by six thrones. However, Twilight then realised something.

“Wait a minute. Where were all the guards patrolling the streets and my castle?” She questioned.

Before any of them could think of it any further, the lights turned on with confetti blowing up in their faces, along with a certain pink pony shouting.

“SURPRISE!”

Ch.3

Author's Note

Nyx is an OC pony belonging to Pen Stroke, from the story known as Past Sins.

Ch.3

For the Emperor and the UNSC! (Rebooted System)

Ch.3: Meet and Greet.

“What the…?!” Vik yelped as the three humans either pulled or summoned their weapons and aimed them at the now stunned crowd.

“Pinkie!? What are you even-!?” Twilight began, but was stopped when the Guard and the rest of her friends aimed their weapons at the humans.

“Twilight, get away from those things!” She heard Rainbow Dash shouted, aiming her weapon at the three.

“Step away from her royal highness and-!”

“HEY!!!!!” Pinkie Pie shouted loudly, getting everyone to stop and look at her, and what they saw wasn’t a very happy party pony. “I told you guys to NOT try and shoot them! So what are you doing!?” She demanded angrily. “Put the guns away, NOW! There are children here!”

This was a side that anyone had rarely seen from her, and probably didn’t want to see again if her glaring was of any indication. Doing as she said, the guards and Twilight’s friends all put away their weapons, albeit hesitantly.

The three humans also lowered their weapons, but not quite relinquishing them entirely. “So these are your friends, princess?” Sasha asked Twilight.

“Yes.” She answered with a sigh. “Sorry about all this, I didn’t think Pinkie would’ve somehow known I was coming back with you three.” She said before glaring at those who shown hostility to the three. “But I’m more annoyed that the Guard and the rest of my friends were about to shoot you.”

“Hey! Don’t blame us, you left for the Everfree Forest without telling any of us!” The rainbow Pegasus retorted.

“She does have a point, darling.” An alabaster Unicorn, Rarity, stated in agreement. “You left in quite the hurry. What were you even thinking? You could’ve gotten you and Spike hurt, or worse!”

“Ah have ta agree with them, that wasn’t the smartest decision.” An orange Earth Pony, Applejack, said her piece before looking towards the humans. “‘Specially when ya brought them. Just what in tarnation are they?”

“They’re humans.” Twilight answered, still feeling annoyed. “Well, more than that I suppose.” That confused them.

“What do you mean, Twilight?” The yellow Pegasus, Fluttershy, asked shyly. “I mean, if you don’t mind answering…” She added, hiding behind her long, pink mane.

“They’re Super Soldiers.” Twilight told them. “Look, how about I let them explain on how they ended up here and why they’re like this, will that help things along?” She asked them and they nodded.

“Okay, sure, but no funny business.” Rainbow warned them, only to get a smack behind the head from Applejack. “Ow!”

“Can it, Rainbow. Let’s just hear them out.” The Apple Pony told her.

Once things were settled down, somewhat, Vik started explaining what had happened to them. Everypony was listening to them, though some were very skeptical about their claims, that being the Guards and Rainbow Dash. The rest were either surprised, shocked, or simply didn’t know what to think about it.

Once finished, everypony turned to Applejack, which confused the humans, as she nodded her head and said. “It’s true, they ain’t lying.”

“WHAT!?” Rainbow exclaimed. “You can’t be serious!”

“Rainbow, we’ve seen stranger things that we thought were a myth or legend. And yet…” Applejack said with a raised brow.

Rainbow tried to come up with a counter, but she just groaned in frustration and gave up. “Alright, fine. But I still don’t trust them.” She said with a huff, storming out of the room.

“Not like we're the same way…” Vik muttered. Aloud, he said, “Where are our manners, we never really introduced ourselves. The name’s Viktor, and these two are Sebastian, or for short, Sasha and my girlfriend Alexandra.”

“Hi!” Pinkie greeted. “I’m Pinkie Pie, Ponyville’s Party Planner! You’ve already met Twilight, and I’m friends with her!” She said cheerfully, as the others introduced themselves.

“Howdy, mah name’s Applejack.” The Apple Pony said, tipping her hat to them. “Sorry ‘bout Rainbow Dash acting all huffy and whatnot. She’s just...ansty about things.” She said with a sigh.

“Eh, as long as she doesn't try and do something stupid, I think we can stand her.” Vik said.

“If she does something stupid, feel free to knock her out for it.” Applejack stated.

“A lot of things has happened, and this War is taking a toll on her.” Rarity said before turning to the humans. “Hello, my name is Rarity, Ponyville’s tailor and fashionista. But, can I just say about you and your girlfriend’s armor?” She asked as Applejack groaned in annoyance.

“Rarity, now isn’t the time to get picky with their armor’s design.” She told her.

“But just look at them! Such horrid and crude designs, I doubt it’s even comfortable!” Rarity said in disgust.

“You might call it ugly, but if you were wearing it, you’d be thankful about wearing it if you were in battle.” Vik said. “It’s built tough and has energy shields for added protection. But they can only take a limited amount of punishment before they short out.”

“So, they have better functions, and yet they couldn’t make it look better.” Rarity grumbled. “At least his armor looks marvelous, as if it were designed by some God-like being.” She pointed towards Sasha. “Save for the green.” She added in disgust.

“Hey! Don't diss the Dark Angels!” Sasha said indignantly.

“Ugh! Is that what they call themselves? Well, I can see wh-!” Rarity was cut off by Applejack, who elbowed her in the ribs.

“Shut your neigh-saying, girl. It ain’t worth it.” The farm Pony told her off sternly.

Alex held back a laugh, her right arm lightly whirring as she crossed her arms.

“Um, h-hello.” The shy Pegasus spoke up, though barely above a whisper. Luckily enough, Sasha heard her since he had all the traits of a Space Marine. “My name is… Fluttershy…”

“I’m sorry, we didn’t catch that. What was it?” Vik asked her.

“She said her name is Fluttershy.” Sasha answered him, making the Pegasus hide behind her mane again. “The name itself is self-explanatory.”

Vik gave a bark of laughter. “True.” he said. “And I’m guessing Miss Technicolor is Rainbow Dash?” he asked

“Ah just told ya.” Applejack answered flatly.

Shrugging, Vik looked around at the crowd. He then noticed a black alicorn filly that was in her early teens nearby, but it was her eyes that made him look closer. They were a bright cyan and were slitted like a reptile’s. “Who’s she?” he asked Twilight, nodding in the filly’s direction.

“Oh, that’s Nyx. My adoptive daughter.” Twilight answered him as she called the Alicorn filly over to her.

“Nyx… 'Night’ in Greek and Latin… it suits her.” Sasha said, his tone thoughtful. “How old is she?”

“Around thirteen.” She answered as her daughter came up and hugged her. “Hi, honey. Sorry that I left, I was…”

“Caught up in your worries?” Her daughter finished with a sigh. “Mom, stop trying to do things by yourself. I doubt Spike can handle you running off for long.” She said as Spike sighed.

“You have no idea…” Spike complained, before his cheeks suddenly puffed and he burped out a scroll. This surprised the humans as the little Dragon grabbed a hold of it, opened it up and read what was written on it. “It’s from Princess Celestia. She said that she, Princess Luna and Prince Blueblood wishes to meet with us tomorrow, wanting to see these three as well.” Spike said before adding. “Uh, she even says that she knows someone who could shed some light on their predicament.” This left the group very confused.

“Someone who know our predicament?” Alex asked. “Are you sure you read that right? Because I’m pretty sure there must be a typo with that letter.”

“That’s what it said.” Spike answered as he re-read it to be sure. “Yep, it is. The only thing she left out was who and what, that’s what I’m wondering about.” He said as he rolled it back up. “They’ll be arriving at twelve, with some reinforcements.”

The trio shared a look. “Well, not like it’ll be a school day.” Vik said. “But I have a feeling we’re getting up early.”

“I’ll take you to your room.” Twilight said as she lead them out into the hallways.

“Erm… could I actually have a separate room?” Sasha asked, giving Alex and Vik an sideways glance. “I think these two would prefer some privacy.”

“Sure.” Twilight nodded, leading the couple to one room and taking Sasha some ways away from their room. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” he said as he entered the room. Nodding good night to Twilight, he closed the door. Taking his helmet off, he then stared down at the rest of his armor.“Now how the hell am I gonna get the rest of this off?!” He thought.

Walking back to the party, Twilight saw that the ponies were already leaving, to head back home and sleep. Once the room was empty, only leaving her, Spike, Nyx and her friends, while Pinkie grabbed Rainbow and returned with her in tow. Sitting in their thrones, Twilight spoke up. “Alright, girls. There’s a problem coming our way, as Flame Tail has send some of his forces this way. They’ve possibly surrounded the entire town, and the Princesses already know of this.”

“Don’t you think you should’ve told everypony that?” Rarity asked her.

“Yes, but since they’ve all left, it’s too late.” Twilight answered with a sigh. “We’ll have our forces fortify defensive positions around town before the Princesses and that unknown pony arrive…” They discussed about it for some time before then leaving for their homes and heading for bed.

Well, all except for Rainbow. “Twi, are you sure we can trust these guys?”

“Just go home, Rainbow.” Twilight sighed. “Now is not the time to be so cynical.” She told her as Rainbow left with a huff, flying out through one of the windows.

With that done, she, Spike and Nyx retired to their rooms and slept, wondering what will happen tomorrow.

The next day came around and early in the morning they set up their forces around the town. Twilight gave a quick speech about what was going on and that the Princesses were arriving. At least to those who woke up early in the morning so that they’d be able to pass the word around to those who were wondering what was happening.

Back at her castle, Sasha, Vik and Alex were having some breakfast with Spike and Nyx. Although the guards kept an eye on the three humans, they didn’t make any attempts to disturb or provoke them, lest they got an earful from the Princess.

“Man, who knew pony made beds were so comfortable?” Vik remarked. “I pretty much slept like a rock.”

“Same. Though it took awhile to take my armor off in order to sleep.” Sasha said. “I should’ve asked if there was a way to get my armor off but still have it on hand…”

“That armor of yours looks a lot more complex.” Nyx noted and Spike nodded in agreement. “Not to mention both advanced and ancient. No offense.”

Sasha let out a chuckle. “None taken, how you described it perfectly fits it. This type of armor has seen a lifetime of battle, starting with the Great Crusade in the 31st Millennium. Since then it's evolved, but the many marks of power armor still work in the 41st millennium, even this, the MK. IV “Maximus” Pattern.” he said.

“Wow! Ten thousand years of service and upgrades, and it’s still going!? Man, you guys must have all the cool gadgets and tech.” Spike commented.

“Unfortunately, the Imperium suffered a massive blow after half of the Legions turned Traitor, and most of the data for weapons and vehicles that the Astartes used during the Great Crusade was lost.” Sasha said. “What little they have left are now relics of a bygone age.”

“And they can’t make anything new? Just the same old, same old?” Nyx asked.

“That’s just stupid.” Spike stated flatly. “They should’ve just made newer things with what they have left. What’s holding them back?”

“Superstition and fear of a second Horus Heresy.” Sasha said.

“Heresy? When did that happen?” Nyx asked him.

“Remember when I said half the Astartes Legions turned Traitor? They were corrupted by Chaos. They turned their back on humanity. And at the apex of the Crusade, they turned on their brothers in arms.” Sasha said

“And this ‘Horus’ character was leading the Traitor Legions against their own? What even made him commit to something like that? I doubt Chaos was the driving force to this life-changing decision.” Nyx asked, getting a little nervous about where the events are turning.

“That is a conversation for when you're older, both of you.” Sasha said, his tone firm.

“Okay.” They both said with a sigh, getting back to finishing their breakfast.

Alex stood up as she went to put her plate in the sink, giving Vik a kiss as she went past him. “So when's Twilight supposed to get back?” she asked.

“Right now.” They heard Twilight’s voice as she walked in. “I’ve already told most of those who were up around this time and I’m having them pass the word around to those who weren’t there.” She explained to them. “So, how was your morning?”

“It was fine, but getting my armor on was a pain.” Sasha said. “You don't happen to have a spell that allows me to have my armor come off yet can go back on if the situation calls for it?”

“Sorry, I can’t help you on that. Since your armor is more than what any of us has seen, I doubt a spell can help with that. Especially since I don’t understand how it works.” Twilight answered as she prepared herself a cup of tea.

“Damn it…” Sasha sighed.

Vik cleared his throat. “So when's this “Celestia” supposed to arrive with her group?” he asked.

“At twelve...or a lot sooner than that. If she has everything on her end ready.” Spike answered him. “Hopefully the latter happens, I don’t think I want to wait until then.”

The Spartan nodded as he looked out the window before he froze. “Erm, would she be a white pony with wings, a horn and Rainbow’s mane, only flowing?” he asked.

As soon as he said that, they all looked out the window Vik was and saw Celestia outside, with her sister and nephew, and the reinforcements.

“I’ll let them in.” Twilight said as she teleported outside to them. They greeted one another and talked for a bit, before moving inside. The others waited until Twilight brought in the three Royals. “Well, here they are.” Twilight said, pointing towards them.

“Hmm…” The tall alabaster Alicorn hummed as she looked each of them over.

The three stood stiffly at attention, unsure of how to act in front of the new arrivals. The same thought ran through their minds: “What do we do now?”

“Aunty, try not to make them nervous.” The white Unicorn, Blueblood, said.

“I know.” The Princess of the Sun, Celestia, said with a sigh. “Sorry, but after meeting one of your own for the first time, I wasn’t really sure what to make of you.” She explained, which came as a surprised to the three humans.

“You still don’t trust him? Really sister?” Her little sister, the Princess of the Night, Luna, retorted with a deadpan expression. “After everything he has done for us…”

“Wait, you mean you’ve already met a human?” Twilight asked them. “How?”

The Royals looked towards each other before Celestia sighed and said. “Perhaps it would be best if he told you himself. Reveal yourself, Eliteslayer.” She called out.

The air in front of the group seemed to shimmer before a red and black Halo 4 Recon appeared next to the royals. “So these are the three that were mentioned in that letter?” it asked, its voice identifying it as a male.

“H-How are you even here?” Vik asked in shock. The other two were in similar states.

“Same as you, kid. Bought something from a merchant and got sent to here, but this was before you three, and I was in a different Equestria.” Eliteslayer said.

“Different Equestria? Then, that means…” Twilight started and Eliteslayer nodded his head.

“You three are known as Displaced. Humans who have been sent to Equestria with the powers, weapons and bodies of those you dressed up as. And there's more than one Equestria… Welcome to the Multiverse.” Eliteslayer explained.

“You said you came from a different Equestria, what happened to that one?” Sasha asked. As the words left his mouth, Eliteslayer became deadly silent.

“That information is classified. Only when you’ve actually gain my trust, will you learn my story.” The Recon said, his voice steely. “Right now, we have bigger things to worry about, like those enemy cells in the Everfree.”

As soon as he mentioned about the enemy cells, an explosion went off. Looking out the window, the group saw that the town was already under siege.

“Tartarus damn it!” Eliteslayer swore before he charged out the door and leapt into the air. To Twilight's and the trio’s shock, a four wheeled vehicle formed under him before it hit the ground and drove towards the edge of the town, the Spartan at the wheel.

“Someone tell me I just imagined that…” Alex said, a tone of disbelief in her voice.

“Did he just summon a vehicle?” Twilight asked, also in disbelief.

“As much as it is impressive to witness, there is a town that needs saving.” Blueblood said urgently. “We should help.”

Shaking off their shock, the trio pulled out the weapons that had started their journey and ran out into a town in chaos. “Alex, Vik, try and help the civilians! I'm gonna go and help Eliteslayer!” Sasha shouted as the three split up, getting a nod of acknowledgement from the two.

Seeing them heading towards town, Twilight looked to the Royals. “I’ll go gather my friends and help repel the enemy.” She stated.

“Go then, and please be careful, all of you.” Celestia told her.

“I’ll help with leading and directing our forces wherever they need to be.” Blueblood stated before running out and gathering the reinforcements they’ve brought, leaving three squads behind to defend the castle.

“And we’ll stay here to monitor the situation.” Luna said to Twilight, who nodded before leaving as well, equipping herself for combat. Once she was done, she headed into town to find and regroup with her friends. The first battle for Ponyville has begun.

Ch.4

For the Emperor and the UNSC! (Rebooted System)

Ch.4: Their first Battle Scars.

All around them, many ponies were running away from the fights, seeking safety from the battle that raged around and inside Ponyville. Twilight went around trying to find her friends, her team, while also trying to help their forces. They were holding, but were being pushed back, as the enemy used rocket launchers and other explosives to break through their magical barriers, their lines of defense. And if they do, they’ll start killing civilians.

When it came to Flame Tail’s army, they would leave none standing. Civilian lives didn’t matter to them. But if kept in captivity, it was worse than being killed by them as they were forced to help make the weapons and vehicles that Flame Tail's forces used..

Grunting, Twilight fought back with the Guard, using her magic to defend and her weapon to attack. What looked like a glowing ball suddenly flew over Twilight's head and exploded in the enemy's midst, the heat from the blast reminding her of when the sun became unbelievably hot during the summer, causing ponies to stay indoors. The enemy unit was instantly vaporized.

“How’d you like that, you no good jerks!” Sasha's voice called over from a few feet behind them. She turned her head to see him perched on the ruins of a house that had been destroyed in an artillery salvo, a massive gun in his hands. The most distinguishing feature was the coil in the middle of the weapon. As Twilight looked closer, she saw that the backpack on Sasha’s back had changed, becoming bulkier. Both it and the gun were linked together by power lines that stretched between the two.

As much as she would've like to have known what kind of weapon he was using, asking about it wasn’t the time.

“Twilight, if you're pulling back, now's the time!” Sasha shouted. He launched another energy ball from his weapon at another enemy unit trying to assault her squad, the coil on the gun beginning to glow with heat. “I’d rather not have your leaders hang me because I let you get killed!” The third shot from it however, was where things went wrong. As the ball of energy left the barrel, the gun suddenly exploded, sending Sasha flying backwards with parts of his armor shattered, including part of his helmet, and his left arm vambrace. He crashed into the building behind the ruins he had been perched on and vanished from sight.

“Sasha!” Twilight called out in a panic.

“Ma’am! We have to pull back!” One of the Guards, a Sergeant, said as he dragged her back to a more defensive position. “Dammit! What the heck happened to him!?”

“I-I-I don’t know! I don’t even know what he was even using!” Twilight stuttered as the enemy began pushing them back again. “I have to go help him!” She said, but was stopped before she could run out to get the Space Marine.

“I can’t let do that, your highness!” The Sergeant said as he stopped her.

“But-!”

“Princess Sparkle, with all due respect, listen to me! We can’t save him if we’re all dead before we even reach him!” He told her. “If you really want to get him out of harm's way, we need more reinforcements!”

Just as he said that, reinforcements did arrive. Flanking around Flame Tail’s troops, they had managed to grind their advance to a halt. Seeing this, Twilight pushed passed the Sergeant and sprinted towards the building where Sasha crash landed. Once she found him lying in the living room, she used her magic to try and drag him, though she soon learned that he was way too heavy to lift.

“You so own me...an explanation.” Twilight said through her gritted teeth, as she dragged the unconscious Dark Angel out of the building.

Alex skidded to a halt near Twilight and gasped. “Oh no…. He must’ve been using a plasma weapon and it overheated…” She said as she helped the Alicorn move Sasha to a safer spot. “Damn it… why’d he have to do something so stupid as that?!”

“Plasma!? Well, no wonder why. But why is his plasma based weaponry so dangerous to use!?” Twilight asked in surprise shock. “He could had killed himself!”

“Because humanity had yet to figure out a way to make their plasma weapons safer to use. Most of the alien races had found a way to use plasma safely, but us humans… not so much.” Alex explained before a strange looking pistol suddenly formed in her hand and spat green bolts of energy at an enemy soldier charging at them, the armor the pony was wearing being no protection as the bolts boiled it away and sent him to the ground screaming in agony before a single bolt silenced him.

“And what kind of energy based weapon is that?” Twilight asked nervously. “Because I doubt that’s human.”

“You’d be right, this is a Covenant plasma pistol. A lot safer than the plasma weapons of the Imperium.” Alex said.

“You can say that again.” Twilight nodded before asking the Spartan. “Have you seen any of the girls, Alex?”

“I saw Vik and Applejack helping some ponies to a shelter.” Alex replied.

“Alright. What about the others, or even Eliteslayer?”

Alex shook her head. “I saw a Hornet VTOL firing on the enemy troops on my way here, so I’m guessing that's Eliteslayer, but I haven't seen the other girls.” She said. “I’m guessing they're scattered across the town, helping however they can.”

“Okay, I’ll go look for them. Can you take care of Sasha?” Twilight asked, reloading her gun.

Alex nodded. “Good luck.” she said before slinging Sasha's left arm over her shoulder and hauling the Astartes away.

Sighing, Twilight went around town looking for her friends, while also helping the ponies and troops. She needed to be sure that they were still alive. The enemy seemed to have slowed down, seeing them becoming a little more desperate as they tried to push their own forces back.

The sound of jet turbines caused her to look up as a strange looking aircraft came down to land. A twin linked rotary cannon was mounted at the front while two missile launchers jutted out near the wing, while two turbines rotated in different directions to allow more maneuverability. Two elongated skids sprung from the rear, big enough for a pony to stand on, with a handhold linking the aircraft to the skid. As it landed, it then vanished, leaving a solitary Spartan standing. “Princess? Everything okay?” Eliteslayer asked.

“For now. Sasha’s out of the action because his Plasma Cannon blew up from overheating, Alex is taking care of him, Vik and Applejack are evacuating the ponies to a shelter, and I’m looking for the rest of my friends.” Twilight explained to him.

Eliteslayer gave an annoyed groan. “Of course he'd go for that weapon…” he muttered, pinching the bridge of his helmet. “How bad was the damage to his armor?” He asked.

“Hopefully nothing too serious, just a few cracks and scorch marks. Other than that, he’s still breathing.” She told him.

He sighed in relief. “Good.” He suddenly stiffened and leapt towards Twilight, knocking her to the side before a dual bladed energy sword materialized in his hand and impaled a single enemy Pegasus. He then pulled out a single assault rifle and gunned down two more enemy soldiers. “One thing I can say about these guys, they're persistent little buggers!”

“No kidding.” Twilight huffed as she also gunned down some herself. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen my friends?”

“I think I saw Rainbow tangoing with two pegasi, the others, I have no clue.” Eliteslayer said, impaling his sword into a unicorn’s head and yanking it out.

“I doubt I can help Rainbow out.” Twilight sighed. “But I’ll keep looking for the others.”

Eliteslayer nodded. “You’ll be happy to know that the enemy forces are beginning to retreat, so we’ll have these guys cleared out soon.” he said.

“That’s good to know and it would explain why they have become desperate.” Twilight stated.

“Agreed. They’ve learned that this town doesn't give in easily.” Vik said as he approached the two, Applejack following him.

“Vik, Applejack, are you two alright?” Twilight asked them.

“Ah’m fine, sugacube. But Fluttershy’s hurt, Rarity’s tryin’ to patch her up, and Pinkie has knocked out the last of them artillery. And mister Super Soldier here ain’t doing good, he practically saved me and some ponies from a couple of grenades, even if he isn’t showing it.” Applejack explained, giving a little tap on the Spartan’s leg and he grunted in pain, almost buckling from that.

“Oh no, what happened to her!?” Twilight exclaimed.

“A couple of them vermin jumped her when she was attending a little colt’s wounds. She lost her left wing.” Applejack told her grimly. “C’mon, Ah’ll take ya to her.” She said as the two ponies left the Spartans in a mad dash, running towards Rarity’s destroyed house.

Both Alex and Sasha were there when they arrived, the Spartan standing guard with her sword drawn.

“Alex, where are Rarity and Fluttershy?” Twilight asked urgently.

“They’re inside. Rarity's managed to stabilize Fluttershy's condition, but she’s lost a good bit of blood.” Alex said, her voice tired. “Sasha’s regained consciousness, but he's still pretty shaky.”

“Alright.” Twilight nodded as she went upstairs to see Fluttershy, only to see a very distraught Pegasus, crying silently as Rarity does her best to stitch the wound. The shy pony whimpering and mumbling at the lost of her left wing. The sight of it was horrifying.

“There! That does it. Now… Oh, thank Celestia, Twilight.” Rarity said with a sigh of relief. “Quickly darling, can you call for a medical team. She needs blood.”

“O-Okay!” Twilight nodded, snapping out of it and radioed in for a medical team to their position.

A sudden burst of light from outside caused them to jump in shock. Twilight's eyes widened as she sensed a large amount of magical energy coming from Alex.

But before they could question what just happened, “Hurry, up the stairs! Somepony help these two out, now!” They heard from outside as hooves started running up the stairs and bursted into the room. The Medics came up to Fluttershy and started their operation.

“Thanks, we’ll take it from here. Nice job on sealing it up.” One of the medics said. “I think you should go check on that armoured female, though. Something happened and we don’t know what, other than her killing a couple of squads of enemies with magic.”

Twilight, somewhat confused by that claim, nodded her head and went down to check up on Alex.

“... Ma’am, are you feeling okay?” She heard a medic ask as she saw Alex sitting down, her helmet off and holding her head as she groaned.

“Y-yeah, just… torn between screaming in fear and fainting.” She said as she looked at her right hand, arcs of energy sparking off it. “This… this shouldn't even have been possible… Humans aren't supposed to be able to use magic...” Her eyes showed both shock and fear.

“Calm down, calm down. Deep breaths, if you freak out anymore, you’ll start having a magical surge.” The medic told her, trying to keep her calm.

“Alex?” Twilight called out as she walked up to her.

Alex looked up, her eyes showing her fear.

“Okay, please don’t freak out. I know this may seem unnatural, but we can make this work.” Twilight told her as she approached the shaken Spartan.

“Twi? Alex? What the blue blazes happened here?” Vik asked as both he and Eliteslayer arrived. “There was some sort of explosion, but the light was a bit… weird.”

“That would be her doing.” The medic answered, pointing to Alex’s right arm. “By accident.”

“Alex? She did that? I thought it was one of you lot or even Twi!” Vik said, shocked.

“No, it wasn’t me.” Twilight said, shaking her head. “It was definitely Alex, and she’s a bit freaked out about it.” She explained.

Vik pulled Alex into a hug. “Hey, you okay?” he asked gently. Alex didn't answer, but a series of quiet sobs wracked her body.

“Why did we have to go to that stupid Con… we could've just gone to a movie…” she muttered. “I never wanted this.”

Vik stroked his girlfriend's hair. “We never really expected this stuff to happen. Now, we need to adapt to whatever this place throws at us.” He then lifted Alex's head up. “And no matter what, I’ll stay with you always.”

“And Alex, I can help you with your magic.” Twilight stated.

Alex hesitantly nodded as she stepped back. Eliteslayer strode forward, his expression unreadable behind his helmet. “What’s the status report?” he asked the medic.

“It’s hard to say for her, since her unknown magical powers just came out of nowhere. For the most part, it’s stabled. Your large friend is also fine, just a few bruises on his body, his armour protected him.” The medic answered him.

“Good.” Eliteslayer said before turning to Twilight. “I’m gonna go let Celestia know about the enemy retreating, but I wouldn't put it past those guys to leave at least two or three hidden agents. So be careful who you trust.” He then left, leaving the others staring after him.

“For someone that's in the same boat as us… he’s really hard to read.” Vik muttered.

“Maybe not all Displaced are the same?” Twilight questioned before shaking her head. “We’ll figure that out another time.” She said with a sigh.

“Agreed… right now, we need to make sure Fluttershy is okay.” Alex said, looking back towards the stairs.

Coming down the stairs were the medics, with Fluttershy in tow. She was asleep, but was quietly whimpering as they brought her down.

“Is she alright?” Twilight asked them.

“She’ll be fine, just needs some rest. Although, unfortunately, she won’t be able to fly again.” The medic stated.

“Can’t you make a prosthetic wing for her?” Vik asked, stumbling as his leg gave a sudden lurch. “Ah, damnit!”

The medic sighed sadly. “Yes, we can. But if you’re referring to making sure that she could fly again with it, well, we’ve tried. It didn’t work out so well.” He explained. “The problem is that we’ve been using magic to fix most things, we simply don’t know enough about technology. Without that sort of knowledge, we can’t balance both magic and science out.”

Vik frowned in thought. “Where I’m from, we’ve figured out how to attach nerves to prothstetic limbs, maybe you'll find a way, but it’ll take time.” he said.

“Hopefully so.” The medic sighed. “Anyway, we should return to the castle. The Princesses and that are waiting.” He said to them.

“Okay.” Twilight nodded as they all left. Walking down along the streets, they saw that many buildings and houses were destroyed in the wake of the attack. The dead bodies of soldiers and civilians alike were lying on the ground, with missing limbs, or their internal organs splayed out onto the ground in a pool of blood.

“All these lives lost…. And to prove what?” Sasha muttered as he limped alongside the others. Alex wore a haunted look behind her helmet while Vik said nothing, his fists clenching in anger.

Soon they met up with Pinkie, who didn’t look much like herself. Her poofy mane and tail were straightened out, her bright pink coloration dulled, and her happy expression now turned to sadness.

“They’re all gone…” She sniffled, as Applejack came to her side and hugged her.

Seeing this, Alex leaned on Vik, her eyes beginning to tear up. “This is so wrong…. Those ponies are monsters….” She whispered.

Making it back to Twilight’s castle, both Celestia and Luna were outside waiting, while Blueblood continued on sending aid to help the injured. Seeing them in the state they were in, the two Princesses felt saddened as well.

“The town is secured and the enemy is in full retreat.” Twilight told them with a heavy sigh. “And yet, it still doesn’t feel like a victory.” She added, looking down to the ground.

“From what we’ve seen… at least 5% of the town’s population was killed by Flame Tail's troops.” Eliteslayer spoke up from where he was standing. “Mares and foals included.”

“I see…” Celestia said with a face of grim.

“We thank you three for helping our ponies as best you can, and we are sorry you had to partake in this.” Luna spoke next, her tone was one of sympathy.

“FLUTTERSHY!” They heard Rainbow Dash screamed as she came flying towards the group. Skidding to a halt, she ran up beside the unconscious shy pony. “Is she gonna be alright!?” She asked.

“She will be, but keep it down. She needs rest...much like everyone else here.” The medic told her sternly, making her realise that the others weren’t in high spirits.

“Oh…” She said as her ears fell flat. “Sorry.”

“Perhaps some rest would be wise.” Celestia said with a nod as they all went inside the castle.

The three humans nodded, but Eliteslayer declined. “I’m heading back to the base. I’ll catch up on my report later.” he said, his voice sounding strained. He then walked out of the castle, the doors closing behind him before the sound of jet turbines was then heard for a second before it then faded away.

Celestia sighed, but didn’t bother with it.

Both Spike and Nyx ran up to Twilight and hugged her, as they expressed on how worried they were about her and the others. Twilight gave a little smile as she was glad that they were safe from harm. Still, it didn’t quite help the fact that their hometown was hit pretty hard, and almost unexpectedly. Soon the group split up and went their separate ways; the medics taking Fluttershy to one room with Rainbow Dash following them, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie leaving to see if their families are alright, and the three humans retiring to their own rooms.

“Twilight, we’ll help Ponyville rebuild as best we can.” Celestia told her, using her wing to wrap around her former student.

“I’ll try to ease everypony’s dreams, but it won’t be easy.” Luna sighed. “With this attack, I doubt Ponyville will be able to rest easily.”

“Thank you.” Twilight said with a sniff, shedding some tears out.

As for the three humans, Sasha was in his room, sitting down on his bed, reflecting on how he nearly got himself killed with his own weapon and also the battle they had fought and survived.

“What have we gotten ourselves into…? This is not how I had wanted to spend my time… It was supposed to just be me, Vik and Alex hanging out at that Con, not us nearly getting ourselves killed in a war…” He muttered.

Within Vik and Alex’s room, Alex was crying into her boyfriend’s shoulder, still shaken by the fact that she could somehow use magic, but the amount of damage and death that had happened today to this town had shook her up even more. Vik tried his best to keep her calm and not let her newfound powers act out of control from the emotions she was going through.

His thoughts then turned to Eliteslayer. “Just who is he? And what happened in his past?” He wondered. Shaking his head, he soon laid down, Alex having fallen asleep beside him. Tomorrow would bring more answers, and maybe… a way to help the town rebuild.