HALO: MANE TEAM
<<TRANSMISSION START>>
Chapter 1: The End
The year was 2017.
Ponykind flourished under the care of Princess Celestia and her sister Princess Luna. Space Tech grew in popularity which eventually led to giant space craft, lifting thousands of ponies into space. Planets were found, colonized, and Ponykind grew. With the help of super reactors, powered by a bit of the princess powers, planets were able to send light messages to each other. It was like having the recipient right next door.
Yet, many ponies looked at the stars and longed for a life without the princesses. The Insurrection came to life, an illegal band of outlaws the attacked every ship leaving Equestria.
Stuck with not much choice left, the Princesses formed the United Pony Space Control (UPSC). It was a part of the Equestrian military and controlled space, hence the name. They built weapons, ranging from Short-range Atmospheric Defence Transport to Far-range Interstellar Heavy Wartime Strikers. The Insurrection was beaten back, and they cowered. UPSC reigned among the stars. It wasn't unusual to see a frigate sitting in a docking bay anymore.
Authors note: Warning, Time jumps Setting jumps and POV jumps will be highlighted with ~~~~~
The year is 2029.
All contact was lost from the space colony Nixas.
Curious, since Nixas wasn’t the furthest from Equestria. Advisors to the princess tell her that perhaps somepony forgot to maintenance the super reactor, and that she should not worry. I, for one really didn't believe this. The super reactors were built to last.
Days stretched to months, still no contact. Reports of “Disappearing cargo ships” and “strange purple lights” filtered back from passing ships. The princesses started to worry, for Nixas was a major source for food exports.
Princess Celestia herself decided to travel onboard Super cruiser Auraskate with Frigates Manticore and Aegis fate to Nixas. The Mane 6 accompanied her.
Oh right. I should probably introduce myself. Name is Lance Gravedawn. A technician, First class. I’ve been assigned to the Auraskate and have been on tour for about 4 years. No friends. Loner. Unicorn. Male. 'nuff said.
Right, back to the story. We emerged from the Chronal Matrix, or as you people would say, a teleport field. The first thing we saw was Nixas. What was first a fertile ball of soil and water now was reduced to a glassy, crackling ball of flames and devastation. Secondly, hovering above Nixas, a lumpy, purple coloured spaceship lurked, much unlike the streamlined, rectangular UPSC ships.
I had the good luck (or bad, whatever way you look at it) to be on the bridge when we spotted them. Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow, and nodded at the ship A.I. The hologram nodded back, and sent the Manticore forward with a traditional greeting for meeting aliens.
The frigate broadcasted on an open frequency: “Greetings. We come in peace and with hopes of friendship.”
Looking at the horrified face of Fluttershy and the shooty look from Rainbow dash, I was pretty sure the latter hope was busted. Thrown into a hole, filled with dirt, with a house on top of the hole with Pinkie Pie living in it.
The ship turned towards us, tiny pinpricks of light manifesting upon the hull of it. Suddenly, the same frequency crackled to life. “YOUR DEMISE IS THE WILL OF THE GODS. WE ARE THEIR INSTRUMENTS.”
Pretty much everypony was stunned. I was also sure that jaws weren’t supposed to be able to drop like that.
Remember the pinpricks of light? Yeah, those detached off the hull and raced towards the Manticore. They made contact......And melted through the twelve inches of Xanthonium A battle plating like a hot knife through butter. I could hear the screams of tortured ponies as they were simultaneously exposed to scorching plasma and the icy coolness of space.
The Manticore lurched to the right and intercepted the remaining plasma balls before they hit the Auraskate.
I understood what the captain was thinking. By doing that, he had saved the Auraskate, was in a position to launch escape craft towards the Super cruiser and also positioned himself for a last counter attack.
On the hull of the Manticore, hundreds of missile silos opened. A flurry of Compensator HE missiles flew towards the target. Her sister ship, the Aegis fate, opened her main weapon silo. A High-power Piercer Cannon charged up. Electricity coursed around the barrel, mixing with a bit of rune magic. It turned into a solid band of electric blue, before discharging a tiny metallic slug about the size of anyponies foreleg at four times the speed of sound. The slug raced the Compensator missiles towards their prey.
The slug impacted against their ship, followed by the missiles, turning the view screen into a brilliant flash of light. Shouts of cheer echoed around the ship.
For a moment, I thought we had won.
The cheers faded away as the screen recovered. Sitting in the debris of a hundred spent missile capsules and the splinters of the slug, the ship recovered, unharmed. An energy shield shimmered around the thing.
"No" whispered Princess Celestia. More pinpricks of plasma launched off their ship. The torpedoes mauled the Aegis fate, sending her burned out hulk into space. The last salvo flew straight at the bridge. Everything slowed to a crawl. I vaguely remember jumping and pushing both the Princess and the Mane 6 off the command stand and telling them to run for the escape pods.
The Princess stood, smiling a sad smile. Then, using her magic, she pushed us and the bridge crew out into the corridor. I gasped as I again understood her intentions. She nodded, and sealed shut the door. I fell to the ground, eyes shut in preparation for the grim pony.
"No time to waste, y'all hear?" I turned and looked at the orange mare talking to me. I slowly stood up, and nodded. She smiled, and then asked "Look, there ain’t any time to get to the escape pods, so where is the closest shielded room here?" Racking my brains, I went over the schematics for the super cruiser in my head. "Uh... I guess cryogenic room E4 is the closest now." I croaked. The mare nodded, and shouted at the confused crowd of crew members. "This colt knows where to go. Everypony follow him"
Looking at the crowd, I blanched. The lives of thirty ponies I didn't even recognize depended on me now. 'Well, here goes' I thought, before speeding into the bowels of the cruiser.
~~~~~
Celestia literally stared into the face of her enemy. 'Hell, I've got to keep this thing away while the crew escapes?' She thinks.
"You want to destroy this ship? Pay for it first!" She screamed through the radio. Opening all the Compensator missile silos and the High-power Piercer Cannon, she removed the secondary safeties so that the weapons were cleared to rapid fire . Thousands and thousands of HE missiles followed the fifteen slugs the Cannon was able to launch before cracking every rune on the barrel.
The alien ship never stood a chance.
Only problem was, once launched, Plasma torpedoes continue to track targets of opportunity.
"Told you so." Muttered the tired princess before plasma torpedoes plowed through the reinforced glass, totally obliterating the bridge, the command stand and her.
~~~~~
Boom...crash...boom...crash.
They were the only sounds I could hear as I lead the crew to cryogenics chamber E4. I skidded to a halt before the door and punched in the code. "Quickly, Inside!" I shouted. Standing by the door, I waited while the ponies ran in. Only Applejack stayed back.
"Say, what’s that noise?" Listening closely, I heard a very distinctive whine.
"Oh crap! The Chronal Matrix is destabilizing! No time to explain! Get in!" I shoved her through and shut the door. 'No time. No time' I thought to myself as I turned around and cast a improvised shield spell in the corridor.
Flames roared through the ship and flew down all the passageways, incinerating everypony not fortunate enough to reach a shielded area. For me, flames licked at the edge of my shield. 'I must hold on, so that the shield around E4 can manifest correctly' I thought. Already the strain was evident as I ground my teeth and dug my hooves in. Suddenly, my spell dropped with a pop.
Damn.
<<TRANSMISSION END>>
Footnote: Go ahead, Level up yourself. It seems every good story I've read need one.
Abilities upgrade :
Shield spell Upgrade Level 2
"Capable of deflecting small arms fire now. Giant fireball? Not a chance"
Sweet talker Upgrade Level 1
"You can now talk your way out of sticky situations with 20% percent increased chance to get out...alive"
I do not own either My little pony nor Halo
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