Halo: Contact Equis

It was early in the morning the next day, the Ad Meliora's hangar was full of soldiers and civilians. Some soldiers were watching the hangers through monitors as the hanger was too cramped to fit more people in it. Captain McCormick steps onto a platform that gets the attention of everyone in the hanger. Joining the captain on the platform were Zeta squad and the squad of ODSTs. The captain looked out at the crowd and let out a long breath before speaking.
"Ladies and gentleman. I know these last few months have been complete hell, but our luck may have just changed for the better. This world, this planet we have landed on, It is inhabited. No, not just by the covenant, but a new race of aliens, they call themselves ponies."

The crowd began talking to themselves, both soldiers and civilians.
"Ponies? Is he joking?"
"Like horses? Why would this world have ponies?"
"The Captain has got to be going crazy."
"Call themselves? These ponies can talk?"
"Now I know that is hard to take in, but many soldiers have seen them first hand, they can attest to this." Said McCormick. "I am asking for a few volunteers, we will be heading into one of their towns to establish an alliance with them. They have offered their home planet for us to stay until we find a way to get back with the rest of the UNSC. I want a decent number of us there to show them that we trust them, and that we are to be trusted. Teamwork will help us repel the Covenant that are invading here. The rest of you will still see the union of our races as I plan to have it monitored by our camera drones. We leave in an hour, those of you who would like to come and meet friendly aliens, prepare yourselves."

It was around noon at Ponyville. A stage had been set up front of the courthouse and a bunch of ponies were standing in front of it, talking among themselves. There were a lot of reporters there as Ponyville had been the site of a lot of excitement recently, and now the Princess was going to give a speech about "revealing" something. Twilight and her friends were standing behind the curtain on stage, they too were in discussion, particularly about a lack of something.
"How long have you noticed the purple ship in the sky had been missing!?" Twilight Exclaimed.
"When I woke up this morning to tend to the orchard, it was just gone!" Said Applejack.
"That ship could be anywhere by now... what if they decide to attack another city!?" Exclaimed Rarity.
"I don't know... I guess we are just gonna have to wait and see." Said Twilight

After a bit, Mayor Mare walked up onto the stage, she cleared her throat catching the attention of many ponies. She had a big bandage on her head that covered the wound she received the day before. A few flashes went off from the cameras of the reporters.
"Ladies and Gentlecolts. I have been asked by Princess Celestia to issue you all a notice before she speaks. We will be having visitors that want to meet us. Please no pony be afraid, as these visitors are not like the ones who showed up yesterday. We are to show them kindness unless threatened. Thank you." Mayor Mare said before stepping off the stage. The ponies only had a few moments to speculate who the "visitors" were till a large mass began to spill out approaching the town, out of the direction of the Everfree forest. Human Civilians and soldiers slowly walk into town, being very cautious as they approach.

The ponies couldn't believe their eyes at what they were seeing. None of them had ever seen a human before, many didn't even know what a human was. They were bug eyed as the group of humans began to approach the group of ponies in the middle of their town. Whispers from the ponies began to be shared around
"Who... what are they?"
"They look like... hairless monkeys."
"They look similar to the monsters that attacked yesterday."
"Mommy... I'm scared."

As the humans were led into town, they all eyed the architecture of the houses. They looked like a normal houses, just smaller, and made of wood and hay. But as the humans got closer to the middle of town, many were shocked by what they saw. A bunch of brightly colored ponies. That's when the humans started whispering to each other.
"Dude... the captain wasn't lying."
"Why do they look like that? They look like desserts."
"This is weird... this is like something out of a children's book."
"They look friendly, kinda adorable too."

The group of humans stop a few feet away from the group of ponies, both sides seeming to check each other out. The ponies were fascinated, but the humans were cautious. The reporters began taking pictures of the humans, as weird floating cameras approached the ponies, getting a good look at them. No one dared to step closer to each other, as both sides were still unsure of each other. Most of their attention changed to the stage in front of the courthouse as Twilight had stepped forward.
"Everypony! Please welcome Princess Celestia!" Said Twilight as she quickly took a step back. The humans look at each other, did she really just speak English? They're thoughts were cut off when Princess Celestia finally appears from behind the curtain and walks on stage. She was escorted by a few guard ponies, as they were finally called to Ponyville, as well as Twilight's friends counting Spike and Starlight. The ponies were quick to turn and bow at her presence as many of the humans look on at her in awe. Princess Celestia looks at the humans and gives them a warm and gentle smile.

On the right side of the stage was a ramp, and the ODST squad and Zeta squad walked in formation up the ramp, they stop half way and turn towards the crowd. The ponies by now have all started standing up and began looking at the humans on the stage.
"ATTENTION!" Yelled Maverick. His loud voice startled many of the ponies. "Captain on deck! Present Arms!" Every one of the humans on stage quickly salutes. Captain McCormick walks past them as he walks up on stage. He had his hands behind his back. Many of the soldiers in the crowd had also started saluting as the ponies continued to shift their glances from the captain, to the crowd of humans. when the Captain has walked past, they all then lowered their hands

Captain McCormick stepped up to Celestia who turned to face him. Captain McCormick then bows his head to Celestia, to show her his respect. The humans were a bit shocked to see their Captain bow to the princess, turning to whisper to each other. The Captain then stood straight and offered his hand to Celestia, to which she then extended her hoof and shook his hand. Now the ponies began to whisper. Both Celestia and McCormick then turned to face the crowd. As they both scanned the crowd, they all could see a lot of confused faces from both sides. Celestia took in a deep breath before speaking.
"Greetings my most loyal subjects! I am here today to introduce you to our guests. They mean us no harm, I can assure you. They have come a long way, and are stranded here for the time being. They, are humans."

Celestia extended her hoof to the crowd of humans to which the ponies looked at them again. The ponies were still cautious, but many of them did not look as uneasy as they did before. Then Captain McCormick stepped forward.
"We did not mean to come here and did not mean to cause any of you distress. Allow me to introduce you all to myself, I am Captain Flint McCormick of UNSC Halcyon Class Light Cruiser Ad Meliora. We are a group of humans fleeing from the destruction of the Planet Reach. As we fled we came across your home and decided to land." McCormick then looks at Celestia before continuing his speech. "I'm... regretful to say our enemies had followed us, and aim to continue their war against us on your home."

Many of the ponies gasped upon hearing that, their whispers became louder. One of them even spoke up.
"You brought those monsters here!?" Yelled one of the ponies.
"They attacked our town! They could have killed us!" Protested another pony. Some of them started getting upset when an offended human spoke up.
"Hey! We had no where to go! Where else do you expect us to go!" Yelled a human civilian.
"They have taken everything from us! We had no choice!" Yelled another human.
"You could have gone anywhere but here!" Yelled a pony in response.
"Where excatly!? You tell us where!?" Yelled another human.

The crowd was getting angry as the ponies and the humans began to yell at one another. Celestia and McCormick had no choice but to step in.
"Please, my little ponies, settle down! You don't understand their situation." Said Celestia.
"Calm down everyone, calm down. They are not used to seeing war, they are scared." Said McCormick. After a bit of calming down the crowd, both sides were now glaring at each other. Tension was high, and the two leaders knew this going forward.
"Captain McCormick. I think now is as good of a time as ever to enlighten everypony on... on how much you need help." Said Celestia.
"Yes Princess, Of course." Said McCormick as he pulled out a Holoprojector.

He walked to the front of the stage and set it down. When it activated, it projected the picture of Reach, before the Covenant. It was bright, and beautiful, it almost looked like Equis. The Ponies looked at it, with curiosity, not used to this kind of technology. However the humans just looked at it with stone faces.
"This is the Planet Reach, many of us lived on this planet. But some were brought here for military reasons. Whatever our reasons to be here, we all collectively called it home at one point... The Covenant showed up and burned its surface to glass." Said McCormick. the next Picture of Reach, showed what it was now, a darkened burnt ball of fire. The Ponies audibly gasps upon seeing the burning planet. Seeing what it was before and now was terrifying to look at. Twilight looks towards Starlight and Spike who were seeing it for the first time, they were horrified. The ponies then looked towards the humans and saw that their demeanor had completely changed. Some of the humans looked on at the planet with sorrowful expressions, some turned away not bareing to see how the planet was now, and some even began to cry.

"For nearly thirty years now... We have suffered the same fate over and over again. Countless worlds like this, burned by a merciless enemy. We had many colonies, around 800 strong. Humanity had expanded all over the galaxy, but eventually, we were found by the Covenant. They are an alien alliance formed together by a single religion. Anyone who is seen as unworthy in the eyes of their gods, is slain without remorse. Humanity has fallen under their list of abominations and have deemed humanity unworthy of even existing. Thats when they began their war of genocide. To exterminate all humans in the Milky Way, and they are doing a damn good job. our 800 colonies have now shrunken to a mer 50 planets... and we have suffered a total death toll of twenty billion." Said McCormick. "We never came here out of malice or illed will. We are just trying to save as many human lives from an unforgiving enemy. We are fighting for our very right to exist."

The ponies almost couldn't believe what they were hearing. But the proof was right there in front of them, the burning planet of Reach. A roller coaster of emotions were washing over the crowd of ponies as many started to feel a great wave of sympathy. How can someone be so cruel to another? Again a lot of them turned to the humans as many were looking back. The angery expressions they had before were replaced with soft and sorrowful expressions. Seeing the humans that upset over their losses was what finally melted away any remaining hostility.
"I know this is a big change for all of us. But all I ask of you my little ponies, is to do what you do best." Said Celestia. "Show kindness, compassion, and tolerance towards our guests. They could be here for a very long time, and they need us. Please, welcome them as if you would anypony else."

A few minutes of silence fell as each side looked at each other. Eventually however, a single pony did step forward, she had a light mint green coat with a green and white mane. She walked right up to one of the human civilians who took a step forward. The mint green pony then extended her own hoof to the human. After a brief hesitation, the human took a hold of the pony's hoof and shook it. That was the ice breaker as more ponies and humans began to approach each other, eliminating the empty space between them. Both Celestia and McCormick breathed a quick sigh of relief. They took a minute for both parties to begin to familiarize with each other. Captain McCormick spoke up once again.
"This last message is for all active Military personnel. None of this means you get to kick your boots up and relax. You are all still on duty while the Covenant is still here. To thank our hosts for their generosity, you are to repel any Covenant attack at the drop of a hat to protect them at all cost like you would any human. I hope that is understood." Said Captain McCormick.
"And you will not be alone, you will be provided the assistance of my own army. As far as I'm concerned, the Covenant is on OUR planet, so we will provide help in fighting them off." Said Celestia.

After their speech, both Celestia and McCormick turned to each other and bowed their heads again out of respect. They both turned towards the ramp and began to walk off stage.
"Present Arms!" Maverick once again yelled, causing all of them to salute as the captain and Celestia walked past them. They lowered their hands as soon Celestia's guards walked past, and then twilight and her friends. After that, Zeta and the ODST then walked off to the side of the courthouse following the captain, letting as many of the ponies and humans to greet each other.
"I... I never knew you lost billions of lives." Said Rainbow Dash as they all grouped up.
"Twenty billion... I can't even count that high..." Said Applejack.
"It's true, we have suffered tremendous losses." Said Maverick. "And this war isn't even close to ending yet."
"There has got to be more to it than what you said! How can anypony just say one race is unfit to live!?" Said Rarity.
"We don't know their full mentality, just what we have experienced." Said Tex.
"This goes way deeper than what I thought... how do you all even expect to win?" Asked Starlight.
"We don't know, many think we aren't going to win. But we will never stop fighting." Said Marcus.
"... You are all so brave... I can't imagine going through what you all have been through." Said Fluttershy.
"We manage just fine. But we promise not to let the same happen to you." Said Carlito.
"I still have one question, you said the Covenant 'glassed' Reach. What does Glassed mean?" Asked Twilight.

All the humans turned towards McCormick to explain. It was obvious by his demeanor that it was an uncomfortable thing to discuss.
"It's how the Covenant burns a planet's surface. I didn't want to share it on stage, because it would incite fear. To the Covenant, it is a necessary thing, as they see it as a ritualistic cleansing of the planet. From the bottom of their Assault cruisers, a giant beam of superheated plasma is fired at the surface of the planet. the beam gets so hot that it turns the surface to glass." Explained McCormick. They listened closely in fear. "The surface stays hot for many many years, and in most cases the heat from all plasma firing at once can even damages a planet's atmosphere making sure it would take a long time before the planet would be inhabitable again."
"Dude... no way..." said Spike.
"The more I hear about the covenant... the more I worry... how can they be so cruel?" asked Twilight.
"We don't entirely know their motives, all we know is that their gods hate us, and that is enough motive for them." Said McCormick. "I promise you, we'll keep you safe, we will not allow the same fate to happen to your world."
"I thank you for your bravery captain." Said Celestia. "I know you keep the safety of your own kind as well as mine in your heart."

Twilight looks behind her at the group of humans and ponies slowly getting along with each other.
"So what do we do now?" Asked Twilight.
"Right now, I think we should take the time to get to know each other. If we are all going to have to rely on each other during a Covenant attack, we might as well start to familiarize ourselves with each other." Said Celestia.
"That's a great idea. While our people slowly integrate, I suggest you all and whoever you partnered up with begin to become friends with each other. From this moment forward, everyone standing here at this very moment is not guaranteed to be here tomorrow. We need to put our lives in each other's hands... and hooves. So you better start trusting each other." Said McCormick. The Captain's words rang in the heads of everyone there. He was right, this was now a joint-operation. And they needed to get familiar with each other.
"So then, being this is your home, What is there to do here?" Asked Tex. The ponies look at each other and then smile.
"Allow us to show you, come on." Said Twilight.