Halo: Fourth Ringby JahbrazChaptersThe Pillar of CelestiaUNSEALING THE HUSHED CASKETInstallation 04Reunion drivesThe Truth and ReconciliationThe CastDiabolical AIs and Headstrong Cyborgs First!Lifeboat ahoy!Descent from the heavensThe Pillar of Celestia The Pillar of Celestia "All I'm asking from you, Luna, is did we lose them?" Captain Rarity Keyes sighed as she surveyed the bridge of her ship, the ENSC Pillar of Celestia. She was terribly worried that their barbaric pursuers, an empire compiled of different alien races known only as the Covenant, would appear any second now and ambush the ship. Those ruffians, Rarity thought. Rarity trotted to the front of the bridge where several crewponies saluted her. "Ma'am! Engines one and three are non-functioning, and Engine two has taken damage," reported Doctor Whooves, who happened to be the most skilled technician on the ship, and had attained the rank of Major. Rarity nodded, and sent the Doctor to repair the damaged engines. Rarity sighed, and questioned 'Luna' (again) "All I am saying, dear, is, did we lose them?" A hologram of one of the Royal Sisters, Princess Luna, flickered to life, and answered, "I think we both know the answer to that, Captain Rarity." "How is it possible that they g--" Rarity asked, before she was cut off by Luna. "Got here before us? The Covenant's slipspace drives have always been faster. My other guess? They followed us through lightspeed," Luna said. All of a sudden, Luna got a confused expression on her "face". "What is it?" Rarity barked. "I'm detecting a radar echo on the far side of Threshold and its' moon, Basis," Luna shot back. But before anypony could say anything else, an absolutely enormous ring slowly spun out of the shadow of Basis. The bridge crew stood in shock and awe, as the ring spun to reveal a large hurricane forming above an ocean. Rarity was the first to speak. "Luna.... what is that?" Luna replied, "Unknown. But whatever it is, it's clearly not natural. Someone built this... this ring, and it wasn't the Covenant." "Then who in the name of Equestria made it?!" a crewpony asked. "I don't know...." Rarity whispered. Suddenly, alarms began blaring all over the ship, throwing everypony into complete chaos and confusion. "Status report! On the double!" Rarity ordered. "Covenant ships incoming! Two frigates, with boarding craft leading the charge!" Luna reported. Rarity sighed, then said, "Alright, I'm going to put the ship on combat alert. Get everypony out of their beauty sleep and in their stations." Crewponies ran about as the ship prepared for battle. “Let’s go! The Captain needs us at our stations, and we need to be ready to fight, too!” shouted a crewpony. The crewponies in the area followed his orders, not wanting to invoke his wrath. The ENSC hurried to ready up their vehicles and aircraft as the ship prepared to be boarded by enemy forces. Pelicans hovered through the hangar, ready to evacuate troops and crewponies if needed, while the mighty Longsword Starfighters flew into space, ready to engage the Covenant when encountered. In the vehicle bay, dozens of slow-but-deadly Scorpion tanks rolled on their treads towards the vehicle transport to be connected by heavy-duty chains to a Pelican to drop onto land. Warthogs and Mongooses were driven towards another vehicle transport, their drivers ready to fight, and their gunners checking their weapons. One such Warthog rolled over a small bump on the floor and stopped, allowing an orange, battle-weary (but battle-hardened) mare to get out. Suddenly, a voice the mare recognized as Princess Luna's rang out from the speakers. "Alert. Covenant boarders incoming. Prepare for boarding. This is not a drill." The mare, hearing Luna's warning, shouted to the marines running about and taking stock of ammo. "Ya'll heard the mare! The marines stopped what they were doing, grabbed their weapons, then galloped over to their sergeant major, forming a line. The mare, whose name was Applejack, turned away from the marines and began a speech to the ponies. "Ya'll, we all led these varmints out to the middle of nowhere to keep 'em from gettin' their dirty claws on Equestria. But we all stumbled onta somethin' they all are so eager for, that they all are scramblin' over one another jus' to get to it. Well, ah' don't care if it's Celestia's own anti-son-of-a-bitch machine, or a giant lasso or whatnot, we all ain't gonna let 'em get it! What we all are gonna let 'em have... is a belly full 'o lead, an' a pool 'o their own blood to drown in!" Spinning back around, Applejack roared, AM I RIGHT MARINES!?" The marines answered with a resounding, "YES, MA'AM!", from which the soundwave hit her hat with enough force to shift it around on her head. Satisfied that the marines would be okay, Applejack said, "Darn right 'ah am. Now move 'em out! Double time!" As the now-enthusiastic ponies trotted out of the vehicle bay, weapons in hoof, Applejack walked out with them, saying, "All 'o ya 'greenhorns' who wanted to see the Covenant up close...." Chuckling, she finished, "This is gonna be ya'lls lucky day..." Luna raised an eyebrow. ”Everypony?" Rarity nodded. "And Luna?" "Yes?" "Let's give Dashie a warm welcome." Author's Note And so, it begins... Everyone, I want to thank you for your support. It's been a long road so far, and this author's note was made JULY 30TH, RIGHT BEFORE MY BIRTHDAY! (YAY!) I'm going to post more author's notes on every chapter now. UNSEALING THE HUSHED CASKET UNSEALING THE HUSHED CASKET Vinyl Scratch, a crewpony for Cryo Two, was manning her station when a beep from her console alerted Vinyl to something. Looking at her computer, she gasped. There, on the screen, were the words "PRIORITY ALPHA - UNSEAL THE HUSHED CASKET." "Holy crap," she whispered. Vinyl turned to her marefriend, Octavia, and shouted, "Hey, come and look at this!" Octavia trotted over, where her jaw dropped in shock. "Yeah," Vinyl said. "It's time." "Alrighty then, let's thaw Rainbow out," ordered Octavia. Rainbow groggily came to inside a glassy pod. "Hey, where am I?” she muttered. Just then, she heard a familiar voice. "Sorry for the quick thaw, Rainbow, but things are a little hectic." "Vinyl!" Rainbow yelled, who was reassured to hear her friend. "It's good to see you too, Dashie," Vinyl replied. Rainbow clambered out of her cryotube, looked around the chamber, and made sure her armor was still on. Her MJOLNIR Mark VI armor was still on her, and its' systems were still functioning, including her HUD and shield systems. Good, I'll need that for later, Rainbow thought. Dash's thoughts were interrupted as a loud banging and creaking came from a door in the podium above her. "Oh, SHIT!" Octavia screeched. "They're trying to get in!" Vinyl reacted quickly and grabbed a nearby MA5B, while Octavia grabbed her signature M6D Magnum pistol, just as the doors to the Cryo bay blew open. Shots of blue and purple plasma flew into the room as a Covenant Sangheili Minor burst into the room, only to be killed by combined fire from Vinyl and Octavia. The two crewponies jumped down from the podium, where Vinyl shouted, "Come on! We've got to get the hay outta here!" Rainbow gladly complied, and followed Vinyl and Octavia over some pipes towards a broken blast door. The three mares ducked under the malfunctioning door, and made their way between some marines and crewponies who were struggling to hold off some Covenant. Rainbow was the beckoned over by a gray mare, whose nametag identified her as Derpy Whooves, the wife of Doctor Whooves. Derpy shouted, "The Captain needs you on the bridge, stat! Follow me!" Rainbow followed Derpy through a door while Vinyl and Octavia helped the marines seal the blast doors that were holding back the Covenant. Rainbow eventually made it to the bridge, where she met with her old friend, Rarity Keyes. "Captain Rarity," Dash said. Rarity turned around and gave Rainbow a big hug, and said, "Good to see you, Dashie. Things here aren't.... going too smoothly. Those Covenant ruffians have showed up, and are determined to steal Luna and find Equestria." "I understand, Rarity, but what exactly do we do?" Dashie asked. "Simple," Luna said. "You slot me into your helmet and carry me around in there." "Alrighty then, just don't get any funny ideas inside my head," Rainbow replied. "Good luck, Rainbow. And as always... be careful," Rarity said, who gave Rainbow her M6D Magnum pistol. Author's Note Here they go, Dashie and Luna! Be sure to play benmarshall's (<- youtube account) Halo Music while you read, as it plays the in-game music in the order it plays in-game. In the meantime, try and help me get more people to read this, as this is my first successful fan-fiction. (I just told my parents what I was writing, so I'm kind of embarrassed, as I'm a 13 year-old male, and MLP FiM is more of a girl's show 😓 Installation 04Installation 04 Rainbow Dash groggily woke up in the pod to shouting and rumbling. Immediately she noticed that everypony in the pod was terrified. “What’s goin’ on!?” Dashie barked. “We’re comin’ in too fast!” came the reply. Well, shit, Rainbow thought, as the ground rushed up to meet the pod. ”Rainbow? Rainbow!?” “wha..?” Rainbow was jolted out of unconsciousness by the sound of someone shouting right into her ear. She rolled onto her hooves, and the voice said, “Oh, good, you’re finally up.” Dashie soon realized that the “voice” was Luna. “Thanks for wakin’ me up, Luna,” she said. “No problem,” Luna replied. Then Rainbow remembered the other passengers in her lifepod. A check revealed that most of them were still alive. Unfortunately, some unlucky marines had been thrown into walls of the pod at high speeds, breaking some bones, and at worst, crushing their heads! She woke up the remaining soldiers, and the ragtag group of marines trotted out of the pod to take stock of their supplies. After sorting the ammo and distributing the weapons, grenades, and medpacks to the group, Rainbow Dash and her “team” set out to find the other lifepods they had seen on the way down. Rainbow stopped to get a look at the ring and its environment. When she got a look, though, her jaw dropped, as well as the jaws of the marines. The ecosystem around her was beautiful. There were several pine trees and some large bushes Dashie couldn’t identify. What got everypony’s attention, though, was the sky. It would’ve been like any sky on an Equestrian colony, were it not for the giant curved planet whatnot extending from the ground miles from the group. Everypony was silent at this point, until Doctor Whooves, who had been in the same pod, broke the quiet. ”Wait a minute... that’s part of the ring we’re on!” he surmised. Rainbow snapped out of her gaping, and replied, “I never expected it to be so...” A few of the marines tried answering for her. “Awesome?” “Beautiful?” As much as I would like to call it awesome, I’m going with beautiful, Rainbow thought. She ignored the two marines, and motioned for everypony to follow her. The group came across a river, and decided to follow it, to see if there were any lifepods that had touched down near it. Unfortunately, their journey came to an end, when they found that the river ended in a waterfall. They did find a bridge, though. It would’ve been any other bridge, but its design was WAY different from both Pony and Covenant architecture. Doctor Whooves, always the one to give the group an explanation, or a theory, came up with a hypothesis of who, or what made the bridge. “It was most likely built by something else. Not ponykind. Not Covenant. A completely different race. A new one we haven’t seen yet,” the scientist/marine explained. “Well, it tells us whoever made ring is definitely not Covenant,” added Luna, who hadn’t spoke up in a while. Dashie and the marines continued on, when Luna spoke again. “Warning. I’m picking up Covenant signatures. Three of them. One “Spirit” dropship, and two “Banshee” aircraft,” Luna said. Lightning Dust, who had also been quite silent the whole time, replied, “Then we’d better get goin’. Don’t want to be caught by the Covenant now, do we?” Everypony shot glares at her, prompting a “Sheesh, what did I do?” from the now-confused pilot. Sergeant Major Avery Applejack Johnson was busy directing the surviving marines of her lifepod into a metal structure when she heard the familiar roar of a lifepod. Turning around, she saw a lone lifepod with the number 12 on it. Knowing that lifepod contained her SPARTAN-II friend Rainbow Dash, and that it would land nearby, AJ thought, Oh, goodie, we’re gonna have us some help ‘ere soon. Then, she noticed that it was coming in fast. Faster than Rainbow Dash herself. Applejack, worried about her friend, could only watch in shock as it zoomed over her head and landed several miles away. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do to help. Reunion drives Reunion Drives Rainbow Dash felt the kick of the pistol in her hoof as she fired at the Covenant aircraft flying towards her. The pilot, whose vehicle was smoking dangerously, tried to pull upwards, but was reduced to atoms when the ‘Banshee’ exploded. Dashie and her group had taken care of the attack force from the ‘Spirit’ dropship, and were in the process of destroying the ‘Banshees’. Luckily, the pilot of the second Covenant aircraft decided to retreat, allowing the marines to give a sigh of relief. Just then, Luna spoke up to inform them of something. ”Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust. I have good news - and alarming news, unfortunately - for thee,” Luna acknowledged. ”So? What is it, Luna!?” Lightning asked. ”There is a lifepod signal past that canyon. Unfortunately, there is also a cursed Covenant dropship there, too,” Luna answered. Irritated, Lightning Dust complained, ”Aw, jeez. Why must there be Covenant everywhere we go!?” Already infuriated by Lightning’s antics, Rainbow Dash replied, ”I don’t know, but know this. If you annoy us, mostly me, one more time, Lightning Crust, I’m gonna buck you into next week. Understood, chucklenuts?” Not wanting to invoke Dashie’s wrath, Lightning hurriedly nodded. Satisfied that everypony was ready to move on, Rainbow Dash and the group trotted across the alien bridge and traversed the canyon. In Dash’s head, Smart AI Princess Luna struggled with herself. Despite the fact that Smart AIs don’t go rampant until they’re more than 7 years old, Luna would go rampant after five. This was due to the real Princess Luna’s corruption; Nightmare Moon. Somehow, Nightmare was able to affect Luna’s AI counterpart, which resulted in the AI constantly having to struggle for control of herself. After dealing with some Grunts and a Veteran Elite in the canyon, Dashie and the marines finally exited the canyon, only to come across a Covenant dropship unloading its troops. Spotting some marines near a metal structure, Rainbow Dash shouted,”Open fire!” It was a tough battle, and a marine got impaled with a pink needle, but everypony survived, and the marines came out on top. Suddenly, somepony shouted out, ”Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow knew that voice. She never forgot that voice. Galloping towards the voice, she ran into her best friend, Applejack, who gave her a hug that made it hard for her to breathe, even through Dashie’s armor. ”Applejack! Oh, it’s so good to see you!” Rainbow cried. ”Oh, Sugarcube, I thought ya’ll were dead! I saw yer lifepod comin’ in way too fast! Thanks fer the help, too! We needed it, bad!” Applejack replied. ”I see that it’s complete and utter chaos here! What happened!?” Dashie asked. ”When we all landed, everypony survived, only minor injuries. The Covenant musta thought that wasn’t good, so they sent down here several dropships. In just the one hour we were cooped up ‘ere, we all lost half the survivors!” Applejack answered. ”Hey, guys! Someone here requested a Warthog?” questioned a familiar voice. ”Vinyl! That you?” Rainbow shouted. ”The one and only!” Vinyl replied. ”Thou should use the Warthog Vinyl has delivered, as I have detected several lifepod signatures,” Luna recommended. ”Yeah! I’ll do it!” Rainbow enthusiastically shouted. Noticing the glares directed at her, she corrected herself, and said, ”I mean, let’s do it!” The three mares, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Derpy, who had happened to be with Applejack’s life pod, set out to round up the rest of the scattered marines. It was fairly easy, especially when the group had a SPARTAN-II riding with them. The only problem? Covenant. ”Alrighty, then! That there’s the last of ‘em!” The hardy trio had just held off two Covenant dropships, all the while tending to injured marines in the area of the last lifepod. ”Vinyl Scratch, come in. Can thou pick us up?” Luna asked. The comms crackled with static for several seconds, until Vinyl replied, ”Sure thing, Luna! I’ll be right there!” Eventually, Vinyl’s Pelican dropship arrived and picked the remaining marines up, as well as Rainbow, Applejack, and Derpy. As the Pelican flew to Alpha Base, the ENSC’s current (but temporary) base, Luna spoke up and shared some news with the marines. ”So what’s goin’ on here, Luna? Is it the Captain?” asked a marine. ”Thou is correct, young one. The good news is that the Pillar’s crew is alive and well. Unfortunately, the Covenant have captured them all!” Luna answered. ”Let me guess: we’re going on a rescue mission,” Rainbow quipped. ”Exactly. Rarity and the crew are being held in the brig of a Covenant ship known as the Truth and Reconciliation,” Luna confirmed. ”Then let’s go already!” the ecstatic Spartan said. The Truth and Reconciliation The Truth and Reconciliation Rainbow Dash fiddled with her SRS99D-S2 AM sniper rifle as the Pelican dropship hovered above the canyon floor. She couldn't wait to kill some Covenant forces, and teach them why they shouldn't capture her best friend, Rarity. Suddenly, the comms crackled to life as their pilot, Lightning Dust, said "Alrighty, marines! We're here, so get off my dropship! And Rainbow?" "Yes?" Rainbow replied. "Get back my friend Rarity for me. After all, who's gonna style everypony's mane after this?" Lightning requested. "Will do, Lightning Dust. By the way, I'm sorry about how I yelled at you back when we were saving the other marines," Dash replied. Lightning Dust accepted Rainbow's apology, and allowed everypony to disembark from the Pelican, before flying off. Rainbow's other best friend, Staff Sergeant Twilight Sparkle, had volunteered to come along on the mission, despite the fact that she was an alicorn princess. Twilight had long ago joined the ENSC when the Covenant had first attacked the Equestrian colony Apple Harvest, complete with her own disguise to keep her identity secret. Somehow, she rose through the ranks without being discovered, attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant, before being discovered by her friend Applejack, who allowed her friend to stay in the corps, and revealed her identity to the marines of her platoon, who accepted her with everlasting kindness. Now, though, she was leading her platoon on a rescue mission to save her friend Rarity, and the remaining crew of the Pillar of Celestia. As soon as her hooves touched the ground, Twilight shouted "Hit it marines, go go go! The Corps aren't paying us by the hour!", while Rainbow checked to make sure her weapons were fully loaded. Tonight was gonna be a LONG night.... The Cast The Cast Note: Any character as themselves won’t have an “as themself” in front of them. The only exceptions are Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, as they’re quite important later on in the story. Main Characters MCPON Rainbow Dash-117 as Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John-117 Captain Rarity Keyes as Captain Jacob Keyes Sergeant Major Applejack Johnson as Sgt. Major AJ Johnson AI Princess Luna as Smart AI Cortana Private Derpy Whooves as Private Chips Dubbo Vinyl Scratch as Crewman Sam Marcus Octavia as Crewman Thom Shephard Warrant Officer Pinkie Pie as... herself... Staff Sergeant Twilight Sparkle as Staff Sergeant Marcus Stacker Corporal Fluttershy (she’s a medic) as herself Non-Major ENSC characters (Voices are colored) Any type of crewman (Or should I say, Crewpony) has a light grey voice Any type of marine (excluding some more important ones a bit lower on this section of the list) has a lime green or olive voice Corporal Lyra Heartstrings as Private Wallace A. Jenkins (What? I choose the ranks for the ponies.) Corporal BonBon as Private Manuel Mendoza Warrant Officer Lightning Dust Staff Sergeant (The Great and Powerful) Trixie ONI Operative Fleur De Lis Doctor/Major Whooves Covenant Unggoy (Grunts) ranks Grunt Minors Grunt Majors Special Operation Grunts Thirsty Grunt Sangheili (Elites) Ranks Elite Minors Veteran Elites/Elite Majors Elite Ultra Majors Elite Generals Elite Zealots Other Covenant Jackals (colored for their shields) Hunters (colored orange for their blood, I don't know if the worms themselves are orange) Flood Infection forms Combat forms (zombies) Carrier forms Forerunners 343 Guilty Spark Author's Note Note: For the best read, I’d recommend using solarized light, and gill sans. This is Halo. This is Installation 04. This... is HALO - FOURTH RING.... Diabolical AIs and Headstrong Cyborgs First! Diabolical AIs and Headstrong Cyborgs First! Rainbow silently made her way around a corner, where she bumped into three Covenant Grunts. One of them was a Veteran, identified by the alien's red armor. The others were Grunt Minors, wearing orange armor. One squeaked an alarm. "More! Here!" Reacting with lightning-quick speeds, Rainbow pulled out her pistol and made quick work of the Grunts. Trotting towards the sounds of gunfire, Rainbow came across a dead mare, whose assault rifle was laying on the ground. Dashie payed her respects to the dead mare, closing her eyes, and taking her ammo and MA5B assault rifle, which Rainbow Dash was sure to make good use of. Rainbow galloped into a cafeteria, where some ENSC marines were battling it out with some Covenant forces. Grabbing and priming a frag grenade she had found on the floor, Rainbow threw her grenade with all her might towards a group of Grunts and an Elite, all of whom went flying when the small explosive blew to pieces. She chuckled and fist-pumped in celebration, when Luna shouted, "Thou should be more careful, Dashie! There's two of us in here now, remember?" Rainbow looked around in confusion, when she realized her shields were almost down, and a Veteran Elite had taken the opportunity to rush at her. Rainbow quickly sidestepped and delivered a rock-hard buck to the offending Elite's back, which broke its spine with a resounding CRACK! Luna commented, "Oooh, thoust Elite is going to feel thoust kick in the morning." Rainbow, though, kept fighting, blasting her enemies with her MA5B, sniping them with her trusty M6D, and kicking any Covenant Elites that came too close. Her real goal, though, was to get to a Bumblebee lifepod. No matter what. Author's Note Coloring the names now. Lifeboat ahoy!Lifeboat Ahoy! Rainbow reloaded her weapons as she traversed the hallways of the ship. Bumping into an Elite, she bucked it into the walls, flew up to it, and snapped its neck before it could retaliate. Dashie then came across some marines who were celebrating their small victory against the Covenant, when a large explosion interrupted their charade. ”What the hay!? Did something just hit us?!” shouted a bewildered marine. Cautiously, the ENSC marines followed her, when a blast and two screams caught their attention. Rainbow spotted Covenant forces filing out of the lifeboat, and chucked a plasma grenade onto an unfortunate rookie elite, who screamed, ”AYIEYIEYIEYIE—“ before he was annhilated by the explosive. Dashie dived into a maintenance vent after finishing off the boarders, and crawled her way through the vents into a room with a broken door. There, she bucked open the door, and came across more marines who were in a firefight with the Covenant. She helped them out, decapitating a poor grunt, and snapping the neck of an elite who got brave enough to sneak up on her. Rainbow led the marines along into a room where the Covenant, all of whom happened to be up on a platform above Dash and the marines, were engaged in a fierce skirmish with ENSC forces below them. Luna shouted, “Covenant! On the platform above us!” Her ears ringing from Luna’s sudden outburst, an annoyed Rainbow gave a knock on her helmet and said, ”SHEESH! You don’t have to be so loud!” Luna just grumbled in response. After taking care of the Covenant forces on the upper floor, Rainbow Dash came across a crate of grenades, which she gladly used against an Elite and his Grunts. “The last lifeboat’s nearby! Move it!” informed Luna. Author's Note I got the Elite screaming when stuck by plasma grenade from Krewtaun’s Halo CE funny lines video. It was hilarious! 😂🤣 Descent from the heavensDescent from the heavens BonBon was having a bad day. The Covenant had already destroyed her new home, Reach, and now they were attacking the ship she escaped on! She was galloping to the last lifeboat, when she tripped on a dead body. Rainbow Dash was zooming over to the lifeboat, when she saw a marine trip and fall. “Oh, no! No! I don’t wanna be left behind!” she cried. Dashie grabbed the mare by her neck, tossed her into the lifeboat, whirled around to check for Covenant, and stepped into the lifeboat. “Now would be a very good time to leave, Rainbow!” quipped Luna. “Punch it, Lightning,” ordered Rainbow Dash. “Aye, aye, Chief,” replied the pilot. Rainbow felt the pod shudder as it blasted away from the Pillar of Celestia. “So, Luna, what is that thing we saw earlier?” asked a marine. Before Luna could say anything, the pilot answered for her. “I don’t know, but we’re landing on it!” replied Lightning Dust. As the ring got larger and larger in the cockpit, a marine shouted, ”The Celestia! She’s been hit!” ”He’s right! The Celestia has sustained critical damage! Wait... it’s accelerating! Rarity’s piloting it herself!” said Luna. Luna paused, before saying, “Wouldn’t you rather sit down, Rainbow Dash?” ”Hah! I’ll be fine. I mean, we’ll be fine,” replied Dashie. “Heads up! Entering the ring’s atmosphere in five!” shouted Lightning Dust. “If I still had hooves and legs, they’d be praying...” quipped Luna, as the lifepod zoomed towards the ring....
The Pillar of Celestia The Pillar of Celestia "All I'm asking from you, Luna, is did we lose them?" Captain Rarity Keyes sighed as she surveyed the bridge of her ship, the ENSC Pillar of Celestia. She was terribly worried that their barbaric pursuers, an empire compiled of different alien races known only as the Covenant, would appear any second now and ambush the ship. Those ruffians, Rarity thought. Rarity trotted to the front of the bridge where several crewponies saluted her. "Ma'am! Engines one and three are non-functioning, and Engine two has taken damage," reported Doctor Whooves, who happened to be the most skilled technician on the ship, and had attained the rank of Major. Rarity nodded, and sent the Doctor to repair the damaged engines. Rarity sighed, and questioned 'Luna' (again) "All I am saying, dear, is, did we lose them?" A hologram of one of the Royal Sisters, Princess Luna, flickered to life, and answered, "I think we both know the answer to that, Captain Rarity." "How is it possible that they g--" Rarity asked, before she was cut off by Luna. "Got here before us? The Covenant's slipspace drives have always been faster. My other guess? They followed us through lightspeed," Luna said. All of a sudden, Luna got a confused expression on her "face". "What is it?" Rarity barked. "I'm detecting a radar echo on the far side of Threshold and its' moon, Basis," Luna shot back. But before anypony could say anything else, an absolutely enormous ring slowly spun out of the shadow of Basis. The bridge crew stood in shock and awe, as the ring spun to reveal a large hurricane forming above an ocean. Rarity was the first to speak. "Luna.... what is that?" Luna replied, "Unknown. But whatever it is, it's clearly not natural. Someone built this... this ring, and it wasn't the Covenant." "Then who in the name of Equestria made it?!" a crewpony asked. "I don't know...." Rarity whispered. Suddenly, alarms began blaring all over the ship, throwing everypony into complete chaos and confusion. "Status report! On the double!" Rarity ordered. "Covenant ships incoming! Two frigates, with boarding craft leading the charge!" Luna reported. Rarity sighed, then said, "Alright, I'm going to put the ship on combat alert. Get everypony out of their beauty sleep and in their stations." Crewponies ran about as the ship prepared for battle. “Let’s go! The Captain needs us at our stations, and we need to be ready to fight, too!” shouted a crewpony. The crewponies in the area followed his orders, not wanting to invoke his wrath. The ENSC hurried to ready up their vehicles and aircraft as the ship prepared to be boarded by enemy forces. Pelicans hovered through the hangar, ready to evacuate troops and crewponies if needed, while the mighty Longsword Starfighters flew into space, ready to engage the Covenant when encountered. In the vehicle bay, dozens of slow-but-deadly Scorpion tanks rolled on their treads towards the vehicle transport to be connected by heavy-duty chains to a Pelican to drop onto land. Warthogs and Mongooses were driven towards another vehicle transport, their drivers ready to fight, and their gunners checking their weapons. One such Warthog rolled over a small bump on the floor and stopped, allowing an orange, battle-weary (but battle-hardened) mare to get out. Suddenly, a voice the mare recognized as Princess Luna's rang out from the speakers. "Alert. Covenant boarders incoming. Prepare for boarding. This is not a drill." The mare, hearing Luna's warning, shouted to the marines running about and taking stock of ammo. "Ya'll heard the mare! The marines stopped what they were doing, grabbed their weapons, then galloped over to their sergeant major, forming a line. The mare, whose name was Applejack, turned away from the marines and began a speech to the ponies. "Ya'll, we all led these varmints out to the middle of nowhere to keep 'em from gettin' their dirty claws on Equestria. But we all stumbled onta somethin' they all are so eager for, that they all are scramblin' over one another jus' to get to it. Well, ah' don't care if it's Celestia's own anti-son-of-a-bitch machine, or a giant lasso or whatnot, we all ain't gonna let 'em get it! What we all are gonna let 'em have... is a belly full 'o lead, an' a pool 'o their own blood to drown in!" Spinning back around, Applejack roared, AM I RIGHT MARINES!?" The marines answered with a resounding, "YES, MA'AM!", from which the soundwave hit her hat with enough force to shift it around on her head. Satisfied that the marines would be okay, Applejack said, "Darn right 'ah am. Now move 'em out! Double time!" As the now-enthusiastic ponies trotted out of the vehicle bay, weapons in hoof, Applejack walked out with them, saying, "All 'o ya 'greenhorns' who wanted to see the Covenant up close...." Chuckling, she finished, "This is gonna be ya'lls lucky day..." Luna raised an eyebrow. ”Everypony?" Rarity nodded. "And Luna?" "Yes?" "Let's give Dashie a warm welcome." Author's Note And so, it begins... Everyone, I want to thank you for your support. It's been a long road so far, and this author's note was made JULY 30TH, RIGHT BEFORE MY BIRTHDAY! (YAY!) I'm going to post more author's notes on every chapter now.
UNSEALING THE HUSHED CASKET UNSEALING THE HUSHED CASKET Vinyl Scratch, a crewpony for Cryo Two, was manning her station when a beep from her console alerted Vinyl to something. Looking at her computer, she gasped. There, on the screen, were the words "PRIORITY ALPHA - UNSEAL THE HUSHED CASKET." "Holy crap," she whispered. Vinyl turned to her marefriend, Octavia, and shouted, "Hey, come and look at this!" Octavia trotted over, where her jaw dropped in shock. "Yeah," Vinyl said. "It's time." "Alrighty then, let's thaw Rainbow out," ordered Octavia. Rainbow groggily came to inside a glassy pod. "Hey, where am I?” she muttered. Just then, she heard a familiar voice. "Sorry for the quick thaw, Rainbow, but things are a little hectic." "Vinyl!" Rainbow yelled, who was reassured to hear her friend. "It's good to see you too, Dashie," Vinyl replied. Rainbow clambered out of her cryotube, looked around the chamber, and made sure her armor was still on. Her MJOLNIR Mark VI armor was still on her, and its' systems were still functioning, including her HUD and shield systems. Good, I'll need that for later, Rainbow thought. Dash's thoughts were interrupted as a loud banging and creaking came from a door in the podium above her. "Oh, SHIT!" Octavia screeched. "They're trying to get in!" Vinyl reacted quickly and grabbed a nearby MA5B, while Octavia grabbed her signature M6D Magnum pistol, just as the doors to the Cryo bay blew open. Shots of blue and purple plasma flew into the room as a Covenant Sangheili Minor burst into the room, only to be killed by combined fire from Vinyl and Octavia. The two crewponies jumped down from the podium, where Vinyl shouted, "Come on! We've got to get the hay outta here!" Rainbow gladly complied, and followed Vinyl and Octavia over some pipes towards a broken blast door. The three mares ducked under the malfunctioning door, and made their way between some marines and crewponies who were struggling to hold off some Covenant. Rainbow was the beckoned over by a gray mare, whose nametag identified her as Derpy Whooves, the wife of Doctor Whooves. Derpy shouted, "The Captain needs you on the bridge, stat! Follow me!" Rainbow followed Derpy through a door while Vinyl and Octavia helped the marines seal the blast doors that were holding back the Covenant. Rainbow eventually made it to the bridge, where she met with her old friend, Rarity Keyes. "Captain Rarity," Dash said. Rarity turned around and gave Rainbow a big hug, and said, "Good to see you, Dashie. Things here aren't.... going too smoothly. Those Covenant ruffians have showed up, and are determined to steal Luna and find Equestria." "I understand, Rarity, but what exactly do we do?" Dashie asked. "Simple," Luna said. "You slot me into your helmet and carry me around in there." "Alrighty then, just don't get any funny ideas inside my head," Rainbow replied. "Good luck, Rainbow. And as always... be careful," Rarity said, who gave Rainbow her M6D Magnum pistol. Author's Note Here they go, Dashie and Luna! Be sure to play benmarshall's (<- youtube account) Halo Music while you read, as it plays the in-game music in the order it plays in-game. In the meantime, try and help me get more people to read this, as this is my first successful fan-fiction. (I just told my parents what I was writing, so I'm kind of embarrassed, as I'm a 13 year-old male, and MLP FiM is more of a girl's show 😓
Installation 04Installation 04 Rainbow Dash groggily woke up in the pod to shouting and rumbling. Immediately she noticed that everypony in the pod was terrified. “What’s goin’ on!?” Dashie barked. “We’re comin’ in too fast!” came the reply. Well, shit, Rainbow thought, as the ground rushed up to meet the pod. ”Rainbow? Rainbow!?” “wha..?” Rainbow was jolted out of unconsciousness by the sound of someone shouting right into her ear. She rolled onto her hooves, and the voice said, “Oh, good, you’re finally up.” Dashie soon realized that the “voice” was Luna. “Thanks for wakin’ me up, Luna,” she said. “No problem,” Luna replied. Then Rainbow remembered the other passengers in her lifepod. A check revealed that most of them were still alive. Unfortunately, some unlucky marines had been thrown into walls of the pod at high speeds, breaking some bones, and at worst, crushing their heads! She woke up the remaining soldiers, and the ragtag group of marines trotted out of the pod to take stock of their supplies. After sorting the ammo and distributing the weapons, grenades, and medpacks to the group, Rainbow Dash and her “team” set out to find the other lifepods they had seen on the way down. Rainbow stopped to get a look at the ring and its environment. When she got a look, though, her jaw dropped, as well as the jaws of the marines. The ecosystem around her was beautiful. There were several pine trees and some large bushes Dashie couldn’t identify. What got everypony’s attention, though, was the sky. It would’ve been like any sky on an Equestrian colony, were it not for the giant curved planet whatnot extending from the ground miles from the group. Everypony was silent at this point, until Doctor Whooves, who had been in the same pod, broke the quiet. ”Wait a minute... that’s part of the ring we’re on!” he surmised. Rainbow snapped out of her gaping, and replied, “I never expected it to be so...” A few of the marines tried answering for her. “Awesome?” “Beautiful?” As much as I would like to call it awesome, I’m going with beautiful, Rainbow thought. She ignored the two marines, and motioned for everypony to follow her. The group came across a river, and decided to follow it, to see if there were any lifepods that had touched down near it. Unfortunately, their journey came to an end, when they found that the river ended in a waterfall. They did find a bridge, though. It would’ve been any other bridge, but its design was WAY different from both Pony and Covenant architecture. Doctor Whooves, always the one to give the group an explanation, or a theory, came up with a hypothesis of who, or what made the bridge. “It was most likely built by something else. Not ponykind. Not Covenant. A completely different race. A new one we haven’t seen yet,” the scientist/marine explained. “Well, it tells us whoever made ring is definitely not Covenant,” added Luna, who hadn’t spoke up in a while. Dashie and the marines continued on, when Luna spoke again. “Warning. I’m picking up Covenant signatures. Three of them. One “Spirit” dropship, and two “Banshee” aircraft,” Luna said. Lightning Dust, who had also been quite silent the whole time, replied, “Then we’d better get goin’. Don’t want to be caught by the Covenant now, do we?” Everypony shot glares at her, prompting a “Sheesh, what did I do?” from the now-confused pilot. Sergeant Major Avery Applejack Johnson was busy directing the surviving marines of her lifepod into a metal structure when she heard the familiar roar of a lifepod. Turning around, she saw a lone lifepod with the number 12 on it. Knowing that lifepod contained her SPARTAN-II friend Rainbow Dash, and that it would land nearby, AJ thought, Oh, goodie, we’re gonna have us some help ‘ere soon. Then, she noticed that it was coming in fast. Faster than Rainbow Dash herself. Applejack, worried about her friend, could only watch in shock as it zoomed over her head and landed several miles away. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do to help.
Reunion drives Reunion Drives Rainbow Dash felt the kick of the pistol in her hoof as she fired at the Covenant aircraft flying towards her. The pilot, whose vehicle was smoking dangerously, tried to pull upwards, but was reduced to atoms when the ‘Banshee’ exploded. Dashie and her group had taken care of the attack force from the ‘Spirit’ dropship, and were in the process of destroying the ‘Banshees’. Luckily, the pilot of the second Covenant aircraft decided to retreat, allowing the marines to give a sigh of relief. Just then, Luna spoke up to inform them of something. ”Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust. I have good news - and alarming news, unfortunately - for thee,” Luna acknowledged. ”So? What is it, Luna!?” Lightning asked. ”There is a lifepod signal past that canyon. Unfortunately, there is also a cursed Covenant dropship there, too,” Luna answered. Irritated, Lightning Dust complained, ”Aw, jeez. Why must there be Covenant everywhere we go!?” Already infuriated by Lightning’s antics, Rainbow Dash replied, ”I don’t know, but know this. If you annoy us, mostly me, one more time, Lightning Crust, I’m gonna buck you into next week. Understood, chucklenuts?” Not wanting to invoke Dashie’s wrath, Lightning hurriedly nodded. Satisfied that everypony was ready to move on, Rainbow Dash and the group trotted across the alien bridge and traversed the canyon. In Dash’s head, Smart AI Princess Luna struggled with herself. Despite the fact that Smart AIs don’t go rampant until they’re more than 7 years old, Luna would go rampant after five. This was due to the real Princess Luna’s corruption; Nightmare Moon. Somehow, Nightmare was able to affect Luna’s AI counterpart, which resulted in the AI constantly having to struggle for control of herself. After dealing with some Grunts and a Veteran Elite in the canyon, Dashie and the marines finally exited the canyon, only to come across a Covenant dropship unloading its troops. Spotting some marines near a metal structure, Rainbow Dash shouted,”Open fire!” It was a tough battle, and a marine got impaled with a pink needle, but everypony survived, and the marines came out on top. Suddenly, somepony shouted out, ”Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow knew that voice. She never forgot that voice. Galloping towards the voice, she ran into her best friend, Applejack, who gave her a hug that made it hard for her to breathe, even through Dashie’s armor. ”Applejack! Oh, it’s so good to see you!” Rainbow cried. ”Oh, Sugarcube, I thought ya’ll were dead! I saw yer lifepod comin’ in way too fast! Thanks fer the help, too! We needed it, bad!” Applejack replied. ”I see that it’s complete and utter chaos here! What happened!?” Dashie asked. ”When we all landed, everypony survived, only minor injuries. The Covenant musta thought that wasn’t good, so they sent down here several dropships. In just the one hour we were cooped up ‘ere, we all lost half the survivors!” Applejack answered. ”Hey, guys! Someone here requested a Warthog?” questioned a familiar voice. ”Vinyl! That you?” Rainbow shouted. ”The one and only!” Vinyl replied. ”Thou should use the Warthog Vinyl has delivered, as I have detected several lifepod signatures,” Luna recommended. ”Yeah! I’ll do it!” Rainbow enthusiastically shouted. Noticing the glares directed at her, she corrected herself, and said, ”I mean, let’s do it!” The three mares, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Derpy, who had happened to be with Applejack’s life pod, set out to round up the rest of the scattered marines. It was fairly easy, especially when the group had a SPARTAN-II riding with them. The only problem? Covenant. ”Alrighty, then! That there’s the last of ‘em!” The hardy trio had just held off two Covenant dropships, all the while tending to injured marines in the area of the last lifepod. ”Vinyl Scratch, come in. Can thou pick us up?” Luna asked. The comms crackled with static for several seconds, until Vinyl replied, ”Sure thing, Luna! I’ll be right there!” Eventually, Vinyl’s Pelican dropship arrived and picked the remaining marines up, as well as Rainbow, Applejack, and Derpy. As the Pelican flew to Alpha Base, the ENSC’s current (but temporary) base, Luna spoke up and shared some news with the marines. ”So what’s goin’ on here, Luna? Is it the Captain?” asked a marine. ”Thou is correct, young one. The good news is that the Pillar’s crew is alive and well. Unfortunately, the Covenant have captured them all!” Luna answered. ”Let me guess: we’re going on a rescue mission,” Rainbow quipped. ”Exactly. Rarity and the crew are being held in the brig of a Covenant ship known as the Truth and Reconciliation,” Luna confirmed. ”Then let’s go already!” the ecstatic Spartan said.
The Truth and Reconciliation The Truth and Reconciliation Rainbow Dash fiddled with her SRS99D-S2 AM sniper rifle as the Pelican dropship hovered above the canyon floor. She couldn't wait to kill some Covenant forces, and teach them why they shouldn't capture her best friend, Rarity. Suddenly, the comms crackled to life as their pilot, Lightning Dust, said "Alrighty, marines! We're here, so get off my dropship! And Rainbow?" "Yes?" Rainbow replied. "Get back my friend Rarity for me. After all, who's gonna style everypony's mane after this?" Lightning requested. "Will do, Lightning Dust. By the way, I'm sorry about how I yelled at you back when we were saving the other marines," Dash replied. Lightning Dust accepted Rainbow's apology, and allowed everypony to disembark from the Pelican, before flying off. Rainbow's other best friend, Staff Sergeant Twilight Sparkle, had volunteered to come along on the mission, despite the fact that she was an alicorn princess. Twilight had long ago joined the ENSC when the Covenant had first attacked the Equestrian colony Apple Harvest, complete with her own disguise to keep her identity secret. Somehow, she rose through the ranks without being discovered, attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant, before being discovered by her friend Applejack, who allowed her friend to stay in the corps, and revealed her identity to the marines of her platoon, who accepted her with everlasting kindness. Now, though, she was leading her platoon on a rescue mission to save her friend Rarity, and the remaining crew of the Pillar of Celestia. As soon as her hooves touched the ground, Twilight shouted "Hit it marines, go go go! The Corps aren't paying us by the hour!", while Rainbow checked to make sure her weapons were fully loaded. Tonight was gonna be a LONG night....
The Cast The Cast Note: Any character as themselves won’t have an “as themself” in front of them. The only exceptions are Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, as they’re quite important later on in the story. Main Characters MCPON Rainbow Dash-117 as Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John-117 Captain Rarity Keyes as Captain Jacob Keyes Sergeant Major Applejack Johnson as Sgt. Major AJ Johnson AI Princess Luna as Smart AI Cortana Private Derpy Whooves as Private Chips Dubbo Vinyl Scratch as Crewman Sam Marcus Octavia as Crewman Thom Shephard Warrant Officer Pinkie Pie as... herself... Staff Sergeant Twilight Sparkle as Staff Sergeant Marcus Stacker Corporal Fluttershy (she’s a medic) as herself Non-Major ENSC characters (Voices are colored) Any type of crewman (Or should I say, Crewpony) has a light grey voice Any type of marine (excluding some more important ones a bit lower on this section of the list) has a lime green or olive voice Corporal Lyra Heartstrings as Private Wallace A. Jenkins (What? I choose the ranks for the ponies.) Corporal BonBon as Private Manuel Mendoza Warrant Officer Lightning Dust Staff Sergeant (The Great and Powerful) Trixie ONI Operative Fleur De Lis Doctor/Major Whooves Covenant Unggoy (Grunts) ranks Grunt Minors Grunt Majors Special Operation Grunts Thirsty Grunt Sangheili (Elites) Ranks Elite Minors Veteran Elites/Elite Majors Elite Ultra Majors Elite Generals Elite Zealots Other Covenant Jackals (colored for their shields) Hunters (colored orange for their blood, I don't know if the worms themselves are orange) Flood Infection forms Combat forms (zombies) Carrier forms Forerunners 343 Guilty Spark Author's Note Note: For the best read, I’d recommend using solarized light, and gill sans. This is Halo. This is Installation 04. This... is HALO - FOURTH RING....
Diabolical AIs and Headstrong Cyborgs First! Diabolical AIs and Headstrong Cyborgs First! Rainbow silently made her way around a corner, where she bumped into three Covenant Grunts. One of them was a Veteran, identified by the alien's red armor. The others were Grunt Minors, wearing orange armor. One squeaked an alarm. "More! Here!" Reacting with lightning-quick speeds, Rainbow pulled out her pistol and made quick work of the Grunts. Trotting towards the sounds of gunfire, Rainbow came across a dead mare, whose assault rifle was laying on the ground. Dashie payed her respects to the dead mare, closing her eyes, and taking her ammo and MA5B assault rifle, which Rainbow Dash was sure to make good use of. Rainbow galloped into a cafeteria, where some ENSC marines were battling it out with some Covenant forces. Grabbing and priming a frag grenade she had found on the floor, Rainbow threw her grenade with all her might towards a group of Grunts and an Elite, all of whom went flying when the small explosive blew to pieces. She chuckled and fist-pumped in celebration, when Luna shouted, "Thou should be more careful, Dashie! There's two of us in here now, remember?" Rainbow looked around in confusion, when she realized her shields were almost down, and a Veteran Elite had taken the opportunity to rush at her. Rainbow quickly sidestepped and delivered a rock-hard buck to the offending Elite's back, which broke its spine with a resounding CRACK! Luna commented, "Oooh, thoust Elite is going to feel thoust kick in the morning." Rainbow, though, kept fighting, blasting her enemies with her MA5B, sniping them with her trusty M6D, and kicking any Covenant Elites that came too close. Her real goal, though, was to get to a Bumblebee lifepod. No matter what. Author's Note Coloring the names now.
Lifeboat ahoy!Lifeboat Ahoy! Rainbow reloaded her weapons as she traversed the hallways of the ship. Bumping into an Elite, she bucked it into the walls, flew up to it, and snapped its neck before it could retaliate. Dashie then came across some marines who were celebrating their small victory against the Covenant, when a large explosion interrupted their charade. ”What the hay!? Did something just hit us?!” shouted a bewildered marine. Cautiously, the ENSC marines followed her, when a blast and two screams caught their attention. Rainbow spotted Covenant forces filing out of the lifeboat, and chucked a plasma grenade onto an unfortunate rookie elite, who screamed, ”AYIEYIEYIEYIE—“ before he was annhilated by the explosive. Dashie dived into a maintenance vent after finishing off the boarders, and crawled her way through the vents into a room with a broken door. There, she bucked open the door, and came across more marines who were in a firefight with the Covenant. She helped them out, decapitating a poor grunt, and snapping the neck of an elite who got brave enough to sneak up on her. Rainbow led the marines along into a room where the Covenant, all of whom happened to be up on a platform above Dash and the marines, were engaged in a fierce skirmish with ENSC forces below them. Luna shouted, “Covenant! On the platform above us!” Her ears ringing from Luna’s sudden outburst, an annoyed Rainbow gave a knock on her helmet and said, ”SHEESH! You don’t have to be so loud!” Luna just grumbled in response. After taking care of the Covenant forces on the upper floor, Rainbow Dash came across a crate of grenades, which she gladly used against an Elite and his Grunts. “The last lifeboat’s nearby! Move it!” informed Luna. Author's Note I got the Elite screaming when stuck by plasma grenade from Krewtaun’s Halo CE funny lines video. It was hilarious! 😂🤣
Descent from the heavensDescent from the heavens BonBon was having a bad day. The Covenant had already destroyed her new home, Reach, and now they were attacking the ship she escaped on! She was galloping to the last lifeboat, when she tripped on a dead body. Rainbow Dash was zooming over to the lifeboat, when she saw a marine trip and fall. “Oh, no! No! I don’t wanna be left behind!” she cried. Dashie grabbed the mare by her neck, tossed her into the lifeboat, whirled around to check for Covenant, and stepped into the lifeboat. “Now would be a very good time to leave, Rainbow!” quipped Luna. “Punch it, Lightning,” ordered Rainbow Dash. “Aye, aye, Chief,” replied the pilot. Rainbow felt the pod shudder as it blasted away from the Pillar of Celestia. “So, Luna, what is that thing we saw earlier?” asked a marine. Before Luna could say anything, the pilot answered for her. “I don’t know, but we’re landing on it!” replied Lightning Dust. As the ring got larger and larger in the cockpit, a marine shouted, ”The Celestia! She’s been hit!” ”He’s right! The Celestia has sustained critical damage! Wait... it’s accelerating! Rarity’s piloting it herself!” said Luna. Luna paused, before saying, “Wouldn’t you rather sit down, Rainbow Dash?” ”Hah! I’ll be fine. I mean, we’ll be fine,” replied Dashie. “Heads up! Entering the ring’s atmosphere in five!” shouted Lightning Dust. “If I still had hooves and legs, they’d be praying...” quipped Luna, as the lifepod zoomed towards the ring....
