The Elevator reaches the top with everyone on board. As soon as they reached the chamber that once held the Crystal Heart, they could see the outside between the columns. Muffled sounds of explosions startle the group, to which Shining Armor himself rushes to get a better view outside. His eyes widen as his worst fear has come. His forces were being pushed back towards the city as a massive Covenant platoon advances towards the castle.

“No… The Covenant! They’re approaching the city!” Shining spoke, worry filling his voice. He places a hoof to his ear to speak into his comm link. “Yngol! Pharynx! Come in!”

The radio was crackling with static but was slowly clearing. As the static slowly fades, the voices of both Pharynx and Yngol begin to break through the interference.

“Pony Prince finally responds!” Yngol cheered loudly into the mic.

“Prince Armor! Where were you!? We have been trying to contact you for the last hour! We need backup!” Pharynx’s raspy voice scolds.

Shining looks back at the elevator. They must have been too deep underground for the radio signal to get to him. Shining scowls and grumbles under his breath for not accounting for that. Radios and comm links that are so small that they can fit in your ear is still a new kind of technology he isn’t accustomed to yet.

“We’ve been busy here at the castle, I was out of range. Can either of you give me an update?” Shining eagerly spoke.

“We tried holding them off for as long as we could. As more of them kept phasing through the shield, more of our troops kept falling.” Pharynx replied.

“Even yaks cannot hold back many aliens!” Yngol added.

Shining looks back at the group, seeing Maverick having his hand to the side of his head. He was listening to them on their commlink but remained silent. Looking at the unicorn prince, the Commander gives him a nod, allowing him to give out the orders and be the one in command. He nods before stepping up.

“Sir, I could use you and your fellow spartan on the front lines. They are coming at us with wraiths, and I don’t think we can hold them off ourselves.” Shining says to Maverick who nods.

“Sounds like a plan.” Maverick nods before looking back at the white spartan. “Kieran, on me.”

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Kieran says with a soft chuckle in his voice as he turns his AR’s safety off. Shining then turns his gaze to Carlito and Spike.

“You two, I actually would like you both to stay here. This spot is a perfect vantage point, and you two I trust the most to be our guardian angels.” Shining spoke as the young drake and Helljumper bumped fists.

“Dragon Lord Ember, Gunnery Sergeant Rainbow Dash, I need you both to deal with any Covenant banshees approaching the castle. Take them down with whatever you got.” Shining spoke as he turned his attention to the Dragon Lord and Rainbow Pegasus.

“You’ve got it, Prince Armor.” Ember replied, taking her grenade launcher off her back before she and Rainbow Dash took to the skies. It was then Shining pointed at Twilight.

“Twily, you and Sergeant Tex go out there and find the rest of your squads and go to the center of the city, at the castle’s base to protect the Crystal Heart. The Empire will not survive this attack if it is destroyed, or worse.” Shining words are filled with a lot of dread. Twilight hardens her eyes and salutes along while Tex holds his shotgun close to his chest.

“You got it, sir.” Tex spoke as he racks his shotgun for emphasis.

“What about you Shiny, where are you heading?” Twilight asks her older brother who hardens his gaze, looking outside one more time, more specifically on the black smoke phasing through the shield bubble allowing the Covenant to pass through.

“I’m going to find Sombra, and end this once and for all.” Shining Armor’s voice went deathly serious. Twilight tenses up as she looks at her brother. She gets a gut feeling about her brother, a feeling that fills her with a bit of anxiety.

“Alright, we know our objectives. Twilight, Shining Armor. Let’s get back to the throne room, we could use your magic to help levitate us back there.” Maverick ushered, causing the rest of the group to quickly descend the staircase. Carlito and Spike quickly set up a sniping nest near the window of the tower, and with their backs turned, they fail to spot a transparent figure quickly following the group.

Clara and Cadence were still together when they heard a noise coming from the stairwell leading to the Crystal Dungeons. They both peered down to see the familiar magical sphere with the others rising back up to their level. A wave of relief and joy washed over the pair as they backed up, with the Spartan grabbing her helmet and the Princess scooping up Flurry Heart in her hooves.

“Hey everyone! They’re back!” Clara shouted to the rest of the throne room as she put her helmet back on.

Every human and pony turned around to see the group re-emerge from the day abyss. As they all regroup, they notice the hardened expressions on the faces of the group who went down the pit, causing many of them to become a bit concerned.

“Mav, Kieran, You two alright? What happened down there?” Asked Clara as she approached her fellow spartans/family.

“Don’t ask questions you’re not prepared to handle the answers to.” Kieran warned her. Clara cocked her head to the side before looking up to Maverick who only shook his head.

“We’ll give you an explanation later, Clara. Right now, that isn’t important. The Covies are closing in around the castle.” Maverick replied, which earned a hard gasp next to them. They both turned to see Princess Cadence was still by Clara’s side, her eyes suddenly full of worry.

“…The Covenant is approaching?” She asked, her voice a bit hoarse.

“I’m afraid so, Princess.” Maverick spoke solemnly. It was also then that one of the ODSTs noticed the lack of two certain somebodies.

“Hey, where are Carlito and Spike?” Marcus asked, looking at Tex.

“Not only them. What about Rainbow Dash and that dragon lady?” Adam asked.

“Already in position. Speaking of which, we need to as well.” Tex replied, earning a groan from their medic.

“We arrived here on a pelican, that’s going to be a hell of a walk. The Covenant will already reach the castle by the time we get down to ground level.” Tammy complained.

“Actually, we can just teleport down.” Twilight spoke up, gaining the attention of all the humans present. A bit concerned about why they all looked at her all at once.

“…T-Teleport?” Adam asked, much confusion in his voice.

“Well yeah. You all have seen me do it before.” Twilight deadpanned, rolling her eyes.

“We know… But we’ve never been teleported before.” Adam responded to which it then clicked in her mind. They were just nervous about being teleported.

“Ah, I see. Well then, trust me when I say, you all have nothing to fear.” Twilight smiled and looked at her brother. “Care to help me again, Shiny?”

“Happy to.” Shining replied stepping forward. “Everyone gather around!”

“Wait!” The voice of Cadence is heard. Shining turned to look at his wife. She stepped closer, the look of worry and fear on her heart. She kissed Shining on the lips and then gave a quick hug. Shining returned the hug and kiss, holding her close.

When they finally pulled away, Shining motioned everyone to squeeze in. With everyone huddled close, both Twilight and Shining’s horns light up, and with a quick flash, they disappear from the throne room, leaving Cadence and Flurry Heart alone.

UNSC forces were pushed all the way to the city limits, stopping on the edges of the streets where crystal houses on the outer edges stood. Soldiers began immediately informing residents in said houses to flee towards the center of town around the castle. Crystal ponies were not given enough time to retrieve valuables as the soldier rushed them to retreat.

They were not given enough time as the plasma mortars began their fire again, striking just a few meters away from their position.

“Get the civilians moving! They’re right on us again!” Pharynx shouted over the explosions, slamming a new mag into his DMR. Soldiers begin crowding around the crystal houses as more plasma mortars from the wraiths bombard their position. The crystal houses stay strong, resisting the blasts, keeping the soldiers protected. The front wraith gets closer and closer as the grunt gunner opens fire with the turret.

With his magic, Pharynx aimed his DMR, lining it up with the Grunt’s head, aiming between his eyes, and fired. The Grunt was struck, spraying neon blue blood all over the front of the wraith.

“Yngol, finish it off!” Pharynx yelled to the Yak, who responded with a smirk. Yngol stepped out of cover and dug at the dirt with his front hoof.

“Yak Smash!” With a battle cry, Yngol charged at the Wraith that now lacked a gunner. His horns aimed straight at the driver’s hatch. Yngol rams it with all his strength, his horns piercing the armor. The pained roar of the Wraith’s driver echoes in the battlefield as Yngol pulls his horns free, indigo blood covering them and running down towards his head.

Yngol raised his head high, standing proudly over his victory against the wraith. However, his victory was short-lived as another plasma mortar landed near him, causing him to retreat. A line of wraiths acting as a wedge bulldoze towards the position protecting the infantry behind. Pharynx swallowed down his anxiety, gritting his teeth to build up his courage. From his peripherals, he saw a bright flash come from behind him. Turning around, his eyes widened as he beheld three metal humans.

Maverick, Clara, and Kieran stepped forward, holding their guns tightly as they looked ahead, assessing the situation for themselves. Maverick looked down at Pharynx, the Changeling prince’s face being reflected in the visor.

“When I asked Prince Armor for backup…” He began, looking back towards the wraiths and back at the humans. “…I did not expect him to send me spartans.”

“Report, Prince Pharynx,” Maverick asked stoically, as if not acknowledging his comment.

“Covenant wraiths are approaching our position,” The changeling prince reported, gesturing to the approaching Covenant armor.

Maverick looked towards the battlefield and the wraiths getting closer and closer. Behind them, however, he could see the large platoon of Covenant being escorted by the heavy armor, using them for cover. Maverick looked to his fellow spartans who stood at attention, ready for orders. He then looked up towards one of the crystal towers back at the castle, seeing a small glint of a sniper scope. A plan of action forming in his head.

“Prince Pharynx, you a good shot with your DMR?” Maverick asked to which the changeling prince nodded. “Good, me and Zeta will take care of those wraiths. Without them, you will have a clear shot of the advancing infantry. With nowhere to hide, they will be easily picked by you and the others.”

“Sir, you sure you’re willing to do that? That’s extremely risky.” Pharynx began to protest, to which Maverick nodded.

“We’ll handle it.” He responded before pulling his own DMR off his back, Clara and Kieran followed suit by pulling out their MA5B and Shotgun. “Zeta, move out!”

Instantly, the three spartans darted out of cover and towards the approaching wraiths. Pharynx peeked out to watch them in amazement at their bravery. Clara and Kieran split away from Maverick, both darting towards one wraith in particular. They weave at the incoming plasma from the wraith’s turret gunner and the plasma mortar shot by the driver. The mortar lands behind Kieran, who combat rolls forward and jumps on the hood of the Wraith, aiming his gun in the face of the grunt gunner. Shrieking in fear, he was quickly silenced with a single blast. Clara jumped on second as Kieran removed the now-dead Grunt. She hammered the hatch with her fist, denting it with every strike till it finally gave way.

As the hatch fell off, the Elite driver looked up, his eyes widening and his mandibles stretched out in shock as the hatch broke away. She aimed her own rifle at the driver and lit him up, draining her whole mag into him. His shields break and is given a barrage of bullets that he had no way of protecting himself from. Clara placed her gun on her back and removed the body before jumping into the driver seat herself, and Kieran into the gunner seat.

Clara turned hard, making the hijacked wraith do a complete 180 to face the other wraiths. Kieran opened fire with the plasma turret at the advancing infantry who were taken by surprise by the sudden volley of plasma. At the same time, Clara opened fire with the mortar, directed at the other wraiths. She struck one, gaining the attention of the other three who then turned their guns towards them. The one she hit sent a retaliation shot at her, which she activated the thrusters and dashed away from the blast. The second wraith was lining up a shot when an explosion went off next to it. The Grunt gunner on top turned to see Maverick rushing at them.

He tried to turn the gun at Maverick, but the Spartan commander was too far to the side for the Grunt to aim at him. The Grunt began yelling out to the driver in a panicked tone as Maverick ran up behind the Wraith. He jumped onto the back of it, seeing the cylindrical exhaust on the back. Maverick pulled out one of his frag grenades and primed it. He shoved it into the exhaust and jumped off. The grenade exploded and damaged the Wraith significantly, causing a critical malfunction, and within seconds, the Wraith exploded in a cyan fireball, killing its driver and gunner along with it. With another Wraith down, and the one Clara and Kieran hijacked separating from the formation, the escorted infantry was now wide open and exposed.

“Open fire!” Pharynx shouted loudly to his accompanying soldiers who all then peeked out and let loose their firearms. The Covenant infantry began to disperse from their formations as bullets and rockets came flying at them, turning their position into a complete No-Man’s land. The cover fire from the Covenant forces was just as brutal and consistent as many of them began to hunker down behind the bodies of their fallen just to shield themselves from the incoming bullets. Maverick himself hid behind the Wraith he destroyed to keep himself in cover, peeking out to drop any Covenant in his line of sight.

Clara activated the thrusters in her wraith to dodge another plasma mortar fired by the enemy wraiths, purposely running over a small squad of grunts, and splattering them against the metal. She fired her own mortar at the Wraith who shot at her. Her shot hitting dead center, killing the gunner, but the Wraith only took minimal damage. She scowled under her helmet. She knew that she couldn’t dodge forever, she needed to put this wraith out of commission. She pressed hard on the throttle and drove directly towards the Wraith. When she was close enough, she activated the boosters again and rammed the Wraith with her own.

The collision jostled Kieran, but her remained in the gunner seat. Both wraiths seemed to be damaged from the hit, but Clara had braced for it. She quickly reversed before the opposing wraith’s driver could regain his focus and get into position. She fired another plasma mortar and hit it. The alien tank exploded, taking out the last bit of heavy armor. It did come with a price, as Clara’s wraith was now heavily damaged, and many of the controls now no longer responding.

“Kieran!” She shouted from the driver’s seat. “We’re about to go critical! This thing is busted!”

“Roger, sister!” Kieran responded, finishing his last sweep with the plasma gun. They both climbed out of the mortar tank, but not before Clara dropped a frag grenade into the cockpit. They both quickly dived away as the grenade destroyed the alien tank. Getting up quickly to avoid the plasma being fired from the Covenant, they quickly joined their commander, who was taking cover behind one of the destroyed wraiths.

“Outstanding, Zeta!” Maverick shouted over the gunfire proudly, looking back at his fellow spartans. “Out-fucking-standing.”

“What’s our next order, Mav!?” Kieran shouted excitedly. All of them pumped and now full of adrenaline.

“What we do best, Kieran. kill any Covie bastard you see!” With his last remark, Maverick, Kieran, and Clara peeked out from behind the destroyed wraith and returned fire.

At the base of the Crystal Castle, protective barriers both magical and physical were shielding the Crystal Empire’s most precious artifact; the Crystal Heart. The very source of all the Empire’s magic. It not only held back the surrounding Arctic environment but also boosted the magic of all magic wielders in the Empire.

“Such a powerful item,” Said the leader of Whiskey-7, Tex. “And here I am so close to it, I can touch it.”

“I highly advise you don’t,” Twilight responded with a deadpanned expression as they both stood in front of the Crystal Heart.

Tex continued to stare at it, his helmet off and tucked under his arm. Even after landing on this planet and being here for about a month, magic was still something he and the rest of his squad barely understood. But after what he saw in that Forerunner chamber, he had a newfound respect and fear of it. He slid his helmet back on his head and then looked down at Twilight.

“You know… if this thing radiates magic like you say it does. You think this was also created by that sadistic alien we saw?” His question held a lot more weight to it than Twilight expected. What she saw down there as well, for the first time, she didn’t have a complete answer. Yesterday, she wouldn’t even question the origin of the Heart, but now?

“I hope not.” She said with a shake of her head. “The Heart was created by Princess Amore herself. It’s well documented, and even King Sombra himself knows that. Besides, if he did make it, we would have seen it in those holograms like for the Bell and the Pearl.”

Tex looked down at Twilight, giving her a confused look. “Princess…Amore?”

“Oh, Princess Amore was the first ruler of the Crystal Empire before the rise of King Sombra,” Twilight explained. “She was described as a wise, intelligent, compassionate, and powerful leader by her subjects.”

“Well, it sounds like she must’ve been revered as much as the royal sisters,” Tex said. “So, what happened to her?”

“It’s quite the tale, it’s also one that sheds light on King Sombra as well.” Twilight began. “Princess Amore ruled the Crystal Empire during the same time Sombra grew up. He had a troubled life, not having many friends at all. It was like he didn’t fit in at all, that was because of a very dark reason. Unbeknownst to him at the time, Sombra was actually an Umbrum.”

“What’s an Umbrum?” Tex asked, interested in Twilight’s story.

“The Umbrum, also more known as shadow ponies, come from the dark dimension. They are evil malevolent spirits that harbor dark magic.” Twilight takes in a deep breath before continuing. “While Sombra tried to find a meaning and purpose for himself, he discovered his origin as an Umbrum and embraced it. He was then bent on his new purpose; to destroy the Crystal Heart. But, just before he could, he was confronted by Princess Amore. She tried to reason with him, persuade him that he didn’t have to go down a dark path. He had a voice to decide his own destiny. But Sombra, consumed by darkness and anger, turned her into a pure black crystal statue.”

Tex was fully enthralled with the story, it was amazing. It was like nothing he ever heard before. Hearing how Sombra grew up, how he apparently didn’t have it that easy, almost made him feel a bit of sympathy, almost at least. The bastard was still helping the Covenant, he thought.

“Well, can you turn her back? Can you reverse the spell?” Tex asked, to which Twilight shook her head.

“No, not currently anyway. The statue was shattered and the pieces were scattered all over Equestria. We would have to find them all to even have a chance.” Twilight said with a sad sigh.

Tex went silent as he pondered his own thoughts. This King Sombra had to be more powerful than he realized. Not only that, but this conflict he had with the Crystal Empire was a thousand years old. And yet, here he was; the UNSC and the Covenant now playing a part in it. He looked around, seeing the rest of his squad along with Twilight’s friends stationed around the Crystal Heart, strengthening the barricades. Two separate conflicts now joined as one as they shared the same interest.

“If there is one fight we can’t afford to lose, it’s this one,” Twilight spoke again, regaining the attention of Tex. “The re-emergence of the Empire has accelerated Equestria’s magical development greater than during the time of Starswirl The Bearded. If the Empire falls and the Crystal Heart is destroyed…our magical capabilities could be halved.”

“We cannot let that happen,” Tex concurred. “We have you back, we won’t those assholes get anywhere close to the Heart.”

“Thank you, Tex.” Twilight looked up at him and gave him a sad smile. “Right now, we need all the help we can get”

Author's Note

Hello everyone! k00l and SCPEquis here, I wanna say thank you all for continuing to read! Me and ESCEquis are hard at work with these chapters, and working on his fic as well! If any of you haven’t seen it yet, please go check it out! It’s fantastic so far.

And l00k and I are working hard on the next chapter too! So if any of you have read my fic, don’t worry. We’ll get it done and posted as soon as we can.

…Hey, wait a minute. You spelled my name wrong!

Yeah? Well, so did you! 😏

Anyway, I have to admit; this was a really short chapter. I thought it would feature more.

Oh well, gotta maintain the suspense. Also, I hope everyone noticed how we included the lore of Princess Amore from the IDW comics, and how she created the Crystal Heart. Figured we’d add that to the story.

If there is anything we got wrong about MLP’s lore please let us know. I myself have read the comics, but it’s been a while since I read them. Other than that, I’m really hoping you all are enjoying the story, and I cannot thank you all enough for coming back with each update to read the next chapter. More updates will come out, and I appreciate your patience.