Halo: Contact Equis

2 and a Half Hours After Touchdown

Twilight lands back down in front of the theater, where a bunch of Marines were cheering for her, including the ODST's. The only ones who were not cheering were Starlight, and a handful of pony civilians. Twilight had her eyes closed, the green and purple aura still leaking out of her horn. It begins to die down till it fully dissipates. Twilight opens her eyes, and the green hue in her eyes also fades. Twilight had a confident, but worn out expression on her face.

"Holy fuck Princess! That was kick ass!" Said Tex approaching her with his helmet off. Twilight just turns her head and heads towards one of the landed pelicans at the LZ.

"I appreciate that Tex, but right now, let's just get the ponies back to the Ad Meliora. We have an opening and I don't want it to go to waste." Twilight monotoned, her expression never changing.

"Yes ma'am! Come on get the civis on board! Covenant will be back any minute!" Tex began to shout as he put his helmet back on. Soldiers scrambled to get the civilians on board, as Starlight ran up to Twilight and began to walk next to her.

"Twilight... are you ok?" Starlight stated, concerned for her teacher.

"I'm fine Starlight, don't worry about me." Twilight never even glances over at her.

"I can't do that Twilight, you just used a lot of Dark Magic." Starlight gave her a worried look.

"I know, what I did was necessary." Twilight said coldly, now glaring at Starlight, causing her to stop in her tracks. Twilight then continues her trot without her.

"N-Necessary!? Twilight, it's banned for a reason! It corrupts ponies!" Starlight began to argue where she stood.

"That won't happen to me." Twilight continues, not looking back.

"That's what a certain king said before he fell from grace!" Starlight now shouts at her teacher in anger, causing Twilight to stop.

"I know what I am doing Starlight! You need to back off right now! If you had taken action, I wouldn't have had to have done that! If you hadn't let those two DIE!" Twilight looks back at Starlight, her face scowling and her eyes flash green for a second. "I wouldn't have had to do that to save lives!" Starlight flinches back from Twilight's words as she spat them out like venom. Starlight began to tear up, feeling like she had just been stabbed in the heart. She turned away and ran away from Twilight, who instantly began to soften her face. "W-wait! Starlight!" Twilight turned and held her hoof to her, but she was already long gone. Twilight shook her head from side to side and then rubbed her temple with her hoof. "Why... Why did I say that too her?" She then said to herself. Pelicans would come by, drop off more soldiers, and pick up more civilians more efficiently now that the LZ wasn't being fired on. During this time, Spike and Carlito are able to finally make it to the LZ, Carlito slumps down with his back behind some Cover, as Tammy comes over to give him a check up.

"Carlito! You look like hammered shit." Said Tex Approaching them with his hands on his hips.

"Hey sarge, kiss my ass dawg." Carlito began to chuckle, inciting some from the others.

"The fuck happened to you Carlito?" asked Tammy, giving him a check up. "Your armor is all torn to shit."

"Had a run in with another Spec Ops officer. Nearly sliced me in half, and skewered Spike here." Said Carlito.

"You were almost killed Spike!?" Twilight yelled in Shock as she approached the group as well. Spike instantly ran up to her and hugged her to which Twilight hugs him back. "Spike... Are you hurt?" Twilight sits on her haunches and looks him over.

"No, I'm fine. He just wanted information from me." Spike replied as Twilight looks him over like a mother hen.

"Information? What kind of Information." Twilight cocked her head and gave him a weird look.

"He wanted to know about Magic... and... And he is looking for you, Twilight." Spike revealed, causing Twilight's eyes to widen.

"Me?... I'm being hunted by the Covenant?" She stated aloud, grimacing at the thought of what they would do to her if they captured her. "But... why?"

"Whatever their reason is, you never want to be in the Covenant's sight. You need to get out of here Princess." Tex turned his head to Twilight, now concerned for her safety.

"I'm not leaving. I need to protect my ponies." Twilight began to argue.

As they talked, a new explosion caused them all to stumble. They all look in the direction of where it came from, what they saw made their blood run cold. A squadron of banshee's came flying in at the LZ, firing plasma and energy cannons at them. The group quickly dived for cover, as now the LZ was under direct fire.

"God dammit! Take cover!" Tex yelled as he pressed himself hard against a metal barrier. One of the Banshee's fires on one of the Pelicans as it tries to take off, causing it to jossle like crazy. "We cannot allow them to fire on the Pelicans! Return fire!"
Marcus discards his Grenade Launcher and picks up an M41 rocket launcher. He aims carefully before firing, blasting one of the Banshee's out of the air. The barrel rotates, allowing him to fire again. He shoots another rocket, and strikes another banshee which blows up in mid air.

"I need more rockets!" Marcus yelled to the group. Marcus looks back at the small squadron of banshees, one was flying directly at them, charging up it's fuel rod cannon. Marcus's eyes went wide, they all were about to be hit with a direct attack. That was until it suddenly had a bright blue aura surround it, causing it to freeze in midair. Marcus looks behind him to see Starlight standing there, with a very angry expression on her face, horn alight. She held the banshee in place, before flinging it into a second banshee, destroying both.

"Hell yeah! Thanks Starlight!" Marcus raises his fist in the air as Starlight approaches them.

"I'm here to help in anyway I can." Starlight stated, looking at Marcus, and completely ignoring Twilight, who gave her a worried look. Twilight could still see Starlight's sad eyes behind her hardened expression.

"Starlight...?" Twilight places her hoof on Starlight's shoulder, to which she swats it away with her own hoof. Starlight then glares at Twilight as if to say 'Don't touch me!' Twilight just gives her a regretful expression.

"Starlight, could you get me more rockets! There is still a shit ton of banshees up there!" Marcus yelled to her.

"I'm on it." She then turned without another word to retrieve more ammo. Spike watches Starlight run off to get more rockets, he had seen the interaction between her and Twilight. Spike looks up at her, and sees Twilight's sad expression.

"What happened to her?" he asked, to which Twilight let out a remorseful sigh.

"I said something that was completely uncalled for..." Twilight admitted. She was about to explain, when another explosion shook them, they looked to see the remnants of another Banshee exploding in mid air.

"What the...? Who did that!?" Yelled Tex, looking to Marcus who just stood there just as confused as him.

"Heavy armor is here dawg!." Carlito shouted pointing down the opposite end of the street. What came down was a scorpion tank, it fired another shot, shooting a banshee out of the air

"Fuck yeah! Calvary is here!" Tex yelled, before looking down at a very unamused Twilight. "In a manner of speaking!"

On the tank's turret, Maverick could be seen firing the machine gun at more of the Banshees. Starlight returns with more rockets, allowing Marcus to reload. With a combo of the machine gun, tank, and the rocket launcher, the Banshees finally pulled away. Everyone begins to cheer again as the tank rolls right up to the LZ, behind it was a large number of civilians, with multiple UNSC and Equestrian soldiers escorting them. Riding the Tank was Adam, and Rainbow Dash, who wave to their friends. The hatch of the tank opens, and out steps Clara. Both her and the others step off the tank and regroup.

"I wouldn't leave you guys hanging." Said Clara as she stepped up and shook Tex's hand.

"Still took your fucking time." He teased before looking at Maverick. "Orders sir?"

"full scale retreat. Manehattan is lost." Maverick replied sharply, causing them all to flinch back.

"But sir, we are driving them back!" Tex pointed out, arguing against the Spartan's orders.

"They are sizing us up for something bigger! We need to get the fuck out of here now! The captain is sending all available pelicans to pick us up. They'll be here in 5 minutes, if you're not on when they get here, you're being left behind." Maverick looked at all of them before turning to Twilight who stepped forward.

"Maverick, I requested to retrieve the dead! I'm not leaving anypony behind!" Twilight said sternly, stomping her foot to emphasize her point.

"Princess, We can't get all the bodies! We need to leave or we're all dead!" Maverick argued with her, the sound of urgency in his voice. As they spoke, Pelicans were flying in in droves. Civilians climbed in till they were cramped, The soldiers were trying to squeeze as much of them as they could to get as many as they could out.

"Maverick! This is not up for debate! I'm not abandoning anypony. As their Princess, I must ensure everypony comes home!" Twilight narrowed her eyes at the spartan who steps forward defiantly.

"If we don't get out of here now, there won't be a Princess of Friendship for your subjects to worship, because you will be fucking dead!" Maverick yelled at her. Twilight flares up her wings, and grits her teeth.

"Twilight! You need to listen to us!" Rainbow Dash approaches Twilight and places her hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "We saw it! It was huge!"

"What was huge!?" She then snaps at Rainbow Dash. Large thumping sounds could be heard approaching, they sounded rhythmic, coming in a pattern. They began looking all around, but Maverick knew exactly what it was.

"It's getting closer, We need to leave!" Maverick said with upmost urgency.

"Maverick, I need more time! Just give us a few more minutes to save more ponies!" Twilight was practically begging. Maverick looked at the Pelicans at the LZ, as ponies and soldiers were climbing inside. He could see some of them had more room to fit more ponies.

"You have 10 minutes to look for any more stragglers, then I'm giving the order to leave." Maverick warned her before turning to get onto a pelican.

Twilight took this opportunity to quickly spread her wings and take off. She dared not fly higher than the buildings, out of fear of being shot out of the sky. She turns down one of the many streets and sees a small squad of Covenant firing into the remains of a bakery. They were shooting at something, but Twilight was unable to see what exactly. She lands a few feet away behind some rubble. She checks the ammo counter on her assault rifle, 54 bullets. She uses her magic to lift up the last two mags she had.

"Close to 180 rounds. I don't know if that will be enough." Twilight said to herself. "But at least I have magic..." Twilight's eyes flash green for a bit, thinking specifically about dark magic. She shook her head at the thought. "NO! I can't keep using dark magic, I've already used too much today. I already don't feel like myself." Twilight thought about how harshly she snapped at Starlight, blaming her for the deaths of the marine and stallion from earlier. On top of that, she had gotten her first kill, all of that would be unbearable for anypony to process.

She quickly lets out a long breath, she needed to focus on taking out this squad of Covenant. Whatever they were shooting it, it had to be more civilians. She raised her gun and began to fire. The bullet's shred through an elite minor's shield and the bullets entered his back, causing him to collapse before dying. The other covenant turn and see Twilight, they howl and growl at her, except for a few grunts who scream and begin to run.

"The Devil! It's the Devil! Run!" One of the grunts squealed as they ran. Twilight focusses her fire on a Jackal's shield, her bullets bouncing off it until one of her bullets strike an uncovered part of its arm. It moved its shield to the side, giving Twilight an opening, but her gun clicked. She looked down at it, it revealed zero. She looked back over at the jackal. She had no time to reload if she wished to take him out now. She lit her horn up, suppressing her urges to use dark magic, and fired a bright pink beam at it. The beam struck it in the head, and a large spray of purple blood erupted from where the head of the Jackal used to be. That's when Twilight heard it, a ferocious battle cry from one of the large aliens. This one caused her to freeze, she had heard them make those roars before, but this one was familiar. Twilight turned in the direction where she heard it, and saw an Elite in white armor. She recognized it, it was the Ultra she saw before. Her blood began to boil and she grit her teeth.

"You!" She screamed as she quickly reloaded her assault rifle. She aimed it at the Ultra and opened fire. The ultra, using it's speed and agility quickly performed evasive maneuvers to duck and dive out of the way of the bullets. His shield lit up, as few bullets struck, but not enough to break his shields.
"Fuck!" Twilight exclaimed as her counter clicked to zero. She wasted that whole mag. She loaded her last one in and took aim, but the Ultra was gone. She scanned all over the street, but she could not see him.

Her ears twitch and turns backwards as she could hear large footsteps approaching her. She turns to see the ultra charging her with his energy sword alight. Twilight immediately opens fire, but the ultra was so close by now, he grabbed the levitating gun and pointed the barrel into the air. Fear overtook Twilight as she kept squeezing the trigger. She lifts a rock with her magic, and hits the ultra in the side of the face with it, causing it to let out a pained growl. His grip on the weapon release and Twilight aimed her gun back at him. She squeezed the trigger, but it only clicked. She looked at the counter, zero again.

"Oh no!" She exclaimed as the Elite looked back at her.
He swung his sword at her, Twilight lifted up her weapon to block it, but the blade cut through it like butter. Twilight began to back up, until she tripped backwards on some rubble. Her heart was racing as the elite stepped closer. The elite raised his sword, and was moments from bringing it down. Twilight closes her eyes tight, her fear froze her, she couldn't even focus to bring up a shield. She heard the blade cutting through the air with a slight sizzle, but she then heard a loud boiling sound as the blade collided with something. She opens her eyes to see a second energy sword made contact, blocking the first one from hitting Twilight. She looks to see who was holding it, it was Kieran.

"Demon!" The Ultra sputtered as Kieran forcefully kicked the elite back.

Kieran stepped in front of Twilight and held his blade up in a defensive manner. Kieran held up his hand and waved to the elite to come closer. The elite accepted the challenge and stepped closer swinging his sword once again. Their swords collided and locked. Kieran pulled away, took a side step and swung, the Elite easily blocked it and parried it. It stepped closer and rammed its shoulder into Kieran, causing him to take a few steps back. The Ultra swings his sword to the side, just barely knicking the chest armor on the Spartan. Kieran quickly backs away, it was evident he was exhausted, even before they started fighting. Kieran quickly goes for a stab, but the ultra was ready for him, using his momentum against him. The Ultra struck down onto Kieran's blade and side stepped, changing Kieran's momentum to go downwards. Kieran lands on his stomach and the elite looms over him. The elite holds up the sword, and is moments away from plunging it into the back of the spartan.

"No!" Twilight yelled as she watched Kieran about to be killed. She lights up her horn with an electricity spell, blue sparks beginning to arc. The Elite looks at her and his eyes widen.

"By the Rings..." The elite muttered before a powerful shock broke through his shields. The elite hollers out in pain as he is electrocuted. The shock was able to render the elite unconscious, as he toppled over onto his back. Kieran slowly gets to his feet and looks at the elite before looking at Twilight.

"Thank you Princess. I would have had him, If that Zealot didn't give me a hell of a fight beforehand." Kieran said out of breath. "Why are you out here alone?"

"I should be thanking you, Kieran. I froze up, and you stopped that monster from killing me." Twilight said, getting to her hooves. "And to answer your question, Maverick has ordered a full scale retreat of Manehattan." Kieran quickly turned his head to look at the princess, surprised by what she just said.

"Retreat!? But we have the advantage. The whole attacking force is in disarray for some reason. Almost like they're afraid to attack the front lines. Why would he want us to retreat now?" Kieran asked while standing up.

"I don't know, I'm pretty upset with him abandoning everything. He said there is something big coming, but he wouldn't elaborate." Twilight said, unfolding her wings. "We need to get out of here before we are left behind, you find any civilians?"

"Why do you think I was pinned down?" Kieran turned and whistled. From the bakery the squad of Covenant were shooting at, a small group of around 10 ponies slowly began to peek out. Twilight gave a sigh of relief.

"Thank you Kieran. Thank you for saving more of my subjects." Twilight gave the spartan a soft smile to which he gave her a small nod.

"What about him? He's still breathing." Kieran gestured to the knocked out Ultra. Twilight looked at it, her anger rising for a brief moment after remembering what this specific elite had done. But she quickly calmed down and thought rationally.

"Bring him with us." Twilight stated while glaring at the elite. "He will answer our questions."

Kieran would approach the Elite, after completely disarming it, he hoisted it onto his shoulders in a fireman's carry. From there, Twilight would escort Kieran, and the rest of the civilians towards the LZ. They were heading down the street as fast as they could, when the large thumping sounds she heard at the LZ were now louder and getting closer. They turned the corner, the LZ was in sight, there was only one Pelican left there, and it appeared as if it could take off at any moment. Twilight and the others break into a dead sprint towards the pelican, as they see Maverick peek out of it at them. He furiously waves for them to hurry. The thumping has turned into loud crashes, causing Maverick to point behind them. Twilight looked up at what he was pointing at, and she couldn't believe her eyes. It was a massive land machine, a walking fortress. It crushes buildings everywhere it walks, and it has a massive turret on its face and its back. Twilight quickened her pace, jumping over the metal barriers and stopping in front of the pelican.

"Everypony on! Come on, Come on!" Twilight yelled as Kieran quickly got onto the pelican, followed by each one of the 10 civilians they rescued. Finally, Twilight was the last one to get on. That's when the large turret on the back of the machine began to fire at the pelican. Large balls of plasma landing around the pelican.

"Pilot! Go Go Go! get us out of here!" Maverick Yelled into his radio. The pelican began to lift up into the sky, just barely avoiding the balls of Plasma. Finally, the pelican begins to pull away from the city. Twilight turns to watch the burning remains of Manehattan. The walking fortress soon changes its target away from the pelican, and at something new. Its front cannon begins to charge up. Then a large beam of plasma fires out, and strikes the tallest building in Manehattan, the Crystaller Building. The beam cut the building in half, and the top in the shape of a pony's head came crumbling down to the streets.

"What... the hell is that!?" Twilight yelled as she watched the machine.

"...It's a scarab..." Tex said in awe, looking to Maverick. "We... we don't have the equipment to stop that thing, do we?"

"...No." Maverick said as the pelican got higher. Twilight and her friends could only watch, with saddened, horrified expressions. Tears spill down Twilight's cheeks as she watches the carnage down below. Twilight turns and looks at Maverick with a very angry expression. He turns to look at her, his helmet hiding his expression.

"Why are you giving me that look?" Maverick asked her, his voice monotone.

"Take a big guess! This departure is premature! There are ponies and soldiers still down there!" Twilight Yelled.

"We relayed the orders for retreat for nearly 30 minutes. Why did you think we escorted a huge number of Civilians with the tank before we left!?" Maverick argued back at the angry Princess.

"We're abandoning them! Abandoning my subjects, abandoning your own men!" Twilight began to yell louder, more tears running down her cheeks.

"You think that was an easy decision for me to make!?" His voice wasn't that loud, but it definitely sounded annoyed. "I have to make tough decisions like that daily, No matter what choice I pick, people will die! It all depends on how many die! Think Princess, would you rather have 100 people die or 1000 people die? For me it's the former, and I'll be goddamned if I let 1000 die! This was a choice where I had to help the 1000!"

Twilight's horn flares green and purple again, something that Maverick didn't understand what that meant, but Tex and the others did as they took a few steps back. Twilight's expression turned into a death glare as her eyes too turn green and red. Tex was about to intervene when he saw Twilight's expression start to change. It was turning from an expression of pure anger, to pain, agony even. More tears began to roll down her cheeks as Twilight began to sob. She slowly sat down on her haunches and put her hooves to her eyes. The green and purple aura slowly dissipates as Twilight begins to painfully weep. She had never been so miserable in her whole life.

"Why!? Why did any of them have to die!? Nopony deserved to die! I don't want anypony to die! I'm supposed to protect my subjects, I failed! I failed them all!" Twilight howled loudly.

Maverick's body language quickly changes. Before he was angry and hostile, but now he had softened and relaxed. He looks down at the crying Princess, crying for her murdered subjects and raped land. Maverick turns his head away, almost as if he couldn't bear to watch her cry, to witness someone as pure hearted as Twilight break down in despair and anguish. You could almost hear his own heart shatter.

"...I'm sorry... I... I had to... I had to save the majority Princess." Maverick's voice spoke softly as Twilight continued to mourn. By now, Rainbow, Spike, and even Starlight had gone and comforted their friend. They too were crying over their losses. Tex looks to Maverick who moved to the back of the Pelican and finally sat down.

The pelican ride only lasted only a few minutes. It landed along with several other pelicans at the Ad Meliora. As the group steps out, they see ponies littered all over the hanger, Many being escorted by human and Equestrian soldiers. There were doctors trying to help the wounded, and in the far corner, many bodies with sheets over them laid. The hanger was in complete chaos as many pony refugees shared the hanger with the human ones. Twilight was still emotional as she exited the pelican, along with Spike, Dash, and Starlight. To their surprise, the rest of their friends came running up to them. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy approached their friends, they all had worried faces. They also appear to be worn out as they were helping with all the incoming refugees. They stop in front of their friends, giving them horrified expressions. The group were covered in ash, soot, and debris. They looked as if they crawled out of the deepest pits of Tartarus.

"Twilight.... What the hay happened!?" Applejack yelled her question.

Half an Hour after the Retreat

In Manehattan. the Covenant now enter the abandoned LZ, in front of the theater. They were making sure no one was there. Standing in the middle was the elite in black armor, standing with his arms crossed. A minor approaches him and quickly bows.

"Spec Ops Officer Xala! It appears the cowardly humans and natives are all long gone!" The Minor said with his head bowed.

"Very well, search every part of this godless city, kill any survivors you see." Xala Commanded before turning around and coming face to face with an Elite in gold armor, a zealot, and noticing he was missing his sword. "N'Thoka, Why are you unarmed?"

"I had a run in with a demon. He managed to steal my blade, but never took the killing blow. Coward ran to save the pathetic Natives from a squad of our brothers." The Zealot named N'Thoka explained.

"It is dishonorable to lose your blade N'Thoka! the Shipmaster will hear of this!" Xala scolded the Zealot, only causing him to growl back.

"And what of you Xala! You fled like a coward from the injured Imp and Native who spits fire! You face the same punishment as well!" N'Thaka shot back. The Two were practically butting heads, when the same minor approached Xala and N'Thoka.

"My Leader! you must come see this!" The minor barked, getting the attention of both the Spec ops officer and Zealot. They settle their disagreement for now and follow the minor. He leads them both to a large line of black protruding crystals lining the battlefield. It has skeward right through a wraith, and many of their brothers. Chunks of Sangheili, Unggoy, and Kig-Yar littered around the crystals. They were all cleanly cut, and mangled beyond recognition.

"By the Prophets! Such mutilation! Who would dare do such a thing to our brothers!?" Xala yelled in anger, but the Zealot remained collected.

"I heard talk of this. Those who witnessed it, called it a work of the Devil." N'Thoka explained, giving Xala the side eyes. "The one who calls herself Princess Twilight Sparkle!" Xala once again roared in anger.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle did this!? She is the Devil!?" Xala glared at the giant crystal skewering the wraith. With one more growl he punched the crystal with his fist. As he did, it sent a small shockwave across the crystal, causing it to crack. The crystal then lit up with a green and purple aura. Xala looks at it and then steps back.

"Xala! What have you done!" N'Thoka exclaimed as he too backed up. From the crystal, a dark black mist began to seep out of the crack an onto the ground. The black mist then slowly began to take form, the form of a pony. A pony with a gray coat and black hair, his horn was curved and stained red. He wore a dark colored crown and wore a red robe. His horn and eyes leaked the same purple miasma coming off the crystal. He opened his eyes to reveal that they were green with red pupils. He lets out a soft chuckle, causing many of the surrounding soldiers to raise their weapons.

"Native! Kill the abomination!" Yelled Xala, as his soldiers began to fire. The plasma shot through his body as if he wasn't really there, as if he was made of smoke. A nearby major growls and then steps forward, preparing to strike the native with his gun. The pony turns to him, his horn glowing bright green and purple. From the ground, a long and sharp crystal rises, and quickly skewers the major from the ground, all the way up to its head, killing him instantly. All the present soldiers then take a step back, but their glares never leave the pony. The pony then turns to both N'Thoka and Xala, he gives them an evil grin, revealing his fanged teeth.

"You two will take me to your shipmaster." The pony pretty much ordered the two to do so. This only causes Xala to get angry.

"You do not give us orders Native! I shall cut you down where you stand!" Xala then activated his energy sword, which only caused the pony to grin even wider.

"You can either take me to your shipmaster in peace, or I shall kill you all and meet him myself!" The pony's horn glew once again. A quick glance down revealed hundreds of crystals beginning to sprout from the ground. Xala's eyes widened, almost in fear.

"Brother! Stop your hostility! No more of our brother's blood needs to be spilled!" N'Thoka yelled, grabbing Xala's shoulder. He then turns towards the pony and stepped forward. "Why should we bring you to our Shipmaster Native?"

"He and I share a similar goal. He wants to kill Princess Twilight Sparkle, I want to be rid of all of Equestria's monarchs for good. In return, I will give you what you desire." Said the pony, looking at the zealot.

"What is it you have that we desire?" N'Thoka questioned, causing the pony to chuckle maliciously.

"I will give you what your shipmaster desires most from this world... I will give you magic!" The pony's grin gets more devilish from seeing the reaction of the Covenant around him. They were all taken back and began to look at each other. N'Thoka looks to Xala who also had a surprised expression. Xala deactivates his blade and approaches the pony.

"Very well, we leave immediately Native." Xala crossed his arms while looking down at the pony.

"And stop calling me that, you may refer to me as King." The pony said, breaking into an evil laughter.