The ponies, along with their partners, had been called to the bridge of the Ad Meliora. The Captain had urgently called them there to meet him early in the morning. As the ponies walk in, they see Zeta Squad and the ODSTs already there. The captain had a discouraging face before turning his attention to them. The Captain quickly stands upon their entrance.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle. Thank you for meeting me here on such short notice." McCormick still had an uncertain expression.
"It's no problem Captain, but may I ask why is this so urgent?" Twilight expressed an immense amount of concern.
"I was informed by Spartan-452 here that she came across a certain individual the other day. An individual who called himself Discord." McCormick sat back down and put his hands together.

The ponies had a physical reaction as the captain mentions Discord. Twilight turns to the female spartan who's visor met her gaze.
"You met Discord?" Twilight asked her before then looking at Fluttershy. "Why didn't you tell us Discord showed up?"
"I... I... Didn't think there was a problem in Discord meeting the humans..." Fluttershy squeaked, hiding behind her mane.
"Were you trying to hide this individual from us Princess?" McCormick asked. Twilight turned to meet the Captain's eyes, he most certainly wasn't happy that someone like Discord was kept a secret from him. On top of that, he was concerned how he knew about the Covenant.
"We weren't hiding him from you Captain, Discord is... well. He has a habit of getting in trouble, and we were going to ease in the introduction... but Discord does what he wants." Twilight tried to explain to the captain that she wasn't hiding Discord out of any malicious intent.
"Did you know he knew about the Covenant?" The Captain asked pretty sharply.
"No, he has never even spoken about them before." Twilight felt her stomach start to clench.

The Captain let out a loud sigh as he rubbed his temples. He then places his hands onto the table before looking back at Twilight.
"Princess, you know this information is troubling to me, you understand?" The captain's voice took a softer tone, and his facial muscles seemed to relax a bit too.
"I am fully aware, Captain, but please hear me out. Discord is a being of pure Chaos, we didn't want to risk his antics getting in the way of our agreements. He doesn't necessarily have the best track record, We were just being cautious until we felt the time was right for us to include him. But I tell the utmost truth when I say, I had no knowledge of Discord knowing anything about the Covenant." Twilight had hoped her words were taken as truth by the captain, as his shoulders relaxed, she could tell by his body language that he was coming to an understanding.
"Thank you for finally coming clean Princess, but please note my dissatisfaction with your blatant omission of this individual." The Captain expressed some amount of emotions in his voice. Twilight feels a bit of shame as the captain's words seem to hit her in the gut.
"I... I understand completely, captain. I Promise to be more transparent with you going forward." The Captain breathed a sigh of relief hearing that.

Twilight looks back at her friends who all had different expressions on their faces, showing both worry, guilt, and fear. She then looks up at the humans who all just stared down at them. She couldn't see their faces through their helmets, but she could see their eyes staring right through her.
"May I have a word with this, Discord Princess?" The captain's words caught Twilight's attention again.
"I suppose that you do deserve to have a word with him." Twilight admitted as she turned towards Fluttershy and gave her a nod. Fluttershy steps forward, she was shaking quite heavily.
"D-Discord... Can you come h-here please?" Fluttershy spoke softly as her voice trembled.

In a bright flash, next to Fluttershy seemed to be a floating bathtub, Discord was lounging inside it, with a mud mask and cucumbers covering his face.
"Oh Fluttershy, You need something? You know this is me time at the moment." Discord said with a grin, the humans found no amusement from Discord's joke. Discord peeks out under one of the cucumber slices and sees all the gazes he was getting. "Sheesh! Tough crowd." Discord snaps his fingers, causing the bathtub and mud mask to disappear. He now stood in front of all of them, using his long tongue to lick off the cucumbers. McCormick then stood up and faced the Chaos lord.
"Reagan, I want you to record every bit of this conversation." McCormick sternly said, Reagan appeared on a small console next to Twilight.
"Of Course Captain, Recording now." Reagan stated before turning to Twilight for a brief second. "Hello again Princess Sparkle."

Twilight couldn't help but smile at Reagan, raising her hoof to wave at him.
"Hello Reagan." She said before turning her attention to Discord who had his arms crossed as the Captain approached him.
"So, you're Discord?" The Captain asked, getting a good look at him.
"Of Course I am, and you wanted to talk to me because of what I know of the Covenant? Hmm?" Discord moved his head closer till him and the captain were face to face.
"Of course, We don't know much about the covenant ourselves, so what you know is possibly crucial." The captain Responded, not backing away.
"I don't know everything Captain. I've spent a millenia trapped inside a stone prison, cutting off my powers. During those 1000 years I was unable to view the Covenant." Said Discord as he began to look at his nails, he was acting pretty casually.
"Anything you know will help, lives are on the line" The Captain implored, a sense of urgency in his voice.
"Oh I know, by the time I woke back up, your war was in full swing. When I was released for good, I managed to see the planet Kroedis II get glassed by the Fleet of particular Justice." The humans and the ponies were left in shock.

The humans took a step back, how the hell could he have known that? The humans shift uncomfortably as they all look at each other.
"You saw that?" The Captain had a shakiness in his voice.
"Yes, I did. I knew the Covenant were brutal, but I felt that was a bit much." Discord scowled as he looked at the captain, he had suddenly taken a very serious tone.
"If you could see that, why didn't you stop it!?" Yelled Kieran, causing Discord to look at him.
"I may be the lord of Chaos, but I am limited. Equis's magic field is quite large, but it doesn't extend that far past our moon. If I were to go into space, I'd be powerless to stop them."
"Magic field? What the hell is a magic field?" Asked the captain, causing Discord to smirk.
"You are fully aware of a magic field Captain, you call it by a different name. What we call a planet's magic field, you call it a magnetic field." The captain and the other humans were taken back, shocked by what they just heard.
"The magnetic field!? That's the source of your magic?" Captain McCormick said in a surprised tone.
"No, it's not our source, it's what powers it. All magical creatures on Equis are powered by it. Think of it as a battery. If you were to take us out of a magic field, our magic is weakened severely. But put us on a planet with a strong magnetic field, our magic begins to charge back up." Discord explained. The captain was amazed by this, he almost couldn't believe it, almost.
"But that doesn't make sense." The captain pointed out. "Why can't I use magic, why can't any humans or covenant use magic?"
"That is a question you should ask the Forerunners." Discord said plainly.

The captain just looked at Discord, he began to understand that Discord knew a lot more than what he was letting on.
"I don't follow." Said The captain.
"Who are the Forerunners?" Asked Twilight.
"The Forerunners are the gods the covenant warships." Said the Captain looking at Twilight. That statement caused Discord to burst out laughing. His laughing got so intense he began to roll on the floor. The humans looked at him like he was crazy.
"What's so funny?" The Captain demanded in a serious tone as Discord slowly stood up
"Oh! Just the fact the Covenant thinks the forerunners are gods. It just tickles me Pink." Discord snaps his fingers till his color scheme matches that of Pinkie Pie's.
"Enough games Discord! If they aren't gods, what are they!?" The captain flared his nostrils, he was getting a gutful of Discord.
"Think logically captain. They were not gods, but a species!" Discord reverted back to his normal colors. "They were just highly intelligent when it came to technology. That's why you find their structures still intact after hundreds of thousands of years after their extinction. I have a decent amount of knowledge on the Forerunners, now shut up if you want to listen." Everyone listened closely as Discord continued his explanation.

"There were a select few notable species that were around during the time of the Forerunners. The Humans, San'Shyuum, Sangheili, and Ponies. Each of them were important all those years ago, but Ponies, Humans and Forerunners were the most important. After the war between Ancient Humanity and the Forerunners, in which the Forerunner crippled humanity, sending them back damn near to a prehistoric era, a terrible terrible plague befell the galaxy. It was given the name... the Flood." Discord's whole demeamor seemed to change upon mention the plague. He shudders and looks away. "The Forerunners were at war with the parasite, nearly consuming all of the galaxy. This is what led to many Forerunner experiments on humans. A Forerunner named Faber-of-Will-and-Might, The Master Builder, oversaw these experiments on the humans, causing an immense amount of pain and suffering. Faber chose Humanity because the Flood didn't seem as interested in them as it did the Forerunners, a main factor in Faber's decision to experiment on them. He stole samples of humans stored away by the Librarian's Conservation Measure, and brought many other humans to the Palace of Pain. Many humans died in horrific ways for nothing, as the Flood's aversion to humanity was a tactic to waste the Forerunner's time."

Discord was shifting uncontrollably. His story had taken a very dark turn, shocking everyone there to their core.
"Faber would be put on trial for his misdeeds, causing him to go into exile. While there he turned his eyes to another race, as humanity was a lost cause. He turned to the ancient ponies. They were far more primitive than any other race. There were no unicorns, pegasi, alicorns, or even equisponies, they were just ponies. They didn't have magic, all they were was a magicless race, with a history of enslavement by the other races. Which made them the perfect new test subjects. Faber, however, was the Master Builder, and one thing on his list was to tap into what the Precursors called, 'Neural Physics.' Or what we on Equis call... Magic!" Discord lifted his hand, and the cup of whiskey on McCormick's desk began to levitate to emphasize his point. "Faber found a way to implement Neural Physics so that it can be integrated into a host, but the only race able to handle it were Ponies. Through bioengineering, Faber, after many more failures, created the first Alicorn, who was able to use Neural Physics. The Alicorn soon became a valuable ally to the Forerunners, as they were losing the war to the flood very badly, and needed all the help they could get, even from Faber. The Alicorn with the ability to use Neural Physics was able to hold off the Flood to give the Forerunners the time they needed to end the Flood for good with the Halo Array. In the end however, The war was in fact lost. In the final moments of the Forerunners, They fired the Halo Array... destroying all life in the galaxy."

Discord's story was coming to its conclusion. Never in their lives have they heard a story be so ludacris and interesting at the same time.
"In the final moments of the Alicorn, she would share her Neural Physics with the pony sample still locked away within the Conservation Measure, so that her abilities would not die with her. As For Faber, he sacrificed himself so that Halo could be fired, putting an end to the Flood terror. After the galaxy was wiped of life, the samples were released back onto the planets to begin life anew. That is the history of the Galaxy, and The Covenant have twisted the truth to fit their religious beliefs. They believe Halo transcended the Forerunners, but it didn't, it killed them. They sacrificed themselves to stop the flood. What they seek will destroy all life in the galaxy, just like the Forerunners did. They seek Halo, and they must not activate it!" Discord finally concluded, looking at the ground. The group was silent for a moment, before Captain McCormick finally spoke up.
"What the hell...? Is all that true?" McCormick had an awe expression on his face.
"Yes, why would I make something like this up!?" He spoke sharply as he turned his head quickly at the captain.
"Because it's you Discord! You would make something like that up!" Dash pointed out. Discord glared at her through the sides of his eye, looking angrily at her.
"...Not this time." He said in a dark tone. Discord then looks forward, seemingly at nothing. His eyes were distant... like he was reliving something. Fluttershy seemed exceptionally worried about him, he had never taken anything this seriously before.

By now, all the humans were stepping forward to ask Discord a whole bunch of questions about his story.
"What are Precursors?"
"Who was the Alicorn?"
"Why was she forced to sacrifice herself?"
"Who is the Librarian?"
"What's the Flood?"
"...What's Halo?"
Discord looks at all of them, unsure how to answer all of them, he believed most of them wouldn't be able to understand... yet.
"These are questions I cannot answer at the moment." Was all Discord said as he hung his head.
"Discord, this is crucial information, and we don't understand it. You must elaborate!" Captain McCormick insisted while pointing a finger at Discord.
"I will reveal all that I can, when you are ready. You are not ready to handle this kind of information yet." Discord Said as he lifted his hand, moments from snapping his fingers and teleporting away.
"Discord! Lives are on the line! If you abandon us now, their blood will be on your hands as well!" McCormick angrily yelled.

Discord just gave him a sad look. Discord let out a long sigh, one of pain and sympathy.
"...Lives will be lost anyway. It is something I cannot control. The Covenant does what it wants, whether you know what I know or not, they will not listen to you. Besides, while you're stuck here, there is no way of getting this information to the rest of the humans. All that will happen is you will know what cruel fate awaits you. Your hope lies with the Master Chief, he is on Halo as we speak. If he succeeds in stopping the Covenant there... I will tell you more." Discord then snaps his fingers, and he is gone.

Silence befell the bridge, all the info Discord supplied left many dissatisfied. They had no idea what the hell Discord was talking about, but one thing was for sure, none of them liked what they heard. The captain double facepalms while sighing into his hands.
"Reagan... You got all that?" The captain asked while his face was still buried into his palms.
"Yes Captain, critical information stored in permanent files." Reagan replied.
"Good... when the time comes, Discord must reveal more." McCormick said as Kieran spoke up.
"Sir, Can we even trust that bastard? I don't trust him as far as I can throw him." Kieran said.
"What choice do we have, Lieutenant?" The captain pulled his hands away and looked at the spartan. "Discord knows about the Covenant, that makes him as credible as the rest of us right now. Besides, he has proven to know a lot of shit he should have no way of knowing."
"Sir, he mentioned the Chief, he said he was on Halo. What could he mean by that?" Asked Tex as he stepped forward.
"The Chief is one of the toughest sons of bitches I know. If he found this 'Halo' that Discord was talking about, he'll give the Covenant a hell of a fight over it."
"Who is the Master Chief?" Asked Twilight.
"He is a Spartan, Like Clara, Kieran, and myself. But He is a Spartan 2, while we're all 3s. Man is a walking death machine, a legend." Said Maverick.

"He is the original demon." Kieran said, causing the ponies to look at him.
"He's a d-demon?" Fluttershy said in almost a whisper.
"No, that's what the Covenant call us Spartans. They fear us as we have the ability to wipe out hundreds of them at a time, because of that, they call us demons." Clara informed.
"But the chief, he was the original demon. Because of him, they started calling all of us demons. While all three of us have a high kill count, putting us together doesn't come nearly as close as the chief. It's only speculation, it's said he has over 3,000. Others say over a million." Said Maverick.
"Holy shit!" Dash exclaimed.
"DASH!" Scolded Twilight.
"The ODST's are deadly too, they were given the nickname Imps, pretty much meaning lesser demons." Said Kieran.
"Yeah, that's because you freaks of nature are augmented. You're built to kill, we worked our asses off to get that reputation." Marcus said with a mocking tone.
"Call us freaks one more time, and I'll make you fucking regret it." Kieran shot back sternly.

Marcus and Kieran turn and face each other. Despite their helmets covering their faces, it was obvious they were shooting knives at each other.
"Marcus! Cut the shit!" Barked Tex.
"Kieran, stand down! That's an order!" Yelled Maverick.
"Everyone better knock it off right now!" The Captain reached a tone none of them had ever heard before. It caused all of them to quickly straighten up and stand at attention. During the silence after the disarray, a small faint alarm could be heard. The Captain looked down at the console and saw a red light blinking in rhythm of the alarm. "Reagan, What's wrong?"
"Covenant drop ships are entering the atmosphere as we speak sir." Said Reagan. Everyone's head quickly and unanimously turned to Reagan.
"What!?" Yelled Tex in disbelief.
"How many? Where are they headed?" Captain McCormick grimaced as he looked to the screen behind him.

On the screen was a map made by Reagan from scanning the landscape.
"Calculating their descent. From my analysis, the army seems to be around triple the number that attacked the ship a few days ago. They are heading for the Equestrian city of Manehattan." Twilight's eyes widened in horror hearing Reagan's final analysis.
"MANEHATTAN!? But that's the largest city in Equestria! Wh-Why are they heading there!?" Twilight yelled in complete horror. That's when she remembers what the spec ops officer had told her days before. 'We honor the will of our gods, we are their instruments! And you have gotten in the way of our holy deed to exterminate the humans! You and the rest of your pathetic race shall now share their fate!' "oh no..." She quietly said.
"I want the battalion most fit for combat on a direct path to Manehattan NOW! Bring Warthogs and Scorpions! This is going to be the first all out battle the Covenant is launching on this world, and I'll be GOD-DAMNED if I let them terrorize this world without a fight!" McCormick slams his hands down on the console in front of him. "Zeta, You're leading the defense, Sargent Torne, you and your squad will accompany Zeta. Kill a hundred covies for every pony death!"
"Yes sir!" Maverick Saluted.
"Aye sir!" Tex Stepped forward.
"Get out there now! The Covenant is already going to beat us there, now move!" The Captain ordered.

The humans darted out of the bridge, Twilight and her friends were about to join them till they were called back by the Captain.
"Princess Twilight!" Twilight quickly halted and turned back to McCormick.
"Yes, Captain?" She asked, anxious to hurry and get out of there to help her fellow ponies.
"I advise you to sit this one out. From what I was told from your first kill, it may not be wise for you to be on the battlefield." The Captain warned as he stood up straight with his arms behind his back.
"With all due respect Captain, this is an attack on MY subjects. I will not standby while you fight this battle for us without our help." She insisted sternly. The captain sighed and nodded, he couldn't argue with that. With that the ponies continued their run out the door. By now an alarm was going throughout the entire ship while Reagan's voice was heard through the intercoms to tell the soldiers to get combat ready immediately.
"Spike, send a letter to Princess Celestia! Tell her to get to Manehatten with the Royal army immediately! We need to start evacuating civilians as quickly as possible!" Twilight yelled while in a full sprint down the halls of the ship She manifested a letter and quil with her magic.
"Yes Ma'am! Spike replied.

They made it down to the hanger where Soldiers were running everywhere trying to get ready for the fight. Spike was quickly writing down the letter with the warning as fast as he could. Twilight saw their human escorts getting in the back of a smaller metal ship, they ran up to them, catching Maverick before he could get on.
"You all coming with us!?" he yelled over all the noises in the hanger.
"Yes! We are!" She yelled back.
"Grab a weapon and get on the Pelican!" He pointed to a weapon rack situated a bit away from the ship. Twilight levitated an MA5B with her magic, she was a bit unsure how it worked, but she is a fast learner.
"Not all of us have used those things before!" Yelled Applejack.
"Those of you who have no weapon training yet should stay here! Help with the wounded as they get here!" Yelled Maverick.

Twilight looks to her friends, none of them wanted to stay behind, but they also knew that most of them don't even know how the weapons work.
"Which of you have never used these before!?" Twilight yelled to her friends. Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy raised their hooves. "Then you four should stay here for now! Help anypony you can!"
"Are you crazy! What if any of you die!?" Rarity Yelled back.
"We won't! I'll make sure of it!" Twilight got in close and all of them hugged. The four who raised their hooves took a few steps back, with worried expressions. The rest would grab weapons they have tried before getting onto the pelican. Twilight stood at the back to wave to her friends as the Pelican began to lift up off the ground. The back end began to close and Twilight took a seat, next to Tex.

They were five minutes into the flight while Twilight surveyed her friends who had joined her, Rainbow Dash sat, holding a M392 DMR. Spike had an M6D magnum, he mainly preferred his fire breath. And Starlight had an M319 Grenade launcher. Twilight was taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. She may have technically fought already, but now they were heading to an active battlefield, this was going to truly test her.
"Hey, Relax. I won't let anything hurt you." Said Tex next to her. He grabbed her hoof with his hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze. She looked up at him and nodded in response.
"Ok listen up!" Maverick yelled to everyone, getting their attention. He was still standing near the rear doors. "I got a direct line to the Captain, I will relay orders from the bridge, What I say is a direct order from Captain McCormick. Is that clear!?"
"Sir Yes Sir!" All the humans yelled in unison.
"I have incoming intel, the Covenant have touched down at Manehattan, they are not showing any mercy. You kill the bastards on sight, understood!?"
"Sir Yes Sir!"
"The Equestrian Army is on their way to join us, remember, most of them don't have guns yet, they have their magic for long range attacks, show them how we kick covey asses UNSC Style! HOORAH!"
"HOORAH!"

The humans seemed to be pumped up, ready to kick some ass. Twilight was amazed, in the face of certain death, the humans were ready to charge without fear. Their bravery never ceases to amaze her. The doors of the pelican began to open, what was revealed, gutted Twilight. The city of Manehattan was under total attack, explosions were seen throughout the city as Covenant phantoms and spirits were dropping troops into the city. Many of the tall buildings which made the Manehattan skyline were left in ruin with many completely toppled over. Some of the pelicans behind the current one they were in began an aerial fight with many of the covenant drop ships, causing many from each side to be shot down.
"Touchdown in thirty seconds!!!" Maverick Yelled, the humans were unstrapping themselves and standing up.
"Carlito! Pray for us!" Marcus Yelled while looking at Carlito. Carlito shouldered his gun and took off his helmet.

"Ruega por nosotros, Madre amorosa,
y obtén para nuestra nación, nuestro mundo,
y para todas nuestras familias y seres queridos,
la protección de tus santos ángeles,
para que podamos salvarnos de lo peor de esta enfermedad."

Carlito would then use his hand to touch his forehead, then his chest, then his left shoulder and then his right. He pulled out a necklace from under his armor, it was of a cross, he kissed it before stuffing it back under his armor. Carlito put his helmet back on and took a hold of his sniper.
"The lady protects us Amigos! Let's kick some alien culo and send them running!" Yelled Carlito as the pelican finally landed.
"MOVE MOVE MOVE!!!" Yelled Maverick rushing off the pelican followed by the others. Twilight and the others stayed behind the humans, letting them take the lead. Screaming ponies were running at them, fleeing in the opposite direction the soldiers were running towards.
"Zealot!" Kieran yelled.
"Bastard has one of them!" Tex quickly yelled back.

Twilight quickly squeezes her way in between the humans as they charge to see in front of them. She could see a large elite clad in golden armor, wielding an energy sword while holding an Equispony by her throat. The mare had a light blue coat and light yellow mane. She struggled in his grip, crying her scared eyes out. That was when without warning, the Zealot stabbed her through her midsection with his sword. Twilight could only watch as the life drained from the poor mare's eyes as the elite tossed her lifeless body to the side.
"You fucking cocksucker! Kill that motherfucker!" Maverick yelled as he raised his weapon and began to fire. Damn near all the humans began to fire upon the Zealot, who quickly dove into cover. Marcus tossed a grenade at the Elite's cover but he had already made another evasive roll and ran down one of the many alleyways of the large city.
"Kieran, hunt down the fucker, and kill him!" Maverick ordered.
"With pleasure!" Kieran replied as he went into a sprint down the same alleyway to give chase.
"Rest of you, find as many civilians as you can, and escort them to the western side of the city, We'll be popping green smoke to get them on board pelicans to get them out of here!" Maverick relayed the orders he was given.
"Yes sir! Everyone, look down the streets and in the buildings! Civis could be anywhere!" Tex yelled as they began to split off.
Twilight approached the body of the deceased pony that she watched be murdered. Her eyes were widened from shock, and sadness. The mare still had a horrified expression as tears stained her cheeks. Rainbow, Spike and Starlight stood next to her, all with horrified expressions. Twilight could only mutter a few words.
"...Celestia help us..."

Author's Note

I tried to make this chapter as Dramatic as possible. A majority of the info supplied here came from the Halo Novels, the Forerunner trilogy. (Check the books out! they're really good!) I'm really going off of what I remember, so if I got something wrong when discussing the forerunners, please let me know and I will amend it to the best of my ability!