//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: UNSC Tycora // Story: Halo Zone // by Rookie109 //------------------------------// The chariots were flying a very far distance away from Chanterlot, the princess could sense the alien magic getting closer and closer to where they were heading, and it was in the dry and humid desert. Glenn tried to avoid looking down from the tremendous height the chariots were going in through the clouds, and pass the clouds, they saw the Tycora. Like what Princess Celestia saw in the sky days ago, was now right before her very eyes, but instead it was now touched down in a very hard place. The ships position was hanging on the edge of a huge canyon valley, from the ships mass, the group on the chariots could hear distant rumbling seeing thousands of ponies in the valley around the Tycora, and the thousands of ponies around the Tycora were the ships crew. Princess Celestia felt worried what could happen if there was nothing they could do, and they were in desperate need of her help. One of the guards handed their princess the telescope looking at the thousands of ponies in the valley, she then spotted a tall unicorn stallion motioning to his crew very closest to the ship, the princess had found their captain. "Is that your captain down their?" Questioned Princess Celestia levitating the telescope to Erik's eyes. "Yes that's him, that's where we need to land!" Motioned Erik pointing towards the area near the ship. Princess Celestia made a bright enough light from her horn to signal their chariots approach along with Lee, Mike and the other group members getting the attention from below with Sergeant Maddox ordering the crowd to clear a way. "Captain look!" Shouted out one of the tech officers pointing a good towards the light in the sky. Captain Holland saw before him being greeted familiar and unexpected newcomers as the chariots soon landed, the first to get off was the princess calmly making her way to the leader of the alien visitors. As the light from Celestia's horn started to fade down, one of the superior officers that was now an earth pony could now see what was approaching them along with the Captain Holland and the tech officer, they now saw what appeared to be the most unbelievable thing they have ever seen in existence, and it had the graceful beauty of a guardian angel. As the crowd began clearing a way for the princess, she looked down the edge of the cliff and around her seeing what kind of situation these creatures were dealing with, that their ship was going to slowly tumble down and the fact that it was also giving off so much magical energy. Princess Celestia was making her way towards the captain, the captains troops stood their grounds in defense as if she posed a threat, but they did not know what she is and what her purpose is here, and she halted her movement to state her purpose. "My name is Princess Celestia, I am the ruler of Equestria, I know you what you are and what brought you here, and I come here not as a threat but as a friend. I know how afraid and confused you all feel about what has happened to you creating a situation that overwhelmed you all. I will help give you knowledge, strength and the ability to survive. So let me help you all in peace." Princess Celestia finished extending her hoof in peace to Captain Holland who was standing calmly in silence as his mind was left speechless from what he came in contact with. In Captain Hollands mind, he was in desperate need of help he could not have imagined was possible, from what he has experienced for the past three days being on this bizarre alien world becoming one of them, it would be a bad choice to refuse the help from such a powerful majestic creature. It would be a story unbelievable to their world, if they had the power to make it back to their Earth. Captain Holland extends his hoof trying to shake hers not to lose his balance standing up, after that, the group rushed off their chariots to both the captain and the princess. "Sergeant Maddox reporting for duty Captain, we had along journey, and as you can see, we brought just the help we need." Sergeant Maddox interjected. "Good job Sergeant, it's good to se that you and your men made it back in one piece, and where's Dr.Erik?" Captain Holland Questioned. "Right here sir, what's the status on the ship?" Erik implied. Well so far as we can tell it's been hard for us since we crashed, it's been hard for us to build, sleep and work on any way to fix the damage that the ship has taken, the ship had also been pulsating strong unstable amounts of energy from its slipspace drive that not even a group of transformed experts can try to fix it back in shape." "It's because it can't contain or handle the exposure of this worlds magic." Stated Princess Celestia. "Magic?" "Yes sir, magic, its what exists on this planet and it is an exposure to the ships drive. When the Tycora jumped from slip space, the drive was somehow exposed to the planets passively surrounding magic resulting into a rare anomaly that transformed us into Equestrians." "Equestrians?" Equestrians are what we are, what the princess is but more powerful than any other, there are earth ponies, unicorns and pagasi. The princess is an Alicorn, resembling the traits of all three. But that will be something we should talk about later, for now our ships core is going through a strange reaction. Erik stated thinking through the possibilities. "And what would that be?" Questioned one of the officers on Captain Hollands right side. "From the core being exposed to immense amounts of magic resulted in not only the transformation of our human forms but far worse than i could have expected." Erik said as he began to picture what would happen to the ship if they could not contain the situation. As Erik observed the state of the Tycora, if it were to fall forwards of the edge of the cliff or overcharge on too much energy, could result in a catastrophic supernova. Learning from the event of the Battle on Installation 04 and on Reach of the slipspace drive being used as a bomb proved to be a dangerous example of destructive power in space, but on the surface of a planet with a newer and more destructive device is far worse than Erik could imagine, if it were to go supernova on the surface, Erik feared it would mean the destruction of all life on this planet. "The ships core will go supernova on a full scale wiping everything out thousands of miles from here!" What Erik frantically stated created panic in the valley realizing that their salvation could be the end of thousands and many more on this planet. From what Lee and the others had been through for the past days, every living being on this magical world along with all the good souls that survived will all soon be gone. But it was a fate that Lee and his friends will not let this planet face in the end. "Erik look!" Lee said to Erik pointing his hoof at the back of the ship, something in the back had caught Erik's direct attention. Erik's mind had sparked an idea the moment he looked at a familiar spot on the ship, he first needed everyone's cooperation if his idea was going to work. "Captain!" Shouted Erik getting the attention of Captain Holland and Princess Celestia. "What is it Dr.Erik?" "The position of the ship, it's what's rupturing the containment shield on the Celerium drive, it's the reason it's so unstable, if the ship falls off the edge, then it will go supernova. We have to pull the ship back up in its straight position in order to seal its shields back up, but a huge amount of the Celerium drives energy exposed to magic must be disposed of where it can't do any..." "Wait, the tech officer interrupted, your suggesting that we relinquish our only means of getting back home as a plan of preventing this catastrophe, the Celerium drive happens to be our only way off this planet, and we're not upjust going to be stuck on this planet for days but for decades!" The tech officer abruptly stated. "It's the only way, in order to save life on this world, we must get rid of our slipspace drive." Erik finished. "He's right, Captain Holland agreed. I'm not going to let this planet endure the fate of destruction, this is our fault, and we must do everything in our power to stop it." Captain Holland looked at the Tycora with deep concern thinking what would happen if the plan would end up putting him and his crew in a whole new direction, he had no other option to come up with, and he was as curious as to how he and everyone else will do their part in Erik's plan. "What do we first do doctor?" Questioned Captain Holland. "We first need to keep the ship straightly positioned in place, we need something to keep it in place so that we can go in the engine room and seal the containment shield. Then we will need the help of the ships AI Eva to transfer the Celerium drives energy to the ships cannon releasing it where it cannot do damage. "That plan seems to fit perfectly Erik. Dale implied. But the Tycora's front cannon could shoot straight, we would have to release it somewhere up, what will we do about that?" "The princess herself could help us with that, with her strength and power could just about be strong enough to release the energy somewhere that can't do any damage at all, into space." "That sounds like its just about good but what about holding the ship straight?" Mike questioned. "With support beams, down there are supply ships, and they should have enough beams that's strong enough to hold it together. The unicorns can smelt the beams together so that it can be straightened by the pegasai pulling it back in order for us to containe and release the energy." "And from the plan succeeding, means that we just saved the planet." Glenn positively interjected. "Yes, yes it will." Erik stated confidentially. "But Erik, what if the Celerium drives energy does something different, what if it doesn't work." "Lee." "What if we.." "LEE!" Erik shouted. "This plan will work, we can do this." Princess Celestia felt concerned to where that plan would go, she surely did not expect to be blasted with alien magic and to also shoot it into space. "This magic may be alien, but if I'm powerful enough to raise the sun and moon, then I am sure powerful enough to tame this alien magic." The princess agreed. "Perfect, now that everyone understands every phase of the plan, are we all ready to do this?" Erik questioned the audience he had in front of him counting his friends. Lee, Mike, Dale, Erik, Glenn, and Kent had been through so much on this planet, they have looked out for each other and even looked out for their own kind from the fall of Arcadia, and they may have been too late to save their planet, but they were not too late to save their planet. "Ok, let's do this!" The first phase of Erik's plan was now proceeding in motion, the unicorns below the valley were levitating enormous beams with all their magical strength they had putting them together in place behind the ships starboard, as soon as the beams were all together, the unicorns below used the magic from their horns to smelt the beams together the moment the pagasi above started pulling the ship back into straight position, and after the ship was soon held straight with the support of both the pegasai from above and the unicorns from below the valley, became the end of phase one. For phase two, now the the ship was in a straight position, it was now up to Lee, Mike, Erik, Captain Holland and five other crew members to board on to the ship to contain and dispose of the Celerium drives energy. Lee, Mike, Erik, and two crew members would take the engine room where they will contain the energy as Captain Holland and three crew members would operate from the bridge bringing Eva online to link with the engine room transferring the energy to the ships front cannon where it will be relinquished from the ship. The second phase was risky for the group heading to the engine room, without the proper care and inabilities to fix what had been done, the engine room would be very unstable. The moment the group got there, the engine room was surrounded with high voltage, the possible reason was certain that it was from the cracked opening of the containment shield, since it was not contained for too long, it had turned the entire engine room into an electric trap on the verge of going supernova. One of the crew members felt overwhelmed with the engine rooms unstable condition. "So how do we get through that?" Questioned the crew engineer looking around for another alternative of the plan. Erik looked around to see if there was any other way through the electric field, then he looked at Lee and Mike coming up with another risky idea. "Lee, you and Mike could help us go through this field." "Through it, how?" Mike questioned. "You and Mike are unicorns, you two can create a magical barrier that could deflect the electricity for us to find a way to clear out and contain the drives energy." "Erik, you come up with the craziest of ideas, but you're real genius when it comes to times like this!" Said Lee. Lee took a moment concentrate very carefully with his magical ability, making sparks and lasers was one thing he almost mastered, but making a barrier would be careful concentration with delicate time at risk. As Lee concentrated harder, his eyes began to flicker with light soon creating what appeared to be sphere forming from the point of Lee's horn, when the sphere was enclosing around himself, he needed Erik, Mike and the engineers inside. "Guys, huddle around me!" Lee groaned trying to maintain the barrier around him. "Are you sure he's got the hang of this?" Questioned the crew member. "He does, let's move in!" Erik said motioning to Lee that they are ready to move in the engine room. As the group entered the hazardous condition of the engine room, it was just as Erik had thought, the barrier was suddenly deflecting all the electricity around them as they were making their way carefully to the broken containment shield. The shied was entirely damaged, meaning that the shield must be replaced with a brand new one, and Erik knew exactly how to replace it. "Well how are we supposed to fix this?" "By making one." Erik implied. "Lee, you think you can create another barrier?" "Yes, I think I can but what about all this around us, we'll be electrocuted!" Lee added feeling concerned with the idea of holding back the unstable energy of a slipspace device. "Erik, I'm gonna say this more than once because I know so, this is crazy!" Mike abruptly pointed out. "Lee made a barrier that's able to block off the electricity, and he can also hold all that energy in the containment long enough to transfer it out of here!" Erik retorted back. "Listen guys, I know you all are going to feel nervous where this is going to go but, i don't know if this barrier is going to last any longer!" Lee said trying to hold it together. "We have to stay close together if Lee is going to seal the containment shield up!" "ARE YOU GUYS READY!" Lee shouted getting in the center of the containment shield. Mike along with the two crew members gave an affirmed nod with Erik readying a countdown. "3, 2, 1, NOW DO IT NOW!" In a Matter of seconds, Lee shifted his barrier right into the containment shield along with the high voltage energy it had absorbed holding the barrier in place as long as he can to buy Erik and the crew some time reroute the energy from the drive and to signal the captain in the bridge. Mike saw that Lee was struggling to keep the barrier in place, Mike quickly ignited a spark from his horn creating a beam of light supporting the barriers strength on the containment shield. "Hurry Erik!" "We're holding it back as long as we can!" As Lee and Mike kept the barrier in place, the crew members were switching the route for the drives energy with Erik readying as fast as he can to initiate the transfer, and what he was waiting for now was for Captain Holland and his crew at the bridge to reactivate Eva. Captain Holland and the bridge crew immediately brought the ships emergency power back to interface with the ships console, he first reactivated the primary weapons systems, then communications, and finally the ships AI Eva. When her form appeared on the console, she looked exactly the same as before surprisingly, her condition was green, and she was slightly concerned what happened while she was gone just by looking at it. "Eva, this is Captain Holland, do you read?" "I read you Captain and I'm doing fine, I'm sorry to ask but why do you look like a horse, am I seeing things fuzzy or am I really seeing things?" Eva questioned. "Its a long story, but right now, the ships Celerium drive has gone unstable and must be relinquished from this ship immediately." "Relinquish our means of getting back home, how will we do that?" Eva questioned looking around towards the front view outside of the ship realizing right away how they were going to relinquish the drives unstable energy. "Well then, what's the plan so far captain?" "We need you to link up with the engine room to transfer the energy to the ships main front cannon, and we be o make it quick before the doctor loses his grip on the shields. This is a risk I'm willing to take for the lives on this planet, we'll find another way back someway somehow." Soon everyone was getting to the next and final phase, Erik had his hoof on the master control switch as the captain readied the cannon for the energy to be transferred by Eva from the engine room to the ships firing mechanism. Princess Celestia was right in front of the ship with the cannon directly pointed at her, she has dealt with many challenges throughout the ages in Equestria, but what she was about to do was a very life risking. Erik was waiting for the captains confirmation on the transfer. "Dr.Erik, Eva is ready for the transfer, what's going on back there?" Captain Holland questioned through the ships intercoms. "My hands are right on the switch, I'm ready at the switch!" "Alright doctor, Eva prepare the energy transfer!" The captain commanded with his crew priming up the cannon. Princess Celestia worried of the kind of power these being were capable of with what she was about to brace herself for, and she was ready in position along with everypony else. Eva on the other hand was worried deep in the inside about the lives of captain and the crew if the plan does not work accordingly. And as for Erik, he was ready to pull the switch on the final phase. "This is it, now is the time to make it happen!" Erik announced in anticipation for everyone to prepare themselves. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, NOW!" Erik shouted pulling the switch. When Erik initiated the transfer, magical energy surged from the back all the way to the front of the ship emitting a power fluctuation, Eva felt the energy being transferred as she rerouted it into the weapons systems along with Captain Holland at the ready to fire out the unstable energy. "FIRE!" The captain shouted to his crew firing the weapon. In a matter of seconds, the ship bursted a powerful beam of energy from its main cannon that was now heading towards the direction of Princess Celestia, when the beam collided with the princess, she created a barrier holding the energy back, it was as powerful as she predicted, and she was struggling to redirect its powerful impact. With the power operational on the ship, the monitors showed Princess Celestia struggling to hold it, it was soon obvious that she was need of more firepower. "I knew that energy was too unstable for her to handle!" Erik said looking at the monitor outside the ship. With the drive taken care of and the engine room cleared out, here was no reason to wait for Erik's plan to fail without the help of thousands more. "The princess can't do this alone, we have to help her before its too late!" Lee interjected quickly pacing out of the engine room with Erik and Mike right behind him. Lee was going through a familiar way, the way that him and his friends took to get Erik off the ship, but the problem with that was the lifeboat was not there. Erik then realized what Lee was about to do, Erik's plans may have been crazy to everyone else, and what Lee was attempting to do was going to be crazier. When Lee made it to the lifeboat sector, he only saw an empty airlock showing the outside looking down revealing how high up he was, Lee did not have wings to fly, but he did have the power to levitate objects and possibly people. As Lee looked down the edge taking a deep breath, Erik, Mike and the two crew members caught up too late as they looked in shock as Lee leaped out of the airlock at a tremendous height. "LEE!" Lee was now in free fall, everyone down below in the valley screamed in horror as they saw the unicorn fall from out of the ship. Closing his eyes, his horn suddenly began to glow in attempt of another magic trick. When Lee felt the breezing wind in his face, when he slowly opened his eyes, he saw an orange aura of his own magic around himself floating him in the air with the crowd looking above both surprised and shocked that he was flying. After that, Lee calmly lowered himself down to the ground above the valley as steady as he could. Erik and Mike were relieved almost having a a heart attack that their friend would have been dead from doing such a dangerous move. "This guy is insane!" "He's incredible!" "He's brave technically speaking." Erik accurately noted. When Lee finally reached the ground, he then ran through the crowd clearing a way for him to reach the edge of the valley seeing the princess holding the energy beam back, and from the looks of it she was about to lose her hold on the energy. Lee decided that there was only one way to help the princess, and that was to shoot at the energy beam with everything they got. Lee aimed with his horn releasing his magic out at the energy beam supporting the princess in holding it, then soon immediately one by one, streaks of light beams igniting from every unicorn in the valleys above joined with Lee to fight off the magic they brought into this world with everything they got to aid the princess in redirecting the magical energy. When Captain Holland looked outside from the bridge seeing the streaks of light being unleashed on the energy beam, he too unleashed the light of his magic shooting it right through the glass window of the bridge joining with the thousands of light beams being released on the energy beam. With the power of the alien equestrians unleashing their magic, it became bright enough to be seen from hundreds of miles from the valley, Dale with the pegasai above concealed their eyes with Glenn and Kent below also blinded by the light. "What's happening!" Kent shouted with the light growing brighter and brighter. "They're magic, its getting too strong!" Dale shouted through the coms. Princess Celestia's strength was quickly regained with the aid of the thousands of unicorns, she soon grabbed a hold of the alien magic, like using her Alicorn magic to raise the sun and moon, she used her Alicorn magic to absorb the last of the alien magic from the ship fading away the beam forming a magic orb containing the magic. With the remaining Alicorn strength she had, she aimed the orb upwards into the stars, her horn growing brighter and brighter until a matter of seconds, the powerful light from Princess Celestia created an enormous boom of light shooting the orb of alien magic straight up into space in the blink of an eye. When the magical energy vanished in the sky, it then created a tremendous explosion of a dying star, it was a sign showing that millions of lives were saved and that it was all over. Princess Celestia hovered in the sky relieved that her peaceful land was still alive, and she felt exhausted with two words to say to herself. "It's over." (Two Hours Later) It was now noon, with little by little the UNSC learned from their Equestrian forms for resourceful purposes, the unicorns would use their magic to salvage resources for fuel, power up their technology and provide greater protection for their survival. The earth ponies would use their strength to maintain the ships support systems for a fact that 70 percent of them were engineers that organized the systems and power lines in their establishments of alternative resources for emergency matters. And pegasai would scout the perimeters being the eyes in the sky watching for any threats or suspicious activities. From the loss of the ships Celerium drive along with its engine, the UNSC would be in Equestria for a long time as their ship the Tycora would remain grounded where it lies in the valley, but along with all the vehicles, supplies, and colonizing hardware they had, the UNSC would build a base of operations in the valley. As for Princess Celestia, she also kept providing the UNSC with teachers of unicorn magic, pegasai flying and earth pony strength. In return of the princesses knowledge and generosity, the captain offered knowledge and history of the United Nations Space Command. With the UNSC having a technological advantage over the planet and Equestria, it would be for the best to keep their presence to the world a secret, it was an agreement between Princess Celestia and Captain Holland to ensure a safer world from those who would use their technology to endanger Equestria. As all was quiet, Lee stood on the clif looking towards the horizon at the sunset, he felt the wind blowing so many memories he had leading him to the most greatest of moments he had in his life, even his life with many friends he had with those alive and possibly gone, and while he was thinking to himself through the wind, he was then visited by his friends who also came to admire the view. "Its beautiful isn't it?" Erik asked Lee. "It sure is, it looks just like home." Lee implied looking at all the hills and mountains beyond the far horizon. "I wonder how long were gonna be here for, hopefully its not decades." "Well based on our current situation, its hopefully for decades Dale." Glenn interjected. "There's possibly going be so much things to adjust and maintain ourselves to if we all are going to be here for a long time, and this planet is full of wonders that no human being thought could be real." Mike positively noted. "I just want to point something out here but, what do these things mean?" Kent questioned pointing his hoof on the tattooed symbol on his flank. After what Kent pointed out, the six of them had unique symbols on their flanks meaning something about them, the princess gave knowledge to the UNSC about Cutie Marks which symbolizes a ponies special talents. They looked at their marks with curiosity figuring out what kind of talent they all had. "It's gonna be a long time getting use to this." Dale added. "Erik, you think we will fits perfectly for this world?" Lee asked. "We sure will Lee, we sure will." Erik replied looking in the direction towards the sun going down. From their long journey in this new world, these ponies forged a bond that would not be broken from how much they could accomplish together and stood up for, after fleeing from their own world, it was hard to know what was going on and what they would do in order to come back. The UNSC was in a whole new different world far beyond comprehension, and it was only just the beginning.