Halo: Contact Equis

2 days after the fall of Manehattan

Captain McCormick was standing at the bridge of the Ad Meliora, but once again he wasn't alone. He was joined by Celestia, a new alicorn with pink fur and 5 others... strange individuals. One scaley, one really furry, one bug, and two feathered ones. He was a bit taken back from the sight of them, many of the creatures he saw came right out of mythology.

"Thank you all for coming here every creature. I hope your journey wasn't at all to strenuous." Celestia spoke up, gaining the attention of the other 5 creatures. "I assure you, my summons was of the utmost importance." The pink furred Alicorn stepped forward

"News of what happened to Manehattan has reached us all the way up in the Crystal Empire. I'm sorry you and your ponies are going through this Auntie Tia." The pink Alicorn said, her expression full of worry and sympathy.

"Same here." The blue scaled creature spoke up. "The Dragonlands are in a state of unease. I know the dragons have had mixed feelings on Equestria as we have a long history together, but many have begun embracing peace amongst us and ponies. This news of the destruction from extraterrestrials has left many outraged. Many believe it is us who will be next."

"Yaks mad that pony friends are in trouble! Yaks want to help!" The large furry creature yelled out. Celestia seems to let out a sigh of relief, a smile growing upon her face.

"Your concern for us and our kind truly touches me. Thank you for your loyalty to our alliance." Celestia's voice was a little shaky.

"I'm only here for the concerns of the Griffins! Nothing more! *COUGH!* *WEEZE!*" A very crotchety old bird said.

"Queen Novo has heard of your predicament, I am here to offer assistance Princess," The bird horse said.

"It was our pleasure Celestia. Equestria's kindness to the Changelings, despite our history, is something we will never forget. You have our support no matter what." Said a bright green bug pony.

"You mind filling me in on everything Celestia, I'm a bit out of the loop." McCormick spoke up, turning his attention to the sun princess.

"Of course, my apologies Captain." Celestia bows her head to McCormick before speaking again. "These are the leaders and representatives from our neighboring kingdoms." McCormick turns his head back to the other creatures and watches them one by one step forward to introduce themselves.

"I am Dragon Lord Ember, daughter of Dragon Lord Torch. I'm the empress of all dragons." Ember stated out loud and proud, puffing her chest out, and smoke escaping her nostrils for emphasis.

"I am General Seaspray. Head of the Hippogriff army of Mt. Aris, and the right claw of Queen Novo." Seaspray bowed his head gracefully.

"Prince Rutherford of Yakyakistan! We yaks smash all enemies of yaks! Enemies of yak's friends are enemies to yaks also!" Rutherford slammed his front hooves down, making a very loud clang against the metal.

"Hmph! Just call me Grampa Gruff! I am a council member to the throne of Griffinstone!" The old looking bird seemed less than happy to be here.

"Greetings, I'm King Thorax of the Changeling Hive. If there is any way in which we can assist you, I'd be glad to help." Thorax smiles and bows his head.

"And I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. But please, just call me Princess Cadence. I am the ruler of the Crystal Empire, our skills in magic are unmatched by anypony else." Cadence also smiles at the captain. McCormick analyzes the group one more time. He finally stands straight and places his hands behind him.

"Thank you all for coming. I am Captain Flint McCormick of the UNSC Halcyon Light Cruiser Ad Meliora, a ship which you are currently aboard. I am currently the only one representing Humanity, as we are separated from the rest of our kind at the moment." The Captain spoke clearly.

"So you are truly from outer space huh? That is truly amazing." Cadence spoke up while placing a hoof to her chin.

"And terrifying, as we were informed you are currently locked in a deadly conflict with more aliens." Seaspray pointed out.

"That is correct. We were escaping one of our planets, Reach, as it was being glassed and destroyed by the Covenant." McCormick looked to Seaspray as he answered.

"Glassed. What exactly do you mean by that?" Asked Thorax with a curious yet scared expression.

"Covenant Assault Carriers, like the one currently hovering over this planet, have a port on the bottom of their ship. It is able to produce a beam of superheated plasma. It's so hot, that everything underneath it is turned into a glass like obsidian. One is bad enough, but when you are faced with a fleet of 100 or more ships, the outcome is... apocalyptic." McCormick Grimaced as he spoke. The creatures soaked up the Captain's words, many reacting differently to the info. Some looked frightened, while others seemed to glare in anger.

"These bastards are geared for war, and now they are here!? They better be prepared, we dragons don't go down easy!" Ember shouted while digging her fist into her palm.

"Dragon right! Yaks not go down without a fight either!" Rutherford dug into the metal floor with his hoof.

"WAR!? You brought me here to ask me if the Griffins would join a war!? BAH!!!" Grampa gruff turned his back to the group and began to walk away.

"Gruff, please halt. We are only calling you here out of the concern of your own kin and country as well." Celestia called to him, her hoof outstretched.

"And when it does, then I'm sure we'll be prepared!" Gruff blew her off, not really believing her.

"Mr. Gruff, please." McCormick called out, but the crotchety old griffin was gone. McCormick let out a long sigh, his hands still firmly behind his back.

"We must call him back here." Celestia said as she took a step.

"No." McCormick raised his hand up to her. "We cannot force him to listen, nor can we force him to join a war. That's not why I asked for this meeting Celestia. My main purpose for this meeting is to bring awareness to other kingdoms of Equestria's current state, and the current threat to all on Equis. We will still protect the Griffins, whether they like it or not." McCormick looked up to the remaining representatives. "But aid in the war would be appreciated."

"I must simply back out of the possibility of conflict as well." Said Seaspray, causing all too look at him, and he to Celestia. "You know our policy to war Celestia, you know we cannot just simply join a war. We would more quickly go back into hiding."

"I know General, I expected as much." Celestia hung her head.

"But we are not without hearts, Princess. I wouldn't have come here to simply refuse to join a war, you still have Mt. Aris's support. We can provide sanctuary to refugees, send you food and first aid, but that would be as much as we could do." Seaspray raised his head, still showing his respects.

"Any bit of help would be appreciated, General." Celestia bowed her head to him before looking back to McCormick. "You may begin Captain."

"Thank you Princess." The captain said before backing away. "Reagan, you may supply the information I authorized." With a quick red blip, Reagan appeared on the podium, startling almost every creature there.

"Of course Captain, beginning presentation." Reagan said before blipping away. The console soon began to project a large hologram presentation, all given in Reagan's voice.

We are humanity. For years our kind had been making breakthroughs in technology, allowing us to finally transverse across the stars. Once we were finally able to leave our solar system, we began to explore all reaches of the galaxy, the Milky Way.

Humanity began to prosper, finding new planets and moons in which to colonize. It was a golden age in our history, one achievement in space faring dwarfing the other with each planet we found and colonized. Humanity would reach a grand total of 800 colonies. 800 colonies, attributed to the humans and their planet of origin... Earth

All though we wanted to have peace, and all be united under a single command, humanity is a fickle race, who seeks independence and desires to be self governing. Because of this, inserection befell the worlds known as the "outer colonies." The United Nations Space Command had to step in to quell the insurrections.

Humanity began warring with itself, for years as the insurrection of the outer colonies continued, but the human civil war would have to be put on hold, as humanity was discovered by the most terrifying enemy that could ever befall mankind... The Covenant.

The Covenant is an ancient alliance, composed of different alien species, who all share a singular religion, and ideal. They have formed a massive empire, absorbing other races and planets into their empire as they seek to please their gods. Those seen as unworthy are destroyed, one such race they see as unworthy, has been humanity. It all started February 3, 2525. This was the date that first contact was made between Humanity and the Covenant. It would not take long for the Covenant to claim Humanity a blight upon the galaxy, and came to the conclusion that Humanity had to be exterminated from all corners of the galaxy. In the past 26 years, a war of genocide has ravaged our kind, crippling humanity, as it fought for it's very right to exist. Humanity's 800 colonies would shrink to just 50, and the death toll would skyrocket to over 20 billion. To put into perspective how large this number is, imagine a mass extinction event here on Equis, times 10. Nearly a month ago, the Covenant glassed Humanity's military colony, Reach

This current vessel, The Ad Meliora is one of two Halcyon Class Light Cruisers who escaped from Reach as It was glassed. The Ad Meliora's sistership, The Pillar of Autumn, Is on the other side of the Galaxy. The Ad Meliora was resting at a dock on Reach, taking in Military personnel, and some fleeing civilians when the Covenant began closing in. The ship rushed it's scheduled launch, as it was to leave with the Pillar of Autumn, but since it left early, it had nowhere to go. Haphazardly, the ship flew in one direction where it happen to by mistake, discover Equis. To our dismay, we were followed. The Covenant Assault Cruiser known as The Fire Of The Mighty has been on our tail since we have left and we unknowingly brought them here. Alone, the Ad Meliora does not stand a chance, our certain demise is imminent. But with the support of Equestria, our chances of survival have gone up significantly. We wish to help protect this planet from the Covenant and safeguard all species of this planet. We all must push Towards Better Things!

Semper Ad Meliora!

At the end of the Presentation, Ember and Rutherford had angry expressions on their faces, while the others wore worrisome faces. Slowly, Ember began to turn her head towards the human Captain.

"So you guys brought these bastards here?" She said coldly.

"That was not our intention... but regretfully... yes." McCormick hung his head, unable to look at the other races.

"...So what are you going to do about it?" Ember asked, her eyebrows raising. The Captain raised his head back up, wearing a face of determination.

"We are going to fight, that's what. We will never give up the fight, not until the last man drops dead. Every soldier on this ship enlisted knowing full well that they could die at any moment. Every brave soul here is prepared to die, die for the innocent who cannot protect themselves. We will fight to protect all, or die trying. With nowhere left to go, we will lay down our lives for you, and your home. We take the full blame for bringing these monsters here and it's our responsibility to drive them back. I know it must be hard to be faced with all this information, but trust me when I say, we will not stop fighting until all Covenant on Equis is annihilated." McCormick spoke in a stoic, tough tone. Ember slowly approaches him, seeming to size him up. Her head fell just below his chin. She crosses her arms and looks into his eyes, like she was looking for any fear in them. She found none, only the fire of bravery and courage. Feeling satisfied with his words, and the way he portrayed himself, she finally nods.

"I believe you, Captain McCormick. Allow me to be the first to say, you have my utmost support. The Dragons stand with you and stand with humanity in the face of this foe. This is our home as well, and we are willing to fight to the death to protect it." Ember said firmly, offering her claw to the captain. McCormick was a bit taken back by her bravery, he offers her back a smile, and a firm handshake.

"Yaks not want to be left out! If Dragons and Ponies fight war, then Yaks fight war! For Yakyakistan!" Ruther let out a hardy yell, smashing his hooves into the metal in a steady rhythm. McCormick and Ember look at him, both raising eyebrows at his outbursts. Finally, Princess Cadence steps forward, her face full of sympathy,

"Your kind has suffered so much Captain McCormick, I'm sorry you had to go through so much loss." She then looks to Celestia. "And you to Auntie. For us not to help would be a crime in itself. The Crystal Empire and Equestria may technically be separate entities, but we are one in the same. Your ponies are my ponies, and I cannot stand idly by while Equestria is being brutally attacked, the Crystal Empire shall join the coalition." McCormick's smile was getting bigger, as more countries were joining on their side.

"Though what I have learned is... tragic. My initial stance has unchanged. Though we are willing to send supplies and aid, even offer sanctuary to your kind captain, we must stay away from fighting." Seaspray clarified. McCormick simply nodded towards Seaspray. At last, all eyes fall upon the last creature on the bridge, King Thorax. He seemed to be sweating bullets.

"Oh dear... I.. uhm... It's not..." He lets out a long sigh, relieving a bunch of nerves with it. "It's not that I don't want to help... I doubt we even can. The Changelings are no longer warriors, you know that Celestia." Thorax turned to Princess Celestia who was giving him an understanding look. "We only have a hoof full of lings who have combat experience, but even then, it's nowhere near this level of combat. My brother wouldn't care though..." He then thinks for a moment. "I.. I'll offer any aid I can, but fighting will be minimal. I'll send you any willing volunteers I have... but... We will have to mostly remain hooves off when it comes to fighting. But just like Seaspray here, we'll offer any other kind of help we can."

"Please don't feel obligated King Thorax, all that you have offered is more than helpful." McCormick Said. His gaze fell upon all the creatures on the bridge, their faces full of hope, and courage. He smiles at them.
"Everycreature, I would like to all thank you personally for hearing us out and helping us in our cause. I offer all my resources for war on board this ship. As soon as you are able to send your troops here, we will offer them all extent in modern warfare training."

"That sounds great to me!" Ember said with a smirk, punching her palm with her fist.

"We should all head home immediately with this information and begin making preparations for war." Princess Cadence announced, causing all creatures to nod in agreement.

"I'll send one more letter to the Griffin Kingdom. They need to know of the danger, even if they refuse to help." Said Celestia

"Farewell for now Captain." Ember gave the captain one more hand/claw shake. As all the creatures began to leave, the Captain returned to the helm, turning to the screen at the front. For the first time, he had a large smile that was completely genuine. Their chances at actually holding off the Covenant here has just been increased. However his smile began to disappear as a certain thought began to cross his mind.

"There are more mythological creatures here on Equis than just these ponies... But Discord said..." He places his index finger and thumb to his chin. "Reagan." The A.I. blips onto the podium.

"Yes Captain?" Reagan asked.

"Replay the entire interview I had with Discord a few days ago." He said, turning to face the A.I. "I need to hear again all of what he has said."