//------------------------------//
// CHAPTER FIVE 
// Story: Halo: Equestria 
// by xCrossx 
//------------------------------//

Crystal Empire, Artic North, November 16, 2552.

Three days of traveling nonstop. My injuries are acting up from the stress and the cold. I forgot that they had an arctic. And that it happened to surround the Crystal Empire. The cold easily penetrates my armor, which wasn't designed for the cold. Or the snow. The Equestrians barely seem better themselves, this time shivering with each slow step.
A blizzard decided to blow in moments after we got into the Artic North, so visibility has been very low. Fortunately, it's not effecting our radars, so we keep a straight course north. The Spartans in front of me look fine; they probably have ways to keep the snow and all out of their suits. Lucky brutes.
The Spartans start to move faster and we're unable to keep up. The blizzard hides them from view and I check my radar; the've gone beyond it's range. I panic. I stumble straight into a giant black crystal with a mack. "OW!" I move around it and find the Spartans crouched down as we overlook a gap in the blizzard, keeping the corrupted Crystal Empire safe from snowing over.
The Equestrians join me and gasp at the sight. Everything is covered in the evil black crystals and pony-people wander around, visibly depressed. On the balcony of the tower is King Sombra, his tiny form just visible before he disappears into the tower, which rests in the center of the town. "Let's get moving. Keep down and watch your fire."
Mack leads the way through town, moving from cover to cover. Nothing pops in the roads until we reach the entrance to the castle. We spin around as the red marks appear. Four crystal-black people emerge from the crowds as King Sombra forms from shadows. His hair billows black and backwards, his red curved horn protruding behind his demented crown, his face bold and his eyes filled with evil hate. He is big, muscular, and evil, wearing full steel plate with a thick red cloak. Intimidating. This won't be easy.
"You were foals to come here." His voice has a hollow echo to it and comes from all five of them, even though only the real him is moving his mouth. "You don't stand a chance without your pecious Cadance and Crystal Heart."
I shrug. "Maybe. But we have these." I whip my pistol out and fire at him. He turns to shadows, escaping injury, while the others divide to beat up the fakes. Well, if the fakes weren't good. I'm left to deal with Sombra by myself. Not again!
I charge the shadows and fire at any forms I see. Head there, gone. Hand there, gone. I fire a bunch, wasting ammo. Or so he will think. Blank. Reload. Nothing. I'm out. I glare at the gun, then at the shadows before me, dropping the gun. Something hits me in the back, hard, sending me flying.
I smack the ground, bounce and roll my way away. I flip onto my feet and stand ready as the shadows race towards me. I watch it only to get a punch to my back again. I try again and again to no avail. Right when I can't take anymore, a purple shield wraps around the tyrant kind, trapping him. I grin as he rerts back to his human form and Twilight passes me my gun, fully reloaded. He glares out at us.
"This doesn't help you," he growls, his voice muffled.
"Oh, but it does," I reply as everyone joins us. "You see, now your solid." I smile mockingly as the shield is dropped and I fire a shot straight into his skull. His eyes are filled with shock as his body disentigrates first into shadow, then into nothingness. "Good work, Twilight." I smile at her before unconciousness envolops me.